University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Fall, 2006
Syllabus: HIST 701, The Study of History, Wed. 7:10-9:40 pm
Admin 711 unless otherwise indicated on the schedule
Prof. Kriste Lindenmeyer
703 Administration Building
office hours: Tues. 2:30-3:30 pm, Wed. 2:30-3:30 pm, 6:00-7:00 pm and by appt.
email: lindenme@umbc.edu
phone: 410-455-2047
http://www.research.umbc.edu/~lindenme
Course Description
This course is provides an in depth overview of the methods and strategies for researching and writing "professional" history at the graduate level. We will examine some of themes in historiography (the study of the study of history) as well as various methods historians use to access and understand the past. The course also focuses on improving writing skills and offers critical analysis of historical interpretations. One assignment also teaches some of the basic skills for editing a webpage. In other words, we are going to spend more time "doing" history than learning factual details about the past. Since I am an American historian we will focus on U.S. history. However, the skills and techniques discussed in this course are appropriate for any field of historical study.
Required Texts
Best American History Essays, 2006.
Daniels, Roger. Guarding the Door: American Immigration Policy and Immigrants Since 1882.
Mintz, Steven. Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood
Turabian, Kate. Manual For Writers of Term, Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.
The course Blackboard syllabus includes additional reading assignments available online.
Requirements
1) The class meets each Wednesday from 7:10-9:40 pm. Attendance is mandatory. If you must miss class, please let me know in advance, otherwise you will be changed with an unexcused absence. Students will lose 10 points for an unexcused absence. Your attendance grade is also based on participation. I do not expect everyone to be "a big talker," but your level of engagement and the quality of your contributions will have an effect on your final grade.
2) The syllabus and assigned readings are accessible through the course Blackboard website. You may enter the website by logging into MyUMBC from the university homepage http://www.umbc.edu or by going directly to the Blackboard site at http://blackboard.umbc.edu. This is a good option if the MyUMBC server is down, but the Blackboard server remains accessible. I will also post this syllabus on my homepage: http://www.research.umbc.edu/~lindenme, although this link will only get you the general syllabus, not the Blackboard tools such as the Discussion Board, gradebook, etc. You are responsible for checking the assignments on the Blackboard website each week and completing any online work by the specified deadlines. Late submissions will be penalized one letter grade per 24 hour period. Note: The Discussion Board postings for various reading assignments are due by 6:00 pm on Tuesdays.
3) Students enrolled in the seminar will be divided into groups of three or four. Each group will be assigned to lead one class discussion (40 minutes) during the semester. Group members are responsible for coordinating their presentation. Be creative. Consider bringing in appropriate primary source materials or other items that will help to illustrate themes you think important to the discussion. 50 points--revised 10/11
4) Students are required to edit a selected group of primary documents and commentary chosen by me from Robert H. Bremner's Children and Youth in America (Harvard Univ. Press, 1973). I will give you the materials and software you need for this assignment. Note: Due Wednesday, November 12th.
Cancelled--replaced with group presentation assignment---see #3 above
5) REVISED 9/26:
Each student will write a 15-page research paper on
a topic from American history that meets the following criteria:
a) The topic must include a Baltimore and/or Maryland focus. In other words,
your topic does not have to center on Baltimore and/or Maryland history, but it
must include an analysis that includes the region. for example, if you are
interested in the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, your paper should
include a discussion of how the constitutional debate transpired in Baltimore
and/or Maryland. b) Your topic should allow you to integrate both secondary and
primary sources. c) Your paper will include footnotes or endnotes and a formal
bibliography that follow the guidelines for a history research paper outlined in
Kate Turabian. d) Obviously, any illustrations, notes, and the bibliography in
your paper do not count toward the page requirement. Historians generally use
the Modern Language Association (MLA) style for citations (footnotes or
endnotes) and bibliographies. The proper format for these citations are
described in Turabian on pages 116-164 (footnotes and endnotes) and pages
165-174 (bibliography). Turabian also includes a very useful section with
specific examples that compares the MLA and APA citation formats (pages
185-238). Learning how to use MLA format for citations is one of the goals of
this course, although I admit that at times this is more an art than an exact
science.
The required steps to the final paper submission are:
a) Turn-in via email a proposed
research topic by October 11th. Please send me your topic via email. You should
submit your topic as a research question. 20 points
b) Turn-in a proposed bibliography on November 1st. This should follow the guidelines for bibliographies in Turabian. It should be a treasure chest of everything you HOPE to see before completing your paper. 40 points
c) Turn-in an 8 page draft of your research
paper on Wednesday, November 22nd. We will not have a class meeting that
evening. 40 points
d) Final paper due Wednesday, December 13th.
100 points (revised due date)
6) Each student is also required to attend two lectures/presentations outside of class. These may be presentations at UMBC or elsewhere. The Social Science Forum has a listing of many appropriate events in the Baltimore region http://www.umbc.edu/socsforum/eventslectures.html Please send me via email a brief evaluation (1 to 2 paragraphs) within one week after the event. I'm looking for your analysis, not a summary. lindenme@umbc.edu
Grading Summary: 450 total points for the semester
Attendance: 80 points
Discussion Board: 70 points
(Bremner Document Web Editing: 50 points)---cancelled 10/11
Replacement for Bremner document editing ---class group
presentations 50 points
Each individual team member will receive a grade.
Research Paper: 200 points
Outside Events: 50 points
My grading scale is: 93-100% "A", 85-92% "B", 75-84% "C" (and we shouldn't have to talk about anything lower)