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1 HIST-744.01 the Historian's Craft Fall 2008 Richard Breitman Class

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1 HIST-744.01 the Historian's Craft Fall 2008 Richard Breitman Class HIST-744.01 The Historian’s Craft Fall 2008 Richard Breitman Class Meetings: Office: Battelle-Tomkins 119 Wed 5:30-8 p.m. Tel: 885-2407 Office hours: M Th 1-3, W 2-4 [email protected] Subject and Methods Almost anything can be a part of history. But what makes history a field or discipline different than sociology, political science, or literature? How does a historian choose a suitable subject and treat it appropriately? What are the various branches or types of history apart from divisions by chronology and geography? This course is designed to grapple with these questions, to allow you to draw some conclusions, and to gain some sense of what the field of history is like today. We will begin with some very well-known works by non-historians writing history as they saw it. What, if anything, do they have in common? We will then examine works by some historians writing about themselves and their discipline. We will read some historical monographs about different areas of the field (e.g., political history, social history, cultural history). Toward the end of the semester we will: investigate some methodological issues raised recently within and outside history; discuss some popular areas, themes, and concepts; and examine some examples of controversies within the profession. By the end of the semester you should have a clearer sense of the field of history, whether you intend to write it, teach it, apply it, or make it. It will not happen, however, unless you make it happen. I will lead discussions and take part in them, but this is not a lecture course. You need to do the very substantial reading punctually, think about it, and speak frequently in class. Each week there is some required reading for the entire class. In addition, you must also select and read one supplementary reading every other week. At our first meeting we will divide the class so that each week there is one portion of the class doing supplementary reading. Each time you do supplementary reading, you should come to class prepared to discuss the author’s coverage and interpretation. You will be reporting to others most of whom have not read the same book. Each time you read a supplementary work, you should expect to give a brief summary of it to the class. Active participation in class is required and will count for 30% of your final grade. Quality of participation in discussions is obviously more important than quantity of participation, but it will not do to learn a couple of subjects very well and to keep quiet the rest of the semester. Do not just absorb and accept what is written–you need to think critically about the readings. If 1 you do, you should want to participate. Sometimes asking the right questions is more important than trying to provide the right answers. I have ordered the required reading books at the bookstore. You may have to scramble to get some of the supplementary works you will select, so try to plan ahead. Although the reading load is quite heavy, the written work is not. There are no exams. The course has three papers of varying lengths. The first paper is a short (five-page, double- spaced) one due on September 24. In this paper you must select a work of history that influenced you significantly. Perhaps it helped influence you to do graduate work in history, or perhaps it was the first work you read that made you think about majoring in history in college. Summarize the author’s findings, interpretation, and general approach. Then discuss how this work does or does not fit the mold of historical writing covered in the reading of Topics II and III below. This paper counts for 10% of your grade for the course. The second paper, approximately twelve pages, is due November 5. For this paper you must survey at least the last three years of a major historical journal. Discuss the range of topics covered there in articles and, if relevant, book reviews. Compare the topics, methodologies, and quality of research and writing in this journal with one of the class topics and reading assignments–normally the topic you think is most relevant to what you have found in this journal. This paper counts for 20% of your grade for the course. The third paper, approximately 20 pages, is due December 3. Select any one of the historical monographs listed on the syllabus (required or supplementary readings), except books you have already written about in previous papers. (Consult me if you have questions about what constitutes a monograph.) Read other works on the same subject or similar subjects, and compare the original selection with what you have found in other readings. You may wish to consider to what extent do historical interpretations change over time, according to new discoveries of sources, or trends in the discipline. This kind of paper is historiographical–you are expected to focus more on the historians’ treatment of a subject than on the events studied, although you may need to summarize what is