HIST 300 Fall,
2004
Mondays,
13:25-16:05, MMC 111
Instructor: Dr. Sue
Peabody
Phone: (360)
546-9647
Fax:
(360) 546-9036
e-mail:
peabody@vancouver.wsu.edu
Office: VMMC 202D
Office Hours:
Mondays and Tuesdays 4:15-5:00 and by appointment
Department Number
(Inclement Weather, closings, information, etc.): (360) 546-9441
Course Description
What is history? By the end of the semester, I hope that you
will have developed an interesting and sophisticated answer to that
question.
In the first half of the semester,
we will be concentrating on the basic skills for historical research:
identifying a research topic, using the library and on-line resources, taking
notes, developing a historical argument, and writing an original research
paper. In the second half of the semester, we will compare historiography (what
historians write) with how novelists, filmmakers, and even computer game
programmers represent the past. The
culmination of this study will be a "representation paper" -- an
original analysis of a work of historical fiction, film, computer game, or
other historical medium. Finally,
because revision is such an integral part of good writing, the last two weeks
will be devoted to revising one of the two previous papers.
Required Texts
- Listed prices are for new texts; used are cheaper
NOTE: Books can be
purchased from the Bookie on campus, but also check out some used book websites
for better prices and availability: www.alibris.com;
www.abebooks.com; www.powells.com
Brundage,
Anthony. Going to the Sources: A Guide to
Historical Research and Writing.
Third edition. Wheeling, IL:
Harlan Davidson, 2004. 0-88295-969-7
($11.95)
Davidson,
James West and Mark Hamilton Lytle. After the Fact: The Art of Historical
Detection, 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999. 0072818522 ($36.50)
Davis,
Natalie Zemon. The Return of Martin
Guerre. Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 1984. 0-67476-691-1
($16.95)
Keegan,
John. The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme. New York: Viking Penguin, 1999.
0140048979 ($14.95)
Turabian,
Kate. A Manual for Writers of Term
Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1996. 0-226-81627-3 ($14.00)
*Barnes, Julian. The
History of the World in Ten 1/2 Short Chapters. New York: Randome House, Vintage, 1990. 0-679-73137-7 ($13.00)
*Carnes,
Mark C. Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies. New York: Henry Holt, 1996. 0-80503-759-4 ($22.50)
* Optional Purchase, Required Reading - Only portions of
these books will be assigned. If you do not purchase them, BE SURE TO PHOTOCOPY
THE NECESSARY PAGES IN THE LIBRARY IN TIME FOR THE ASSIGNMENT!
Written Work
I. In-Class assignments
Throughout the
semester, there will be occasional in-class writing assignments. These are designed to give you practice in
specific kinds of writing. In-class
writing assignments will not always be announced in advance, so it is essential
that you attend all classes so as not to miss any assignments. (In the case of
an Excused Absence, the In-class Writing Assignment may be excused as well.)
II. Homework Assignments
There will be three
short homework assignments, typically 2-3 typed pages. They are graded on both content and form
(including organization, spelling).
Specific assignments will be announced in class. If you are late or absent, you are
responsible for obtaining the assignment and submitting it on time.
All writing that is
done on a computer (i.e., that which is not done in class) must be spell-checked. A failure to do so will detrimentally affect
your grade.
III. Bibliographies
There will be two Bibliographies, one for the Research
Paper and one for the Representation Paper.
The bibliographies are graded on their use of correct bibliographic
form, the general quality and relevance of the titles you have selected, and
the thoroughness of your research. For correct bibliographical form, please
see Turabian, chapter 11, examples "B." Note that you do not have to have the books and articles in hand
to complete these assignments but you should have an idea of where you can get
them (and place them on order through WSUV document delivery).
Please indicate the library collection which holds each
work: (e.g., WSU-Holland, WSUV, PSU, unknown, etc.). Note that
works from Clark College and Vancouver Public Library are not likely to be as
worthwhile for advanced college writing as books from 4-year colleges and
universities.
IV. Research Paper (2,800-3,300
words, or about 11-13 pages)
Select a historical
topic from before 1970 that interests you.
Note: If you choose a topic that
relates to another history class you must get a signed statement from the
professor of that class stating that you have discussed how this paper will and
will not overlap with the work for the other class.
The object of the
research paper is twofold: 1) Identify what other historians have written about
a particular topic and 2) take an original position based upon a primary
source. The research paper should make
use of at least five secondary sources
and at least one primary source. (Primary and secondary sources will be
discussed in class.) The paper should
have a clearly delineated and original thesis
with substantial evidence (both
primary and secondary) to support the thesis.
