Note to Prospective spring 2014 students: This syllabus covers History 294 as I last taught
it. In spring 2014 there will be a different schedule (most notably accounting for the class
meeting twice a week instead of once a week) and some minor adjustments to the reading
and writing assignments.
History 294-001
Seminar on Historical Method: Research Techniques
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Spring 2012, T 12:30-3:10 p.m.
Class location: Merrill G47
email: seligman@uwm.edu
phone: 414-229-4565
Amanda I. Seligman, Associate Professor
office: Holton Hall 346
Office Hours: Mondays, 1:45-2:45 p.m.
or by appointment
The purpose of this class is to introduce students to the spectrum of techniques that
historians use to conduct research and evaluate evidence, including primary, secondary, and
tertiary sources. Students will learn about historical research methods by visiting various library
departments where they will conducting small research projects; listening to guest speakers talk
about specialized research methods; and reading about historical scholarship. Other topics of
critical importance to history majors that will be covered in the class include historical
argumentation, digital history, and academic integrity. A major purpose of the course is to
prepare students to take History 600, the capstone course in the history major at UWM, which
requires students to produce original research papers based on primary sources. Accordingly,
throughout the course students will conduct small research assignments that constitute integral
pieces of the kind of larger projects completed in History 600. The approach of this class is
largely cultural and experiential. We will read about the experiences and views of historians and
conduct historical research in order to understand the research techniques of historians.
Readings
Reading assignments for this course are available at the UWM bookstore and through the Golda
Meir Library electronic and traditional reserve systems, which can be found on the UWM library
web page: http://www4.uwm.edu/libraries/. The books ordered for purchase are:
Peter Charles Hoffer, Past Imperfect: Facts, Fictions, Fraud—American History from Bancroft
and Parkman to Ambrose, Bellesiles, Ellis, and Goodwin (New York: Public Affairs,
2004).
Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th
edition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007).
These books have also been placed on reserve in the library; there is also a copy of the 7th edition
of the Turabian book behind the Ask a Librarian Arch in the Soref Learning Commons. Previous
editions of Turabian have the basic information you will need to write correct citations (except
online sources), but the 7th edition does include new material that is part of the required reading
for the course. A hard copy of The Chicago Manual of Style is also held in the UWM Golda Meir
History 294
Spring 2012
Page 1 of 9
Library Reference Room behind the Ask a Librarian Arch; it is available electronically at
http://xerxes.library.wisconsin.edu/uwm/?base=databases&action=database&id=UWI49116. I
urge you strongly to purchase your own copy of Turabian, which you will refer to throughout the
course and in History 600.
Grading policies
Course grades will be calculated as follows:
Assignment:
 February 7: citation scavenger hunt: 2%
 February 14: Imagine a Research Project, Special Collections: 10%
 February 28: Imagine a Research Project, Archives:10%
 March 6: one paragraph on Bellesiles: 2%
 March 13: Imagine a Research Project, AGSL: 10%
 March 27: one page on Bellesiles: 3%
 April 3: Imagine a Research Project, Microtext: 10%
 April 10: Imagine a Research Project, Digital Archive: 10%
 April 17: list of factually based questions: 3%
 April 24: Wikiality/Tertiary source paper: 10%
 May 1: Background/contextual paper: 10%
 May 14: historiography paper: 10%
 Participation: 10%
To receive full credit, all assignments must be turned by the beginning of the class period on the
day they are due. Late assignments can be accepted and evaluated for their quality, but the grade
will be reduced by one step of a letter for each day they are overdue. In the event of an
emergency, please contact me about the possibility of an extension. Failure to complete all
required components of the course may result in a failing grade for the course as a whole.
Instructions for most assignments are embedded in the schedule section of this syllabus.
Instructions for the “Imagine a Research Project” assignments will be distributed separately and
posted on the course D2L site.
Note: errors in the formatting of footnotes and bibliographic items will have an adverse affect on
the grade for an assignment. All citations must comply with Chicago Manual of Style format.
This format will be discussed in class and can be found in a required book for this course:
Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th edition. This
book summarizes and gives examples of most citation forms from the Chicago Manual of Style
that undergraduate students should need. The AGSL staff will provide a special citation handout
with recommendations for citation of maps.
