Spring 2012

HSTR 200: Introduction to Historical Methods Monday, 1-2pm; LA 250 Prof. Robert H. Greene Office hours: WF, 10-11am and by appointment; LA 258 Email: [email protected] Phone: x2986

Course Description This course introduces students to the practice of and prepares them for upper-division courses in the field. Students will learn to conduct , familiarize themselves with electronic databses, analyze primary sources, read secondary sources critically, write clear and convincing historical prose, and cite sources in Chicago style.

Readings Copies of the following book are available at the UM bookstore. • Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007).

Additional readings will be available on the Moodle course page. These will be indicated in the syllabus below.

Assignments and Grading 1. Library worksheet (March 5) (10%) 2. Primary Source analysis (March 12) (10%) 3. Darnton paper (March 26) (25%) 4. Quoting and Citing Worksheet (April 16) (10%) 5. Research proposal and bibliography (April 23) (35%) 6. Active engaged participation (10%)

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Spring 2012

Course Schedule

Unit 1: What do Do? M, Jan. 23: Intro to the course

M, Jan 30: What is History? • MOODLE: E. H. Carr, “The and His Facts,” in Carr, What is History? (New York: Vintage, 1967), 7-30. • READ: Turabian, Ch 1

Unit 2: Where is the Library and What is it For? M, Feb 6: Library Workshop, I o READ: Turabian, Ch 3 o Librarian Donna McCrea, Head of , will acquaint us with the sources for historical research available at the Mansfield Library. o Today we will meet in the Student Learning Center (computer classroom on the 2nd floor of the Mansfield Library) o In preparation for today’s meeting, acquaint yourselves with the Mansfield Library Subject Guide to History. This is a useful list of links to online databases of primary and secondary sources, available here: http://libguides.lib.umt.edu/cat.php?cid=5421

M, Feb 13: Library Workshop, II o READ: Turabian, Ch 4 o Librarian Donna McCrea, Head of Archives, will acquaint us with the sources and databases for historical research available at the Mansfield Library. o Today we will meet in the Buckhouse Room (nextdoor to the Student Learning Center on the 2nd floor of the Mansfield Library)

M, Feb 20: PRESIDENTS’ DAY; NO CLASS

M, Feb 27: Library Workshop, III o Government Documents librarian Susanne Caro will introduce us to the library’s special holdings of government documents, congressional reports, etc. o Today we will meet in the Student Learning Center (computer classroom on the 2nd floor of the Mansfield Library)

M, March 5: Library worksheet (on MOODLE) due today; come prepared to discuss your findings and methods.

Unit 3: Sources, Interpretation, Analysis M, March 12: Primary Sources • MOODLE: Guide to Reading Primary Sources

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Spring 2012

• Find one primary source (online, at the library, wherever). Write a 2-page analysis of the source. Include a photocopy or printout of the primary source with your analysis

M, March 19: Thinking like a Historian • MOODLE: William H. McNeill, “What if Pizarro Had Not Found Potatoes in Peru?” in What If? 2: Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been, ed. Robert Cowley (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2001), 413-27.

M, March 26: Reading and Thinking in Historical Context • MOODLE: Robert Darnton, “Workers Revolt: The Great Cat Massacre of the Rue Saint-Séverin,” in Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French (New York: Basic Books, 1999), 75-104. • READ: Review Turabian, Ch 20-24. Use these guidelines to improve the quality and clarity of your writing. • WRITE: 2-3 page response paper due in class today (no late papers will be accepted) • Build your thesis around these reading questions – • Why did 18th c French workingmen think it was so “funny” to kill cats? What does this tell us about past mentalities and the difficulties that historians face in trying to understand the past?

SPRING BREAK

Unit 4: Nuts and Bolts M, April 9: Footnotes, Citation, Quoting • READ: Turabian, Ch 7, 15, & 25 • MOODLE: Working with Quotations

M, April 16: Footnotes, Citation, Quoting, II • READ: Turabian, Ch 16, 17 (** These chapters provide templates for how to do footnotes and bibliographies in Chicago style. Use this as a reference and follow the examples). • MOODLE: Quoting and Citing Worksheet due today

Unit 5: Doing History M, April 23: Developing a Research Topic • READ: http://www.williamcronon.net/researching/questions.htm • READ: Turabian, Ch 2, 5, & 6

M, April 30: Framing the Question • WRITE a 2-3 paragraph research proposal on a question of your choice. Prepare a bibliography of 10-15 sources (both primary and secondary), formatted in Chicago Style. Accompanying the bibliography, include 2-3 sentences per source indicating the advantages/insights of each source and the potential limitations.

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