History 480: Major Seminar in American History I

Fall, 2009
Wednesdays, 2:10 - 4:50 p.m.
LOCATION: Ward 113

           THE  SYLLABUS
 

Instructor:  Robert Griffith	Office: 137-9  Battelle-Tompkins
Office Hours:  M &Th, 2:00 -5:00 p.m. & by appt.	Tel: 202-885-2419
E-Mail: bgriff@american.edu	Robert Griffith's Profile

 To navigate the syllabus, click on the following links:

About the Course	The Schedule	Readings and Library Resources	Word, Endnote, Zotero & Power Point
Blackboard	The Groups	Assessment & Academic Integrity	Emergency Preparedness

Notice: I  will continue to make alterations in this web sitet from time to time as circumstances change or as new opportunities for learning present themselves. I  will usually indicate such changes with the image: .   If you discover broken links or other errors, please contact me at: bgriff@american.edu.

About the Course: This is the first of a two semester sequence on history and historical research. Its goal is to help you conceive, plan, research, write and present an original work of scholarship on a topic of your choice.  To better understand the context for this course, see the History Department's goals for history majors.

• During the first semester you will familiarize yourselves with the breadth and depth of  historical studies, adding to what you have already learned about the variety of historical practice. 
• You will strengthen your research skills --defining a topic for your paper, conducting a literature search among secondary readings on the topic, and identifying relevant and accessible primary documents.   
• You will sharpen your communication skills through frequent written assignments and oral reports. 
• By the end of the semester you will be asked to submit a prospectus or research proposal, describing your topic, the relevant secondary and primary sources, and the schedule by which (during the spring semester) you will complete the paper. 
• You will also make a brief, Power Point presentation on your topic.
• During the second semester you will complete the research and writing of your paper and make Power Point presentations based upon your paper at the Department's annual "history day,"  the College of Arts and Humanities' Undergraduate Research Conference and/or at the annual Regional Conference of  Phi Alpha Theta, the history honorary.

Two Alternative Formats: Your project may be presented in either of two formats:

• The usual format is a that of a scholarly article of approximately 35-40 pages( 9,000-10,000 words), not including footnotes.  You will also be expected to make a brief, 10-15 minute Power Point presentation based on your paper --in preliminary form at the CAS Research Conference and in near final form at History Day, the department's end of year conference and celebration.
   
• Alternatively, you are welcome to present your research as a web site, incorporating not only traditional methods of presenting research, but also (where appropriate) scanned and/or webbed documents, images, sounds, links, etc.  (If you select this alternative, you are very strongly advised to sign up in the spring semester for History 377: History in the Digital Age.   Please note, however, that such presentations must meet the same very rigorous standards applied to traditional papers.  Indeed, in some ways the expectations for these presentations may be even higher.  Moreover, any web based presentation must be accompanied by a brief reflection on how working in this newer medium may have affected both your research and presentation. 

The Importance of Community:

• Because scholarship is a collegial as well as an individual enterprise, you will be asked to share your work with others at every stage: seeking (and offering) advice and revising your work in light of the comments by your classmates and the instructor.  Your grade for the course will be based not only on the quality of your own work, but on the quality and helpfulness of assistance that you lend to your classmates.  For this purpose, I have divided the class into five groups, somewhat facetiously named after prominent "schools" of historical interpretation.  Each group has its own group page, which may be reached by clicking on "Communication" and then on "Group Pages."  Initial group assignments are arbitrary; however, as you begin selecting topics I will try to place individuals in groups others who are pursuing similar topics. 
   
• Initial Assignments:
   

  Group One: The Nationals	Barnhart, Brustuen, Carpenter, Edwards
  Group Two: The Progressives	Goldstein, Hoffspiegel, Htun, Kehew
  Group Three: The Consensus	Klein, Lebowitz, Loudon, Moore
  Group Four: The Revisionists	Peterson, Rath, Siegel, and Snyder
  Group Five: The Postmoderns	Stapleton, Terrell, Traschsel, Warner

•  

Blackboard: 

• Much of the work of the class will be conducted through Blackboard, the University's preferred "course management" software.  Blackboard provides a virtual classroom environment where you may find a link to this syllabus and other course materials, including readings available via the Library's Electronic Reserve. Blackboard also provides "discussion forums" in which you will be required to post your weekly assignments and comment on the work of your classmates.  To access the newest version of Blackboard, click on https://blackboard.american.edu.   Login, your Eaglenet ID and Password.  Click on History 480(I). 

