HISTORY 393 (“THE HISTORIAN'S CRAFT: THEORY AND
METHODOLOGY FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE PRESENT”)
Fall Semester 2007
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Dr. George Dameron (Department of History)
Office: Library 306/ Office Hours: Monday, 2-4; Wednesday, 2:30-3:30; and by appointment/Seminar: Thursdays, 2:30-5:50
Phone: x2318/Email: gdameron@smcvt.edu
Web page: http://academics.smcvt.edu/gdameron/
Description
This four (4)-credit upper division seminar will analyze and discuss in chronological fashion selected models of historical literature and historical thinking from Antiquity to the Modern Era. It will also fulfill the requirements for the History major or the minor in the “electives” category. Study of these texts will focus on themes, methodologies, and approaches to the past, not on the memorization of facts and details.
Format
"The Historian's Craft" is an upper-level seminar designed for juniors and seniors who have had at least one other History course. In particular, the course welcomes History majors who have not yet begun their senior thesis as well as those who plan to attend graduate school. Seminar meetings will focus on discussion of assigned readings. Each week a student will begin discussion with
a question on the reading for that week. Students will also complete a research paper associated with an historiographical or methodological topic associated with the readings, make an oral presentation of their research conclusions to the seminar at the end of the semester, and report orally and in a written form on two of the reading assignments. Because we meet only once a week, attendance at every meeting is obligatory. There will be a short break in the middle of every seminar session.
Prerequisites
Junior or Senior standing and at least one History course, or permission of the
Instructor.
Goals
The aims of the course are the following:
· to analyze in a chronological fashion selected model texts of ancient,
medieval, and modern historiography;
· to explore by way of textual analysis some of the principal theories
regarding the nature of historical change;
· to examine various methodological approaches and historical problems;
· to investigate the manner by which historians have interpreted the
primary sources available to them;
· to improve skills in writing and critical thinking,
· to provide students who may consider graduate studies with a solid grounding in historical theory and methodology,
· to offer students a solid foundation in historiography before they take History 410,
· and to fulfill one of the requirements in the “electives” category of the major and minor.
Requirements
1) assigned readings, attendance, a short narrative about a significant event that shaped your past, and participation in seminar discussions (20% of final grade);
2) a 15 to 18-page research paper due on December 6 (a Thursday, 40% of final grade);
3) a prospectus and bibliographical essay on the research topic due October 18 (10% of final grade);
4) oral presentation to seminar of research results at end of semester on December 6 (10% of final grade);
5) two short (2-4 page) essays on the assigned texts (20% of final grade; 10% each of the two essays on assigned texts), due on September 20 and October 4.
The Paper
The paper is due on December 6. There will be a half a letter grade penalty (5 points) for every day the paper is late. The paper will follow the required methods approved by the Department of History of citing primary and secondary sources (MLA or Chicago Manual of Style), and it must also include a formal bibliography. History department policy requires students to use footnotes or endnotes in the proper format. In-text citations (notes within parentheses inside the text) are unacceptable. For information on citing sources and creating bibliographies, see Paper Assignment Guidelines (at my web site) or “Citing and Documenting” at the library web site.
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. According to the Policy on Academic Integrity included in the Student Handbook and Code of Conduct and posted online, plagiarism is the presentation of “another person’s ideas as your own, by directly quoting or indirectly paraphrasing, without properly citing the original source. This includes inadvertent failure to properly acknowledge sources.” The penalties for plagiarism can range from receiving a failing grade for the plagiarized assignment to receiving a failing grade in the course. In some cases plagiarism can result in suspension or expulsion from the college.
Documented Learning Disabilities
Students with learning disabilities (documented by the Office of the Liaison for Students with Special Needs) will receive special accommodations where appropriate. Please see me if you would like to request such arrangements.
Required texts for purchase:
Arab Historians of the Crusades, editor and translator, Francesco Gabrieli (University of California, 1984). ISBN-10: 0520052242. ISBN-13: 978-0520052246
Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War (Penguin Classics, 1954). ISBN-10: 0140440399 ISBN-13: 978-0140440393
Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. NY: Penguin USA, 2001. 0140437649.
Mark Gilderhus. History and Historians: an historiographical introduction. 6th edition. Prentice Hall, 2006. ISBN-10: 0132286785 ISBN-13: 978-0132286787
Natalie Zemon Davis, Society and Culture in Early Modern France (Stanford 1975). ISBN-10: 0804709726 ISBN-13: 978-0804709729
James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom (Oxford 2003). ISBN-10: 019516895X ISBN-13: 978-0195168952
Course Schedule:
WEEK 1 (August 30): Introduction to Seminar
Film, in-class reading, and discussion: “Hearts and Minds” (documentary)
WEEK 2 (September 6): Introduction to Historiography and Ancient Historiography
Gilderhus, chapter 1
Thucydides, Books 1 through 4
(Personal statement regarding significant historical event)
WEEK 3 (SEPTEMBER 13): Ancient Historiography
Gilderhus, chapter 2
Thucydides, Books 5 through 8
WEEK 4 (SEPTEMBER 20): Medieval Historiography
Arab Historians of the Crusades (to page 176)
**Essay One** due
WEEK 5 (SEPTEMBER 27): Medieval Historiography (Non-western)
Arab Historians of the Crusades (page 176 to end)
WEEK 6 (OCTOBER 4): Early Modern European Historiography
Gilderhus, chapter 3
Edward Gibbon, chapters 1, 2, 3
** Essay Two Due**
WEEK 7 (OCTOBER 11): Early Modern Europe Historiography
Gilderhus, chapter 4
Edward Gibbon, chapters [4-6], 7, [8-14], 15, [16-21]
WEEKS 8 (OCTOBER 18): Modern Historiography on Europe
Natalie Davis, chapters 1-5
**Prospectus/Bibliography Due**
WEEK 9 (OCTOBER 25): Modern Historiography (United States)
Gilderhus, chapter 5
McPherson, chapters 1-7
WEEK 10 (NOVEMBER 1): Modern Historiography (United States)
Gilderhus, chapter 6
McPherson, chapters 8-15
WEEK 11 (NOVEMBER 8): Modern Historiography (United States)
McPherson, chapters 16-23
WEEK 12 (NOVEMBER 15): Modern Historiography (United States)
McPherson, chapters 24-28
WEEK 13 (NOVEMBER 22): No seminar (**Thanksgiving Break**)
WEEK 14 (NOVEMBER 29): New Developments in Historiography
· Gilderhus, chapter 7
URL: Valley of the Shadows Project
· David Nirenberg, “Figures of Thought and Figures of Flesh: “Jews” and “Judaisim” in Late-Medieval Spanish Poetry and Politics,” Speculum 81.2 (April 2006): 398-426. On reserve, Circulation Desk (Durick Library).
· Seminar presentations (if necessary)
WEEK 15 (DECEMBER 6): Seminar Presentations
Gilderhus, chapter 8
**Final Paper Due**