FA12 HIS3942 The
History Practicum:
Atlantic History
Tues 10:40-11:30
Turl 2354
Sect 4976 Thurs
10:40-11:30 K-Fl
115
Sect 4978 Thurs
11:45-12:35 K-Fl
115
Professor Jessica
Harland-Jacobs
025 Keene-Flint, 273-3382
harlandj@ufl.edu
FA12 office hours:
Tues 12:30-2:00
Thurs 1:00-2:00
TA: Derek Boetcher
[Derek.boetcher@ufl.edu]
Introduction
What is history? What is the role of the professional historian? What skills do
historians need to do their work? These are among the questions we will be
addressing in HIS 3942 The History Practicum, a course that introduces the new
major to the professional study of history today.
The course operates on two levels. Like most history courses, the History
Practicum is organized around a central theme. For this semester, our lectures
and readings will focus on the British Atlantic world between the 1580s and
1780s. At the same time, we will work on mastering a set of skills that are
essential for success as a historian. You will learn to identify and evaluate
source material. You will learn how to read primary and secondary sources
critically. You will be exposed to a variety of methodologies that historians use to
understand the past. You will develop a set of research skills that will help you
produce a solid research paper. In sum, this course will give you the tools that
will help you get the most of the history major and excel in the other courses and
seminars that you will take in the department.
Format
Students will attend two classes each week, a common lecture and a discussion
section. While the practicum is listed as a two-credit class, students should
expect a workload comparable to that of a three-credit history class (the
Department decreased the overall number of credits required for the major--from
36 to 35--to account for this.)
Attendance policy and expectations
Students are expected to attend all classes and arrive promptly. Final grades will
be lowered by 2 points for each unexcused absence. Consistent tardiness will
also be penalized.
Please keep electronic distractions to a minimum. While you may feel perfectly
comfortable multi-tasking in lectures, it is disturbing to the instructor and to those
around you.
History classes are most rewarding when students interact with the texts, each
other, and the instructor on a sustained basis. Readings provide the raw material
for class discussion, where much of the learning takes place. Effective class
participation is therefore essential. Students can expect a respectful atmosphere
in which to express their opinions.
Late work will not be accepted without penalty. Please make every effort to
apprise the instructor of adverse circumstances that affect your ability to attend
class or complete assignments on time. Official documentation is required to
excuse an absence and to schedule make-up assignments.
In writing papers, be certain to give proper credit whenever you use words,
phrases, ideas, arguments, and conclusions drawn from someone else’s
work. Failure to give credit by quoting and/or footnoting is PLAGIARISM. All
incidents of plagiarism will be reported to the Dean of Students and met with
sanctions (e.g. failing grade for affected assignment, failing grade for the course.
. .). Please review the University’s student code of conduct and conflict resolution
procedures.
Please do not hesitate to contact the instructor during the semester if you have
any individual concerns or issues that need to be discussed. Students requesting
classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students
Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student
who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting
accommodation.
Texts
•
•
•
•
Mary Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 7th edition (Boston:
Bedford/St. Martins, 2007)
Marcus Rediker, Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age
(Boston: Beacon, 2004)
Articles, chapters, and documents available electronically (students are
required to bring a copy of each chapter or article to the appropriate
discussion)
optional (but very helpful): Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and
Researching for History: A Guide for College Students (Brunswick, ME:
Bowdoin College, 2004).
•
Grades
Attendance, participation, pop quizzes (based on lectures and readings), HIS3942 Final Assessment
Weekly exercises (see percentage breakdown on schedule)
Research project
List of possible topics
Project statement (including annotated bibliography)
Final paper
Note on participation grades: I grade participation according to a point system;
it is based on attendance and level of engagement in the discussion. For each
discussion, you will receive points as follow:
3 points: sustained engagement
2 points: limited contribution
1 point: in attendance but no contribution; limited contribution but tardy
0 points: absent
At the end of the semester, I will average your points and assign grades based
on the spread between 0 and 3.
