History 315 “Historical Methods and Writing”
UWO
Prof. Kuhl
Spring 2014
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Unlike other history courses that focus mainly on content, this course teaches skills. The overarching
goal is for students to gain an increased understanding of history as a discipline and overt training in the
most commonly used methods and skills. We will work on mastering the following six parts of the
historian’s craft.
1. History as a discipline. We will think about why it is important to study history, what kind of skills
history majors develop, and what kinds of jobs history majors can get.
2. Primary sources. Students will learn how to evaluate and cite primary sources.
3. Historiography. Students will gain perspective on how historians use different techniques, theories,
and methods to make sense of the past.
4. Secondary sources. Students will learn how to take a secondary reading and break it down into its
component parts. They will learn how to identify the author’s main argument, what kind of sources they
use, what kind of theoretical approach they have, how it fits into the wider literature, and make a case for
whether or not they find the author convincing.
5. Writing. By the end of the semester, students will be able to write with style, grace, and heartwrenching passion. Or, at least, students will practice the elements of historical writing: collecting and
organizing evidence, analyzing evidence, crafting a central argument, and correctly citing sources.
6. Research skills. Students will be able to formulate a research question, use library resources, evaluate
the strengths and weaknesses of potential sources, and develop a research plan to answer their question.
REQUIRED READINGS
available at the campus bookstore
Mary Lynn Rampolla A Pocket Guide to Writing in History
Carolina Hoefferle The Essential Historiography Reader
Marcus Rediker Villains of All Nations
available online
- William Cronon “Why the Past Matters”
http://www.williamcronon.net/writing/Cronon_Why_the_Past_Matters.pdf
- William Cronon “Learning Historical Research” http://www.williamcronon.net/researching/index.htm
- Kao Kalia Yang “The Science of Racism: Radiolab’s Treatment of Hmong Experience”
http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archive/2012/10/science-racism-radiolabs-treatment-hmongexperience
available on e-reserve
- ch. 19 “Archives” in Claus & Marriott History: An Introduction to Theory, Method, and Practice
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
- Students are expected to attend class. See attendance policy for more details.
- Students should commit 6-9 hours per work for homework.
- One paper analyzing a primary document from the UWO archives.
- Historiographical writing exercises
- One book review of Rediker.
- One research proposal.
- Multiple short writing assignments.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Attendance will be kept in this class. An absence will only be excused if you write down your name, the
date of class you missed, and attach appropriate documentation. Bring those items to the next class
period, and turn them in to me after class. Only the following reasons and documents will be accepted:
1. Medical illness. A Doctor’s note testifying to the date and seriousness of incident.
2. Family death. I must receive: the name of the deceased, the name of the funeral parlor, and your
parent’s address so that I may send condolences.
3. Religious holiday. You must have a note by Feb. 8 with all the dates of conflict in the semester.
4. University related event such as soccer game, debate tournament, etc. Bring in the schedule at the
beginning of the semester.
Please note that any responsibilities related to an outside job do not count as an excuse for missing
class. School cannot work around your job, but many jobs can work around school.
- I do not allow make-up quizzes or tests for unexcused absences.
- Four or more unexcused absences constitutes automatic failure in this course. If you have five or more
absences for health reasons, you need to take a medical withdraw from the course.
ELECTRONIC POLICY: Please bring me documentation if you have a disability that requires the use of
a laptop or other device for assistance. Otherwise, no electronics are permitted in class.
OFFICE VISITS
I hold office hours every week on Mon. and Weds. 1-2 and by appointment. Please feel free to drop by to
show me a draft, ask questions about the readings, clarify points from lecture, challenge my interpretation
of history, or hold other sorts of intellectual conversations.
POLICY ON SCHOLASTIC HONESTY
Students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties,
including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from The University. Since such
dishonesty harms the individual, all students and the integrity of The University; policies on scholastic
dishonesty will be strictly enforced. For more information on The University policy see
http://www.uwosh.edu/stuaff/images/student-discipline-code
GRADING Course grades will be determined as follows.
