History 200
Doing History: An Introduction
MWF 1:00 to 1:50, Wyatt 306
Fall 2011
William Breitenbach
Office phone: 879-3167
E-mail: wbreitenbach@ups.edu
Web: http://www.pugetsound.edu/faculty-sites/bill-breitenbach/
Office: Wyatt 141
Office hours:
MWF 11-12; TTh 9-10
and by appointment
After taking this course I realize that liking history is very different from being
a historian. We almost need two majors—one called “History” and the other
called “History for Historians.”
D. Davis, comment in History 200 class (Dec. 4, 2000)
This is a different kind of history course. It is designed to introduce prospective majors and
minors to the discipline of history. In it, you will learn what history is and how historians think
and work. One goal of the course is to give you training in the methodology of history at the
time when it will do you the most good—at the beginning of your career as a history major or
minor. Another goal is to provide all history students with some shared expectations, standards,
and experiences. History 200 is set up to be a practical course, with emphasis placed on the
skills of reading, analyzing, discussing, researching, and writing history. The course will teach
you how to do the two things that historians do: develop original interpretations from primary
sources and critically evaluate the interpretations advanced by other historians. Paper
assignments will allow you to practice the types of historical writing that will be expected of you
in upper-division history courses. In the second half of the semester, you’ll have a chance to put
together everything you’ve learned as you undertake an independent research project. If all goes
as planned, by the end of the course you will be better prepared for success in your chosen
discipline and you will be more engaged with and excited about the study of the past.
READINGS
The following required books can be bought at the University Bookstore.
Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th ed.
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007). A copy is on library reserve.
Kelly Schrum, Alan Gevinson, and Roy Rosenzweig, U.S. History Matters: A Student Guide to
U.S. History Online, 2d ed. (Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2009)
History 200 Readings Packet for Fall 2011 (cited in the syllabus as [RP])
Readings marked with [M] can be found online at the Moodle website for History 200. Login at
https://moodle.pugetsound.edu/moodle/login/index.php. I’ll also place on Moodle the syllabus,
paper assignments, recommended readings, general advice, and links to useful websites.
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In addition to Turabian’s Manual, the following useful books are on library reserve:
Gevinson, Alan, Kelly Schrum, and Roy Rosenzweig. History Matters: A Student Guide to U.S.
History Online. (This is an earlier edition of U.S. History Matters, listed above.)
Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say / I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic
Writing. (This book explains how arguments are typically structured in academic essays.)
Harvey, Michael. The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. (Good advice on writing style.)
Presnell, Jenny L. The Information-Literate Historian: A Guide to Research for History
Students. (Advice for researchers on how to find most types of historical sources.)
Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 6th ed. (A good brief handbook on
reading, writing, and researching history.)
PROCEDURES, REQUIREMENTS, AND EXPECTATIONS
Class participation
This course will be a workshop. By enrolling in it, you have indentured yourselves as
apprentice historians. Like all apprentices, you will learn the craft by doing it. In the weeks
before midterm, you’ll be trained in the tools and rules of the trade. After that you’ll be turned
loose on some raw material and allowed to fashion some history yourselves.
Because History 200 stresses practical training, much of your learning will occur in the
classroom as you try your hand at doing history. Taking this course is like learning to drive a
car: success depends on the daily accumulation of skill and experience. If you cut a class or skip
an assignment, it’s a certainty that you’ll be unprepared for some situation down the road. So
show up on time, ready and willing to work, with all assigned readings and exercises completed.
To help you get ready for class, I have provided a “prep” in the syllabus for each session.
Sometimes the prep involves a short writing exercise. Other times it simply asks you to think
carefully about questions raised by the reading. In either case, you’ll be a better participant if
you have completed the prep, thought critically about the reading, and jotted down a few ideas or
questions before coming to class. To facilitate your participation in discussions, please bring to
class your copies of the assigned readings, along with your notes and written exercises.
Your regular attendance and thoughtful, informed participation will be important factors in
determining both the success of the course and the grade that you receive in it. After every class,
I’ll evaluate your contribution to other students’ learning. These daily scores will be used to
calculate a participation grade, which will count for 15% of the course grade. Students who miss
too many classes (normally six or more), without providing documentation of a serious illness or
emergency that prevents class attendance, will be dropped from the course. For more details, see
the handout on attendance, participation, classroom conduct, and late-paper penalties.
Short writing exercises
In this course, you will do a lot of informal writing. These exercises are not busy-work; rather,
they are designed to train you in specific skills and move you by easy stages toward the successful
completion of longer paper assignments. You might be asked to bring a brief written response to
assigned readings or, after you’ve begun your research project, written work related to it. Several
of the writing exercises will be collected and evaluated; they appear in the syllabus in bold print.
These exercises are due at the beginning of class; late or emailed exercises will not be accepted,
except in cases of illness or emergencies. Evaluated exercises count for 10% of the course grade.
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Formal papers. In addition to the writing exercises, there will be five formal graded papers:
1. Due Tuesday, September 13, by 12:00 noon at Wyatt 141: a paper about the JeffersonHemings controversy (3 pages); counts for 7.5% of the course grade.
2. Due Monday, September 26, at the beginning of class: an interpretive essay based on a
primary source (3-4 pages); counts for 12.5% of the course grade.
3. Due Friday, October 14, by 4:00 p.m. at Wyatt 141: a review of a scholarly article in a
history journal (3-4 pages); counts for 15% of the course grade.