The Assignments: 

• Much of  early work of the course is organized around a series of written assignments.  These assignments are designed  to help you hone your research skills, to read carefully, to think critically about what you have read, to organize your own thoughts and to communicate those thoughts effectively.  Think of the individual assignments as building blocks.  They are organized so that the final product of the course, a well designed and well written research proposal (leading, next spring, to a well researched and well written seminar paper), should evolve naturally over the course of the semester. 
   
• For many of these assignments you will be asked to
      a) "post" an essay to be read by either the entire class or by the other members of your group; and to
      b)  post a comment on each of the essays prepared by the other members of your group. 
   
• It is absolutely critical that you post your essay by the scheduled deadline, which in most cases will be on Sunday evening, three  days before our scheduled class.  This is to provide time for your team mates to read and submit comments on what you have posted before the class meets. Assignments posted after the deadline will not receive full credit. 
   

Assessment:

• Your grade will be based on the quality of your work throughout the course.   And because the seminar format assumes that you will be contributing to the learning of your classmates, you will also be graded on the quality and helpfulness of your comments on the work of others.  For similar reasons, your participation, measured both by your presence in class and on the Blackboard web site, will also figure into your final grade.  It goes without saying that your work in the course must be yours and yours alone. If you draw ideas and important information from a source, you must identify that source.  If you use language that is not your own, it must be placed in quotes and its source identified. Failure to do so, plagiarism, is one of the most serious violations of the Academic Integrity Code. For details, see Assessment.

Need Help?

• If you experience difficulty in this course for any reason, please don’t hesitate to consult with me. In addition to the resources of the department, a wide range of services is available to support you in your efforts to meet the course requirements: 

Academic Support Center (x3360, MGC 243) offers study skills workshops, individual instruction, tutor referrals, and services for students with learning disabilities.

Writing support is available in the ASC Writing Lab or in the Writing Center, Battelle 228.

Counseling Center (x3500, MGC 214) offers counseling and consultations regarding personal concerns, self-help information, and connections to off-campus mental health resources.

 

Disability Support Services (x3315, MGC 206) offers technical and practical support and assistance with accommodations for students with physical, medical, or psychological disabilities. If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please notify me in a timely manner with a letter from the Academic Support Center or Disability Support Services so that we can make arrangements to address your needs.
For details, click on: http://www.american.edu/ocl/dss/index1.html.

Word, Endnote, Zotero & Power Point: 

• WORD: All assignments, including your prospectus, should be prepared in Word or some other Word-compatible software.
   
• Every member of the class will be expected to download and learn to use either ENDNOTE or ZOTERO. Both are powerful bibliographical and note taking software programs.  They require some investment of time and energy to learn, but will pay  huge dividends in time saved over the course of the semester.
     
      ENDNOTE is available at no cost as a download from my.american.edu/technology.  There is a tutorial on how to use it on the Library webpage at:                         
      http://www.library.american.edu/Help/tutorials/endnote/index.html.
  
      ZOTERO is a powerful program designed especially for historians as an alternative to Endnote by George Mason's Center for History and New   Media. You    can  download it for free at: http://www.zotero.org/.  It is recommended that you download the new, BETA 2.0 version.
   
• POWERPOINT:  you will be expected to make a brief,  Power Point presentation of your prospectus at the end of the first semester, and a more extensive and detailed presentation at "History Day" at the end of the second semester.  Power Point is easy to learn.  The University's Center for Teaching, Research and Learning runs training sessions throughout the semester. For details, see the Center's website at: http://www1.american.edu/cte/index.htm.   

