HIS 300W RESEARCH AND WRITING SEMINAR
Kenneth J. Orosz Office Hours: W 9:00-12:00
Spring 2011 R 3:05-4:00
Class Meetings: Classroom Bldg C204 Office: Classroom Bldg C230
TR 9:25-10:40 Telephone: 878-3203
E-mail: oroszkj@buffalostate.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to introduce students to the historians' craft. In addition to introducing students to the concept of historiography and the range of historical methodologies employed by historians, students will also learn the skills necessary to become more effective scholars. These skills will include the development of writing and organizational skills, effective research methods and how to effectively read scholarly literature.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Richard Evans, In Defense of History ISBN 0-393-31959-0
Eric Foner, Who Owns History? 0-809-09705-2
Martha Howell, From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods 0-801-48560-6
Strunk and White, The Elements of Style, 4th ed 0-205-30902-X
Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations, 7th ed 0-226-82337-7
COURSE READINGS
Assigned readings are to be completed by the date indicated in the syllabus. In addition to the required texts, the following supplemental readings are available as full text files either under the Lessons tab on Angel (highlighted items) or via library’s Academic Search Premier or JSTOR databases. For assistance logging on to Angel go to www.buffalostate.edu/angel. Students will also be using consulting a web site (highlighted in green on the syllabus); to access this site click on the link in the electronic version of the syllabus located on my web site (http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/oroszkj/) or in Angel.
Joyce Malcolm, “Disarming History,”Reason 34, no. 10 (March 2003) : 22-29.
Peter Novick, “There Was No King in Israel” in That Noble Dream (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 593-629.
William G. Moseley, ed., “Did Colonialism Distort Contemporary African Development?” in Taking Sides: Clashing Views in World History, 3rd ed. (Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2009), 53-68.
Antoinette Burton, review of The Absent Minded Imperialists: Empire, Society and Culture in Britain, by Bernard Porter, Victorian Studies 47, no. 4 (Summer 2005) : 626-628.
James Epstein, review of The Absent Minded Imperialists: Empire, Society and Culture in Britain, by Bernard Porter, American Historical Review 112, no. 2 (April 2007) : 587-588.
John McBratney, review of The Absent Minded Imperialists: Empire, Society and Culture in Britain, by Bernard Porter, The Historian 69, no. 4 (Winter 2007) : 836-838.
Ryan Facey, Paper Proposal
Ryan Facey, "A Comparison of British and American Propaganda Systems"
REQUIREMENTS
Academic misconduct (including cheating and plagiarism) will not be tolerated. Buffalo State College policies on academic misconduct, including the possible use of textual similarity detection software, are outlined on page 29 of the college catalog. Please note that the minimum penalty for cases of academic misconduct will be an E on the assignment. All written assignments must conform to the History Style Sheet. When it comes to citation and bibliography formats, Turabian is the Bible for historians.
This course is a mix of collaborative, cooperative, and independent work. Students will read and comment on the papers and presentations of their peers. Evaluation of students will be based on the quality of written work and collegial participation in all classes. Students are required to submit paper copies of all written work. In addition, copies of the book review and research paper must be submitted electronically as a PDF file. The electronic copies of the research papers will be made available to other students in the course so that they can be critiqued. Book reviews and papers not submitted in both formats will not be read and you will receive an E for the assignment.
Please note that in order to pass this course you must make a good faith attempt to complete all components and requirements. All assignments are due in class on the designated date. LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT PRIOR ARRANGEMENT. Incompletes will be granted at the sole discretion of the instructor and require a written application outlining the rationale behind granting the incomplete, a list of outstanding assignments and a timetable for their completion. This application must be signed and, if granted, will constitute a formal contract for the completion of the course.
10% Citation Homework: There will be periodic homework assignments in the form of worksheets with citations that need to be placed in the proper format. Responses are to be typed and are due on the dates indicated.
10% Book Review: Students will write a 3 page critical review of an historical monograph assigned during the January 27 class. The review must also include a bibliography listing previous scholarly reviews of the work in question. This assignment is due February 15.