4. Due on Monday, November 21, at the beginning of class: the first draft of a research paper
(8-10 pages of text); counts for 15% of the course grade.
5. Due Wednesday, December 14, by 2:00 p.m. at Wyatt 141: the final draft of a research paper
(10 pages of text plus annotated bibliography); counts for 25% of the course grade.
Grading
Grade ranges are: A (93-100), A- (90-92), B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79),
C (73-76), C- (70-72), D+ (67-69), D (63-66), D- (60-62), and F (below 60). I will round up to a
higher letter grade when the numerical score is within 0.2 points of the cut-off (e.g., 89.8 to A-).
Researching and writing help
I am eager to discuss course assignments and to provide advice on research and writing
during my office hours or by appointment. On research and writing days, when the class does
not meet, I’ll be available in my office during the normal class period.
Peggy Burge, the reference librarian who will be leading our library sessions, is also
available for individual appointments to discuss your research project. She’s very helpful!
Patrick Rael of Bowdoin College has written an excellent handbook for college history
students. It is Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students
(Brunswick, ME: Bowdoin College, 2004), http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M].
The Center for Writing and Learning is located in Howarth 109. Its mission is to help all
writers, whatever their level of ability, become better writers. To make an appointment with a
writing advisor, call 879-3404, email writing@ups.edu, or drop by Howarth 109.
Harvard University’s Writing Center has a website with useful advice on writing academic
essays: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr. Click on “Writing Resources.” You’ll find links
to a “Brief Guide to Writing the History Paper” and eighteen “Strategies for Essay Writing” [M].
Late work, missing work, extensions, and “Incomplete” grades
Normally I do not grant extensions or Incomplete grades, except for weighty reasons like a
family emergency or a serious illness. If you are facing circumstances beyond your control that
might prevent you from finishing a paper or writing exercise on time, talk to me early about the
possibility of getting an extension. Your request will be more compelling if you provide
supporting documentation from a medical professional; the Counseling, Health, and Wellness
Services; the Academic Advising Office; or the Dean of Students Office.
Late papers should be slipped under my office door at Wyatt 141. If Wyatt is locked, you
may send me the paper by email in order to stop the penalty clock, but you must subsequently
give me an unaltered hard copy. Late papers not granted extensions will be marked down. It is
imperative that you meet the deadline for the first draft of your research project. No late paper
will be accepted after 5:00 p.m. on Friday of final exam week. For details about late papers, see
the handout on participation, attendance, classroom conduct, and late-paper penalties.
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Other policies
Students who want to withdraw from the course should read the rules for withdrawal grades
in the Academic Handbook (link provided below). Monday, October 10, is the last day to drop
with an automatic W; thereafter it is much harder to avoid a WF. Students who are dropped for
excessive absences or who abandon the course without officially withdrawing will receive a WF.
Students who cheat or plagiarize, help others cheat or plagiarize, invent or falsify their
research, deface or steal library materials, or otherwise violate the university’s standards of
academic integrity will receive an F for the course and will be reported to the Registrar. If you
do not know what counts as academic dishonesty at the University of Puget Sound, read the
section on “Academic Honesty” in the Academic Handbook (link provided below). Ignorance of
the concept or consequences of plagiarism will not be accepted as an excuse.
In matters not covered by this syllabus, I follow the policies in the current Academic
Handbook, which is available online at http://www.pugetsound.edu/student-life/studentresources/student-handbook/academic-handbook/.
CLASS SCHEDULE
All reading assignments, preps, and exercises are to be completed before class on the day for
which they are listed. Bring this syllabus to class along with the readings assigned for the day.
UNIT I: WHAT IS HISTORY, ANYWAY?
Historical thinking, in its deepest forms, is neither a natural process nor something that springs
automatically from psychological development. Its achievement, I argue, actually goes against
the grain of how we ordinarily think. This is one of the reasons why it is much easier to learn
names, dates, and stories than it is to change the fundamental mental structures that we use to
grasp the meaning of the past.
Sam Wineburg, “Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts”
Our hardest task as teachers is to keep antiquity accessible while stressing its ineffable
strangeness. Such understanding requires not only empathy with the past but awareness of its
unbridgeable difference. The past was not only weirder than we realize; it was weirder than we
can imagine. However much we strive to know them, past minds remain opaque to us. To link
us with precursors while accepting the unlikeness of their worlds, we must somehow convey the
past’s mysterious affinity.
David Lowenthal, “Dilemmas and Delights of Learning History”
There is a tendency to freeze the present and project it back upon an unchanging past. If you can
get beyond this in a history course—well, you’re on third base!
Lawrence W. Levine, lecture at UPS (March 20, 2001)
The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.
L. P. Hartley, The Go-Between
This introductory unit raises issues and lays down assumptions that are fundamental to the course
and to the discipline of history itself. The unit aims to show that history is a craft with a distinctive
method, that history is interpretive, that evidence is constructed and not just discovered, and that
historians disagree both about the interpretations proposed by their colleagues and about the very
nature of historical knowledge. We’ll get at these issues by considering just what distinguishes
historical thinking from non-historical thinking about the past. By the end of this unit, you should
have a better idea of what is meant by that ugly term “historical-mindedness.”
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1.
Mon., Aug. 29: Introduction to the Course
Questionnaire (used for History Department assessment purposes)
Eyewitnesses and historical evidence: looking at a poster
2.