- 5% Career Action Plan
- 5% Resume, Cover Letter, and Reference assignment
- 15% Primary document analysis
- 15% Historiographical Exercises
- 15% Book Review of Rediker
- 10% Instead of Wikipedia
- 15% Research Proposal
- 10% Short writing assignments
- 10% Class Participation
COURSE SCHEDULE Note – bring Rampolla to class every day
The Discipline of History
Week 1
Mon. Feb 3
Introductions
Weds. 2/5
Read: Rampolla p.1-5, Hoefferle p.1-14, and William Cronon “Why the Past
Matters” at http://www.williamcronon.net/writing/Cronon_Why_the_Past_Matters.pdf
Fri. 2/7
Read: Hoefferle ch.1; Due: Hoefferle worksheet
Week 2
Mon. 2/10
Weds. 2/12
Fri. 2/14
Read: Hoefferle ch.2
Writing Workshop: Thesis Statement
Read: Hoefferle ch.3
Due: Paragraph Exercise
Guest: Ma Nhia Xiong “What Can I Do With a History Major?
Week 3
Mon. 2/17
Weds. 2/19
Fri. 2/21
Read: Hoefferle ch. 4
Writing Workshop: Quotations
Guest: Joshua Ranger
Due: Writing Exercise
Guest: Ma Nhia Xiong “Resume, Cover Letter, and Reference Page”
Due: Career Action Plan
Week 4
Mon. 2/24
Weds. 2/26
Fri. 2/28
Read: Hoefferle ch. 5, Rampolla ch.6
Writing Workshop: Introductions
Due: Writing Exercise
Read: Hoefferle ch.6
Read: Hoefferle ch.7
Due: Writing Exercise
Week 5
Mon. 3/3
Weds. 3/5
Fri. 3/7
Library Research
Week 6
Mon. 3/10
Weds. 3/12
Fri. 3/14
Read: Hoefferle ch. 8
Writing Workshop – bring drafts
Read: Hoefferle ch.9
Read: Claus and Marriott ch. 19 “Archives” on e-reserve
Due: Resume, Cover Letter, and Reference Page
Meet in Polk Library lobby
Archive introduction
Meet in Polk Library lobby
ARCAT search
Meet in Polk Library lobby
“Instead of Wikipedia” exercise
Week 7
Mon. 3/17
Weds. 3/19
Fri. 3/21
Week 8
Mar 24-28
Meet in Polk Library lobby
Secondary Research – UW System, Worldcat
Meet in Polk Library lobby
Secondary Research – JSTOR, Project Muse
Meet in Swart Computer Lab
Secondary Research – Field specific databases
Due: “Instead of Wikipedia” exercise
Have a Great Spring Break!
How to Read
Week 9
Mon. 3/31
Weds. 4/2
Fri. 4/4
Week 10
Mon. 4/7
Weds. 4/9
Fri. 4/11
Read: Rampolla ch.2-3, Rediker ch. 1-2
Due: Annotated Bibliography for Primary Source Analysis paper
Read: Rediker ch. 3-4
Read: Rediker ch.5-6
Read: Rediker ch. 7-8
Read: Finish Rediker
Writing Workshop – bring in book review drafts
Archives and Primary Documents
Week 11
Mon. 4/14
Meet in Polk Library Lobby
Due: Book Review of Rediker
Weds. 4/16
Meet in Polk Library Archives
Fri. 4/18
Meet in Polk Library Archives
From Consumers to Producers
Week 12
Crafting a Research Question
Mon. 4/21
Read: Rampolla ch.5, Yang “The Science of Racism” at
http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archive/2012/10/science-racism-radiolabs-treatment-hmongexperience
Due: Primary Source Analysis Paper
Weds. 4/23
Meet in Swart Computer Lab
Fri. 4/25
Due: Research Question and Preliminary Bibliography
Week 14
Mon. 5/5
Weds. 5/7
Fri. 5/9
Week 15
Mon. 5/12
Weds. 5/14
Fri. 5/16
Writing Workshop: Historiography
Read: Drafts of Grant Proposals
Writing Workshop
Due: Draft of Research Proposal
In class Peer Reviews
Writing Workshop: Copy Editing
Due: Final Draft of Research Proposal