History 294
Spring 2012
Page 2 of 9
Seminars depend on the willingness of all participants to give serious attention not only to their
own ideas, but also to engage with the contributions of their peers. The allocation of 10% of the
course grade to participation reflects the importance of your active contribution to the group
throughout the term; your grade will reflect both the quality of your participation and the
regularity of your attendance. Listening respectfully is a part of participation. The participation
grade will reflect not the overall quantity of your comments, but the quality of your contribution
to class discussion. Your participation grade will also reflect your attendance pattern. One or two
absences for serious illness or other genuine emergency may be unavoidable, but more than two
absences can be severely disruptive both to your own learning and to the intellectual
development of the other members of group. I do not require (or accept) written excuses for
absences from class, but I will be concerned by a pattern of absence no matter the reason.
Students with excessive absences can expect to receive a participation grade no higher than C+
no matter what their contributions on the days they are present. If you anticipate missing several
class meetings, you should consider dropping the course.
Requirements for papers
 Double spacing (Exception: bibliographies, lists, and response papers are single spaced)
 Use a 12-point font
 At least one inch of margin at the top and bottom and each side of the page, to allow for
handwritten comments
 Double-sided papers are accepted
 Page numbers throughout
 Formal footnotes, based on Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers,
Theses, and Dissertations or The Chicago Manual of Style. A handout with examples will
be reviewed in class and will be posted on the course D2L site. Chicago’s own overview
of citation matters is available in section 14.18 and through the online version at
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/ch14/ch14_sec018.html.
Administrative Notes:
If you need special accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of this course,
please contact me as soon as possible.
Handy email addresses:
 The librarian assigned to our class for instructional sessions is Ahmed Kraima. He can be
reached at aak@uwm.edu.
 Max Yela, the head of Special Collections, can be reached at maxyela@uwm.edu.
 Ellen Engseth, who will conduct the archives instruction and also visit class to discuss
her career in history, can be reached at engsethe@uwm.edu.
All students are expected to observe University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee standards of academic
honesty. This critical topic will be a recurring theme in class. UWM’s policies regarding
academic integrity are available at http://www4.uwm.edu/osl/dean/conduct.cfm. Students who
plagiarize may receive not only a 0 for the particular assignment in question, but also a grade of
F for the entire course. Northwestern University offers an excellent guide to understanding
History 294
Spring 2012
Page 3 of 9
plagiarism at
http://www.northwestern.edu/provost/students/integrity/Academic_Integrity_Basic_Guide.pdf.
Academic Advising in History: If you have earned in excess of 45 credits and have not yet
declared a major, you are encouraged to do so. You must have declared and completed the
requirements of a major in order to graduate. If you either are interested in declaring a major (or
minor) in History or require academic advising in History, see the history department webpage,
http://www4.uwm.edu/letsci/history/undergrad/major.cfm.
University Policies: See http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/SyllabusLinks.pdf for further information
about UWM course-related policies.
If you have any concerns about the course, want to talk about your academic progress, or are
interested in knowing more about history, please come and see me in my office hours or send me
email. I am also available for appointments at times other than my scheduled office hours.
History 294
Spring 2012
Page 4 of 9
Schedule
Note: items marked (e) are available through electronic reserve through the UWM Library
PantherCat.
January 24, 2012
1. Introduction
2. Course overview
3. Who are faculty members?
January 31, 2012
Activities
1. Class convenes in Merrill G47 for a citation workshop. Bring your copy of Turabian.
2. At 2:10, we will go to Library Instruction Room A in the North Wing of the Daniel M.
Soref Learning Commons (first floor west wing of the Golda Meir Library building), for
an overview of library searching using the PantherCat interface and other databases.
Reading:
 Turabian chapters 3 and 15 and pp. 77-80
 Hoffer, Preface and Introduction
February 7, 2012
Activities
1. Class begins in the Special Collections Department on the 4th floor of the Golda Meir
Library.
2. Return to classroom for discussion of reading and assignments
Reading:
 (e) William Cronon, “A Place for Stories: Nature, History, and Narrative,” Journal of
American History 78(4) (1992): 1347-1376.
 Hoffer, chapter 1
Assignment due: citation scavenger hunt
February 14, 2012
Activities:
1. Guest Speaker: Professor Jasmine Alinder, on photographs as historical sources
2. Discuss readings and assignments
Reading:
 (e) Jennifer S. Milligan, “‘What is an Archive?’ in the History of Modern France,” in
Archive Stories: Facts, Fictions, and the Writing of History, ed. Antoinette Burton
(Durham & London: Duke University Press, 2005), 68-86.