Wed., Aug. 31: Stories of a Past Event
History 200 syllabus (This is your agreement with me. Read it!)
Raymond Queneau, Exercises in Style, trans. Barbara Wright [RP, 3-8]
Jonathan Zimmerman, “Revisionists, Get Out of Florida” [RP, 9-11]
Prep: Exercise 1: Decide which of Queneau’s stories is the best history of the
incident and write a couple of sentences explaining why. Write your own
story (with title) about the incident. Be ready to explain what the Queneau
stories imply about the Florida legislators’ quest to ban revisionist history.
3.
Fri., Sept. 2: Is History Relativistic or Objective? Is It an Art or a Science?
Carl L. Becker, “Everyman His Own Historian” [RP, 12-20]
Robin G. Collingwood, “The Limits of Historical Knowledge” [RP, 21-25]
Simon Schama and Gordon S. Wood on “Dead Certainties” [RP, 26-27]
Richard J. Evans, “Objectivity and Its Limits” [28-29]
Prep: Exercise 2: Write a page answering one of these questions: Can
historians be objective? Is history an art or a science? For discussion:
Would Becker and Collingwood agree in their answers to these questions?
—
Mon., Sept. 5: LABOR DAY. No class meeting.
4.
Wed., Sept. 7: How Non-Historians Think about the Past
Samuel S. Wineburg, “Probing the Depths of Students’ Historical Knowledge” [RP, 30-33]
Keith C. Barton, “Research on Students’ Historical Thinking and Learning” [RP, 34-35]
Douglas L. Wilson, “Thomas Jefferson and the Character Issue,” with a subsequent
letter to the editor by Fel Rouse III, and Wilson’s response [RP, 36-38]
Russell Baker, “Stuck on Ourselves” [RP, 39]
William Breitenbach, “Presentism and Faith” [RP, 40]
James J. Sheehan, “How History Can Be a Moral Science” [RP, 41-42]
Prep: According to Wineburg and Barton, what are the important differences
between historians’ and students’ ways of using historical sources and
understanding the past? What is presentism? Can it be avoided? Should it
be avoided? Exercise 3: Answer in a paragraph: Do you agree with
Wilson or Rouse about historians making moral judgments of the past?
5.
Fri., Sept. 9: How Historians Think: Historical-Mindedness
Robin G. Collingwood, “Who Killed John Doe?” [RP, 43-51]
Sam Wineburg, “Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts [RP, 52-59]
Conal Furay and Michael J. Salevouris, “Historical-Mindedness” [RP, 60-65]
Prep: Exercise 4: Write a paragraph explaining what Collingwood means
when he says “the scientific historian does not treat statements as
statements but as evidence”? To discuss in class: Why does Wineburg
view historical-mindedness as “unnatural”? How do historians think? Are
you beginning to think that way? Does it still feel unnatural?
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6.
Fall 2011
Mon., Sept. 12: Founding Father? The Jefferson-Hemings Controversy
Barbara Murray and Brian Duffy, “Jefferson’s Secret Life” [RP, 70-74]
Lewis Lord, “Holding Out for an Icon” [RP, 75-76]
David Murray, “Jefferson Gets Spun as Science Meets the Press” [RP, 77-79]
Leef Smith, “Certainty of Jefferson-Hemings Affair is Overstated, Critics Say” [RP, 80-82]
Lisa Jones, “Grave Matters at Monticello” [RP, 83-86]
Lewis Lord, “The Tom-and-Sally Miniseries (cont.)” [RP, 87]
The William and Mary Quarterly 57 (Jan. 2000): 121-210, contains a forum entitled
“Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings Redux,” JSTOR. Read the “Introduction”
by Jan Lewis, 121-24, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2674360 [M]; and the article by
Fraser D. Neiman, “Coincidence or Causal Connection? The Relationship between
Thomas Jefferson’s Visits to Monticello and Sally Hemings’s Conceptions,” 198210, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2674366 [M]
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation has a website with much information
about the Jefferson-Hemings controversy, including the majority and minority
reports of its own Research Committee. It also has links to the original article in
Nature about the DNA evidence and to follow-up articles in other journals. See
http://www.monticello.org/plantation/hemingscontro/hemings_resource.html [M]
Prep: Do you think that the new DNA evidence, in conjunction with other
evidence, establishes that Jefferson had at least one child with his slave
Sally Hemings? As you make your case, show your historical-mindedness
by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the various kinds of evidence
brought forward by the disputants in this controversy.
PAPER DUE: a 3-page paper on the Jefferson-Hemings controversy
is due at Wyatt 141 by 12:00 noon on Tuesday, September 13.
_____ UNIT II: THE RAW MATERIALS: WORKING WITH PRIMARY SOURCES _____
“Have I told you about my condition? I can’t make new memories. Everything just fades.”
Leonard Shelby, protagonist in Memento, who tries to
reconstruct the past from obscure, incomplete, unreliable,
and evanescent evidence. His condition is the historian’s.
To answer the question implied here, we are forced to stare at the thick curtain formed by lack of
specific evidence. Yet if we go on something of a diet concerning data and become patient with
very small and occasionally uncertain portions, we may learn something about why these Second
Creek slaves thought and acted the way they did.
Winthrop D. Jordan, Tumult and Silence at Second Creek
Muskrat’s Much-In-Little: Why x How = What
Russell Hoban, The Mouse and His Child (This is the
formula for writing a good interpretive essay in history.)
