HIST 480: Historical Methods and Historiography

CATALOG DESCRIPTION: "Introduces the problems, materials, and techniques of historical and writing, explains the larger meaning and directions of history, and examines major schools of historical thought. This course meets USD Graduation Requirement: Writing Intensive Requirement."

This course also satisfies one of the requirements for the history major. It introduces students to the practice of the profession as students engage some of the important philosophical issues related to the discipline, learn the tools of the trade, and put into practice what they learn by formulating a significant historical problem, conducting research into it, writing a paper, and critiquing their peers. The course thus combines theory and practice.

Requirements.  ELECTRONIC-DEVICE-FREE CLASSROOM. Turn off and stow your electronic devices before the class begins. Students must attend all meetings, read all assignments, participate actively in discussions, and submit written work on schedule. A student may miss up to three meetings without penalty (as a matter of courtesy, you should inform your instructor in advance of an absence; he assumes a student will miss class only because of a university-sanctioned event or a medical or family emergency). The instructor may reduce the grade of or drop a student who cannot meet these requirements. He will not tolerate plagiarism (cf the AHA statement on plagiarism).

Click here for required statements concerning freedom of learning, cheating, diversity, ADA policy, and outcomes of learning.

Grading. Participation: 10% (discussion, in-class exercises); short papers: 30% (3 papers on the Commodus problem @ 5%, 1 on Arcadia @ 10%); peer reviews: 10% (2 @ 5%); research paper: 50% (5% prospectus/annotated bibliography, 10% first draft, 5% presentation, 30% final draft). See the submission dates in bold in the schedule below. The instructor may accept late submissions for partial credit.

Textbooks.
Kate L Turabian. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 8th ed. Chicago: Univ of Chicago Press, 2013. 0226816389

You must have this book, though you may consult theTurabian Quick Guide or the Departmental Writing Guide. For further information consult The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed (Chicago: Univ of Chicago Press, 2010).

Tom Stoppard. Arcadia: A Play. London and Boston: Faber & Faber, 1994. 0571169341

You can also find this play as a pdf on the Internet, but the pagination is different.

Additional handouts on a weekly basis, usually distributed by email.

Schedule by Week and Topic

8 Jan: Introduction, the Problem with Commodus (SHA and CAH)

Wed 10 Jan, I D Weeks 323: online resources
Fri 12 Jan, I D Weeks 305: archives and oral history

15 Jan (no class on Monday): Primary and Secondary Sources

19 Jan: submit first paper on Commodus (3-page primary source analysis)

22 Jan: Facts and Interpretations; Cultural memory and the Athenian tyrannicides

26 Jan: submit second paper on Commodus (3-page secondary source analysis)

29 Jan: Formulating a Research Problem

2 Feb: submit third paper on Commodus (4-page micro biography)
Have the instructor approve your research topic no later than this date

5 Feb: Basic skills

Bring Turabian to class!

9 Feb: submit first peer reviews

12 Feb: 10-minute Individual Meetings in East 210

Monday 12 Feb:
Wednesday 14 Feb:
Thur 15 Feb: Student History Conference: deliver first peer reviews
Friday 16 Feb:

19 Feb (no class on Monday): A History of History Writing

22 Feb: submit Prospectus and Annotated Bibliography

26 Feb: Philosophies of History

12 Mar: 30-minute Individual Meetings (scheduled in advance)

19 Mar: 30-minute Individual Meetings (scheduled in advance)

26 Mar (no class on Friday): Discussion of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia

28 Mar: submit first draft of research paper

Presentations and Peer Reviews
2 Apr: Jordan (Kolby)
4 Apr: Katelyn (Meredith)
6 Apr: Bryce (Joshua); paper on Arcadia due

9 Apr: Nick (Matt)
11 Apr: Jessica (Jordan)
13 Apr: Amanda (Taylor)

16 Apr: Meredith (Aiden), Samantha (Katelyn)
18 Apr: Matt (Cody)
20 Apr: Joshua (Bryce), Tyler (Jessica)

23 Apr: Taylor (Amanda), Aiden (Nick)
25 Apr: Kolby (Samantha), Cody (Tyler)
27 Apr: Wrap-up; submit final draft of research paper