Hist 801: Historiography
Fall 2010
Eisenhower 201
Mondays, 3:30-6:20
Professor Brent Maner
Office:
Eisenhower 213; Tel. 532-0381
Email:
maner@ksu.edu
Office hours: Wed. 10:30-12:00, Thurs. 3-5,
and by appointment
Overview of the course
Our discipline has a long history, and it has had a diverse set of practitioners. In this course, we
will sample this variety by discussing some of the figures who have shaped historical writing and framed
the broad questions about politics, society, and culture that continue to engage us today. The possibilities
for designing a historiography course are vast, and I’ve chosen to remain quite traditional in the selections
for this course. We will focus on a Western canon of historiography, and the majority of our time will be
spent discussing developments from the past two hundred years. These are restrictive parameters--other
temporal (Greek, Roman, medieval) and geographic (Islamic, Chinese) emphases would make for a very
engaging course. I made my selections in an effort to introduce you to the intellectual development of
academic history in the United States (including the work of European theorists read on both sides of the
Atlantic) and to expose you to the incredible diversity that has broadened our field over that past fifty
years.
A note on the readings: We will discuss theoretical texts and celebrated examples of historical writing.
You should find these readings intriguing and challenging. After all, we’re examining how those who
came before us practiced the discipline that we’ve chosen for ourselves. We’ll take up several broad
questions, including: How have historians defined the scope of their work? What purpose should history
have beyond keeping records and telling stories? What have intellectuals concluded about the
possibilities for objectivity in historical writing?
In order to investigate the evolution of our discipline, we need to tackle some texts that are quite
difficult. It is imperative that you take the time to read them carefully. I have tried to keep weekly
assignments below 300 pages. I therefore expect that readings will be studied, not skimmed. As you
read, I recommend…
--working with both the big and the small picture. Capture the details that build an argument, but
force yourself to recall the larger point being argued by the author. We’ll work on these same two levels
in our class discussions.
--doing your homework. If Thucydides, T.B. Macaulay, and Max Weber are not familiar names
to you, but they seem to come up over and over again in the readings, look them up! (For 19th-century
and earlier names, I love the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. It’s available as a full-text reference work at
http://1911encyclopedia.org/. A quick and basic option is www.encyclopedia.com.)
--taking notes and formulating the questions you plan to ask during our discussions. Review
these notes before class so that you can recall the positions taken by authors and the details of their
arguments.
Assignments
*Class discussions (30% of the course grade)
I expect each person to speak during every class session. The readings should inspire many
questions and lively debates.
*Weekly reaction papers (40%)
Each student must submit seven reaction papers, each of approximately 750 words. (That’s about
2½ - 3 pages with 12-point font and 1-in. margins. Please don’t exceed 1000 words.) Each paper should
develop a single point that is central to the readings. Papers could evaluate the evidence an author uses,
compare an author to other ideas covered in the class, evaluate the significance of an author’s argument,
explain why you reject or support an author’s argument, etc. This is not about summarizing the readings.
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It is about generating a reaction, provoking thought, and preparing yourself for our discussion. If you
choose to write on a particular week, you must have a hard copy in my box by 4:30 p.m. on Friday or
have submitted it to me via KSO by 10 p.m. on the Sunday before our class meeting. No late papers.
*A longer essay (30%)
Each student will write a longer paper (around 12 pages) that relates to an author or issue that
figures significantly in the course. I will post a list of suggestions for this assignment, and I encourage
you to nail down a topic by the end of September. Each student will make a short presentation to the
class toward the end of the semester. All papers are due on Wednesday, December 15 by 4 p.m.
Please submit a hard copy to my box in EH 208 and an electronic file to me via KSO.
Books for purchase (Prices reflect what I found online for new books in summer 2010. Those marked
with [R] are also on reserve at Hale Library.)
John Burrow, A History of Histories: Epics, Chronicles, and Inquiries from Herodotus and Thucydides to
the Twentieth Century (Vintage, Reprint edition, 2009) ISBN: 978-0375727672; $12.25 [R]
Peter Fritzsche, Stranded in the Present: Modern Time and the Melancholy of History (Harvard UP, 2004)
ISBN: 978-0674045873-1; $19.45 [R]
Lionel Gossman, Basel in the Age of Burckhardt: A Study in Unseasonable Ideas (University of Chicago
Press, 2002) ISBN: 978-0226305004; $30 [R]
Peter Novick, That Noble Dream: The 'Objectivity Question' and the American Historical Profession
(Cambridge UP, 1988) ISBN: 978-0-521-35745-6; $27.99 [R]
Edward Said, Orientalism (Vintage, 1979) ISBN: 978-0-394-74067-6; $10.20 [R]
Thucydides, On Justice, Power, and Human Nature: The Essence of Thucydides' History of the
Peloponnesian War (Hackett Publishing, 1993) ISBN: 978-0-87220-168-2; $8.95
John Tosh, Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of Modern History, any
edition after the 3rd is fine. Latest edition is the 5th (Longman, 2010) ISBN: 978-0582894129; $23 [R]
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812
(Vintage, 1991) ISBN: 978-0679733768; $11.50 [R].
A readings packet for Hist 801 is available for purchase from the copy center in the basement of
Eisenhower. This packet is required. I will also post a few items to K-State Online (KSO).