This unit builds on the lessons of the preceding one by giving you the chance to dirty your hands
with primary sources. The assigned readings provide advice and models for assessing the
authenticity, reliability, and usefulness of primary sources. After developing guidelines for the
critical examination of evidence, we'll take a close look at some primary source materials.
You'll learn how to scrutinize these materials, how to draw inferences from them, and how to
organize those inferences into plausible historical interpretations.
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7.
Wed., Sept. 14: The Untrustworthy Witness: How Primary Sources Can Deceive
Conal Furay and Michael J. Salevouris, “Evidence” [RP, 91-95]
Schrum, U.S. History Matters, 14-26
Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 2.b., “How to
Read a Primary Source,” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Lionel H. Kennedy and Thomas Parker, An Official Report of the Trials of Sundry
Negroes, “Witness 1 in the trial of Rolla” [RP, 96-98]
History 200 Internal Criticism form [handout; also on Moodle]
Prep: Exercise 5: After reading “Witness 1,” fill out the Internal Criticism
form and then write two paragraphs answering these questions: What
problems would the testimony of Witness 1 pose for a “scissors-andpaste historian” who takes the words at face value? Despite these
problems, what can this document be made to reveal? In the next few
days, pick a short but rich primary source document for your next paper. (A
rich document often presents a puzzle that leads you to ask Why?) Use the
websites in Kelly Schrum, U.S. History Matters to find three or four good
possibilities that are related to the likely topic of your research project
8.
Fri., Sept. 16: The Witness Examined: Explication, Verification, and Context
Jacques Barzun and Henry F. Graff, The Modern Researcher [RP, 99-102]
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, “Erasing History” [RP, 103-04]
Levi Hart, letter to Joseph Bellamy, 11 Mar. 1773, photocopied A.L.S. [RP, 105-08]
Try to read the handwritten letter before looking at the typed transcript on 108.
Will of Martha Emons [RP, 109]
Barbara Clark Smith, "Analyzing an 1804 Inventory" [RP, 110-12]
Prep: Spend five minutes deciphering Levi Hart’s handwriting. After giving it a
shot, read the typed transcript. Using reference encyclopedias (in Collins
or online), place Hart’s letter in historical context: Who were Hart and
Bellamy? What was the letter about? What were “Hopkintonians”?
Exercise 6: Use the Oxford English Dictionary (available online in
Collins Library’s “Databases A-Z”) to look up one of these words,
which Hart used in a special, uncommon sense: “character,” “settle,”
or “convictions.” Copy the definition in the OED that applies to Hart’s
use of the word. In choosing the definition, consider the historical
context that you have developed for the letter. After studying Martha
Emons’s will, calculate the value in pounds of Benjamin Emons’s
inheritance. Write a paragraph explaining who gave him how much,
in what form, and when. Show your calculations.
9.
Mon., Sept. 19: The Third Degree: Close Readings, Topics, Questions, and Evidence
Patricia Kain, “How to Do a Close Reading” [RP, 113-14]
Dan White, “Interpretation and Close Reading” [RP, 115]
William Breitenbach, “How to Read a Primary Source” [RP, 116-20]
Kennedy and Parker, Official Report, “Introduction” [RP, 121-23]
Prep: Exercise 7: The judges’ “Introduction” to their Official Report is a rich,
interpretable primary source. Write a 1-page close reading of it. Begin
by asking yourself Collingwood’s question: “What light is thrown on
the subject in which I am interested by the fact that this person [i.e., the
judges] made this statement, meaning by it what he did mean?”
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10.
Wed., Sept. 21: The Witness Squeals: Interpreting a Primary Source
David L. Ransel, “The Ability to Recognize a Good Source” [RP, 88-90]
Harold D. Woodman, “Do Facts Speak for Themselves?” [RP, 124-26]
Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 3.d., “What Makes a
Question Good?” and sect. 3.e., “From Observation to Hypothesis,”
http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
W. Breitenbach, “Writing History Papers Based on Primary Sources” [RP, 127-29]
Prep: Bring to class hard copies of two possible primary sources for your
upcoming paper. Read them carefully and fill out an “Internal Criticism”
form for each. Be ready to explain to a classmate why you think each is a
rich, interpretable document. For each, be ready to answer Collingwood’s
question (see Monday’s prep above). For each, list any limitations and
problems that the document would pose for historians.
11.
Fri., Sept. 23: Writing Workshop: Clarity, Cohesion, and Coherence
Turabian, Manual, 51-53t, 109-19
Joseph M. Williams, “Coherence” [RP, 186-87]
Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, chap. 6, “Writing Your
Paper,” sects. a, b, c, d, http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Prep: Bring the primary source document that you have chosen for your paper.
12.
Mon., Sept. 26: Looking at the Secondary Source that You Just Produced
Cover sheet and editor’s sheet [handouts in class]
Prep: Finish your primary source paper, proofread it, and bring it to class.
PAPER DUE: a 3-to-4-page interpretive essay on a rich primary
source is due at the beginning of class on Monday, September 26.
UNIT III: CONSUMING HISTORY: WORKING WITH SECONDARY SOURCES ____
For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
H. L. Mencken
We do, in truth, demand that pupils perform an unconscionable number of reverse somersaults.
