History 299

Historiography and Historical Methods

"There's no one who isn't writing history" -- Lucian, How To Write History

Meetings: Tuesday and Thursday, 8.30-9.45 am -- Seabury 23A

Description

This course, required of all History majors, explores a series of questions in the approaches to, history of, and methods used in the study of history. We have two major goals: first, to provide an introduction to the development of history as an intellectual undertaking, exploring ways that people have approached the past; and second, to learn some of the techniques of the practice of history -- identifying and analyzing sources, digesting secondary literature, understanding arguments, writing. The course is intended to help prepare students to do well in a History major at Trinity and to have a wider grasp of the importance and character of the study of history.

Readings

    Hernan Cortes, Letters from Mexico, ed. and trans. Anthony Pagden (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001) -- ISBN: 0-300-09094-3

    Patricia Nelson Limerick, Legacy of Conquest. The Unbroken Past of the American West (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1987) -- ISBN: 0-393-30497-3

    Pierre Loti, Tahiti. The Marriage of Loti, tr. Clara Bell (London: Keegan Paul, 1987) -- ISBN: 0-710-30231-2

    Roderick Frederick Nash, Wilderness and the American Mind4 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001) -- ISBN: 0-300-09122-2

    Peter Pentz, The Invisible Conquest. The Ontogenesis of Sixth and Seventh Century Syria (Copenhagen: National Museum of Denmark, 1992) -- ISBN: 87-7288-504-1

    John Tosh with Sean Lang, The Pursuit of History. Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of Modern History4 (Harlow: Pearson Education, 2006)

Assignments

Note carefully: All written assignments are to be turned in to me as Word attachments to email by no later than 4 pm the day due, unless otherwise stated in the syllabus. Extensions will only be granted for very exceptional circumstances, and only if requested in advance of the due date.

1. Do the reading. It is absolutely essential that everyone complete the reading for a given class before the class. Readings are listed under the day they are due. Not only will our discussions focus on the reading, but in many cases you will need the reading to understand how to complete assignments associated with the class session. Please plan your work schedule accordingly!

2. Participate in discussion. I expect every student in the class to make at least one substantive contribution to each discussion. Virtually every class will be discussion-based, so you will need to keep up and have thought about your assignments and readings beforehand. A good technique: meet with other members of the class beforehand and have a pre-discussion.

3. Welfare Conference: Monday, February 26 (Trinity Days), Washington Room. For more details, see the Assignments section of Black Board (BB). You must register for this conference at the Conference Website. Please do so immediately.

4. Transforming Our Understanding. A colleague who teaches Japanese history bemoans students who enter his course thinking that samurai were all sword-wielding warriors and then, after a semester in which he shows that most samurai were bureaucrats who never touched a weapon, write final exams about how samurai were sword-wielding warriors. We will practice getting our preconceptions shaken up by reading and discussing across the semester a book about the concept of wilderness. On the days that for which a reading assignment from Nash is listed, we will spend the last 20 minutes of class discussing the chapter, along lines of questions laid out in the Assignments section of Black Board (BB). There will be an essay question on the midterm on March 15 relating to pp. 108-121, you will write a short paper (3 pp.) on either pp. 122-140 or pp. 141-160, due March 26, and there will be an obligatory question on Nash on the final exam, May 7 (Monday), 3-5 pm. For more details, see the Assignments section of Black Board (BB).

5. Archival exercise -- oral presentation and short paper. For more details, see the Assignments section of Black Board (BB). The oral presentation and paper (3 pp.) are due on March 6.

6. Oral History Exercise. For more details, see the Assignments section of Black Board (BB). The oral presentation falls on March 27; the paper (3 pp.) is due March 29.

7. Interview with Trinity faculty member and oral presentation. Everyone will choose a member of the Trinity History faculty to interview about his/her approach to history and make a short oral presentation. For more details, see the Assignments section of Black Board (BB). The presentation falls on April 3.

    The following Trinity faculty have agreed to be interviewed:

8. Short reaction papers. We will do three (3) of these: (1) a paper on Pentz, Invisible Conquest (read for and discussed on the class of February 1), due February 8;  (2) a paper on the Welfare Conference, due March 1; (3) a paper on Limerick, Legacy of Conquest (read for the class of March 29), due April 3. For more information, see the Assignments section of Black Board (BB). All reaction papers are 3-4 pp. each.

9. Short Answer/Identification Quizzes. There will be two (2) short answer/identification quizzes, on February 6 and March 8. These quizzes will be strictly limited in time to 15 minutes.

