Historical Methods

Unlike most other history courses, which deal with a specific historical place, period, or topic, this course deals with the general problems of historical methodology relevant to all historical research and writing. We will not study the history of anything, but we will study the particular problems and techniques of historians as they attempt to understand the past. We will also examine the nature of history as an intellectual discipline and its role in modern knowledge.

Certain key questions will recur throughout the semester; keeping them in mind will help you to see the course as a whole:

1) What is history? History is an intellectual discipline and tradition which enables us to use certain techniques to see relationships and forces at work in the world. What sort of discipline is it? In what ways does it help place us in the world?

2) How do we write history? What is the difference between “history” and “the past”?

a) What are historical questions? How do we formulate them?

b) What are historical methods or techniques? How do we analyze our sources and use them to write history?

c) What are historical sources? How do we find them?

3) Why do we study history? How does history concern our lives, our understanding of the world, and our ability to live?

Course Requirements:

All students are required to attend class meetings, take part in discussions, and submit all written work on time; late papers will not be accepted without prior arrangement with the professor. As per CSI-CUNY regulations, no student with more than two unexcused absences will receive credit for the course.

A Note About Academic Integrity: Integrity is fundamental to the academic enterprise. It is violated by acts such as borrowing or purchasing term papers, essays, reports, and other written assignments; using concealed notes or crib sheets during examinations; copying others' work and submitting it as one's own; and misappropriating the knowledge of others. The sources from which one derives one's ideas, statements, terms, and data must be fully and specifically acknowledged in the appropriate form; failure to do so, intentionally or unintentionally, constitutes plagiarism. Violations of academic integrity may result in failure in the course and in disciplinary actions with penalties such as suspension or dismissal from the College. For information about City University of New York policies on academic dishonesty, refer to the CUNY website at www1.cuny.edu/portal_ur/content/2004/policies/image/policy.pdf

Assignments:

Attendance and Participation in Discussions

Historical Research and Analysis Exercises (10% each, 80% total):

1) Literature Search (due March 3)

2) Verifying “Facts” (due March 10)

3) Differentiating Interpretation from Evidence (due March 17)

4) Analyzing/Annotating a Historical Document (due March 24)

5) Criticizing a Historical Argument (due March 31)

6) Visual Analysis (due April 7)

7) Elements of a Monograph (due April 14)

8) Historiography (due April 28)

Final Paper (%20) (due May 19)

Required Texts:

Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (University of Chicago Press, 6th Revised edition, 1996 -- ISBN: 0226816273)
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 (New York: Knopf, 1990).
Packet of Essays (to be handed out in class)

Course Schedule:

Monday January 27

Introduction to the Course

Monday February 3	What is Historical Method?
	Readings: Familiarize yourself with the Library Website at www.library.csi.cuny.edu, especially the article and reference databases at www.library.csi.cuny.edu/eresource/alphalist.php

Monday February 10

Library Session, with Guest Lecturer Professor Edward Owusu-Ansa (class meets in Library Classroom, 1L-214).

Monday February 17

Classes follow Monday schedule; No class meeting.

Monday February 24

Library Session, with Guest Lecturer Professor Edward Owusu-Ansa (class meets in Library Classroom, 1L-214).

Monday March 3

Verifying "Facts" -- "Literature Search" Assignment Due.

Monday March 10	Differentiating Interpretation from Evidence -- "Verifying 'Facts'" Assignment Due
	Readings: Henry Steele Commager, "The Defeat of the Confederacy: An Overview," in Why The North Won The Civil War, Ed. David Herbert Donald (1960), in course packet.

Monday March 17	Analyzing/Annotating a Historical Document -- "Differentiating Interpretation from Evidence" Assignment Due
	Readings: Selections from diaries in course packet.

Monday March 24	Criticizing a Historical Argument -- "Analyzing/Annotating a Historical Document" Assignment Due
	Readings: Richard N. Current, "God and The Strongest Battalions," in Why The North Won The Civil War, Ed. David Herbert Donald (1960), in course packet.

Monday March 31	Visual Analysis -- "Criticizing a Historical Argument" Assignment Due
	Readings: The National Gallery of Art's web-feature on John Singleton Copley's Watson and the Shark (1777) at www.nga.gov/feature/watson/watsonhome.html..

Monday April 7	Statistical Analysis -- "Visual Analysis" Assignment Due
	Readings: Alan B. Spitzer, "Versions of Truth in the Dreyfus Case," in Historical Truth and Lies about the Past: Reflections on Dewey, Dreyfus, de Man, and Reagan (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996): 35-59, in course packet.

Monday April 14	Historiography -- "Elements of a Monograph" Assignment Due
	Readings: View Laurie Kahn-Leavitt, A Midwife's Tale; Read Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife's Tale

April 16-24 Wed.-Thurs.

Spring Break; No Class Meeting

Monday April 28	A Midwife’s Tale -- "Historiography" Assignment Due
	Readings: Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife's Tale

Monday May 5	The Historian's Enterprise
	Readings: Film Study Center, Harvard University, "DoHistory: Martha Ballard's Diary Online" (www.dohistory.com)

Monday May 12	Summing Up
	Readings: Film Study Center, Harvard University, "DoHistory: Martha Ballard's Diary Online" (www.dohistory.com)

Monday May 19	Final Paper Due