First, we say that there is no single right answer to any of the really significant questions in
history and that pupils must work things out for themselves. Then we say: “But not any answer
will do. Some answers are indefensible even if no one answer is clearly right! And some
admissible answers are not as good as other admissible answers.” Pupils then spend
considerable time and effort learning how to determine which answers and accounts are better
than others. If they succeed, we say: “But even though some accounts are better because more
valid or coherent or parsimonious than others, there is no one best account, since we find it
useful to vary questions, assumptions, and perspectives.” This is difficult to appreciate.
Denis Shemilt, “The Caliph’s Coin”
This unit of the course is designed to teach you four things: (1) how to read secondary sources
efficiently and effectively, (2) how to evaluate critically the explicit arguments and implicit
assumptions found in history writing, and (3) how to recognize the historiographical significance
of historical interpretations, and (4) how to write book and article reviews.
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History 200
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13.
Wed., Sept. 28: Critical Consumers: How Historians Read History Books
Turabian, Manual, 129-30, 5-11, 32b-34
Norman F. Cantor and Richard I. Schneider, “How to Read Secondary Sources” and
“A Practical Lesson in How to Read a History Book” [RP, 130-42]
Conal Furay and Michael J. Salevouris, “Reading History” [RP, 143-49]
William Breitenbach, “How to Read a Secondary Source” [RP, 150-51]
William Breitenbach, “Taking Reading Notes on Scholarly Arguments” [RP, 152]
Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 2.a., “How to
Read a Secondary Source,” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Prep: Do a subject search in the Collins Library catalogue to identify secondarysource books on your intended research topic. When you go to the library
stacks to find them, browse the nearby shelves for other relevant titles.
Sign out the three most promising historical monographs on your topic. (A
monograph is a study of a single, focused topic that is based on the author’s
original research in primary sources. A good monograph poses a research
question about the topic and attempts to answer that question by proving an
interpretive claim.) Choose books that were written by academic
historians, that are not biographies or collections of essays, that have
footnotes or endnotes, that were published after 1980, and that are no
longer than 280 pages. Bring the three books to class and be ready to
explain which of them you would read first. What factors should you
consider in judging the quality and potential value of a monograph?
14.
Fri., Sept. 30: Gutting a Book
Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 2.c., “Predatory
Reading,” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Gutting worksheet [handout; also on Moodle]
Prep: Exercise 8: Spend no more than 2 hours “gutting” the historical
monograph you have chosen. Complete the worksheet.
15.
Mon., Oct. 3: Identifying Historical Arguments: Questions, Claims, Reasons, Evidence
Turabian, Manual, 36-39, 48-53
Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 2.d., “Some Keys
to Good Reading,” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Drew Gilpin Faust, “Culture, Conflict and Community,” Journal of Social History
14 (autumn 1980): 83-97; JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/3787087 [M]
Prep: Exercise 9: After reading Turabian, Rael, and Faust, fill out the first
part of the worksheet on evaluating secondary sources.
16.
Wed., Oct. 5: Evaluating Historical Arguments: Concessions, Warrants, Counter-Claims
Turabian, Manual, 53-61
Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 3.a., “Argument Concepts,”
sect. 3.b., “Analyzing Arguments,” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Drew Gilpin Faust, “Culture, Conflict and Community” (read it again) [M]
Prep: Exercise 10: After reading Turabian, Rael, and re-reading Faust’s
article, complete the second part of the worksheet on evaluating
secondary sources.
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History 200
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17.
Fri., Oct. 7: Finding Articles for the Article Review Assignment
Prep: Use JSTOR or America: History and Life to find two scholarly articles on
the likely topic of your research project. Choose ones that were peerreviewed and published in a reputable history journal after 1980. Print
them out and bring them to class. Be ready to explain to a classmate what
is the topic, research question, and thesis of each article.
18.
Mon., Oct. 10: Reviewing Books and Articles
Steven Stowe, “Thinking about Reviews” [RP, 153-55]
Henry J. Steffens & Mary Jane Dickerson, “Reviewing Books and Articles” [RP, 156-57]
Mary Lynn Rampolla, “Book Reviews” [RP, 195]
Prep: Exercise 11: Use a title search on WorldCat to find three reviews from
history journals of the monograph that you gutted. If WorldCat yields
no reviews, go to Collins Library’s “Databases A to Z” and try America:
History and Life, JSTOR, Project Muse, H-Net Online Reviews, Academic
Search Premier, or Research Library (ProQuest). If you can’t find three
reviews for the monograph you gutted, choose a different monograph
for which you can find three reviews. Read the reviews and complete
the worksheet on book reviews.
____________ UNIT IV: MAKING HISTORY: A RESEARCH PROJECT _______________
We write the best history when the specificity, the novelty, the awe-fulness, of what our sources
render up bowls us over with its complexity and its significance. Our research is better when we
move only cautiously to understanding, . . . crafting our stories with attentive wondering
care. . . . Surely our job as teachers is to puzzle, confuse, and amaze. We must rear a new
generation of students who will gaze in wonder at texts and artifacts, quick to puzzle over a
translation, slow to project or to appropriate, quick to assume there is a significance, slow to
generalize about it. . . . For the flat, generalizing, presentist view of the past encapsulates it and
makes it boring, whereas amazement yearns toward an understanding, a significance, that is
always just a little beyond both our theories and our fears.
Every view of things that is not wonderful is false.
