HIST 362: Historiography-Requirements
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
Class participation and attendance = 20% of grade:
You are expected to attend all classes, to arrive on time, to complete the readings for the day, and to make insightful contributions to class discussion, including your responses to questions posed on Blackboard. Lateness will count as absence.
6 Two-page Discussion Papers on the assigned readings = 25% of grade:
Sign up for six specific dates before Monday, Sept. 8th . The papers are due on the Blackboard Assignments page before class on the day the reading is discussed. Discussion papers may not be turned in after the pertinent class discussion and no make ups will be allowed. Students are responsible for remembering the dates they have chosen.
3 papers from Part I (The first is due no later than September 18);
3 papers from Part III (The fourth is due no later than November 11).
In four paragraphs each paper will state (1) the argument of the reading; (2) the evidence on which it was based; (3) a critique of the argument; and (4) significant questions raised by the reading.
Reading Responses ? required but not graded on the days that students are not submitting papers. These are brief and informally written responses to questions posed by the instructor. They must be submitted on Blackboard by 8 a.m. on the day the reading is due.
Essay for Part II (5- 7 pages) = 25% of grade: Due on Blackboard at noon, November 10.
Construct as objective an explanation as you can of the Spanish invasion of Mexico on the basis of your sources.
Final Project = 30% of grade: The due dates indicated below are Blackboard due dates.
Prepare a research proposal. This proposal will include:
Part 1 - Definition of the problem (5%) ? Due 10 a.m. Monday, October 6:
Prepare a brief essay (2 pages) that defines the historical problem you wish to research in connection with your selected topic and identifies the significant issues associated with it.
NOTE: Preliminary approval of topic must be secured by Friday, September 26.
Part 2 - Historiographical/bibliographical Essay (10%) ? Due 3:00 p.m., Friday, November 14:
Prepare a 5-page essay that situates your subject in a context of relevant scholarship. You will need to discuss how the subject has been investigated over time and to what effects, that is: What kinds of questions are historians asking about this topic? Are there differences in the kinds of questions being asked? How would you account for these differences? What are the implications of following one line of investigation or explanation rather than another? What is at stake in these different approaches? Discuss the works you select in chronological order (by date of publication) from the earliest to the most recent.
You may wish to consult a ?review essay? that treats the topic you wish to investigate or offers an example of what a historiographical/bibliographical essay is. You can look for review essays in a wide variety of historical journals, among them, Journal of Modern History, American Historical Review, Journal of American History, Journal of Asian Studies, Latin American Research Review, History Workshop, Hispanic American Historical Review, Journal of Social History, International Labor and Working Class History, Speculum, Renaissance Quarterly, History and Theory, and others. If you read foreign languages, there are additional historical journals available to you; for specific suggestions speak with your professor or with the library staff at Olin.
Part 3 - Research Agenda (15%) ? Due no later than 2 p.m. on Thursday, December 11:
Propose your own research plan. This should include: the specific problem you wish to investigate; the sources/evidence you will need; and the implications of your work for the larger body of existing research in the field. You should also indicate what model of interpretation you would employ and why.
This part of the assignment must include evidence of revisions of Parts 1 and 2 (This will count as 1/3 of Part 3 of the final project.
Total of 12-15 pages.