Emergency Preparedness: In the event of an widespread outbreak of H1N1 Virus ("swine flu"), American University will shut down for a number of weeks and most students will return home.  Current plans envision that classes will continue to be taught via Blackboard and e-mail.  Since this course already makes extensive use of Blackboard, the transition should not be too difficult.  You will need to make certain you have a computer and internet access from your home, should such an event occur.  We will talk about this at our first meeting as well as in the event of the actual threat of a pandemic.  Here is the University's statement on Emergency Preparedness.  Please note that In the event of a declared pandemic or other emergency, students should refer to the AU Web site (www. prepared. american.edu) and the AU information line at (202) 885-1100 for general university-wide information.

Required (you do not need to purchase these books, though you should familiarize yourself with the online versions):

Jules R. Benjamin, A Student's Guide to History (ninth edition, 2004).  For an abridged, online version of the 8th edition, click on: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/history/benjamin/

Patrick Rael,  Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students (2004), online at: http://academic.bowdoin.edu/WritingGuides/

Kate L. Turabian, Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7^th revised edition (Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 2007). Long the "bible" for history graduate students, much of the material in this volume is available online.  See, for example, the University of Chicago Presses "Quick Guide" at:   http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html.  See also, the AU Library's citation style guide page at: http://www.library.american.edu/subject/citation.html#tur. 

H-Net, Humanities Social Sciences On Line: --this very important site serves as a central information storehouse for H-Net's extensive network of e-mail lists. You should subscribe to one or more of these lists, depending on your own particular interests.

Recommended Readings (you don't have to purchase, but you might find them useful. Most are available online at highly discounted prices.):

Wayne C. Booth et al., The Craft of Research (2nd edition, 2003).

Martha Howell and Walter Prevenier, From Reliable Sources (Cornell University, 2001).

Andrea A. Lunsford, A Pocket Guide to Easy Writer (2nd edition, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002).

Thomas Mann, The Oxford Guide to Library Research, 2nd edition, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).

Francis Paul Prucha, Handbook for Research in American History (2nd edition, revised, 1994).  (Has especially useful chapters on primary sources.)

Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 3rd ed. (Boston: Bedford Books/St. Martin's Press, 2001). Includes a guide to Chicago-style citations.

William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, 3rd edition (New York: Macmillan, 1995).  Originally written by William Strunk (and available on-line by clicking on The Elements of  Style), this slender volume was updated by E.B. White in the late 1950s.  A little fussy for contemporary sensibilities, it is still a valuable guide to good writing.  See also, Tips on Good Writing.

Dennis A. Trinkle and Scott A. Merriman, The History Highway 3.0 (revised edition, 2002). An extensive list of history related web sites.  The new edition comes with a very useful CD with links to many bibliographies and other research materials.

The History News Service.  A gossipy grapevine about current issues of interest to historians.  Please subscribe to the network and receive it's regular e-mails.  From time to time in class we'll discuss what's hot (and not)!

And a variety of articles and essays and web sites, available through the Library's various databases, through Blackboard's Electronic Reserve, or plucked from the world wide web.  To access the Library's databases, click on Aladin or (if you have configured your own personal library page - highly recommended), on myAladin.

The American University Library and Other Resources:

American University Library -- click on here to access the AU Library Main page, with links to Aladin (the WRLC catalogue) and a variety of electronic databases.  Click here to access a series of tutorials designed to help you use the AU library in researching your thesis: http://www.library.american.edu/Help/index.html

Especially useful are Academic Search Premier (EBESCO), Proquest, JSTOR,  and Project Muse (which includes recent years of many other journals,  including American Quarterly and Reviews in American History).   See also, the large collection of databases at OCLC (which includes recent issues of the journal, Diplomatic History), and at Lexis-Nexis.  American History and Life is a very useful source for scholarly bibliographical citations. Archives USA, is a valuable guide to archival collections that can save scholars much time (and money!) in searching for primary documents.  See also the Library's guide to Resources by Subject, including especially History, American Studies, and Women and Gender Studies.

THE SCHEDULE

August 26	September 2	September 9	September 16	September 23
September 30	October 7	October 14	October 21	October 28
November 4	November 11	November 18	December 2	Final Draft Due

  

Wednesday, August 26:  Introductions. 