Caroline Walker Bynum, “Wonder,” AHA Presidential Address
In this unit, you will have the chance to put together everything that you have learned by
undertaking a limited research project in U.S. history before 1930. You’ll decide on a specific
topic to investigate, and then you'll research, write, and revise a paper on that topic. While you
are working independently on the project, we'll use class time to learn about the effective use of
the library (reference room, electronic databases, bibliographical aids, inter-library loan); the
management of research (note-taking systems, research logs, avoiding plagiarism); the
techniques of writing clear, graceful, persuasive prose; and the stylistic conventions for
preparing history papers (quotations, footnotes, annotated bibliographies, paper format).
Although there are daily assignments listed in the class schedule, they are fairly short.
Nevertheless, you’ll have plenty to do—what is more, you'll be doing it on your own. The
independent work needed for your research project will test your diligence, persistence, and selfdiscipline. Successful completion of this research project should prepare you for writing long
papers in upper-division History courses and in the research seminar, History 400.
10
History 200
Fall 2011
19.
Wed., Oct. 12: Getting Started on a Research Project
Harvard Writing Center, “Brief Guide to Writing the History Paper” [RP, 66-69]
Gordon Harvey, “Elements of the Academic Essay” [RP, 158-60]
Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 4.a., “Research
Papers,” sect. 4.b., “The Research Process,” sect. 4.c., “Research Basics,” sect.
4.d., “Keeping a Research Journal” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Liena Vayzman, “Practical Advice for Writing” [RP, 161-62]
Jules R. Benjamin, “Creating a Research Outline” [RP, 163]
Schrum, U.S. History Matters, 33-35, and look through 37-127
Prep: Look at the websites in Schrum (up to 1930) and identify three possible
research topics. I urge you to purchase a research log (spiral notebook or lab
book) to use as an intellectual journal of your project, recording in it your
ideas about the process and content of your research. Get started by
brainstorming in it about potential topics and research questions.
20.
Fri., Oct. 14: Constructing Feasible Research Projects. Class time spent in the library.
Turabian, Manual, 12-23
Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 3.c., “How to Ask
Good Questions” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Prep: Narrow your three topics and pose a research question for each. Spend the
class period in the library finding out which of the three topics has the best
available primary sources. Choose a topic that is both interesting and
feasible! While in Collins, run subject heading searches in WorldCat,
browse the stacks, consult the American Historical Association’s Guide to
Historical Literature (Reference D20 A5 1995), scan specialized subject
encyclopedias in the Reference stacks, and look at the course webpage for
History 200 at http://alacarte.pugetsound.edu/course-guide/178-HIST200.
PAPER DUE: a 3-to-4-page review of a scholarly article in history is
due at Wyatt 141 by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, October 14.
—
Mon., Oct. 17: FALL BREAK. No class.
21.
Wed., Oct. 19: Library Session #1. Today’s class will be held in Library 118
Turabian, 24-35; skim very quickly 409-29
Hist 200 course guide http://alacarte.pugetsound.edu/course-guide/178-HIST200 [M]
Optional: Jenny L. Presnell, The Information-Literate Historian, 19-58 [on reserve]
Prep: This library session will focus on using subject encyclopedias, WorldCat,
and Library of Congress subject headings to find monographs and primarysource books for your topic. If you have a wireless laptop, please bring it.
22.
Fri., Oct. 21: Library Session #2. Today’s class will be held in Library 118
“Research 101,” Collins Library online tutorial; the link is under “Research Help.”
Go through the modules on “Searching,” “Finding,” and “Evaluating”
Schrum, U.S. History Matters, 1-14, 27-29
Optional: Presnell, The Information-Literate Historian, 61-85, 136-58 [on reserve]
Prep: This library session will focus on using databases, especially America:
History and Life and JSTOR to find scholarly articles, reviews, and online
sources. If you have a wireless laptop, please bring it to class.
11
History 200
Fall 2011
23.
Mon., Oct. 24: Planning and Managing Research
Turabian, Manual, 36-47
Jules Benjamin, “Creating a Research Outline” [RP, 163]
William Breitenbach, “Bib Cards, Note Cards, Research Logs [RP, 164-66]
Roy Rosenzweig, “Historical Note-Taking in the Digital Age” [RP, 167-70]
Prep: We’ll discuss the options you have for taking and organizing notes on your
research. Those of you who want to use Zotero can arrange an on-demand
training session with Peggy Burge. Continue to build your bibliography by
using WorldCat and by mining the footnotes and bibliographies of the
tertiary and secondary sources you read. Above all, locate the primary
sources that you will use as the basis for your paper. By today you should
be completely and utterly confident that there are enough primary sources
AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW to sustain your project. Exercise 12: Draw up a
research schedule for your project. (See Jules Benjamin in RP, 163.)
24.
Wed., Oct. 26: Research Day. No class meeting. I’ll be available for appointments.
25.
