Berkeley’s department of history helps the student develop skills that enable the student to evaluate policies and events of the past and present.  To help its students develop analytical skills, the department of history acquaints students with both primary and secondary materials (i.e., students not only read textbook descriptions of events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence but also study the document itself).  The department is convinced that these interpretive and evaluative skills will help to make Berkeley students responsible citizens not only of their own nation but also of the world.