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Course Objectives:
This graduate seminar explores the philosophical underpinnings and methodological
tools of modern historical scholarship. We begin with the broad questions
of why historians study the past and how it has been done over the last few
centuries. Then we look at the methods employed by different historical sub-disciplines
in studying regions around the world. Finally, we discuss the uses of history:
museum exhibitions, historic sites, scholarly publishing, and commercial
enterprises. By the end of this course, graduate students will have a solid
foundation for choosing a thesis topic or research focus as well as the basic
tools to execute first-rate historical research. I view history as straddling
the divide between social sciences and the humanities, and so I hope that
students will come to see that good historical scholarship marries the craft
of research with the art of writing.
Texts:
Paul Cohen, History in Three Keys
William Cronon, Changes in the Land
John Lewis Gaddis, Landscape of History
Martha Hodes, The Sea Captain’s Wife
Georg Iggers, Historiography in the Twentieth Century
David M. Oshinsky, Polio
Nell Irvin Painter, The History of White People
Joan Wallach Scott, Gender and the Politics of History
+ Reserve Readings
Course Requirements:
Classroom Participation & Reading: As a graduate history seminar,
meeting once a week, students must keep up with the reading and participate
in class discussions. (Participation is 10% of the final grade.)
Discussion Leading: At the beginning of the term students will choose one week to lead the discussion. You must come to consult with me the week before you lead the discussion, and on the day of class, turn in a 1-2 page outline of the discussion questions and activities planned for that day. (Leading the discussion is 15% of your final grade.)
Weekly Essays: There is a written assignment due almost every week in this class. For some weeks, this is simply a one page, single-spaced book review in the style of the American Historical Review or the Journal of American History. In other weeks there is a particular research question or methodological exercise. You may choose not to turn in two of the written assignments (except for the mystery artifact assessment). If you do them all, I will drop the lowest two weekly assignment grades. (Each assignment is worth 5% of the grade for a total of 50%.)
Oral History Assignment: As a class, we are going to do an oral history interview project on the history and land-use of a Mendocino County nature preserve maintained by Sonoma State. The Galbreath Preserve was once a working ranch. The interviews that we conduct with former owners, employees, and neighbors of the ranch will document the ways that humans interacted with the natural environment on the property during the 20th century. Each student will conduct and transcribe an oral history interview. The transcript of the interview is due on the last regular class meeting. One student will oversee the process in lieu of a public history assignment—see below. (The oral history interview transcript is worth 10% of your final grade.)
Public History Assignment: Throughout this course, you will be working on
a public history project. This is a service learning assignment. In other words,
you will be learning the skills of a public historian as you provide a service
to a local community or historical institution. Internships are available at
museums or historical societies in Napa and Sonoma Counties. You are also free
to set up your own public history project individually or with a local institution
or group (e.g. Petaluma Historical Museum, Sonoma County Museum, etc.). Each
project will require 20-30 hours of work over the course of the semester (e.g.
six to eight visits to the historical society). At the end of the semester,
you will turn in a 5-7 page paper that explains the work you did, the relevant
historical scholarship, and (if possible) the reception to your work by the
public. I will also ask for a written evaluation (one-page) of your work by
the supervisor or director of the historical site. (This project is 15% of
your final grade.)
Course Schedule
Week I: Introduction 2.2
Required Reading: None
Part 1: Student Introductions & Discussion of Reviews
Part 2: View Ken Burns Civil War (Part 1); Discuss Use & Method of Documentary
Film
Week II: Landscapes of History 2.9
Required Reading: John L. Gaddis, Landscapes of History
Required Writing: Book Review (1 page single-spaced)
Part 1: Space & History Discussion
Part 2: Science & History Discussion
Week III: Historiography 2.16
Required Reading: Georg Iggers, Historiography in the Twentieth Century
Required Presentation: Favorite History Book
Required Writing: Using Iggers account of the evolution of modern historiography,
critique or defend the following position: “Historical objectivity is
a myth. All historical writing is by necessity perspectival (that is to say
biased in ways that reflect the conscious agenda of the writer and/or the unconscious
influences of their experiences).” (1 page single-spaced)
Part 1: Favorite History Book Presentation
Part 2: Student Led Discussion
Week IV: History of Whiteness 2.23
Required Reading: Nell Irvin Painter, The History of White People
Required Writing: Book Review (1 page single-spaced)
Part 1: Student-led Discussion of Reading & Reviews
Part 2: The Future of Whiteness Discussion
Week V: The (Re)Discovered Continent 3.2
Required Reading: Joseph C. Miller, "History and Africa/Africa and History," American
Historical Review February, 1999 104(1): 1-32; James H. Sweet, "Mistaken
Identities? Olaudah Equiano, Domingo Alvares, and the Methodological Challenges
of Studying the African Diaspora," American Historical Review April 2009
114(2): 279-306. (available through library article databases)
Required Writing: Why was Africa viewed as a "Dark" Continent for
so long in the western historical record? What obstacles faced non-Africans
attempting to chronicle and understand the region's history? What can historians
of other regions learn from the methods and theories of Africanists? (1 page,
single-spaced)
Part 1: Student-led Discussion
Part 2: The Future of Africa and African History Discussion
Week VI: Deconstructing Gender and Identity 3.9
Required Reading: Joan Wallach Scott, Gender and the Politics of History (pp.
ix-67, 93-138); and Bryce Traister, “Academic Viagra: The Rise of American
Masculinity Studies” American Quarterly (June 2000): 274-304 (Available
through JSTOR).