Once the paper is
completed, do not return the books to the library unless you absolutely
must (e.g., if they are from a Portals library with only a two-week
non-renewable period or if they are recalled by a WSU library). If you must
return the books before you have a chance to revise the paper, be prepared to
check the same books out again or try to photocopy as many relevant pages as
possible to be ready for your revision.
V. Representation Paper (2,800-3,300 words, or about 11-13 pages)
Choose a historical
play, film, novel, poem, painting, or computer game (hereafter referred to as
"Representation"). The
Representation qualifies as “historical” if the characters/events it is based
upon occurred at least thirty years prior to the creation of the film, novel,
painting, etc. Analyze how this Representation of the past compares to
historians' accounts of the same events, period, and people.
This is a rather
broad assignment and you should feel free to focus your paper along one or more
of the following lines:
1) How accurate is the
Representation's vision of the past?
*
compared with historians' accounts
*
based upon primary evidence
2) How do the inherent qualities of
the medium itself shape what we can or cannot learn about the past through the
Representation?
*
visual vs. textual
*
entertainment value
*
programming limitations
3) How does the time period that the
Representation was created affect the portrayal of the past?
*
societal issues
*
intended audience
As with the research
paper, the Representation paper should present an original thesis, based upon
your own insight. You should cite at
least different five secondary sources
in your notes.
VI. Revision
Some of the most
important lessons that you learn this semester will be in the revision process.
Any written work for the class may be revised and resubmitted by the last
day of classes (no extensions!). If it shows significant improvement (i.e.,
not just fixing superficial errors, but addressing the issues raised in the
comments), then the new, higher grade will replace the original grade. Merely
addressing typographical or other surface errors will not result in a higher
grade. This revision process may occur more than once, but will not necessarily
result in a higher grade each time.
Every student must revise one of the longer (Research
or Representation) papers, the “Revision.” You must revise the original paper
that receives the lowest grade
(exceptions to this rule must be confirmed in advance with the instructor). If
both papers receive the same grade, you may select the one that you prefer to
revise.
The grade for the Revision will be based upon how
well you have addressed the critique of the original paper. Merely fixing cosmetic changes (e.g.
spelling, grammar, etc.) rather than substantive changes to the content and
organization will result in a low grade for the Revision. Since the Revision counts just as much as
the original papers (20%), it is advisable to spend a significant amount of
time improving the paper.
In rare
cases, a student may want to revise both the Research and the
Representation papers. In this case, I will drop the lowest grade of the four
major assignments (Research, Representation, Revision #1 and Revision #2) in
calculating the final grade.
Grades
18% Homework
assignments (6% each)
12% Bibliographies
(6% each)
20% Research Paper
20% Representation
Paper
20% Revised
(Research or Representation) Paper
10% Class
participation (attendance, in-class assignments, contribution to discussions)
Class
Policies
Attendance
is required at all class meetings. If
you cannot attend a class due to illness or other personal emergency, you may
obtain an Excused Absence by notifying the instructor prior to the class
session. Leaving a message by voice
mail (at my home or office) is sufficient to obtain an Excused Absence. Please note that whether or not an absence
is excused, you are responsible for learning what happened in class and
mastering that material (e.g. obtaining notes from a reliable classmate).
Tardiness
is rude. It disturbs the teacher and
your classmates. Furthermore, it can severely affect your work in the class. I usually make important announcements at the
beginning of class (e.g. announce the location of an exam, change an
assignment). If you miss these
announcements, there is no guarantee that I will repeat the information
later. On occasion, tardiness is unavoidable. If you find yourself arriving late to class,
please take your seat with a minimum of commotion. Three late arrivals constitute an unexcused absence. (Note: if your work schedule necessitates
regular late arrivals, please clear this with me in advance).
Plagiarism
and Cheating are serious
offenses. They may result in a grade
reduction and/or other strong penalties, including failing the class. You are plagiarizing or cheating if you:
* present someone else's words or
ideas as your own, in writing or in speaking
* present ideas without citing the
source
* paraphrase without crediting the
source
* use direct quotes with no
quotation marks
* use direct quotes without
footnotes or other textual citation of the sourcepresent work in a group
project that is not your own or the work of the group
* submit the same paper for credit
in more than one course without discussing this option with the instructors
involved
* submit material written by someone
else as your own (this includes purchasing a term or research paper)
* submit a paper or assignment for
which you have received so much help that it is no longer your own work
* do not do an equal part of the
work on a group project
* copy someone else’s exam or graded
homework
* refer to a text, class notes, or
other materials during an exam without being authorized to do so
* puposefully allow another student
to copy your work or submit work you have written as his/her own
* collaborate with others on a
take-home exam, or spend more time than that specified by the instructor on a
take-home exam.
Due dates: All
written assignments are due in class the day of the assignment. Late assignments will be marked down one
letter grade for each day that they are late.