Fri., Oct. 28: Academic Honesty and Plagiarism
The Expectations and Rules
Wayne C. Booth et al., “The Ethics of Research” [RP, 182-83]
Turabian, Manual, 39b-42m, 77-80b, 348
Schrum, U.S. History Matters, 29-31
“Academic Integrity @ Puget Sound,” link at Collins Library “Research Help” [M]
University of Puget Sound, The Academic Handbook, section on “Academic
Integrity,” at http://www.pugetsound.edu/student-life/student-resources/studenthandbook/academic-handbook/academic-integrity/ [M]
Some Bad Examples and Cautionary Tales
Joyce Meyerowitz, “History’s Ethical Crisis: An Introduction” [RP, 171]
Philip J. Hilts, “When Does Duplication of Words Become Theft?” [RP, 172]
Fred Barnes, “Stephen Ambrose, Copycat” [RP, 173-75]
Hillel Italie, “More Plagiarism Problems for Ambrose” [RP, 176]
Justin Garland, “Ambrose Demonstrates Plagiarism’s Merits,” The Trail [RP, 177]
G. B. Trudeau, Doonesbury cartoon about Stephen Ambrose, 21 Apr. 2002 [RP, 178]
Doris Kearns Goodwin, “How I Caused that Story” [RP, 179-80]
“Letters to the Editor: Doris Kearns Goodwin” [RP, 181]
Prep: Were Oates, Ambrose, and Goodwin guilty of plagiarism? Would they
have been judged guilty under the rules at UPS? Should UPS professors
use a plagiarism-detection service like “turnitin.com”?
26.
Mon., Oct. 31: Chicago Manual Citations: Notes and Bibliographic Entries.
Turabian, Manual, read 133-57m; skim 157-215 to see what’s in it.
Schrum, U.S. History Matters, 31-33
Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 7.b., “Citing Sources,”
sect. 7.c., “Advanced Citation,” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Prep: Exercise 13: Prepare a properly typed footnote (including a note
number) and bibliographic entry for each of the following kinds of
sources: a monograph, a journal article, a reference encyclopedia
entry, a book review in a history journal, and a website. Use examples
from your own research project whenever possible.
12
History 200
Fall 2011
27.
Wed., Nov. 2: Research Day. No class meeting. I’ll be available for appointments.
28.
Fri., Nov. 4: Using Sources: Quotations as Evidence
Turabian, Manual, 52-53, 73-76, 347-58
Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 7.a., “Presenting Primary
Sources in Your Paper,” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Douglas R. Egerton, He Shall Go Out Free [RP, 192]
Prep: Notice how Egerton makes effective use of quotations. Exercise 14: Using
one of your sources, type a short quotation and a block quotation as
they might appear in the text of your research paper. Introduce the
quotations with your own contextualizing words and integrate them
grammatically into your own sentences. Punctuate and capitalize the
quotations properly. Use an ellipsis in one of the quotations and
brackets in the other one. Supply footnote numbers.
29.
Mon., Nov. 7: The Working Hypothesis: A Problem and a Claim
Turabian, Manual, 12-23
Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 5.c., “The Thesis,” sect.
5.d. “History and Rhetoric,” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Prep: Exercise 15: Write out your working hypothesis (the disputable claim
that is the answer to your research question) and the two best primarysource quotations that support it. Explain the chain of reasoning that
connects each quotation to the proof of your working hypothesis—i.e.,
explain how the words in the quotations lead logically to your claim.
Remember that your working hypothesis should be a solution to the
problem that is puzzling you about your topic. Start with a puzzle!
30.
Wed., Nov. 9: Research and Writing Day. No class meeting.
31.
Fri., Nov. 11: Planning and Outlining the Argument
Turabian, Manual, 61-70
David Kornhaber, Harvard Writing Center, “Outlining” [RP, 184-85]
Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 5.a., “Structuring
Your Essay,” sect. 5.b., “The Three Parts of a History Paper,” sect. 9.b, “Making
the Case: Sample Essay,” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Prep: Exercise 16: Write out your thesis and a “point-based outline” (Rael
calls it a “road map”) for the argument of your research paper. A
point-based outline is composed of complete sentences that state the
reasons that prove your paper’s thesis. Read your outline aloud to check
that it presents a sustained argument.
32.
Mon., Nov. 14: Introductions and Conclusions
Turabian, Manual, 102-08
William W. Freehling, “An Historiographical Introduction” [RP, 190]
James H. Merrell, “An Anecdotal Introduction” [RP, 191]
Prep: Exercise 17: Write two introductions for your paper—one anecdotal
and the other historiographical. Follow the general pattern set forth in
Turabian. Bring a typed copy of each introduction.
13
History 200
Fall 2011
33.
Wed., Nov. 16: Drafting Day. No class meeting.
Joseph M. Williams, “Headings and Drafting” [RP, 188-89]
Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 8.a., “Paperwriting Checklist” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Instructions for Preparing the First Draft [M]
Self-Evaluation of First Draft [M]
Prep: Look over the four brief readings and then Draft! Draft! Draft!
34.
Fri., Nov. 18: Drafting Day. No class meeting.
For instructions on proper formatting of your paper, along with sample pages, see
Turabian, Manual, “Appendix,” esp. 373-77, 379, 386, 391-93, 397-98
35.
Mon., Nov. 21: First Drafts Submitted and Exchanged.
FIRST DRAFTS (8-10 pages) are due today at the beginning of class.
Bring two copies—one for me and one for your peer reviewer.
—
Wed., Nov. 23, and Fri., Nov. 25: THANKSGIVING BREAK. No class.
36.
