HISTORY 3010: The Historian's Craft
Fall 2011, Section 004
This section meets in Todd Hall 129

Prof. Jim Williams
Office: Todd Hall 128 (in the Albert Gore Research Center)
Office hours: As director of the Albert Gore Research Center, my hours vary. I am on campus most days and can arrange to meet with you at times convenient to both of us. Please phone or email to arrange an appointment.
Office phone with voicemail: 898-2633
E-mail: jhwillia AT mtsu DOT edu
Web page: www.mtsu.edu/~jhwillia

"There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know."--Harry S Truman, 33rd President of the U.S.

We will be using the following handouts this semester:

COURSE DESCRIPTION AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The goal of this course is to promote the intellectual and personal development of all the participants. We do this by training class members to think, read, and write like historians. The history department believes that there is a core set of skills that should be learned by all journeyman historians. These skills will help you complete your upper-division course work and succeed in your chosen post-graduate profession, whether you work as a historian or not. See the section below for specific writing assignments through which the instructor will determine how well you have mastered the skills of doing history.

Please note that this section carries an EXL designation, meaning that students can use it to earn an EXL (Experiential Learning) Scholar designation on their transcripts. For more information about the MTSU EXL program, visit www.mtsu.edu/~exl. By enrolling in this section, you recognize that it contains experiential components not found in other courses. If you do not wish to complete these experiential components, please enroll in another section.

While this is a required course for all history majors, and it will teach a common set of skills, it will also vary somewhat from instructor to instructor. Students should realize that preferences vary from historian to historian about the best way to practice a certain skill or achieve a goal. However, historians generally agree on those skills that are valuable and those goals that are laudable. One of the instructor's personal goals this semester is to achieve 100-percent student completion of this course. He will do everything he can to work with all class members to achieve this goal.

Please note: Some members of the history department believe that students enrolled in HIST 3010 should take no more than twelve hours of course work in that semester. This piece of advice is not meant to scare anyone off, but rather it is a bit of collective wisdom from the department members and should be taken as a warning that this course is demanding and will require a significant amount of effort and time to complete, especially outside of class meetings.

CLASS MEETING EXPECTATIONS AND MEMBERS' RESPONSIBILITIES

These will be discussed on the first day of class and agreed upon by all members of the class. Please turn all cellphones off or to vibrate setting and turn off computers before class. These devices may not be used during class unless the instructor specifically permits such use.

Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in any form in this course. Historians and other academic professionals commit themselves to work within a community of scholars who behave within ethical and professional boundaries. We will be examining these guidelines in some detail during the course. Whether you intend to break the rules is irrelevant. There are no good excuses for committing acts of academic dishonesty.

The most likely way that you can behave dishonestly in this course is to commit plagiarism. There are several types of plagiarism, and you are responsible for understanding all of them. Be particularly careful in this class not to copy word-for-word from one of the books (or any other source) without putting those quoted words in quotation marks or without providing the necessary source notation. If you are found to have committed plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty (such as cheating, fabrication, or facilitation), you will receive a zero on that assignment, and your penalty may increase to failure in the course, depending on the circumstances. Dr. Williams will also notify the assistant dean for judicial affairs and mediation services, who may apply additional sanctions (probation, expulsion, etc.) according to university policy. If you have questions about academic dishonesty and university policy, please consult your student handbook, the student affairs web site, or Dr. Williams.

REQUIRED BOOKS

John H. Arnold, History: A Very Short Introduction, ISBN 019285352X
Caroline Hoefferle, ed., The Essential Historiography Reader, ISBN 9780321437624
Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, ISBN 0393924092
Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 6th edition, ISBN 9780312535032

WRITING CENTER

Students are encouraged, and in some cases are required, to use the University Writing Center to improve their written work in this course. A cross-curriculum tutoring service, the UWC offers writing help to any student on any writing project. UWC staff do not edit or proofread papers; the staff of graduate assistants works with students individually and in groups to determine patterns of weaknesses and long-term strategies for writing improvement. The services offered to students include, but are not limited to, one-on-one and group tutoring for any writing project. UWC staff help students recognize their own writing weaknesses and develop individual plans to address those needs, and they develop long-term individualized plans for students needing more help with basic skills. The UWC is now located in the Walker University Library. For more information, visit www.mtsu.edu/uwc.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

If you have a disability that may require assistance or accommodation, or you have questions related to any accommodations for testing, note takers, readers, etc., please speak with Dr. Williams as soon as possible. Students may also contact the Office of Disabled Student Services (898-2783) with questions about such services.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

A major goal of this course is for class members to learn to write the way historians do. Historians prepare bibliographies (often annotated ones); book, film, and exhibit reviews; historiographical essays; journal articles; conference papers; museum exhibits; historical interpretive programs; and book-length studies. You will learn about bibliographies, reviews, narratives, and research papers (the latter being akin to conference papers and journal articles).