10. Mid-term exam. The exam will have short answer/identifications and an essay. It falls on Thursday, March 15.

11. Research paper. Across the course of the semester each student will write a research paper on a topic set in advance. I will provide the basic bibliography of primary sources and second literature. Your job will be to go step-by-step through the process of reading, thinking, constructing an argument, polishing, and producing a 8-10 pp final paper in proper format and carefully proof-read. For more information, including due dates, see the Assignments section of Black Board (BB). For guidelines on how to do citations, see Cite Source

12. Final exam. The exam will consist of three parts: (1) short answers/identifications; (2) essay on wilderness; (3) essay on historiography. Date: May 7 (Monday), 3-5 pm

 

To help you in your planning, here is a chronological list of due dates for written assignments, oral presentations, quizzes, and exams:

January 25 -- Essay on Wilderness

February 6 -- Short Answer/Identification Quiz 1

February 8 -- Reaction Paper I on Pentz due

March 1 -- Reaction Paper II on Welfare Conference due

March 6 -- Archive Exercise Presentations and Paper due

March 8 -- Short Answer/Identification Quiz II

March 15 -- Mid-Term Exam

March 26 (M) -- Nash paper  due

March 26-30 -- Appointment with me to choose topic for research paper

March 27 -- Oral History Presentation

March 29 -- Oral History Project Paper Due

April 2 (M) -- Reaction Paper III on Limerick, Legacy of Conquest

April 3 -- History at Trinity Presentation

April 5 -- Thesis statement and bibliography for research paper

April 19 -- Draft research paper due

May 1 -- Final Paper Presentation

May 3 -- Final research paper and statement of changes due

May 7 (Monday), 3-5 pm -- Final Exam

 

Schedule of Classes

January 23 (T): First Class -- Introduction

January 25 (Th): The Varieties of History

    Come prepared to discuss Tosh and Lang, pp. 1-56, 114-144.

   Due: Essay on wilderness

January 30 (T): Using Sources, I: Historical Narrative

    Come prepared to discuss Hernan Cortes, Letters from Mexico, pp. 47-159, "The Second Letter." We will consider approaches to using self-consciously "historical" narratives as sources for our work as historians with the help of Sean Cocco, assistant professor of history and a specialist in the early modern world.

    On sources for history, read Tosh and Lang, pp. 57-113

February 1 (Th): How to Read a Historical Monograph

    We will discuss Peter Pentz, The Invisible Conquest, with the help of Zayde Antrim, assistant professor of history and specialist in the mediaeval Middle East

    Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 1-22

February 6 (T): History in the Nineteenth Century -- The Making of a Profession

    Short Answer/Identification Quiz I

    Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 23-43

February 8 (Th): Using Sources, II: Documents

    Read the documents posted on Black Board (BB) and come prepared to discuss them.

    Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 44-66

    Due: Reaction Paper I: Pentz, Invisible Conquest

February 13 (T): How to Read a Journal Article

    We will discuss Lisa Lindsay, "Domesticity and Difference: Male Breadwinners, Working Women, and Colonial Citizenship in the 1945 Nigerian General Strike," American Historical Review 104 (1999) 783-812 (BB), with the help of Abosede George, assistant professor of history and specialist in African history

    Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 67-83

    Sign up for faculty member to interview.

 

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    I will be out of town for three class meetings, February 15-22. Please note that you have obligatory assignments for the meetings of February 15, 20, and 22; attendance will be taken.

February 15: (Th): Introduction to Library Research with Katy Hart, Reference Librarian

February 20 (T): Introduction to Archives, I: The Archives at Trinity -- Session in the Library with Peter Knapp, College Archivist: Meet in the Library, Walton Room

    For the assignments associated with the Archival Exercise, see under "Assignments" on Black Board (BB).

February 22 (Th): Introduction to Archives, II: Web Resources for Archival Research -- Session in the Library with Peter Knapp, College Archivist: Meet in the Library, Phelan Room

   

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February 26 (M): Trinity Days: Welfare Conference (Washington Room, 9 am -- 4 pm) -- for the assignment associated with the conference, see under "Assignments" on Black Board (BB)

February 27 (T): Trinity Days (No Class)   

March 1 (Th): Using Sources, III: Archaeology -- Copan and the History of the Maya

    Presentation by me about the archaeology of Copan in Honduras and the role of archaeological evidence in providing data for historians trying to reconstruct the Maya world. A basic question: can you write a history of the Maya?

    Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 84-95

    Due: Reaction Paper II: Welfare Conference

March 6 (T): Using Sources, IV: Exploring an Archive

    Each student will give a short presentation, based on his/her paper, about his/her work in archival materials.

    Due: Archival Paper

March 8 (Th): Using Sources, V: Fiction

    We will discuss Pierre Loti, Tahiti. The Marriage of Loti

    Sunset at Bora-Bora, Rarahu's Island ®

    Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 96-107

    Short Answer/Identification Quiz II

March 13 (T): Getting Ready for the Rest of the Semester

    This day will be devoted to commentary by me on short answers, essay questions, the oral history project, and background on Western history for your reading of Limerick and our discussion after Spring Break.