Assignment One: Questionnaire and Autobiography.  Due Before First Class:

The Questionnaire:  You should have received by now an e-mail attachment with a questionnaire.  Please fill out this questionnaire and return it to me by e-mail in advance of our first class.  If you have not received a copy, please download the questionnaire (click here), fill it out and return it to me as soon as possible.

Your Blackboard Homepage: Create a class "homepage" for yourself  by going to Blackboard, entering your Eaglenet ID and Pass Word, and clicking on "Student Tools" and then on "edit your homepage."   If you wish, by all means attach a photo or links to your own webpage (if you have one), to  your Facebook page or your favorite sites.

The Autobiography:  In advance of our first class but no later than Monday, August 24, please prepare a brief (500-750 word) "intellectual biography" in which you tell us a little about yourself and your background: where you grew up, your education prior to enrolling at AU, the classes (not just history classes) and ideas that have really excited you during your college years, and your goals, both immediate and long term.  In particular, indicate possible topics you might wish to research and write about over the course of the next two semesters.  Post your essay on the Blackboard Discussion Board, by clicking on "Communication, " then on "Discussion Board" and finally, on "Autobiography."  Add you own essay by clicking on "Add a New Thread. "   Feel free to include links to own webpage (if you have one), to  your Facebook page or some other  favorite site or sites.

 Review what your fellow students have written. 

Come to class prepared to talk about yourself and ask questions about others.

In class: 

1.  Introductions to one another and to the work of the class.  Prepare to introduce yourself and say a few words about your particular interests, both historical and otherwise. 

2.  History as (among other things) a series of conversations.

Wednesday, September 2: Some Tools of the Trade:

NOTE:  CLASS MEETS IN BENDER LIBRARY E-CLASSROOM (in the basement).

Assignment Two: 

a)  Read the following:

Jules R. Benjamin, "How to Research a History Topic," A Student's Guide to History (ninth edition, 2004), at: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/history/benjamin/con_index.htm?res.

Read the section on "How to Frame a Researchable Question" at: University of Wisconsin historian William Cronon's Learning Historical Research. Although this website focuses on environmental history, it's approach to how to frame research strategies is broadly applicable to all historical research.

For additional information, see the section on "Research Papers" in Patrick Rael,  Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students (2004), online at: http://academic.bowdoin.edu/WritingGuides/.  See also Marc Trachtenberg's Doing Cold War History: A Practical Guide, which is especially useful for students working on the Cold War, but is also applicable to other topics.

See also, Defining Your Topic, a site to which we will also return next week.

Prepare a brief (300-500 word summary) of what you have learned from these readings and how they might help you in designing your senior thesis.  Post this on your Group's discussion board no later than Monday.  Read and post comments on what the other members of your group have written before class on Wednesday.  Try especially to use the process outlined in the website by Professor Cronon and his students, on "How to Frame a Researchable Question" at:  Learning Historical Research.

b)  Download and begin familiarizing yourself with Zotero and/ or Endnote. In researching and writing your senior thesis, you will invariably take many notes (and wish you had taken many more).  Taking good notes and organizing them effectively can save you enormous amounts of time and effort.  Fortunately, there is technology at hand to make this far more simple than in the past.  The two best examples of this are ENDNOTE and ZOTERO. 

ENDNOTE is a powerful bibliographic tool, with some note taking capabilities.  One of its strongest features is its ability to download bibliographic citations from almost any library in the world, file them as notes, format them in any style, and plug them into footnotes and bibliographies in your thesis.  And it does this without the laborious and error-ridden work of typing them in by hand.   ENDNOTE is available at no cost as a download at my.american.edu/technology. See also the tutorial on the Library webpage at: http://www.library.american.edu/Help/tutorials/endnote/index.html       

ZOTERO: More recently, the smart folks at George Mason University's Center for History and New Media have developed an open source (e.g., free) software, ZOTERO, that is in some (not all) ways superior to Endnote.  The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize you with either or both of these powerful tools and how they can assist you in researching and writing your senior thesis.  ZOTERO is a powerful program designed especially for historians as an alternative to Endnote by George Mason's Center for History and New   Media. You    can  download it for free at: http://www.zotero.org/.  It is recommended that you download the new, BETA 2.0 version.  See also the Power Point tutorial prepared by history graduate student Aaron Bell at: Zotero Tutorial.

