HIS6159 Historiography

Dr. Peter L. LarsonCNH 516

Office:Colbourn Hall (CNH) 537Wednesday, 6:00 to 8:50 p.m.

Office Phone: 407-823-6466Fall 2012

Email: redit: 3 units (3,0)

Webpage: via Webcourses

Office Hours:Thursday 4:00-5:30 p.m.,& by appointment

This course provides an introduction to historiography: the history and science of writing history. As the discipline of history is vast and complex, we will concentrate on a selection of important contributions to the field, exploring seminal works and theories as well as debates with which every modern historian must be familiar. In addition, this course will introduce students to the profession of history, covering topics from genres of historical works to conferences to professional expectations and codes of conduct. Finally, this course will reinforce the requirements of the History M.A. program and begin preparation for the thesis.

Objectives

  1. To explore the theories, methods, and debates relevant to modern historians.
  2. To learn how to analyze historical debates and the contributions of different scholars accurately and fairly, in preparation for a student’s own contributions to the field.
  3. To learn about the profession of history, its history, and professional expectations and standards.
  4. To lay the groundwork to complete the M.A. in History.

Required Texts

The following books are required and are available at the University Bookstore.Unless noted, earlier editions are acceptable.

  • Georg Iggers, Historiography in the Twentieth Century: From Scientific Objectivity to the Postmodern Challenge, 2nd ed.(Wesleyan, 2005).
  • Fernand Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, vol. I. Trans. by Sian Reynolds. (U of California, 1996)
  • Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error (George Braziller, 2008).
  • Immanuel Wallerstein, World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction(Duke, 2004).
  • Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (Vintage, 1995).
  • Edward Said, Orientalism (Vintage, 1979).
  • Linday Colley, Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837. 3rd revised ed. (Yale, 2009).
  • Deborah Gray White, Ar’n’t I a Woman? Female Slaves in the Plantation South. Revised ed. (W.W. Norton 1999).
  • John Thornton, Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800. 2nd ed. (Cambridge, 1998).
  • Seth Koven, Slumming: Sexual and Social Politics in Victorian London (Princeton, 2006).
  • Kate L. Turabian et al., A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th ed. (Chicago, 2007). If you do not already own a copy, the current edition is highly encouraged.

Assignments

1

  • Participation20 points
  • Weekly Response Posts10 points
  • Leading Discussion20 points
  • Historiographical Essay20 points
  • Thesis Proposal

Annotated Bibliography20 points

  • Event + paper10 points

1

Participation: This course is foundedupon active discussion.Students are required to have read all of the assigned readings before class and to arrive prepared to discuss them in depth. Attendance is mandatory; one unexcused absence is tolerated, but each additional unexcused absence will result in the deduction of five (5) points from your final grade.As a courtesy to myself and to your classmates, please turn off all phonesbefore class.Taping of classes is not permitted without prior permission.

Leading Discussion:Each student will lead discussion twice, as part of a team. This entails preparation of questions (and a handout of those questions), to help guide discussion, a biographical presentation on the author under discussion (see below), and a historiographical presentation on the topic.

Author bio:The discussion leaders are responsible for a biographical presentation of the week’s author. This includes a 5-10 minute oral presentation on the author, and a one-page CV-like handout indicating professional employment, awards, and publications.

Weekly Response Posts: Each week, all students (except those leading discussion) will make a 250-500 word post, plus 2-3 questions suitable for class discussion, onto the weekly discussion thread in Webcourses by 10pm the night before class. (You are encouraged but not required to respond to other posts.) These are not summaries, but a discussion of points on theory or method within the readings. I am not looking for profound, philosophical statements, but clear identification of and honest engagement with the different approaches to history.

Historiographic Essay: A 10-12 page essay that places your proposed thesis topic into a broader context. Early in the semester, you should start contemplating your thesis topic and begin assembling the secondary sources relevant to the topic.This is not binding, but it’s a good idea to do your proposal for this class in the same field as you want to write your thesis. In this essay, you will discuss the history of historical research on your topic (either chronologically or topically) in such a way that the reader will gain an understanding of how research on this topic has evolved over time.

Thesis Proposal & Annotated Bibliography: A 7-12 page thesis proposal, with annotated bibliography, following the departmental guidelines. This assignment is designed to get you thinking about your thesis. This assignment asks you to contemplate how you will add to the body of knowledge that you described in your historiographical essay; as such, you will have to contemplate research questions and available primary sources.