Overall letter grades for the course will be assigned according to the following
scale:
Letter Grade
Numerical Equivalent
GPA Equivalent
A
Above 92
4.0
A90-92
3.67
B+
87-89
3.33
B
83-86
3.0
B80-82
2.67
C+
77-79
2.33
C
73-76
2.0
C70-72
1.67
D+
67-69
1.33
D
63-66
1.0
D60-62
0.67
E
Below 60
0.0
Schedule
Aug
23
Aug
28
Aug
30
Course introduction
Introduction to the early modern world
Reading: William Dampier,
selection from A New Voyage Round the World (London, 1697)
Note-taking self-assessment
Discussion: Historical thinking
Reading:
1) Rampolla, "Why Study
History?" 1-5 2) Sam Wineburg, "Historical Thinking and Other
Sept
4
Unnatural Acts," Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting
the Future of Teaching the Past (Philadelphia: Temple University Press,
2001) [printable PDF] Exercise #1 (3%) Respond to the following
discussion questions [MSWord version]
The historical profession and the practice of history
Reading:
1) Rampolla, "Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Avoid It," 98-105
2) American Historical Association, Professional Standards
3) UF Honor Code [read "Philosophy," "Scope and Violations,"
(subsection 3a-c), and "Sanctions" (subsection 2)
4) Bo Crader, "A Historian and Her Sources," The Weekly Standard, Jan
28, 2002
Sept
6
Exercise #2 (3%) Avoiding plagiarism
History assignments/The art of note-taking
Reading: Rampolla, Ch 3, 22-42
Sept
11
Sept
13
Sept
18
Sept
20
Introduction to Atlantic history
Reading: David Armitage, "Three
Concepts of Atlantic History," in Armitage and Braddick, The British
Atlantic World (Palgrave, 2002) [ARES]
Extra credit assignment: submit your note-taking self assessment, your
original lecture notes from Aug 28, and revised lecture notes based on
Thursday's discussion of note-taking Discussion: Atlantic history
Reading: Alison Games, "Atlantic History:
Definitions, Challenges, and Opportunities," American Historical Review
111, 3 (June 2006): 741-57 [ARES] Exercise #3 (5%) [In preparation
for this assignment, read Rampolla Chs 4 and 7] Write a two-page,
double-spaced reaction paper in response to the Armitage chapter and
the Games article. Use complete footnotes or endnotes when citing and
quoting from the reading [see Rampolla, Ch 7]. Include a bibliography.
Some questions to consider addressing include: what is Atlantic history?
how does it differ from more conventional approaches to studying the
past? what are the strengths and weaknesses of the pieces by Armitage
and Games?
See Rael's helpful writing guidelines: "Preparing History Papers" and
"Avoid Common Mistakes in Your History Paper"
Accessing Atlantic voices
Reading: Rampolla, Ch 2
Smathers Library [meet at the tables to the right of the Reference Desk on
the third floor of Library West]
Exercise #4 (3%) Scavenger hunt, part A [you will work on and submit
part B in class]
Sept
25
Sept
27
Early English colonization
Reading: Rampolla, Ch 5
List of possible research topics due
Interrogating historical documents
Reading:
1) Rampolla, "Questions for Evaluating Text-Based Primary Sources," 11
2) Mark Kishlansky, "How to Read a Document"
3) Richard Hakluyt, "Discourse of Western Planting"
Oct
2
Exercise #5 (5%): Single source analysis [review Rampolla, 29-33]
Peoples on the move
Reading: Alison Games, "Migration," in Armitage and Braddick, The
British Atlantic World [ARES]
Oct
4
Oct
9
Oct
11
Oct
16
Oct
18
Oct
23
Oct
25
Extra-credit assignment: practice your note-taking skills by taking 2 pages
of notes on Games chapter (central question; thesis/argument; main
sections; methodology and evidence; strengths and weaknesses); refer to
Rampolla, 26, 93-94 and Rael 2a
Discussion: migration; test taking strategies
Reading:
1) David Cressy, "Letters Home: Old and New England in the
Seventeenth Century," History Today 37, 10 (October 1987): 37-41 [PDF]
2) Rampolla, "Taking History Exams," 42-48
The Atlantic slave trade
History and the web
Exercise #6 (5%) Slave trade database exploration and website analysis
War, trade, and empire
Exercise #7 (5%) Map analysis
NOTE: Sections will meet at the Map Library (in the basement of
Marston).
British East Florida
Reading: Rampolla, Ch 4
Analyzing documents
Reading: documents on Smyrnea
Exercise #8
(10%) Document-based paper
See Rael's helpful writing guidelines: "Preparing History Papers" and
"Avoid Common Mistakes in Your History Paper"
Oct
30
Nov
1
Nov
6
Nov
8
History and the digital humanities
Patricia Cohen, "Digital Maps are Giving Scholars the Historical Lay of the
Land," NYT July 26, 2011
"Examples of Spatial Humanities Projects"
Special Collections
The eighteenth-century economy
Project statement and annotated bibliography due [guidelines]
Analyzing secondary sources
Reading:
1) Rampolla, 16-19, 22-26
2) David Hancock, "Commerce and Conversation in the Eighteenthcentury Atlantic: the Invention of Madeira Wine" [ARES] [pdf]
Exercise #9 (3%): Read carefully Hancock's "Commerce and
Conversation in the Atlantic World" and evaluate the article according to
these guidelines.
Nov
13
Nov
15
Smuggling and Piracy
Reading strategies
Reading:
1) Rael, "Predatory Reading"
2) Rediker, Villains of All Nations
Nov
20
Nov
22
Nov
27
Nov
29
Dec
4
Dec
7
Exercise #10 (5%)
Samuel Proctor Oral History Program -- meet in Pugh Hall, Room 210
THANKSGIVING
Slavery and abolition
Citing and quoting sources Reading: Randy J. Sparks, "Two Princes
of Calabar: An Atlantic Odyssey from Slavery to Freedom" [ARES] [PDF]
Exercise #11 (5%)
Wrap up: HIS3942 final assessment
Final projects due in my office by 3:30