In Class: Workshop on Zotero and Endnote.  If you are new to these two programs, be prepared to ask questions and get help.  If you are already familiar with either of these programs, be prepared to help others learn.

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Wednesday, September 9: Exploring the Many Varieties of History

Assignment Three: The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize yourself with the many varieties of history study and the communities of scholars in each.   For those who already have a firm idea of what you want to do, it's a chance to begin to discover what others have written about the topic and where you can find "conversations" about your topic.  For those of you still undecided, this is an opportunity to explore the huge menu of possibilities.

Begin with a topic that you are (or might be) interested in investigating for your Major Seminar Paper.  See especially,  Defining Your Topic.  Then, familiarize yourself with The Many Varieties of American History.  Once you have done that, then:

(a)   Review the Journals that you have been given. Skim the entire journal and read at least one article in each journal. Briefly describe its contents, main arguments and sources.

(b) Locate one or more historical organizations, if possible related to your topic. Familiarize yourself with the organization. If at all possible, locate the program (either in print or on the web) for its annual  meeting (either a recent or soon to be held conference).  Browse the titles of some of the papers given (or to be given) at the conference.  Cite specific examples.  What do these examples tell you about the range of topics explored by the organization?  Note: a partial list of such organization is maintained by the American Historical Association and can be reviewed at: http://www.historians.org/affiliates/index.cfm. See also a list of historical organizations posted by the Organization of American Historians at: http://www.oah.org/announce/links.html.

(c)  Locate at least two more scholarly journals that publish materials on or near the topic in which you are interested.  To do this, go to the Library portal (Aladin/Databases/History/).  We will explore the Library's many historical databases in detail later in the course.  For now, focus on two large databases that aggregate articles from many journals.  Using a variety of search terms, find at least one article on your topic in each of these large databases:

Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) (This scholarly database contains over 3,600 peer-reviewed publications in full-text on every subject.)
ProQuest Research Library (Multi-subject reference source covering general and academic periodicals; full-text is available for many articles.)

Reproduce the articles' bibliographic citations.  Read the articles, paying attention to both the texts and the footnotes.  What is the author's main argument?  How does the author support his or her argument.  Note which footnotes refer the reader to "secondary" sources (books and articles by other historians) and how many refer to "primary" documents. and write a brief (100 word) précis of each article.

(d)  Locate at least one H-Net Discussion Group (H-Net, Humanities and Social Sciences Online that might be relevant to your topic.  Click on "discussion networks."  (For the Cuban Missile Crisis, for example, it might be H-Diplo or H-LatAm.)  Explore the group's discussion logs, as well as any other resources identified on its web site.  Describe and discuss some of the issues debated by the discussion group.  Explore the group's web site.  If you think you will be researching in this field, become a subscriber.  Note: there are many discussion groups,  some of which are extremely active and others that are only intermittently active.

(e)  Prepare a brief (750 word essay) describing what you have learned.  Discuss the organization (s), journal (s) and H-Net group (s) you have identified and how they may (or may not) relate to your own topic.  Post your essay on the class Blackboard Discussion Board no later than Monday evening.  (An example of  how this might be done:  For example, exploring a topic on the Cuban Missile Crisis might lead you to the Society for the History of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR),  , to this years annual meeting and to its journal, Diplomatic History.  A little more investigation might lead you to the Harvard Project on Cold War Studies and its journal, The Journal of Cold War Studies. You might also discover the H-Net listserv "H-Diplo.")

(f): Post substantive comments on the work of the other members of your group before class on Wednesday. 

In Class:  

Come to class prepared to briefly report on what you have discovered. Organize your presentation carefully. It should run no more than five minutes, with a few minutes for Q & A from the class.  For details, see especially Tips for Making a Class Presentation.

