The Historian’s Craft
CRN 22453
Monday and Wednesday, 12 – 1:20 in 471 McKenzie Hall
Professor Ellen Herman
Department of History
University of Oregon
email: eherman@uoreon.edu
office hours: Tuesday, noon – 2 pm in 280G Knight Law Center and by appointment
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE AND ITS OBJECTIVES
HIST 290 will expose you to some of the ways that historians approach history and the methods they use to write it for the purpose of allowing you to conduct a successful historical research project on any subject in modern (post-Civil War) U.S. history. In this course, you will:
- Read and talk about how and what you read
- Write and talk about how and what you write
- Develop skills that all historians use. Specifically, you will practice:
- Formulating historical questions and matching those questions to available sources
- Locating primary and secondary sources related to your questions and evaluating the quality of those sources
- Interpreting different primary sources (texts, objects, maps, images, oral histories, etc.) with attention to their strengths and weaknesses
- Organizing all the materials you compile in the course of a research project
- Citing primary and secondary sources properly
- Utilizing digital technologies for research and organization
- Practicing academic honesty and avoiding plagiarism
- Drafting and revising a short research proposal
- Drafting, revising, and submitting and final paper with a clear argument and persuasive evidence related to that argument
- Learning from the critical feedback of other scholars and offering them the benefit of your critical feedback
WRITING REQUIREMENTS
This course includes a number of written exercises and other assignments. At the end of the term, you will submit a 2000-2500-word piece of historical writing (approximately 8-10 pages, double spaced) that demonstrates your facility with all of the skills developed through those exercises and assignments. Please consult the instructor’s brief description of the stages of writing research papers. You may write about any subject in modern (post-Civil War) U.S. history. The paper will be based on primary sources, incorporate secondary sources, and include proper citations. You will submit a first draft as well as a final draft. Please plan to meet at least once with the instructor to discuss your research, either during office hours or a separate time to be arranged.
COURSE MODALITY
This course meets in person and attendance is necessary to your success in the class. See attendance policy below.
READING REQUIREMENTS
There is very little common reading in this course. Most of the reading you will be doing will be related to the subject you select for your research paper. During the first week of the term, we will all read and discuss excerpts from Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Crown, 2010).
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
History is a discipline that requires discipline, no less than music, neuroscience, or architecture. That means you should expect this course to require real time and effort. But history repays those who devote time and effort to it many times over. If you work hard in this course, you will end the term with significantly improved research and writing skills. You can also expect the following tangible benefits, all applicable in a wide range of occupations and careers:
- the habit of asking critical questions frequently
- improved reading, writing, and analytical skills
- the ability to navigate empirical evidence and, in particular, to recognize, synthesize, and evaluate primary and secondary sources, with special attention to interpreting multiple and conflicting sources of information
- practice in thinking about how economic, political, cultural, and social forces interact with individual experiences over time
My hope is that you will also experience the pleasure of thinking and learning. History promises to make us more interesting people and better, more insightful citizens of our communities and our world.
RULES
Accommodations
The University of Oregon seeks to create inclusive learning environments. Please let me know me if anything about the instruction or design of this course creates disability-related barriers to your participation. You are also encouraged to contact the Accessible Education Center in 164 Oregon Hall at 541-346-1155 or uoaec@uoregon.edu. If you have a documented disability and anticipate needing accommodations in this course, please request that the Accessible Education Center verify your disability.
Academic Honesty
If this course is to be a worthwhile educational experience, your work must be completely original. Plagiarism and other forms of cheating are very serious infractions and will not be permitted. That includes the use of generative AI. Proper citation and documentation practices are among the subjects covered in the course, so students will learn exactly what plagiarism is and practice the methods historians use to work with sources. Students who are uncertain about what plagiarism is, or who have questions about how to cite published, electronic, or other sources should feel free to consult the instructor’s brief guide to plagiarism. The UO Student Conduct Code includes a section on Academic Misconduct that you may also wish to read.
Attendance
This course involves learning through doing and discussing. Many class meetings will involve practical exercises as well as discussions and presentations of student work. That means that attendance is critical and will count toward your final grade. Please be aware that many of the attendance policies that were adjusted university-wide during the pandemic are no longer in effect. If you are absent, I will not ask for a reason since I cannot equitably distinguish between reasonable (excused) and unreasonable (unexcused) absences. Be aware that more than 3 absences will result in no credit for the attendance and participation part of your grade. Students with COVID are encouraged to seek guidance at UO’s COVID-19 Safety Resources webpage.
Classroom Community Expectations
All members of the class (students and instructor) can expect to be treated respectfully and are also expected to share ideas and contribute to the learning community we create together. This entails preparing for class, following instructions, and engaging thoughtfully with others so that we create a welcoming and inclusive environment for every member of the class.
Lateness Policy
No late assignments will be accepted except in rare cases where special arrangements have been made in advance for unusual but legitimate reasons. Students who miss deadlines will get no credit for that assignment.
GRADES
The Department of History has endorsed a general grading policy for written work. If you are not familiar with it, please read it. I will be following these guidelines as I do the grading for this course.