March 15 (Th): Mid-term Exam

    Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 108-121 -- it will be on the exam!

    Spring Break Assignments

(1) Over Spring Break you will need to conduct an oral history interview. You may interview anyone you wish -- parent, grandparent, friend, etc. -- but you must have a specific historical goal in mind with the interview. For example: "My grandmother worked in a munitions plant in World War II. I want to explore her experiences as a woman in the workforce and see what particular challenges she faced." Or: "My uncle served in Viet Nam. I want to determine what the attitudes in his unit toward the Vietnamese were." As preparation for this assignment, read carefully Tosh and Lang pp. 310-338.

(2) Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 122-140 and 141-160. For one of these two chapters, write a 3-page paper modeled on the discussions we have had about Nash every week so far! Due: Monday, March 26.

(3) Read Limerick, Legacy of Conquest

March 20-22 (T Th): Spring Break: No Classes

March 26 (M): Due -- Paper on Nash, pp. 122-140 or pp. 141-160

March 27 (T): Using Sources, VII: Interviews, Oral History, and Memory

    Each member of the class will give a brief presentation (5 min) of the oral history taken over spring break and discuss the interview and information gleaned in light of the reading we have done on oral history methods and meanings. For instructions for this assignment, see "Assignments" on Black Board (BB).

March 29 (Th): The New Western History -- An Example of a Paradigm Shift?

    Discussion of Frederick Jackson Turner, "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," Report of the American Historical Association (1893) 199-227(or: BB) and Limerick, Legacy of Conquest, with the help of Scott Tang, assistant professor of American Studies -- read also Walter Nugent, "Western History. New and Not So New," OAH Magazine of History 9 (1994)

    Due: Oral History Project Paper

April 2 (M): Due -- Reaction Paper III on Limerick, Legacy of Conquest

April 3 (T): History at Trinity

    Each student will give a brief presentation (5 min) of his/her interview with a member of the Trinity History Department faculty.

April 5 (Th): Class Visit by Elizabeth MacGonagle, Trinity Class of 1990, Assistant Professor History at the University of Kansas

    Read Elizabeth MacGonagle, "From Dungeons to Dance Parties. Contested Histories of Ghana's Slave Forts," Journal of Contemporary African Studies 24 (2006) 249-260 (BB)

    Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 161-181   

    Due: Thesis statement and bibliography for research paper

    Attend MacGonagle's talk: 4.30 pm, in Seabury 16.

April 6-9: View The Battle of Algiers

    The film The Battle of Algiers (125 min) is on reserve in the Media Library in the main library building. It is your responsibility to arrange to view this film before class on April 10. I don't care if you watch the Media Library copy or rent your own. I do recommend watching it in small groups.

April 10 (T): Using Sources, VI: Film

    Having viewed on our own The Battle of Algiers, we will have a discussion with Luis Figueroa, Trinity's Caribbean and film historian, about how to "read" this film as an historical source, and more broadly about how historians use film. For discussion, please also read Robert Rosenstein, Visions of the Past. The Challenge of Film to our Idea of History (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1995) 45-80, and Robert Stam and Louise Spence, "Colonialism, Racism, and Representation. An Introduction," in Bill Nichols (ed.), Movies and Methods: An Anthology (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985) 2.632-649 (BB)

    Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 182-199

April 12 (Th): The "New History: -- Social Theory and Quantification

    Read Tosh, pp. 214-283

    Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 200-237

April 17 (T): Whose History? Public History and Public Memory -- The Enola Gay Controversy

    Read the documents and articles collected on BB. A guide to the huge bibliography on this issue can be found at the Leigh University Digital Library site devoted to The Enola Gay Controversy. For the discussion we'll benefit from the help of Cheryl Greenberg, Paul Raether Distinguished Professor of History,

    Right -- Paul Tibbets in the Cockpit of the Enola Gay Just Before Take-off, August 6, 1945 ®

April 19 (Th): Writing History: Roundtable with Senior Majors Writing Theses

    In this session senior History majors will come and talk about their experiences in writing year-long thesis projects.

    Read Tosh, pp. 145-172

    Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 238-271

    Due: First draft of research paper

April 24 (T): Using Sources, VIII: Monuments

    For this class we will visit the Cedar Hill Cemetery near the Trinity campus and look at some monuments and discuss how we might use them as sources for history. Bring a camera! Note: This field trip may be cancelled. More information to follow.

April 26 (Th): History and Its Limits

    Read Tosh, pp. 173-212, 284-309

    Read Nash, Wilderness, pp. 316-341

May 1 (T): Final Presentations (last class meeting) -- brief presentations (5 min) of your final research paper

May 3, 4 pm -- Research Papers Due

May 7 (Monday), 3-5 pm -- Final Exam