HISTORY 2302

The Historian’s Craft: Methodology

Fall 2005

Dr. Charles W. “Skip” Clark

Classroom: TLC 3205

TTH: 11:00-12:15 P.M.

Office Hours: MWF: 10:10:50, 1:30-3:30 P.M., T: 1:30-3:30 P.M.

And by appt.

Phone: 678-839-6031

“To understand the present, examine the past; without the past, there would be no present.” [Chinese Proverb]

Syllabus

Course Description:

The Historian’s Craft: Methodology is a required course for all history majors and is suggested for history minors. Normally, students will complete this course in preparation for upper-level history courses. Students must receive a “C” or better to fulfill the requirements for a history major. The course is an examination of history as a discipline and as a craft, concentrating on the research and interpretive skills and tools used by historians.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students will be able:

To demonstrate an understanding of what history is and what historians “do;”
To describe various approaches to historical study;
To engage in historical research using historical methodology;
To analyze primary and secondary sources and to discuss the nature and uses of historical evidence;
To demonstrate their ability to retrieve information, organize that information, and to present it (in written and oral forms) using standard history writing techniques;
To demonstrate improvement in written and oral communication.

Policies and Procedures:

Class meetings: This course relies on class discussion, writing assignments and in-class group and individual work. This means attendance and active participation are very important. I expect students to attend class each day and to participate. More than two unexcused absences will result in a lower final grade. Students are, in any case, responsible for material covered in class whether they are there or not. Please make sure that you turn off all cell phones, pagers, etc., before coming into the classroom. Also, I will remove disruptive and non-attending students from the class rolls. Students with documented needs must present the proper paperwork to receive accommodations.

Plagiarism: Please see the Department’s Policy on plagiarism: http://www.westga.edu/~history/plagiarismhtm.htm

Assignments and Grading:

Two essay examinations [15% each]: These examinations will focus on the content of the assigned readings as well as the methodological and historical issues raised by those readings.

Research proposal, outline and bibliography [10%]: Students will prepare these materials prior to completing a historiographical research paper and will discuss these individually with the instructor and in class with other students.

Historiographical Research paper [30%]: Students will write a 6-8 page historiographical research paper that includes use of primary sources. The paper will include at least three to four scholarly works on the same topic. Students will follow the citation format as found in Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations or the scholarly journals like the American Historical Review. You may use internet sources only with my written permission. A sample of the criteria for grading essays may be found here: http://www.mtsu.edu/~jhwillia/abcdf.html . A brief discussion of how to write a term paper for me: http://www.westga.edu/~history/faculty/Clark/WRITING%20A%20RESEARCH%20PAPER.htm

Book Review [10%]: Students will complete a three-page book review on one of the books you are using for the historiographical essay. The instructor will distribute directions for this assignment.

Chapter Reviews [5% each]: Students will write two (2) one-page critical reviews of Davidson and Lytle’s After the Fact chapters. Each review will demonstrate an understanding of the chapter and will be turned in the day the chapter is discussed in class.

Participation and In-Class Peer Review [10%]: Students will come prepared to discuss the assignments due on that day in class. In addition, students will engage in one peer review of the research proposal of another student’s work. Students will critique another student’s work (based on a handout I will provide) and will provide a proposal of their own for another’s critique.

Required Books and Materials:

Davidson, James West and Lytle, Mark Hamilton. After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection. 5^th ed. (vol. I). Boston: McGraw Hill, 2005. (Bundled with this is the CD: After the Fact: The Visible and Invisible Worlds of Salem.)

Strunk, William, Jr and White, E.B. The Elements of Style (4^th edition). New York: Longman, 2000.

Williams, Robert C. The Historian’s Toolbox: A Student’s Guide to the Theory and Craft of History. New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2003

Recommended: Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, [latest edition]

Schedule:

August:

23: Introduction, review of syllabus and assignments

25: What is History and Why Study it?

Reading: Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact: Introduction and Prologue; Williams, Toolbox, xiii-46

30: “To the Sources”

Reading: Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact: ch.1; Williams, Toolbox, ch. 9

September:

6: “To the Sources” Continued: Library visit (meet in lobby)

Reading: http://www.wm.edu/hwrc/worksheets/primarysources.html This site will help you understand how to read primary sources and how to write about them.

8: “Doing History”

Reading: Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact: ch. 2 (and CD)

13: “The Visible and Invisible Worlds of Salem”—asking questions, taking notes, examining evidence

Reading: same

15: “The Visible and Invisible Worlds of Salem” (Con’d)

Reading: Same

20: Secondary Sources (in-Class assignment): “How to read a book;” picking a topic

Reading: http://www.mtsu.edu/~jhwillia/howto.html [from Prof. James H. Williams MTSU]; Williams, Toolbox, ch. 8, 10; http://www.hamilton.edu/academics/resource/wc/WritingGoodHistoryPaper.pdf

22: Historians and the Turner Thesis

Reading: Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact: ch. 5; http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/TURNER/

27: Turner Thesis (Con’d)

Reading: Same

29: Environmental History

Reading: Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact: ch. 6

October:

4: Oral History—Slave Narratives

Reading: Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact: ch. 8

6: In-Class Assignment—Peer Review of Proposals

Reading: Williams, Toolbox, ch. 12, pp. 114-125

Proposal, Outline and Bibliography Due Today

11: “Who Owns History?” The Decision to Drop the Bomb

Reading: Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact: ch. 13; http://www.lehigh.edu/~ineng/enola/

13: “Who Owns History?” The Decision to Drop the Bomb (Con’d)

Reading: Same

18: Varieties of History: Gender History

Reading: Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact: ch. 14; Williams, Toolbox, ch. 12, pp. 125-129

20: FIRST EXAM

25: Varieties of History: Gender History (Con’d)

Reading: Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact: ch. 17

27: Varieties of History: The Vietnam War in Film

Reading: Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact: ch. 16

Book Review due today

November:

1: Varieties of History: The Vietnam War in Film (Con’d)

Reading: Davidson and Lytle, After the Fact: ch. 16; Williams, Toolbox, ch. 13, pp. 145-149.

3: No class

8: Advisement Session—Bring transcripts

10: Assessment Examination (Attendance mandatory)

15: Writing Your Own Papers

Reading: Williams, Toolbox, ch. 11, 12, 14; Strunk and White, Elements of Style

17: Speculation and History (Anti-History, Pseudo-History)

Reading: Williams, Toolbox, ch. 13, pp. 130-145

22: Using the Internet

Reading: Handout: Internet sites Useful for Historians

24: No class: Thanksgiving

29: Research Presentations

December:

1: Research Presentations

6: Research Presentations and summary

Historiographical Research Paper Due

Final Examination: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.