E.g. An assignment due September 3
that receives a "B" but is submitted on September 4 will
receive a final grade of "C."
Reading assignments are to be completed by the date given in the
syllabus. Failure to read assigned
material constitutes being unprepared for class and will negatively affect your
class participate grade.
Reasonable Accommodations are available for students who have a documented
disability. Please notify the
instructor during the first week of class of any accommodations needed for the
course. Late notification may cause the
requested accommodations must be approved through the Student Services Office,
546-9567.
Reserves
The
following books, articles, and papers have been placed on reserve in the WSUV
library and may be checked out for 2 hours at a time:
Barnes, Julian. The History of the World in Ten 1/2 Short
Chapters. New York: Vintage, 1989. PR 6052 .A6657 H5 1989
Brundage, Anthony. Going to the Sources: A Guide to Historical
Research and Writing. Second
edition. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson,
1997. D 16 .B893 1997 Ref.
Carnes, Mark C. Past
Imperfect: History According to the Movies. New York: Henry Holt, 1995.
PN 1995.9 H5 P37 1995
Davidson, James West
and Mark Hamilton Lytle. After the Fact: The Art of Historical
Detection, 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995. E 179 . D 29 1992
Davis, Natalie Zemon. The Return of Martin Guerre. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1984. CT 9981 .D8 D38x 1983
Keegan, John. The
Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme. New York: Viking Penguin, 1983. D25 .K43
Turabian, Kate. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses,
and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996) is
on Permanent Reserve at the library
(that is, not merely for this course).
Davis, Natalie Zemon.
"`On the Lame'" American
Historical Review 93:3 (1988):572-603.
Finlay, Robert.
"The Refashioning of Martin Guerre" American Historical Review 93:3 (1988): 553-571.
Chris Crawford, The Art of Computer Game Design: Also available online at: www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game‑book/Coverpage
Assignment #1
Carol Ross,
"Sample Homework Assignment #1"
Microhistory
Nutter, Andrew. “Rickman’s Journal”
Analytical
Barney, Maureen. “Tea Time, Anyone?”
Gammage, Katie. “What Made a Scottish Witch”
Representation
Kojis, Marie C. “The
Spanish Revolutions of 1808”
Robin Bradford, “The
Scarlet Letter: History Lives on Through Novel, Film, and Time”
Note: All of the articles and sample papers above
can be accessed via the WSUV library’s Griffin system: http://griffin.wsu.edu/search/r?SEARCH=HIST+300.
“Electronic Reserves” password: peabody300
For Help with
reserves, please contact any librarian at WSUV. To give feedback on the
electronic reserves, please e-mail librarian Dena Keller: keller@vancouver.wsu.edu
Reading and Writing Assignments
Fall, 2004
|
Due |
Topic
and Assignment
|
|
8/23 |
Week 1:
What is History? and Primary Sources |
|
8/30 |
Week 2: Reading for the Thesis
Homework
Assignment #1 Due Going
to the Sources,
chapter 1 After the Fact, Prologue, chapters 1-3 |
|
9/6 |
Week 3: Labor Day: No Class Student Conferences this week to select research topics Take the extra
time this week (but not on Monday!!) to photocopy reading assignments
from the library reserve desk. This will save you time later in the
semester. Julian Barnes, A History of the World, 115-139 plus picture and p. 308 Robert
Finlay, "The Refashioning of Martin Guerre" American Historical Review 93:3 (1988): 553-571 Natalie
Zemon Davis, "`On the Lame'" American
Historical Review 93:3 (1988):572-603 Past
Imperfect, Sayles and
Foner conversation, pp. 11-28 Chris Crawford, The Art of Computer Game Design. |
|
9/13 |
Week
4: Research Tools and Bibliographies After the Fact, Chapters 5-8 Going to the Sources, chapters 2 and 4 Skim: Kate
Turabian, A Manual For Writers,
Chapter 11 Bring Kate
Turabian, A Manual For Writers to
class WSUV Library
Orientation |
|
9/20 |
Week
5: Research Tools Going to the Sources, chapter 3 and Appendixes A, B and D WSUV Library Orientation |
|
9/27 |
Week 6: Writing a Research Paper Kate Turabian,
A Manual for Writers, chapter 1 Going to the Sources, chapter
5
Research Paper
Bibliography Due
Please include the subject at the top of the page, at least ten secondary sources (books, journal articles, etc.), and at least one primary source (dating from the
period that you are researching). Put
an asterisk (*) next to the primary source(s). Do not
use documents from the internet. I can make exceptions to this policy but please do not use documents from the
internet without prior approval. For correct bibliographical form, please
see Turabian, chapter 11, examples "B." Please indicate the
library collection which holds each work: (e.g., WSU-Holland, WSUV, PSU,
unknown, etc.). Works