10% Primary Source Analysis: Students will submit a 5 page paper analyzing primary sources handed out in class. What do these documents tell us about the period? How reliable are they? What are their strengths and weaknesses as historical sources? This assignment is due March 1.
Pass/Fail Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography: Research proposals must clearly identify the topic, a tentative thesis, the major historical questions, a historiographical analysis of the topic and outline a research plan. Proposals must also include an annotated bibliography identifying the primary and secondary sources that will be used. In the case of primary source materials you must also indicate where they are located and explain why you need to consult those sources. Your proposal is due March 3. The last date to have a proposal approved is March 24. Note: Students will not be allowed to proceed with their research until the proposal has been approved. This means that if you do not have an approved proposal by the final due date (March 24) you will not be allowed to proceed and will receive an E for the course.
35% Research Paper: Although writing is a process and often requires frequent revision, you should not think of this paper as a rough draft. Not only must your paper conform to the History Style Sheet, it should also be the best and most complete paper possible. Essentially you should be turning in the best paper you have ever written. Papers, which are due April 7, must be a minimum of 20 pages and must be based at least in part on primary documents. You are required to turn in both a hard copy as well as an electronic copy in PDF format for posting in Angel. You must keep this paper, complete with any comments, and resubmit it with your research paper revision.
20% Presentation, participation and written responses to student papers: Students will meet regularly and work closely with their instructor. Presentations of research papers will take place in the last 3 weeks of the semester during class time as well as during the scheduled final examination period. Presentations will be open to the community and student participation is mandatory. All students will write short (2 page minimum) critical reviews of three assigned presentations and their accompanying papers. Critical reviews must be submitted in duplicate by April 26 (one copy for the instructor and one copy for the student whose work is being reviewed). The instructor’s copy must include the reviewer’s recommended grade for the paper/presentation. This will ensure good preparation and solid performances in the presentations as well as in the revised paper. Full participation in every aspect of the course is required. Students who miss paper presentations for any reason are required to write critical reviews for all of the papers presented that week.
15% Research Paper Revision: This revision must address and incorporate the
comments and critiques made by the instructors and your peers. Consequently, it
should be so good that it will essentially be the paper you never thought that you
could write. Your revision (in duplicate) is due in class
May 5.
CLASS SCHEDULE
January 25 Introduction and Varieties of History
January 27 Reading and Reviewing Monographs/Why do We Cite?
Read: Novick, “There Was No King in Israel;” Malcolm, “Disarming History” Tosh Ch 7; Burton, Epstein and McBratney reviews
February 1 Writing and Style
Read: Strunk and White
February 3 Library Session (Room BL314): Finding Aids
Read: Evans, Introduction and Ch 7-8
First Citation assignment due
February 8 History and its Uses/Who Owns History?
Read: Foner book
February 10 Library Session (Room BL 314): Locating Primary Sources
Read: Evans Ch 1-2, 6
Second Citation assignment due
February 15 Introduction to Historiography/Writing a Proposal
Read: Howell, Introduction and Ch 4-5; Facey Proposal and Paper
Moseley, “Did Colonialism Distort Contemporary African Development?”
Book Review due
February 17 How to Analyze Sources
Read: Howell Ch 1-3; Evans Ch 3-5; Using Primary Sources on the Web
Third Citation assignment due
February 22 No Class
February 24 Critiques and the Art of Presenting
Fourth Citation assignment due
March 1 Research Problems and Strategies
Primary Source Analysis due
March 3 Research Problems and Strategies II
Proposals due
March 8 Proposal Conferences
March 10 Proposal Conferences
March 15 Work on Paper and meet with Instructor
March 17 Work on Paper and meet with Instructor
March 22 Work on Paper and meet with Instructor
March 24 Work on Paper and meet with Instructor
Must have passing proposal
March 29 No Class
March 31 No Class
April 5 Work on Paper and meet with Instructor
April 7 Work on Paper and meet with Instructor
Papers due
April 12 Work on Revisions
April 14 Work on Revisions
April 19 Work on Revisions
April 21 Work on Revisions
April 26 Presentations
Paper critiques due
April 28 Presentations
May 3 Presentations
May 5 Presentations
Revisions due
May 10 Presentations 7:40-9:30