As many students shift away from studies in the humanities and enroll in professional programs, questions have been raised as to the value of a graduate degree in history, philosophy, or literature outside of a career in academia. Yet as new creative and information industries emerge that involve the analysis and the assessment of significant amounts of information, skills that are essential in the humanities like close critical reading, use of multiple sources, and engaging writing can be used to secure employment outside of teaching. As director of a large graduate program in history and archives at Simmons College, Professor Ortega will explore the ways in which students have secured gainful employment in archives, libraries, architectural firms, museums, and the tourist industry, while also giving a broad overview of the ways in which people are using their PhDs in innovative ways.

Stephen Ortega is Associate Professor and Director of the Dual Degree Graduate Program in Archives Management and History at Simmons College. He is the co-author of a world history textbook, Thinking Past: Questions and Problems in World History to 1750 (Oxford University Press, 2014) in which every chapter asks different questions such as: What is an empire? What led to the rise of universal religions? His scholarly book, Negotiating Transcultural Relations in the Early Modern Mediterranean: Ottoman-Venetian Encounters (Ashgate, 2014), centers on relations between Venice and the Ottoman Empire. His present research looks at ways that video games can be incorporated into the history classroom. He is also working on a project in Barcelona, examining the legal mechanisms used to support economic and political expansion over both surrounding territories and places in the Mediterranean.