from Clark College and Vancouver Public Library are not likely to be as
worthwhile for advanced college writing as books from 4-year colleges and
universities. You do not have to have
the books and articles in hand to complete the bibliography but you should
place them on order through WSUV document delivery ASAP. |
|
10/4 |
Week 7:
Citation Julian Barnes,
A History of the World, 115-139
plus picture and p. 308 Going to the Sources, Appendix C Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers, Chapter 1 Bring Turabian, A
Manual for Writers and as much of your paper as you have written with you
to class |
|
10/11 |
Week 8:
Research Paper Due
See instructions, syllabus, p. 2. Optional: Student Conferences
this week to select research topics
Please make an appointment with me if
you would like to meet with me individually to discuss your Representation
Paper topic. |
|
10/18 |
Weeks 9 - 12:
Historical Drama and Film
John Keegan, The
Face of Battle, 1-19 and 78-116 HANDOUTS: Shakespeare, Henry
V, Act I, Scene 1 and Act IV, Scenes 3‑8 Past Imperfect, pp. 48-53 Robert Rosenstone, “JFK: Historical Fact/Historical Film” American
Historical Review (April 1992): 506-11 |
|
THUR 10/21 |
Representation Bibliography Due by noon Turn in to CLA
Student Paper Drop Box VMMC 202 At the top of the
page, please give a full citation to the artistic representation of history that you will be analyzing.
The bibliography must include at least ten
secondary sources (books, journal
articles, etc.). Primary sources are
not required, but can be included if you like. For correct bibliographical form, please
see Turabian, chapter 11, examples "B." Please indicate the library collection
which holds each work: (e.g., WSU-Holland, WSUV, PSU, unknown, etc.). |
|
10/25 |
Return
of Martin Guerre,
vii-ix, 1-125 |
|
11/1 |
Assignment
#2 Due: 2-3 pp., typed How does book, The Return of Martin
Guerre, differ from the film? Describe a variety of differences. How do you explain the
differences? Hint: A really
good essay will be organized around the explanation(s). Also read: RESERVE: Robert Finlay, "The
Refashioning of Martin Guerre" American
Historical Review 93:3 (1988): 553-571 and Natalie Zemon Davis, "`On
the Lame'" American Historical
Review 93:3 (1988):572-603 Past Imperfect, Sayles and Foner conversation, pp. 11-28
|
|
11/8 |
Week 12: Historical Fiction
Sue
Peabody, “Reading and Writing Historical Fiction,” available at: www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/histfict.html Anne Scott
MacLeod “Writing Backward: Modern Models in Historical Fiction” Horn Book
(January/February 1998): 26-33 to the same week students read my essay. |
|
11/15 |
Week 13:
History and the Internet Representation Paper Due See
instructions, syllabus, p. 3. |
|
11/22-26 |
Thanksgiving Break |
|
1/29 |
Weeks 14,
& 15: Historical Games and Simulations Read for class: Keegan, The Face of Battle,
Chapter 3 (Waterloo) Chris Crawford, The Art of Computer Game Design: Read-online at: www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game‑book/Coverpage.html Note: Please read this on screen
and take notes, rather than printing out an entire copy (about 100 pp.) on
paper or read on reserve in the library. Assignment
#3 Due Length: 2 pp., typed,
doublespaced 1.
Visit a website with historical content. Using a Web Browser, you may do this in one of several ways: From the WSUV Home Page
(http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/), follow the links to: Faculty, Sue Peabody, History Links, General History Sites, Index
of Resources for Historians.
Identify a subject that interests you and explore the links to those
sites. OR Using a Search Engine like
“www.google.com” enter some key words to search for material on the topic of
your choice. (Be sure to use quotation
marks around exact phrases, to identify the most relevant sites.) 2. Take notes on the following
questions: *What is the title of the site? *What is the site's URL (address
beginning with http://)? *Give a brief description of the
site's content: What is it about? How
is it organized? *When was the site/page
created? Has it been updated? *Who is the author? Is there a link to his/her
credentials? Do those credentials
seem strong to you? *What sort of site has allowed
this information to be published? *What is the quality of the
content? (Does it contain many
errors, such as typos? Does it appear
biased? Is it aimed at college-educated
audience or younger?) *How does the content compare with
traditional, published sources? *Is the information user-friendly? *Would this site be a good
secondary source for a college-level research paper? 3. Write a
review of the website. Note that
a review is not merely a list of responses to the above questions, but stands
alone as a piece of writing, like a book review. |
|
12/6 |
Revised
Paper Due
See instructions, syllabus, p. 3. |
|
12/13-17 |
No Exams |