 Hoffer, chapter 2
Assignment due: Special Collections Imagine a Research Project
History 294
Spring 2012
Page 5 of 9
February 21, 2012
Activities
1. Convene in Golda Meir Library Roosevelt Room (Room 301) for Archives instruction
2. Return to classroom to discuss reading
Reading:
 (e) John McCarthy, Making Milwaukee Mightier: Planning and the Politics of Growth
(DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2009), chapter 3, “Planning, Metropolitics,
and the Depression,” and the accompanying footnotes, pp. 234-237.
 Hoffer, chapter 3
February 28, 2012
Activities
1. Guest Speaker Emeritus Bruce Fetter on maps as historical sources
2. Discuss readings and assignments
Reading:
 Hoffer, chapter 4
 Mapping Decline website, http://mappingdecline.lib.uiowa.edu/. You do not need to
follow the external links, but you should study the maps very carefully and examine the
linked documents.
Assignment due: Archives based Imagine a Research Project
March 6, 2012
Activities
1. Begin in Golda Meir Library, American Geographical Society Library, 3rd Floor, East
Wing, for an introduction to the AGSL
2. Return to Merrill G47 to discuss readings and assignments
Reading:
 (e) Bellesiles, Arming America, introduction and pages 266-267, and 445.
 Assignment due: Write one paragraph summarizing Bellesiles’ argument.
March 13, 2012
Activities
1. Scholarly Peer Review
2. Discuss readings and assignments
Reading:
 (e) Joel Williamson, “Wounds Not Scars: Lynching, the National Conscience, and the
American Historian,” Journal of American History 83(4) (March 1997): 1221-1253.
Assignment due: American Geographical Society Library Imagine a Research Project
March 27, 2012
Activities:
1. Discuss readings and assignments
2. We will walk to the Golda Meir Library Room A in the North Commons of the Daniel M.
Soref Learning Commons (first floor west wing of the Golda Meir Library building) for
an overview of Microtext, beginning at 2:10.
History 294
Spring 2012
Page 6 of 9
Reading:
 Hoffer, chapter 5
 (e) The following articles, all in the April 2002 issue of the William and Mary Quarterly:
1. Gross, “Introduction,” (pp. 203-204)
2. Main, “Many Things Forgotten: the Use of Probate Records in Arming America,”
(pp. 211-216)
3. Gruber, “Of Arms and Men: Arming America and Military History,” (pp. 217222)
4. Roth, “Guns, Gun Culture, and Homicide: the Relationship between Firearms, the
Use of Firearms, and Interpersonal Violence,” (pp. 223-240)
5. Bellesiles, “Exploring America’s Gun Culture,” (pp. 241-268)
Assignment due: free response, one page, single spaced: How do these readings affect your
interpretation of Arming America?
April 3, 2012
Activities
1. Introduction to digital archives
2. Guest Speaker Ellen Engseth, on her career as an archivist
Reading:
 Kathryn Kish Sklar and Thomas Dublin, “Creating Meaning in a Sea of Databases: The
Women and Social Movements Web Sites,” in Writing History in the Digital Age, ed.
Jack Dougherty and Kristin Nawrotzki (2011), available at
http://writinghistory.trincoll.edu/data/creating-meaning-in-a-sea-of-databases-sklardublin/
Assignment due: Microtext Imagine a Research Project
April 10, 2012
Activities:
1. Guest speaker Mr. James K. Nelsen, history doctoral student, on his career as an MPS
high school history teacher
2. At 2:10 we will walk to Room A in the North Commons of the Daniel M. Soref Learning
Commons (first floor west wing of the Golda Meir Library building) for an overview of
tertiary source searching with Mr. Ahmed Kraima.
Reading:
 Hoffer, chapter 6
Assignment due: Imagine a Research Project based on Digital Archives
April 17, 2012
Activities
1. Guest speaker Professor Margo Anderson on numbers as historical sources
2. Wikiality
Reading:
(e) Roy Rosenzweig, “Can History Be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the Past,”
Journal of American History (2006): 117-146.
History 294
Spring 2012
Page 7 of 9
Assignment due: At this point in the semester, you have imagined a total of ten different research
papers you might write using primary sources available in the Golda Meir library and
online. When conducting primary source research, historians often have questions about
the material that can be answered quickly and easily using tertiary sources introduced in
class last week. Pick three of the Imagine a Research Project proposals that you
developed in the early part of this semester; at least one should be a non-U.S. based
project and at least one should be based on materials produced before the 20th century.