EVALUATION OF HOW WELL YOU REACH THE COURSE GOAL

Your course grade will be determined by how well you convince the instructor that you have developed intellectually and personally through your understanding of the course materials and your development into a competent historian. The plus/minus grading system will be used, as follows: A (910-1000), B+ (880-909), B (830-879), B- (800-829), C+ (780-799), C (730-779), C- (700-729), D+ (680-699), D (630-679), D- (600-629), F (below 600). Your point total will be calculated from the following components:

1. Class discussion and attendance: 200 points. The instructor will take attendance each day. For each class, he will also assign each student either one, two, or three participation points, as follows: one point for silent attendance; two points for informed participation; three points for outstanding participation. He may also include points in this category for required work that is not otherwise included in another grading category. At the end of the course, the instructor will add each student's points and translate those points into a numerical grade on a scale of 100 using the top students as a guide. He will then double that number for the points in this category, out of the 200 possible. Please note: The top student(s) may or may not fall into the A range. This determination is left to the judgment of the instructor. Class participation is a key part of this course and relies to a great deal on the students' preparation for class each day.
2. Reading log for History: A Very Short Introduction: 50 points
3. Book review of Arnold's History: 100 points
4. Lexington Green narrative essay: 50 points
5. Exercises (such as newspaper, magazine, and Essential Historiography Reader), points vary: 100 points total
6. Rewrite of book review: 50 points
Component parts of your major research project:
7. Successful completion of 10 Centennial Memory Capsule (CMC) conversations: 50 points
8. Working bibliography and research plan: 50 points
9. Research notes: 50 points
10. Penultimate essay draft: 100 points
11. Essay final version: 200 points

Please note: You must earn points in each of the eleven categories above; failure to do so will mean automatic failure in the course, regardless of your point total. In other words, you may not skip a whole category of assignments and still hope to pass the class. The history department believes all skills in this course are essential for majors to learn. Opting out of some skills is therefore unacceptable.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Please note: In the schedule below, a topic is listed for each day's class. Below that topic are listed the reading assignments and other work to be finished before class that day.

Tues., Aug. 30: Introduction

Thurs., Sept. 1: Why study history? Good, better, and best history writing
-->Read handout from Mr. President by Harry S. Truman and Rampolla, chap. 1
-->Read packet of sample essays and complete evaluations of them based on handout about A, B, C, D, and F papers (above)

Tues., Sept. 6: An introduction to archival research at MTSU

Thurs., Sept. 8: What history is--and how to read a book
-->Read Arnold to the end of chap. 1 using the strategy in the How to Read a Book handout (above); read Rampolla, chaps. 3a and 3b; begin reading logs

Fri., Sept. 9: Last day to drop classes without a grade

Tues., Sept. 13: Civility in American society (campus lecture during class time; mandatory attendance)

Thurs., Sept. 15: The history of history
-->Read Arnold, chaps. 2-3

Tues., Sept. 20: Interpreting the past, or doing history
-->Read Arnold, chaps. 4-5

Thurs., Sept. 22: True stories about the past
-->Read Arnold to the end

Tues., Sept. 27: Writing book reviews
-->Read handouts about book reviews; reading logs due in class

Thurs., Sept. 29: Locating primary sources for final essay
-->Read Rampolla, chaps. 2 and 4

Tues., Oct. 4: Locating and evaluating secondary sources
-->Read Rampolla, chap. 5

Thurs., Oct. 6: Understanding why history changes, pt. 1: Europe
-->Read Hoefferle through p. 88; 1st Hoefferle assignment due in class

Tues., Oct. 11: Developing a research plan and working bibliography; taking notes and staying organized
Book reviews of Arnold due in class

Thurs., Oct. 13: Understanding why history changes, pt. 2: The U.S. through the mid-twentienth century
-->Read Hoefferle through p. 171; 2d Hoefferle assignment due in class

Tues., Oct 18: FALL BREAK

Thurs., Oct. 20: No class--work on topic research and CMC conversations
-->Extra credit opportunity: MTSU Holocaust Conference, details when conference program is finalized

Tues., Oct. 25: Writing narrative history
-->Read handout with Lexington documents; Newspaper worksheet and magazine worksheet due in class

Thurs., Oct. 27: Using writing strategies and conventions in persuasive essays ("they say")
-->Read Graff and Birkenstein to end of part 1

Tues., Nov. 1: Creating your own voice in persuasive essays ("I say")
-->Read Graff and Birkenstein, part 2

Wed., Nov. 2: Last day to drop courses with a grade of W

Thurs., Nov. 3: More about writing persuasively
-->Read Graff and Birkenstein, part 3

Tues., Nov. 8: Contextualizing and comparing your CMC conversations
Lexington Green narratives due in class

Thurs., Nov. 10: Understanding why history changes, pt. 3: Social and cultural history in the past 50 years
-->Read Hoefferle through p. 247; 3d Hoefferle assignment due in class

Tues., Nov. 15: The future of history, and historical ethics
-->Read Hoefferle to the end; 4th Hoefferle assignment due in class; working bibliography, essay outline, and notes due in class

Wed., Nov. 16-Thurs., Nov. 17: Mandatory consultations with Dr. Williams

Thurs., Nov. 17: Citing sources and avoiding plagiarism
-->Read Rampolla, chaps. 6 and 7; rewrite of Arnold book review due in class

Tues., Nov. 22: No class--work on final essay

Thurs., Nov. 24: Thanksgiving holiday

Tues., Nov. 29: Oral reports on research papers
Draft of final essay due in class

Thurs., Dec. 1: Oral reports on research papers

Tues., Dec. 6 (last day of class): Peer review of penultimate final essay draft in class
Essay draft due in class for peer review and to turn in--bring two copies

Mandatory consultation with Dr. Williams, Wed., Dec. 7-Fri., Dec. 9

Thurs., Dec. 15 : Final research essays due in Professor Williams's office no later than 5 p.m.

The instructor reserves the right to amend this syllabus, with proper warning, as the need arises.

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