Required Writing: Compare and contrast the agendas, methods, and sources of
feminist history and masculinity studies. How do masculinity studies and feminist
history compare to traditional (older) historical scholarship? Is the focus
on masculinity in history simply a ploy for men to study themselves once again?
(1 page, single-spaced)
Part 1: Student-led Discussion of Reading & Reviews
Part 2: “Masculinist” History Discussion
Week VII: Environmental History 3.16
Required Reading: William Cronon, Changes in the Land
Required Writing: How does Cronon use the methods and sources of an environmental
historian to re-envision the landscape of colonial North America and revise
the history and historiography of this place and time? How might we use these
same sources and methods to chronicle the relationship between people and the
environment in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties? (1 page, single-spaced)
Required Internship: By this week, you must have started your public history
internship.
Part 1: Student-led Discussion of Reading & Reviews
Part 2: Planning the Oral History Project on the Galbreath Preserve
Week VIII Oral History Workshop 3.23
Required Reading: Alesandro Portelli, “The Death of Luigi Trastulli,” in
Portelli, The Death of Luigi Trastulli and Other Stories; and Estes, Ask & Tell
Introduction, Chapter 1, and Appendix (Portelli essay on reserve in readings
folder; Estes book on reserve) Required Writing: Come up with a topic and plan
for a local oral history project. What era, place, events, etc. would you focus
on? Who would you interview? What would you do with the interviews once they
are completed (archives, performance, museum exhibit, scholarly research, popular
publication, etc.)? (1 page, single-spaced)
Part 1: Critique the Professor
Part 2: Brainstorm Oral History Questions & Practice Oral History Interviews
Week IX: Research Day 3.30
No Class (Work on internship and oral history project.)
Week X: Social History and the Atlantic World 4.6
Required Reading: Martha Hodes, The Sea Captain’s Wife
Required Writing: What methods and sources do social historians like Martha
Hodes use to write the histories (and even biographies) of everyday people
from the 19th century? How successful is Hodes at depicting the worlds that
her characters inhabit? How successful is she at capturing the characters themselves?
(1 page, single-spaced)
Part 1: Student-led Discussion of Reading & Reviews
Part 2: Comparison of Hodes’ sources to those in Ulrich’s A
Midwife’s
Tale
Week XI: Public History (Part I) 4.13
Required Reading: Leon & Rosenzweig, History Museums in the U.S. (Intro,
Chapter 1, Chapter 7—On-reserve at the library) and Randolph Starn, “A
Historian’s Brief Guide to New Museum Studies” American Historical
Review February 2005, 110(1): 68-98 (Available in on-line library databases)
Required Writing: What is the role of museums in educating the public about
the past? How do museums balance education and entertainment? What is the relationship
between academic scholarship and public history? (1 page, single-spaced)
Part 1: Student-led Discussion of Reading & Reviews
Part 2: Internship Update/Brainstorming Session
Week XII: Spring Break 4.20
No Class
Week XIII: Myth and Meaning in Asian History 4.27
Required Reading: Paul A. Cohen, History in Three Keys
Required Writing: How have historians in America and China chronicled the story
of the Boxer Rebellion? How and why do historians mythologize the Rebellion?
Does Cohen himself mythologize the Rebellion or the writing of history more
generally? (1 page, single-spaced)
Part 1: Student-led Discussion of Reading & Reviews
Part 2: Nationalism, Politics, and History Discussion
Week XIV: History of Science 5.04
Required Reading: David M. Oshinsky, Polio
Required Writing: Book Review (1 page, single-spaced)
Mystery Artifacts Assigned
Part 1: Student-led Discussion of Reading
Part 2: Discussion: Polio and AIDS
Week XV: Public History (Part II) 5.11
Required Reading: Robert R. Weyeneth, "The Architecture of Racial Segregation:
The Challenges of Preserving a Problematic Past" The Public Historian (Fall 2005): 11-44; Various Authors, Roundtable on the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of the American Indian, The Public Historian (Spring 2006):
45-90; and Edward Rothstein, “Reopening a House That’s Still
Divided,” New York Times (December 14, 2010).
Required Writing: Museum Exhibit Review (1 page, single spaced)
Visit a museum in the Wine Country or the Bay Area and pick a historical exhibit
in the museum on which you will write a review. How does the exhibit use historical
research, sources, and material culture? How does it engage viewers from different
age groups, education levels, and cultural backgrounds? Be prepared to present
your exhibit critique to the class.
Part 1: Student-led Discussion of the Readings
Part 2: View a Virtual Museum Exhibit and Antiques Roadshow clips
Week XVI: Material Culture & Historical Sleuthing 5.18
Required Research: Determine the provenance of your mystery artifact. When
was it made, by whom, and for what purpose? What does it tell us about the
society and era in which it was made? In other words, what is its historical
significance?
Required Writing: Artifact Research Report (1 page, single-spaced)
Required Writing: Oral History Transcript
Part 1: Student-led Discussion of Reading
Part 2: Oral History Interview Presentations
Part 3: Student Presentations of Artifacts and Their Historical Significance
Final Exam (TBA)
Required Writing: Public History Project Due
Part 1: Report on Public History Projects