HIST 300: Historical Methods
Instructor: Terry L. Shoptaugh
Office: 409 Livingston Lord Library (the University Archives)
Phone: 236-2379 (office)
236-6068 (home, I turn the phone off after 10PM)
website: web.mnstate.edu
TEXTS:
John Lewis Gaddis, The Landscape of History (Oxford University Press, 2004) paper
Amy Levin, ed., Defining Memory (Altamira Press, 2007) paper
COURSE OBJECTIVES: This course is designed to introduce students to methodological and
philosophical basics in the study of history and how these are employed by historians in publications,
teaching, exhibits, and museum work. To this end, students will learn - To become familiarize with the proper resources used by historians to locate, examine and present
evidence.
 To understand the variety of source materials used by historians in research, writing and exhibition;
and recognize the limitations of specific types of resources.
 To obtain an overview of historiography and the “metaphysical” studies of historiography that have
great influence in the history profession.
 To understand how museums and historical societies have produced and promoted “public history.”
 To understand how the importance of history, as expressed by historians, is directly related to a
better understanding of humanity.
The general format for this class will be very Socratic – there will be far more questions than answers
covered in class (and probably in the assignments as well). The final goals here are: 1) discover what
methods have worked well for recovering accurate and valuable interpretations of the past; 2) what will
work for you in your quest to be an historian.
Assignments and grades:
The final grade will be based on 3 assignments:
1. An assignment to review the historiography of the topic of your major paper, explained in another
separate handout.
2. An assignment that will require you to see, examine a museum and create an exhibit -explained in detail in a separate handout.
3. A paper that will be a research paper on a topic. See separate assignment handout. I will grade
this paper for both content and writing ability.
Final grades will be averaged from the 3 grades of the assignments. LATE ASSIGNMENTS
WILL BE REDUCED IN GRADE.
SOME TIPS FOR DOING YOUR BEST:
1.
COME TO CLASS. Granted, college is a great chance to get out on your own, and a lot of
things will seem a lot more interesting than classes, but you’ve paid the tuition and you might as well
get your money’s worth. Also, sad but true, the better grades invariably go to the ones who go to
classes.
2.
DO THE READING. College-level work is quite different from high-school level work,
especially in the volume of reading you will be expected to do for classes. So it is absolutely essential
for you to keep up with the reading assigned for your classes. Read carefully. Pay attention to the
introductions and conclusions of the chapters in the text. But read the entire chapter.
3.
TAKE NOTES DURING LECTURES. Believe it or not, professors do not give all these
lectures you’ll hear simply to enjoy the sounds of their own voices (might be some truth to that rumor.)
Pay attention to what is written on the board, what is pointed out on the slides and the overheads. I
will try to give a summary of each section, so pay special attention to that. But, above all, keep good
notes.
4.
ASK QUESTIONS. Yes, it is true, that if you ask questions you will learn more. The mental
effort to frame a question helps you organize the topic in your memory. It also helps you remember the
details later – like at test time.
5.
IF YOUR’RE HAVING TROUBLE, ASK FOR HELP. The taxpayers of Minnesota (i.e. you
and your family) fund programs for tutoring and other help. They (you) also are paying me to teach
this course, so if you need more help, come and tell me.
Late or Missing Work:
I will not accept late essays for full credit unless you have made arrangements with me before the
scheduled time. Only extenuating circumstances (and ones that you can document) will merit
extensions for late work. For all other late written assignments or exams I deduct one grade for each
day it is late. You must turn in all assignments and take all the exams in order to pass the course.
Academic Dishonesty:
Cases of academic dishonesty will result in failure for the assignment or for the course, as supported by
university policy, and they will be reported to university administration. Unintentional cases of
academic dishonesty (such as improper use of sources on the essay assignment) are both easy for a
professor to spot and easy for a student to avoid. Please visit me during office hours if you are unsure
about how to document a source.
Disability Access Statement:
Students with disabilities who believe they may need an accommodation in this class must contact
Greg Toutges, Coordinator of Disability Services at 299-5859, CMU 222 as soon as possible to ensure
that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.
Class Schedule and Reading Assignments
Week
1
2
3
4
Topics
Readings
Introduction to course
“Doing” History – Facts
and Interpretations
Begin Gaddis (complete by
week 3
Assignments, exams, etc
Historicism – How events
happen, what they mean,
Historiography
assignment due
How it’s done – skills,
composition, exposition,
and exhibition
Outline and
bibliography due
5
6
Morison, “History as a
Literary Art” (on reserve)
7
8
9
10
The past at the grass roots Levin text, articles by
-- public history, local
Vallance, Gable, and Price
history
Levin text, articles by
Langford, Sandweiss, and
Levin (Can Museums Be
Bought?)
11
12
13
14
15
First draft of paper due
Museums assignment
due
Careers in history
POST GRAD
POSSIBILITIES
Final paper due
How your papers will be graded (proceeding from poor to
excellent):
Very Poor (Grade of "F"): The paper does not meet the required standards – It is too short (at least 1600
words); the evidence in support of your points is poor (or there is no supporting evidence); the paper is very
poorly written, is incoherent, and/or irrelevant. There are numerous incomplete sentences, word choice is
very poor, and/or incorrect words are used.
Poor (Grade of "D"): The paper has only a marginal grasp of the material. It summarizes the most obvious
aspects of the material, but provides almost no supporting evidence or examples. It shows little or no
organization and contains major errors on grammar and sentence structure.
Average (Grade of "C"): The paper demonstrates basic understanding of the subject, but has some
deficiencies. Its organization is acceptable, but it shows nothing more than a basic reiteration of the readings
and material. It probably has grammatical errors. It likely also shows signs of being written in haste, with
mistakes and sloppiness which should have been corrected with more effort.
Good (Grade of "B"): The organization is clear and coherent, although minor weaknesses may be present. It
provides good, solid evidence in support of the main points. Any errors in punctuation, spelling and
grammar are minor.
Excellent (Grade of "A"): The paper is very well organized, is clear in its arguments and main points, is
grammatically correct, and progresses logically, with all the remarks relevant to the topic. The evidence
given in support was carefully selected and aptly expressed. There is some original thought in the
conclusion. Errors in punctuation, spelling and grammar are minimal.