covered. This paper counts for 40% of your grade for the course. Required Readings Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto, (Signet Classics, 1998, 0451527100) Marc Bloch, The Historian’s Craft (Vintage, 1964, 0394705122) Martha C. Howell, Walter Prevenier, From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods (Cornell, 2001, 0801485606) Richard Breitman, Official Secrets (Hill and Wang, 1998, 0809001845) Gary Nash, The Urban Crucible, abridged ed., (Harvard, 2006, 0674930592) Vanessa Schwartz, Spectacular Realities (University of California, 1999, 0520221680) Melvyn Leffler, For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union and the Cold War (Hill and Wang, 2008, pb. 0374531420) 2 Robert Proctor, Racial Hygiene (Harvard, 2003, 0674745787) Anna Clark, The Struggle for the Breeches (University of California, 1997, 0520208838) Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities (Verso, 1991, 0860915468) Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, vol. 1 (Vintage, 1988, 0394741552) Ernst Breisach, On the Future of History: The Postmodernist Challenge and its Aftermath (Chicago, 2003, 0226072800). Joyce Appelby, et al., Telling the Truth about History (Norton, 1995, 0393312860) Peter Charles Hoffer, Past Imperfect: Facts, Fictions, Frauds (Public Affairs, 2004, 1586482440) Schedule of class meetings, assignments, readings Aug. 27 Introductions, Discussion of syllabus, assignments Sept. 3 Topic I below Sept.10 Topic II below Sept.17 Topic III below Sept. 24 Topic IV below 1st paper due Oct. 1 Topic V below Oct. 8 Topic VI below Oct. 15 Topic VII below Oct. 22 Topic VIII below Oct. 29 Topic IX below Nov. 5 Topic X below 2 nd paper due Nov. 12 Topic XI below Nov. 19 Topic XII below Nov. 26 No class per university calendar Dec. 3 Topic XIII below 3rd paper due Dec. 10 Topic XIV below (class meets because no final exam) I. Sept. 3: Classic Works by Non-Historians Required: Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto . Supplementary (choose one) Sigmund Freud, Civilization and its Discontents Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, Democracy Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation Erik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Ralf Dahrendorf, Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society II. Sept. 10: History as a craft 3 Required: Marc Bloch, The Historian’s Craft Supplementary E. H. Carr, What is History Eric Hobsbawm, On History J. H. Plumb, The Making of a Historian Thomas Haskell, Objectivity is Not Neutrality Forrest McDonald, Recovering the Past: A Historian’s Memoir John Lewis Gaddis, The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past III. Sept. 17: Evidence, Hypotheses, and Form Required: Martha C. Howell, Walter Prevenier, From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods Supplementary James West Davidson and Mark Lytle, After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection , vols. 1 and 2. (one per person) Anthony Grafton, The Footnote: A Curious History Robin Winks, The Historian as Detective David Hackett Fischer, Historians’ Fallacies Natalie Zemon Davis, Fiction in the Archives Charles Tilly, As Sociology Meets History IV. Sept. 24: Examples of Political History (Pam Nadell presiding) Required: Richard Breitman, Official Secrets Supplementary: Roger H. Brown, Redeeming the Republic David Holloway, Stalin and the Bomb Jeffrey Herf, Divided Memory Allan J. Lichtman, Prejudice and the Old Politics: The Presidential Election of 1928 Jack Rakove, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution. Saul Friedlander, Nazi Germany and the Jews V. Oct. 1: Examples of Social History Required: Gary Nash, The Urban Crucible: The Northern Seaports and the Origins of the American Revolution , abridged ed., (Harvard, 2006). Supplementary: James F. Brooks, Captives and Cousins: Slavery, Kinship, and Community in the Southwest Borderlands Harold Perkin, The Origins of Modern English Society. 4 Fritz Ringer, Decline of the German Mandarins Mack Walker, German Home Towns. Marion Kaplan, Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany William H. Sewell, Work and Revolution in France Michael Kazin, Barons of Labor Paul Johnson, Shopkeepers’ Millennium VI. Oct. 8: Examples of Cultural History Required; Vanessa Schwartz, Spectacular Realities. Supplementary: Paul Boyer, By the Bomb’s Early Light Robert Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre. Victoria de Grazia, Irresistible Empire: America’s Advance through 20 th -Century Europe Lynn Hunt, Politics, Class, and Culture in the French Revolution Jackson Lears, Fables of Abundance: A History of American Advertising. Jonathan Schneer, London 1900: The Imperial Metropolis Stephen J. Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War VII. Oct. 15: Examples of Diplomatic and Military History Required: Melvyn Leffler, For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union and the Cold War Supplementary: John Lewis Gaddis, We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History Gary Bass, Stay the Hand of Vengeance Niall Ferguson, The Pity of War xix-247, 339-462.
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