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Wednesday, September 16:  Libraries and Archives: Where We Discover the Past

NOTE:  CLASS MEETS IN BENDER LIBRARY E-CLASSROOM (in the basement).

Assignment Four:  The purpose of this assignment is to increase your familiarity with the strengths (and limitations) of the Library's large number of electronic database.  These databases have not only vastly expanded the holdings of our Library (making it the equal of many larger libraries with more hard copy books and articles), but also transforming the research experience through their powerful (if you know what you are doing) search engines. 

a)  I will assume that you are already familiar with the Library's catalogue, which as you know provides citations to books and journals in all of the libraries that participate in the Washington Research Libraries Consortium.  This is an terrific collection, comparable to those of many of the nation's top research universities.  As you are doubtless aware, if a book or journal not available in Bender, you can usually acquire it within a day or two from one of the other participating libraries.

b) Increasingly, much of our research is done online through a variety of databases, and AU students and faculty are fortunate in having desktop access to many of the most important of these databases.  In advance of our class meeting, I want you to familiarize yourself with a number of these databases. 

Begin with the list that appears under "History" (Aladin/Databases/History), where you will discover some fifty databases.  While this by no means constitutes all the data bases relevant to your research - there are other useful ones not included in this list - it's a good start.   Visit as many of these data bases as possible. 

Then select two of these databases, one of which contains "primary" documents and one of which contains "secondary" documents. 

To minimize duplication, please post the name of the databases you plan to report on the entire class discussion board forum "Name That Database" at your earliest convenience.  [As a general rule, no more than two students should explore and report on a single database.  Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) and Proquest are exceptions. Both are large meta-databases so they can accommodate one or two additional students.  However, if you select one of these, please drill down to examine a specific set of journals  (e.g., history, government, etc.). ]

Post a report on the two databases you have explored on the entire class discussion board forum "Post your Database Report here" no later than Monday.  Your report should indicate what the database includes (and doesn't include), whether it includes primary or secondary sources, what we can learn from them, how we search them, etc.

Read the reports by the members of the class before class on Wednesday (you need not post comments).

In Class:    In class, be prepared to briefly (five minutes) report on the databases that you have selected and how to use them.  Be prepared to answer questions from other members of the class.

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Wednesday, September 23:  History on the [Wild!] World Wide Web

Assignment Five: The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize yourself with historical sources, both primary and secondary, that are available on the world wide web and to sharpen your skills in locating and evaluating such sources.

a)  Read Kelly Schrum, "Surfing for the Past: How to Separate the Good from the Bad," in AHA Perspectives (May 2003), at: http://chnm.gmu.edu/resources/essays/d/7

b)  Second, familiarize yourself with some of the major web search engines, especially Google and Bing.  How different are the materials produced by the two search engines?  Do you understand the principles that are at work in producing the order of the sites that appear in these searches.  Also, explore the Library's Guide to with special attention to the section on "Tips for Searching the Web."  Explore how you can use "Boolean operators" to refine your search processes.  For a usual resource on using different search engines, see the Search Tools page at: http://www.infopeople.org/search/chart.html. 

c)  Explore some of the  AU Library's disciplinary "gateways" to information on the web. (e.g., see Online Resources).  Focus especially on those sites listed under history, American studies, women and gender studies and the various social sciences. 

d)  Read carefully the criteria in the following two web sites:  Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources, and American University's Using the world Wide Web for Research Papers.

e)   Sample the web sites collection on the George Mason University "History Matters" website at: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/browse/wwwhistory/.  Select a single web site relating to an historical topic that interests you. Explore it carefully.   

f)  Finally, prepare an essay (c. 500 words)  describing and evaluating the web site you have selected.  Use the criteria from the two UCLA web sites noted above in d).  In addition, answer the following questions: Would you characterize the purpose of your site as a) instructional; b) scholarly;  c) archival; or d) some combination?  Why?  To what audience is it directed? What are its strengths?  Its limitations?

Post your essay to the class discussion board by Monday evening.   Read and comment on the essays posted by other members of the class by Tuesday p.m.  Come to class prepared to talk about what you have discovered.   For URLs, see folder posted under "Course Documents."