For each of the three research projects, produce a list of 4 factually-based questions.
Using the library’s tertiary sources, find answers to those questions. Turn in a list of the
questions and their answers. Each answer should conclude with a precisely
footnoted citation (including page numbers) where those answers can be found. You
should also indicate which primary source is guiding each of the imagined research
projects, and provide a bibliographic citation for that primary source.
April 24, 2012
Activities
1. Discuss readings and assignment
Reading:
 (e) Craig Robertson, “Mechanisms of Exclusion: Historicizing the Archive and the
Passport,” in Archive Stories: Facts, Fictions, and the Writing of History, ed. Antoinette
Burton (Durham & London: Duke University Press, 2005), 68-86.
 Hoffer, chapter 7 and conclusion
Assignment due:
Part I: find three articles on historical topics on Wikipedia.org. One article should be
good, one article should be bad, and one article should be excellent. You should use
your own best judgment in deciding what counts as bad, good, and excellent. List
these articles, indicating which you think was excellent, good, and bad, including the
date and time you accessed them. Print the first page of each article and turn it in.
Part II: for each of the three articles, find a corresponding (as close as you can get) article
in a specialty print encyclopedia (such as those found in the reference room). Try to
avoid general reference encyclopedias; part of the point of this assignment is to
familiarize you with the breadth of tertiary sources available to you. Make
photocopies of these articles and on the photocopies write citations indicating where
they came from.
Part III: write a short paper (2-3 pages) comparing the Wikipedia articles to those from
the specialty encyclopedias, in answer to the question: “What qualities make a tertiary
source good and useful for historical research?” Use specific examples from the
articles you have selected. The focus of the paper should be about what works and
does not work in all six articles; the paper should not try to answer a question about
whether Wikipedia articles are better or worse than those that appear in specialty
encyclopedias. In writing this paper, you should think about such issues as the
interpretive power of the article; the accessibility of the prose; the level of factual
detail; the visual layout of the information; and any other issues that strike you as
relevant. Turn in copies of the print articles (with citations noted on the copy) with
your paper.
History 294
Spring 2012
Page 8 of 9
May 1, 2012
Activities
1. Guest speaker Emeritus Professor Michael Gordon on oral history
2. Discuss readings and assignments
Reading:
 (e) Dwight T. Pitcaithley, “Taking the Long Way from Euterpe to Clio,” in Becoming
Historians, ed. James M. Banner, Jr., and John R. Gillis (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 2009), 54-75.
 (e) Robert A. Orsi, The Madonna of 115th Street: Faith and Community in Italian
Harlem, 1880-1950 3rd edition (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2010);
chapter 4, “The Domus-Centered Society,” pp. 75-106 and footnotes on pages 252-258.
Assignment due: Pick one of the Imagine a Research Project assignments that you completed
earlier in the semester. Gather secondary and tertiary sources that provide you with
background information on the topic. Write a 3-4 page paper that sets the stage for an
intensive study based on the primary source. As an appendix, write one page that
identifies and describes the primary source (one paragraph) and explains what new
insights into the topic that study of the primary source would provide. The purpose of this
paper is to provide context, background information for a projected research paper. All
information should be cited using correct Chicago Manual of Style formats.
May 8, 2012
Activities
1. Discuss readings and assignments
Reading:
 (e) Paul Robinson, “Becoming a Gay Historian,” in Becoming Historians, ed. James M.
Banner, Jr., and John R. Gillis (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009), 229-258.
Assignment due: Monday, May 14, 4:30 p.m., in Amanda Seligman’s mailbox on the 3rd floor of
Holton Hall: Using the topic of the assignment completed for May 1, use America:
History and Life or Historical Abstracts to identify ten of the most significant books and
articles on that topic. Write a complete, alphabetized bibliography for all of these items
using correct Chicago Manual of Style format. Read at least two of the sources. Write a
short paper (3-4 pages) that compares, contrasts, and relates the major arguments made
by the authors of these articles. The paper should not be a comparison of the contents of
the works but should instead focus on analyzing how they approach their topics. Be sure
to include on the bibliography page a citation for the primary source guiding this paper.
History 294
Spring 2012
Page 9 of 9