Yes, They Do Teach American History at UCSF
Apparently Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has been doing some trash talking about the UC system and spreading rumors about how the universities do not offer an American History course to their students – because, you know, they are liberal hellholes.
Comedian Steven Colbert and MSNBC talkshow host Rachel Maddow tried to clear up these falsehoods but instead ending up spreading one of their own. They attempted to clear the record by stating that only one UC campus doesn’t offer American History. And, you guessed it, they said it was UCSF.
Unfortunately, that’s not true either. In what is quickly turning into an episode of “Three’s Company” full of wacky misunderstandings and awkward hi-jinks, UCSF has come out in its defense to finally declare to the world that: Yes, they do offer an American History course, along with many other History courses, to our students.
In fact, as Brian Dolan, PhD, professor and vice-chair of the department and the director of the graduate programs in history of health sciences states, “In our graduate programs, American history is not only taught – it is required.”
According to UCSF:
History classes at UCSF have been around since the Great Depression, first taught to aspiring medical students in 1930. The university has offered degrees in history since the civil rights era, minting the PhD program in the History of Health Sciences in 1965.
Today both Master’s and doctoral degrees in the subject are offered through the university’s Department of Anthropology, History & Social Medicine. UCSF is, in fact, the only campus within the entire UC system that offers a doctoral degree in the history of the health sciences.
So, there, Mr. Santorum. Perhaps you should start focusing on more relevant issues like the economy, the healthcare system and the war in Afghanistan.
Image courtesy of UCSF