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Wednesday, September 30: No Class.  Work on Literature Search and Bibliographical Essay (Due Monday October 5).

 

Assignment Six:  The purpose of this assignment is to prepare a first draft of one of the most important elements in your prospectus (and final paper).  It's called the "literature search."  Your goal is to learn and communicate to the reader a general overview of  the scholarly, secondary literature on your topic - mainly books and scholarly articles.  It is not necessary that you read every one of these books and articles, only that you have a general understanding of what they are about.  The goal, however, is to thoroughly familiarize yourself with existing scholarship on your topic.

(a)  To better understand what a literature search is study the brief guide prepared by the University of Wisconsin at: http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/ReviewofLiterature.html. Also useful is our own Library's web site at: http://www.library.american.edu/Help/research/lit_review/index.html.

(b)  Conduct an extensive "literature search" on your topic, using the library catalogue, databases and other sources you have explored in earlier weeks.  Compile a "bibliography" of important books and articles relating to your topic.  Use Endnote or Zotero to organize your bibliography.

If possible, locate a recent "essay review" or bibliographical essay on your topic.  Essay reviews typically  discuss recent studies and major issues on a topic.  Good bibliographical essays can sometimes be found in the back of recent books on a topic.  [Using the WRLC catalogue, open the listing for recent books, check under "Notes" to discover whether or not the book has a bibliographical essay.]

Evaluate the books and articles to learn which are the most relevant to your own topic.  In evaluating the quality of the books and articles you discover, see my guide to  Searching for the Best Books and Articles on my Topic  

(c)  Then read and prepare an "essay on secondary sources" describing the books and articles that may relate to your topic. 

Your essay should be approximately 10-12 pages (2500-3000 words).   For details on the required format, click on Review of Secondary Literature.  

Post your essay on the class discussion board   no later than Monday, October 5.  Read and post substantive comments on the work of  at least four other the other members of the class before we meet on Wednesday.  Feel free to select classmates who are working on topics similar to your own.

Come to class prepared to make a brief (5-6 minute), carefully organized oral presentation on what you have discovered.  For details,  see Tips for Making a Class Presentation.

In Class:  Presentation and Discussion of Essay Reviews

Wednesday, October 7:  Discussion of Literature Search and Bibliographical Essay

In Class:  Presentation and Discussion of Essay Reviews

Wednesday, October 14: Field Trip to Library of Congress.  

Library of Congress: Please assemble in front of the Library of Congress's main building at 101 Independence Avenue, at or as close to 2:45 p.m. as possible.  Plan on a two hour visit. 

Assignment Seven: due October 19

Readings and Resources:

Historical studies are based on a wide range of original sources.  These include, among others,  contemporary newspapers and magazines, government documents, private correspondence, diaries, photographs, maps, census data, material objects (including buildings and monuments), etc., etc., etc.  Read the excellent discussion of primary documents on the Yale University library site at: http://www.library.yale.edu/ref/err/primsrcs.htm.  See also, "How to Read a Primary Source," by Patrick Rael,  Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students (2004), online at: http://academic.bowdoin.edu/WritingGuides/; and Making Sense of Evidence, at: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/browse/makesense/.  Guides to these sources are discussed in Benjamin, A Student's Guide to History, Appendix A, and in other recommended texts.  However, your best guide to these many sources will be the history department faculty and the University's reference librarians.

You can often locate important primary sources by examining the footnotes of the books and articles you have located.

While an increasing number of primary sources are available on the web, they represent only a small fraction of historical sources. For collections available through AU Library databases, see the Library website.  For a quick survey of additional materials available on line, visit the George Mason University Center for History and New Media's Guide to History on the Web.

For government documents, use the Library's Government Resources portal. Search the National Archives at: NARA | US National Archives & Records Administration and the Library of Congress at: http://lcweb.loc.gov/.  The Library of Congress maintains an online version of the National Union Guide to Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) at: http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/nucmc.html.  The Library also subscribes to  Archives Finder, a comprehensive and searchable guide to manuscript collections throughout the country.  For an introduction to the extensive research opportunities at the museums and galleries that comprise the Smithsonian Institution, click on: http://www.si.edu/research/.

