History 701--Writing Assignments
Fall 2001
Professor Catherine Lavender
- Historical Questions:
- Many historians first considered becoming historians when they discovered a mystery or unanswered question about the past that challenged them to research it. For example, I probably started out becoming an historian in the second grade, when I first asked, "Who really killed J.F.K?" and "How come there isn't a total agreement about it?"
- What are your "mystery" questions? List five of the questions that most engage you in history, and explain in a paragraph or so why it does. (Due September 4, 2001)
- Making It True:
- The way that an historian makes his or her argument is often as important as the argument made. Historians -- and academics in general -- are held to a higher standard of accuracy than one expects in informal speech. Thus, a statement which may seem "true" on its surface may not be historically true (meaning, that it cannot withstand the challenge of logic).
- Your job in this assignment is to learn how to make an unassailable statement which stands up to logical challenge. Each of you will be given a separate "truth-like" statement to "make true;" you will identify five logical challenges to that statement, and then re-write it so that it is unassailable. (Due September 25, 2001)
- Reference Search Log
- Although we often bypass the Reference Department when we go to the library to begin research, there are numerous works there which will serve us well.
- Referring to On Research Logs (http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/researchlogging.html), you will produce a log which contains the following:
- • A statement of the research question to be addressed;
- • A listing of the hours and locations of the CSI Library and the most convenient two New York Public Branch Libraries (or the Main library and one branch library, if that is convenient to you);
- • A list of key terms and ideas pertaining to your research question, as well as the Library of Congress subject designations for your topic;
- • A log of print materials available regarding your topic in the Reference Departments of the CSI Library and the most convenient two New York Public Branch Libraries (or the Main library and one branch, if that is convenient to you) (This will require you to visit these two libraries and make a log of what you encounter there).
- • A log of electronic reference materials available regarding your topic via the Electronic Resources page of the CSI Library (http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/eresource/). At the minumum, you must do complete searches of Ebsco Academic Search Premier; Infotrac Expanded Academic; Lexis/Nexis; Humanities Abstracts; Social Science Abstracts; Modern Language Association (MLA) Bibliography; America: History and Life; and Historical Abstracts. Provide a printed copy of your results for each search (but not of all the individual resources identified).
(Due October 16, 2001)
- Watch this space for forthcoming assignments!
Prepared for HST 701--Historical Method and Historiography, the M.A. Program in History, The College of Staten Island of the City University of New York, Fall Semester 2001. Send email to lavender@postbox.csi.cuny.edu
Last modified: .