Attend Event + paper: Attend one History Department event (such as the Department’s Research colloquium) and write a 2-4 page paper discussing the theories, methods, and/or approaches evident in the presentation.

Late Papers and Extensions: Late papers will not be accepted, except for an excused absence. Extensions generally will not be granted unless sought at least 48 hours in advance and for good cause.

Style Guide: All papers must conform to the Chicago Style; use Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, andDissertations. Papers should be double-spaced, typed, with 1” margins all around. Fonts should be normal sized fonts (e.g. Times New Roman 12, Courier 10, Arial 10).

Other Course Policies

Office Hours: You can find me in my office during my stated office hours; if you cannot make the normal office hours, please contact me to set up an appointment.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the presentation (consciously or unconsciously) of someone else’s words or ideas as your own. Plagiarism is not limited to published works; it includes other students’ papers and web sites. You are expected to quote works by others, but under no circumstances should you incorporate someone else’s work into your own without proper citation. If you refer to someone else’s idea, or paraphrase it, even if there is not a direct quote, you must cite the source; unreferenced paraphrasing is plagiarism. If I detect plagiarism, I will report you according to departmental and University policies; the assignment will received a zero, and you likely will receive an ‘F’ in the class.

Grades: I will use these criteria when assigning letter grades:

93.00 to 100 = A87.00 to 89.99 = B+ etc.

90.00 to 92.99 = A-83.00 to 86.99 = B

87.00 to 89.99 = B+ 80.00 to 82.99 = B-

Reminder: grades below B- do not result in graduate credit for the course.

Disability Statement: Students with disabilities who require accommodations in this course must contact me at the beginning of the semester to discuss what is necessary; otherwise no accommodations will be provided. Students must be registered with Student Disability Services, Student Resource Center Room 132, phone (407) 823-2371, TTY/TDD (407) 823-2116.

Email Protocols: Please adhere to the following when sending course-related emails:

Provide a clear, descriptive subject line (the class prefix and number never hurt).

Always sign your name at the end; others may not know you as .

Don’t use text-abbreviations (e.g. “ur” for “your”). Part of being a graduate student is learning to present yourself professionally.

Always be polite, even when disagreeing with someone.

When emailing faculty, use proper salutations (e.g., Dr. or Professor if they have a doctorate; Mr. or Ms. if you know that they don’t; Professor is usually a safe choice.)

Leave sufficient time for a response.

Email is neither secure, nor private (Sunshine Laws): don’t send anything personal or confidential. Emails can be hacked, leaked, or you may send something to the wrong address.

Schedule of Classes

Unless noted, articles are available online via JSTOR or other UCF databases

8/22Introduction; The profession of History

8/29The first modern history

  • Iggers, Historiography in the Twentieth Century: Introduction, Chapters 1-2.
  • William M. Sloane, “History and Democracy,” American Historical Review1 (1895): 1-23.
  • Henry Adams, “Count Edward de Crillon,” AHR 1 (1895): 51-69.
  • Henry C. Lea, “Confiscation for Heresy in the Middle Ages,” English Historical Review2 (1887): 235-59.
  • T. W. Cameron, “The Early Life of Thomas Wolsey,” EHR 3 (1888): 458-477.

Also, use JSTOR’s Browse feature and look through the contents of the early volumes of the AHR and EHR; get a sense of the topics and approaches based on the titles.

9/5History then and now: The history of the writing of modern History

  • Iggers, Historiography in the Twentieth Century: Chapter 3 - Epilogue.
  • Peter Charles Hoffer, Past Imperfect (Public Affairs, 2004): Introduction & Chapter 2

(reserve)

9/12The Annales School

  • Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II

Read Part One (entire) and Part Two: I (basically, pp. 1-461).

9/19History from Below / Historical MaterialismIndividual Consultations

  • Christopher Hill, “The Agrarian Legislation of the Interregnum,” EHR 55 (1940): 159-167.
  • Robert Brenner, "Agrarian Class Structure and Economic Development in Pre-IndustrialEurope," Past & Present 70 (1976): 30-75.
  • Rodney Hilton, “Feudalism and the Origins of Capitalism,” History Workshop 1 (1976): 9-25.
  • George Rudé, “The London ‘Mob’ of the Eighteenth Century,” The Historical Journal 2 (1959): 1-18.
  • E. P. Thompson, “The Moral Economy of the English Crowd in the Eighteenth Century,”P&P 50 (1971): 76-136.
  • Eugene Genovese, “The Significance of the Slave Plantation for Southern Economic Development,” Journal of Southern History 28:4 (1962): 422-437
  • G.E.M. de Ste. Croix, “Why Were the Early Christians Persecuted?” P&P 26 (1963): 6-38.