Assignment Seven: 

1.  Review carefully the guides and resources listed above.

2.  If you cannot for some reason attend the class visit to the Library of Congress, you must visit, in person, an area library or archive.  A partial list of area archives may be found on the Department of History's Research Links at: http://www.american.edu/academic.depts/cas/hist/links.html.  Read and talk to staff to learn more about the kinds of materials that are available in the library or archive you visit.  Learn about finding aides and other guides to archival holdings.  If possible (and if required), register to use the archive.  This usually requires filling out a short form.

3.  Make a list of the various kinds of  primary sources that might be relevant to your topic.  Briefly describe them and identify where they may be found.  Discuss how you might use them in researching your topic.  Where possible, post or bring to class examples of the kind of primary sources you will use.  Attach a list of these resources to your essay.  Post your essay (c. 750 -1,000 words) on both the class discussion board and your group discussion board no later than Monday, October 19.  Post substantive comments on the work of the other members of your group before class on Wednesday. 

 

Wednesday, October 21: Primary Sources - Assignment Seven Presentations

In Class:

Come to class prepared to make a brief (5-6 minute), carefully organized oral presentation on what you have discovered.  For details,  see Tips for Making a Class Presentation.

Wednesday, October 28:   Meet for Class (60 minutes only) in Library's e-learning classroom, basement of Bender Library.

Assignment Eight: Work on your Prospectus.  For details, see: A Template for Preparing your Prospectus. Please note that you will be expected to post  a first draft of your Prospectus on  both the class discussion board and your group discussion board  no later than Monday, November 23.  This applies to everyone!

NOTE:  Schedule an individual meeting with  Professor Griffith to review your progress.  Please note that this meeting is mandatory.

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Wednesday, November 4: No Class Meeting  Work on your Prospectus (due November 20) and Power Point Presentation (due November 26).

Time in its irresistible and ceaseless flow carries along on its flood all created things and drowns them in the depths of obscurity. . . . But the tale of history forms a very strong bulwark against the stream of time, and checks in some measure its irresistible flow, so that, of all things done in it, as many as history has taken over it secures and binds together, and does not allow them to slip away into the abyss of oblivion. -- Anna Comnena   (1083-1153), Byzantine Historian of the First Crusade

Review A Template for Preparing your Prospectus.

NOTE:  Schedule an individual meeting with  Professor Griffith to review your progress.  Please note that this meeting is mandatory.

Wednesday, November 11:  No Class: Work on Prospectus

NOTE:  Schedule an individual meeting with  Professor Griffith  to review your progress.  Please note that this meeting is mandatory.

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Wednesday, November 18:  Assignment Eight (A): Power Point Presentations

 

Post Your Power Point Presentations on  the class discussion board  no later than Monday, November 16.  This applies to everyone, whether you make your presentation this week or following Thanksgiving..

IN CLASS ON WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 18, half of the members of the class will make oral, Power Point presentations.  We will go alphabetically (unless any of you whose names appear later in the alphabet volunteer to go first).  The presentations should be no longer than ten minutes, with time for Q&A afterwards.  Attendance is mandatory.

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Monday,  November 23: Post Your Prospectus

Please post the first draft of your Prospectus on  the class discussion board no later than Monday, November 23. For details, see: A Template for Preparing your Prospectus. 

Wednesday, November 25:  No Class: Thanksgiving Break Begins.

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Wednesday, December 2. Assignment Eight (B): Power Point Presentations (for students in second half - alphabetically - of the course).

On Wednesday, December 2, the second  half of the class will make oral, Power Point presentations based on their prospectuses.  The presentations should be no longer than ten minutes, with time for Q&A afterwards.  Attendance is mandatory.

 

Wednesday, December 7: Final (revised) Draft of your Prospectus Due
 

 

The Assignment Nine:  Post this Final (revised) Draft of your Prospectus on the Class Discussion Board no later than Wednesday, December 7.

Page last revised October, 2009
Comments: bgriff@american.edu