Mon., Nov. 28: Preparing for Revisions
Turabian, Manual, 98-101, 109-19
Prep: After finishing the reading, do two things with your paper: (1) Highlight or
underline all of the evidence with one color ink and all of your analysis
with another color. Is evidence always followed by analysis? Are evidence
and analysis roughly proportionate? Do any sections seem to need more of
one or the other? (2) Pull the point sentence from each paragraph of your
paper. (If you used Microsoft Word for your paper, you can do this easily
by running the “AutoSummarize” utility, which is found in the “Tools”
menu.) Write these point sentences out as a single paragraph. If that
paragraph is not coherent, revise it by moving, adding, or deleting
sentences. Later you’ll need to make the corresponding changes in the
paper itself. Write down the principle of organization for the paragraph
you have just created—i.e., state the reason why the sentences are arranged
in the order they are. Is the organization chronological? simple to
complex? general to particular? something else? Ask yourself, Is this the
best principle of organization for proving my paper’s claim? Read the SelfEvaluation sheet and think about it. If more research is needed, get started.
37.
Wed., Nov. 30: Workshop with Peer Reviewer
“In Memoriam, Wayne C. Booth” [RP, 193]
Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 8.b., “Peer
Evaluations,” sect. 8.c, “Frequent Grading Comments,”
http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Your classmate’s research paper
Prep: Exercise 18: Read your classmate’s paper (write comments on it as
you read). Type up a two-page peer review, using the questions on
Rael’s handout and the Self-Evaluation worksheet to guide you. Be
sure to offer specific suggestions for improvement. Bring two copies of
your review—one for the author and one for me.
14
History 200
Fall 2011
38.
Fri., Dec. 2: Learning from Your Returned Paper. No class meeting.
Turabian, Manual, 120-21, 129-30
Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History, sect. 8.d., “Generic
Evaluation Rubric for Papers,” http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/ [M]
Prep: Exercise 19: After considering Turabian’s advice about revising and
what your peer reviewer and I said about your first draft, complete the
Self-Evaluation worksheet. On the back of the worksheet, list five
specific things you intend to do to improve your paper in the days
before the final draft is due. Slip a copy of the worksheet under my
office door or email it to me by 2:00 p.m. Keep a copy for yourself.
39.
Mon., Dec. 5: Annotated Bibliography
Mary Lynn Rampolla, “Annotated Bibliographies” [RP, 194]
“Annotated Bibliographies,” University of Wisconsin Writing Center, at
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/AnnotatedBibliography.html [M]
Prep: Exercise 20: After reading about annotated bibliographies and studying
the models, begin preparing your own annotated bibliography. Type up
the first page (at least) and bring two copies to class.
40.
Wed., Dec. 7: Finishing Touches
Prep: I’ll return the annotated bibliography exercise and answer any last-minute
questions you have about the research project. Bring to class a list of the
practical lessons (both positive and negative) that you have learned from
undertaking this project. What do you want to be sure to remember when it
is time to begin your next big research paper?
RESEARCH PROJECT DUE
Completed research projects, supporting materials, and borrowed books
are due at my office, Wyatt 141, by 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 14.
At the instruction of the Academic Vice President, I have inserted this “Classroom Emergency
Response Guidance” in the syllabus:
Please review university emergency preparedness and response procedures posted at
www.pugetsound.edu/emergency/. There is a link on the university home page. Familiarize yourself
with hall exit doors and the designated gathering area for your class and laboratory buildings.
If building evacuation becomes necessary (e.g. earthquake), meet your instructor at the designated
gathering area so she/he can account for your presence. Then wait for further instructions. Do not
return to the building or classroom until advised by a university emergency response representative.
If confronted by an act of violence, be prepared to make quick decisions to protect your safety. Flee
the area by running away from the source of danger if you can safely do so. If this is not possible,
shelter in place by securing classroom or lab doors and windows, closing blinds, and turning off room
lights. Stay low, away from doors and windows, and as close to the interior hallway walls as possible.
Wait for further instructions.
15
History 200
Fall 2011
List of Evaluated Exercises
These exercises will be submitted for evaluation. They will count for 10% of your course grade.
Ex. 1
Class 2
Aug. 31
Queneau’s best history and your imitation
Ex. 2
Class 3
Sept. 2
Objectivity in history; history as art or science
Ex. 3
Class 4
Sept. 7
Moral judgments about the past
Ex. 4
Class 5
Sept. 9
Collingwood on treating sources as evidence
Ex. 5
Class 7
Sept. 14
Problems of testimony by Witness 1
Ex. 6
Class 8
Sept. 16
OED definitions; Benjamin Emons’s inheritance calculated
Ex. 7
Class 9
Sept. 19
The meaning of the judges’ introduction to Official Report
Ex. 8
Class 14
Sept. 30
Gutting worksheet for historical monograph
Ex. 9
Class 15
Oct. 3
Evaluating Faust article, worksheet part 1
Ex. 10
Class 16
Oct. 5
Evaluating Faust article, worksheet part 2
Ex. 11
Class 18
Oct. 10
Worksheet on three book reviews
Ex. 12
Class 23
Oct. 24
Schedule for research project
Ex. 13
Class 26
Oct. 31
Footnotes and bibliography entries, typed
Ex. 14
Class 28
Nov. 4
Quotations, typed
Ex. 15
Class 29
Nov. 7
Working hypothesis and two supporting quotations
Ex. 16
Class 31
Nov. 11
Thesis and point-based outline
Ex. 17
Class 32
Nov. 14
Anecdotal and historiographical intros, a typed copy of each
Ex. 18
Class 37
Nov. 30
Peer review, 2 typed copies
Ex. 19
Class 38
Dec. 2
Self-evaluation worksheet
Ex. 20
Class 39
Dec. 5
Annotated bibliography page, 2 typed copies
16