9/26Cliometrics/The Quantitative TurnIndividual Consultations

Set I: The Atlantic Slave Trade

  • Joseph Inikori, “Measuring the Atlantic Slave Trade: An Assessment of Curtin and Anstey” Journal of African History 17:2 (1976): 197-223.
  • David Henige, “Measuring the Immeasurable: The Atlantic Slave Trade,” Journal of African History 27:2 (1986): 295-313.
  • David Eltis, “The Volume and Structure of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: A reassessment,”William and Mary Quarterly 58:1 (2001): 17-45

Set II: The Distribution of Wealthin England

  • E. J. Buckatzsch, “The Geographical Distribution of Wealth in England, 1086-1843: An Experimental Study of Certain Tax Assessments,” Economic History Review n.s. 3 (1950): 180-202.
  • R. S. Schofield, “The Geographical Distribution of Wealth in England, 1334-1649,” EcHR n.s. 18 (1965): 483-510.
  • Pamela Nightingale, “The Lay Subsidies and the Distribution of Wealth in Medieval England, 1275-1334,” EcHR n.s. 57:1 (2004): 1-32.

10/3Discourse & Meaning: The Linguistic TurnTopics Due

  • Foucault, Discipline & Punish

10/10Annales Redux: The Influence of Anthropology

  • Le Roy Ladurie, Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error
  • Clifford Geertz, “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight,” Daedalus 101:1 Myth, Symbol and Culture (1972): 1-37.

10/17Postcolonialism & Subaltern Studies

  • Said, Orientalism
  • Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “Can the Subaltern Speak?” in Patrick Williams and Laura Chrisman, eds., Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory: A Reader (Harvester/Wheatsheaf, 1994), pp. 66-111. (reserve)

10/24History & Liberation: ConsideringGender, Race, and Identity

  • Joan W. Scott, “Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis,” AHR91 (1983): 1053-75.
  • Joan Kelly Gadol, “Did Women Have a Renaissance?” in R. Bridenthal andC. Koonz, eds. Becoming Visible: Women in European History (Houghton-Mifflin, 1977), pp. 148-52.( reserve)
  • Judith Bennett, “Writing Fornication: Medieval Leyrwite and Its Historians: The Prothero Lecture,” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 6th ser. 13 (2003): 131-162
  • Emily C. Bartels, “Othello and Africa: Postcolonialism Reconsidered,” W&M Quarterly 54:1 (1997): 45-64.
  • Jennifer L. Morgan, “’Some Could Suckle Over Their Shoulder’: Male Travelers, Female Bodies, and the Gendering of Racial Ideology, 1500-1700,” W&M Quarterly 54:1 (1997): 167-192.

10/31Modern History IHistoriographic Essays due

  • White, Ar’n’t I a Woman?

11/7Modern History II/Presentations

  • Colley, Britons: Forging the Nation 1707-1837
  • Mark Stoyle, “English ‘Nationalism’, Celtic Particularism, and the English Civil War,” The Historical Journal 43:4 (2000): 1113-1128.

11/14Modern History III/ PresentationsIndividual Consultations

  • Koven, Slumming
  • Nancy Maclean, “The Leo Frank Case Reconsidered: Gender and Sexual Politics in the Making of Reactionary Populism,” Journal of American History 78 (1991): 917-948.

11/21World History: The Atlantic World /PresentationsIndividual Consultations

  • Thornton, Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World

11/28World Systems /PresentationsIndividual Consultations

  • Wallerstein, World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction

12/5-6Graduate Seminar “Conference” 5:30-9pm – more details to follow

12/10Thesis Proposal due by 6pm

12/11Event Essay due by 6pm

How to Survive Historiography

Most of you are first-time graduate students, and this course will be challenging. Here is some advice to help you succeed in the course:

Manage your time and plan ahead.

Communicate, with each other, and with me. Be polite, and follow proper protocols – you’re

learning to be a professional historian, after all.

Ask questions, in and out of class. You can’t learn if you don’t inquire.

Don’t try to be profound or deep in your answers. True theorists are few and far between, and are very narrow in outlook; you just need to become familiar with different ideas.

This class is not about mastering and showing off knowledge; it’s about learning and engaging in the dialogue of History, and finding new questions to ask.

Don’t panic if you don’t understand a theory or approach; the light may go off months or years down the road. That’s normal.

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