The following assignments and deadlines are also listed on the course calendar.
| Class attendance and participation More than 3 absences will result in no credit for this part of your grade. |
10% | |
| Written Exercises completed both in and out of class | ||
| Working with bibliographic databases ( |
10% | |
| Citing, Quoting, Paraphrasing ( |
10% | |
| Meet the documents ( |
10% | |
| One-page statement about your proposed research paper ( |
5% | |
| Outline of research paper (due February 12 before class) | 10% | |
| Peer review of another student’s outline (February 14 before class) | 5% | |
| Presentation of work-in-progress (weeks 7, 8, and 9; students will sign up in advance) | 10% | |
| Final draft of research paper (due March 20 before noon) | 30% |
COURSE CALENDAR
PART I: HISTORY AND HISTORIANS
Week 1, Where are historians in the stories they tell? Where should they be?
January 8, 2024
Introductions
Watch clips from Henrietta Lacks film
January 10, 2024
Reading: Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, 1-104, 232-240, 305-310.
Please bring to class at least one question you have about the reading you have done.
PART II: HISTORY AND ITS METHODS
Week 2, Finding Subjects, Asking Questions, Following Rules
January 15, 2024: MLK Holiday (no class)
January 17, 2024
Please bring your computers to class. We will be using them.
How do you locate materials to answer your questions? What do you do when your questions and sources don’t match?
Exercise: Working with bibliographic databases (located on Canvas). We will be doing this exercise in class.
Because of the ice emergency, the deadline for this exercise was changed to January 19 at 5 pm and should be submitted on Canvas.
Week 3, In the Archives
January 22, 2024
Because of the ice emergency, we will be using class time today to explore the library’s online bibliographic databases. The citation exercise originally scheduled for today will be covered on Wednesday, January 24, 2024.
Citation, transparency, plagiarism, democracy
The difference between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing
Exercise: Citing, Quoting, Paraphrasing (located on Canvas). Please do this exercise on your own and submit it before class starts.
Reading: Karin Wulf, “Could footnotes be the key to winning the disinformation wars?” Washington Post, August 29, 2019.
Reading: AHA History Tuning Project: 2016 Discipline Core
January 24, 2024
Library tools: We will meet in LIB 201 (Kesey Classroom) with Lauren Goss, References Services Coordinator and Assistant University Archivist for Athletics, who will introduce us to the wealth of materials available in Special Collections and University Archives. This activity is postponed until February 7, 2024 because of the ice emergency.
Citation, transparency, plagiarism, democracy
The difference between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing
Exercise: Citing, Quoting, Paraphrasing (located on Canvas). Please do this exercise on your own and submit it before class starts.
Reading: Karin Wulf, “Could footnotes be the key to winning the disinformation wars?” Washington Post, August 29, 2019.
Reading: AHA History Tuning Project: 2016 Discipline Core
Due: submission of one-page statement about your paper’s subject(s) and question(s) before class. Guidelines are available on Canvas. The deadline was changed to January 29 at 12 pm because of the ice emergency.
Week 4: Primary and Secondary Sources
January 29, 2024
Please come to class prepared to briefly describe your subject as well as a couple of your questions you have about it.
Primary and secondary sources—what’s the difference and why do we need both?
Exercise: Meet the Documents (on Canvas) Please do this exercise on your own and submit it before class starts. We will review this exercise together in class, but the deadline for submission will be postponed until Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at noon.
Due: submission of one-page statement about your paper’s subject(s) and question(s) before class. Guidelines are available on Canvas. The deadline was postponed from January 24 at 12 pm because of the ice emergency.
January 31, 2024
Bring two of your own sources to class: one primary and one secondary. Be prepared to describe them, along with their relevance to your subject and questions.
Exercise: Meet the Documents (on Canvas) Please submit this exercise before class starts. The deadline was postponed from January 29, 2024.
Week 5: Organizing Your Research and Making Progress
February 5, 2024
Keeping Track of Your Documents
bibliographies, note-taking, outlines
Exercise: Show and tell about your organizational strategy
February 7, 2024
Activity postponed from January 24, 2024: Library tools: We will meet in LIB 201 (Kesey Classroom) with Lauren Goss, References Services Coordinator and Assistant University Archivist for Athletics, who will introduce us to the wealth of materials available in Special Collections and University Archives.
Individual check-ins to discuss whatever challenges and successes you are facing with your paper at the halfway point in the term.
PART III: WORKING AS A HISTORIAN
Week 6, First Drafts
February 12, 2024
Due: submission of the outline of your research paper before class. Guidelines are available on Canvas.
Every student will be assigned to write a peer review of another student’s outline.
February 14, 2022
Due: submission of peer reviews before class. The peer review form you should use to comment on your colleague’s first draft is available on Canvas.
Week 7, Revising and Presenting Works in Progress
Guidelines for research presentations are available on Canvas.
February 19, 2024
February 21, 2024
Week 8, Revising and Presenting Works in Progress
Guidelines for research presentations are available on Canvas.
February 26, 2024
February 28, 2024
Weeks 9, Revising and Presenting Works in Progress
Guidelines for research presentations are available on Canvas.
March 4, 2024
March 6, 2024
Week 10, Reflecting on the Term and Celebration!
Guidelines for research presentations are available on Canvas.
March 11, 2024
March 13, 2024