Course Schedule
Monday, August 23. Introduction to the class; background on the Greeks
*Burrow, A History of Histories, preface, introduction, and chapters 1-3 (pp. xiii-64)
*Excerpt from Kelley, Visions of History: Herodotus and Strabo (KSO)
Monday, August 30. Thucydides
*Thucydides, On Justice, Power, and Human Nature
Monday, September 6. Labor Day—No Class.
*Continue reading Burrow, A History of Histories. Contemplate paper topic.
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Monday, September 13. A sweep through Western history: Roman, Medieval, and Enlightenment
historiography
*Burrow, A History of Histories, chapters 4-21 (pp. 65-344)
*Kelley, Visions of History: Tacitus, Gregory of Tours, Fredegar, Martin Luther, Jean Bodin, Voltaire,
Gibbon (packet)
Monday, September 20. The Pursuit of History
*John Tosh, Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of Modern History
Monday, September 27. The French Revolution, Romanticism, and History
*Burrow, A History of Histories, chapter 22
*Peter Fritzsche, Stranded in the Present
Monday, October 4. Nineteenth-century thought
*Burrow, A History of Histories, chapters 23 and 25
*Gossman, Basel in the Age of Burckhardt, 1-249
*Excerpts from Leopold von Ranke and Jacob Burckhardt (KSO)
Monday, October 11.
*Gossman, Basel in the Age of Burckhardt, pp. 251-453
*Excerpts from Jacob Burckhardt and Friedrich Nietzsche (KSO)
*Novick, That Noble Dream, introduction, “Nailing Jelly to the Wall”
Monday, October 18. Reflections on our discipline
*Novick, That Noble Dream, chs. 1-9
*Burrow, A History of Histories, chapter 24
Monday, October 25. Our profession since World War II
*Novick, That Noble Dream, chs. 10-16
*Burrow, A History of Histories, chapter 26
Monday, November 1. Labor history and social history
*Excerpts from E.P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class, preface and ch. 6 (packet)
*Alice Kessler Harris, "Social History," in Eric Foner, ed., The New American History (1990), pp. 16380. (packet)
*J.H. Hexter, “Fernand Braudel and the Monde Braudellien…” (packet)
*Braudel, The Mediterranean World, vol. 1, pp. 23-47 and Vol. 2, pp. 734-756. (packet)
Monday, November 8. New Cultural History and anthropology in history (+ presentations)
*Lynn Hunt, “Introduction: History, Culture, and Text,” in New Cul.History, pp. 1-22. (packet)
*Geertz, “Thick Description” and “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight” (packet)
*Darnton, “Peasants Tell Tales” (packet)
*Patricia O’Brien, “Michel Foucault’s History of Culture,” New Cul. Hist., pp. 25-46 (packet)
Monday, November 15. Gender, sexuality, and the practice of history (+ presentations)
* Joan Scott, “Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis” (packet)
* AHR forum on Gender history since Joan Scott’s essay (KSO)
* Linda Gordon, "U.S. Women’s History," in Foner, ed., The New American History (1990), pp.. (packet)
Monday, November 22. No class. Thanksgiving week.
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Monday, November 29. A foundation for post-colonialism (+ presentations)
*Edward Said, Orientalism, (It’s ok to skim Chapter 2, Parts III and IV. “Oriental Residence and
Scholarship” and “Pilgrims and Pilgrimages,” but read the rest closely.)
Monday, December 6. Social history wins the Pulitzer Prize (+ presentations)
*Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812
The longer essay is due on Wednesday, December 15 by 4 p.m. Please submit a hard copy to my
box in EH 208 and an electronic file to me via KSO.
University Notices
1. Academic honesty. Kansas State University has an Honor System based on personal integrity, which
is presumed to be sufficient assurance that, in academic matters, one's work is performed honestly and
without unauthorized assistance. Undergraduate and graduate students, by registration, acknowledge the
jurisdiction of the Honor System. The policies and procedures of the Honor System apply to all full and
part-time students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate courses on-campus, off-campus, and via
distance learning. The honor system website can be reached via the following URL: www.ksu.edu/honor .
A component vital to the Honor System is the inclusion of the Honor Pledge which applies to all
assignments, examinations, or other course work undertaken by students. The Honor Pledge is implied,
whether or not it is stated: "On my honor, as a student, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid
on this academic work." A grade of XF can result from a breach of academic honesty. The F indicates
failure in the course; the X indicates the reason is an Honor Pledge violation.
Here’s the bottom line: I will punish all forms of plagiarism and cheating with a grade of “XF.”
This will irreparably damage your standing in the graduate program. You must do the work yourself. I
am interested in your ideas about the readings, not a second-run version of someone’s paper or book
review. Use this course to sharpen your skills of analysis and to formulate informed views about some of
the theorists who have shaped our discipline.
2. Academic Accommodations. Any student with a disability who needs an accommodation or other
assistance in this course should make an appointment to speak with me as soon as possible.
3. Classroom Conduct. All student activities in the University, including this course, are governed by
the Student Judicial Conduct Code as outlined in the Student Governing Association By Laws, Article VI,
Section 3, number 2. Students who engage in behavior that disrupts the learning environment may be
asked to leave the class.
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