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HISTORY 300 A, HISTORICAL THINKING, GAYLE K. BRUNELLE (REVISED)

PLEASE NOTE REVISIONS IN SYLLABUS, 9/04

HISTORY 300A, Fall, 2004, SECTION 13491, Weds., 7-9 p.m. in H. 126

INSTRUCTOR: DR. GAYLE K. BRUNELLE

OFFICE: H 710E

TEL.: (714)278-7045

FAX: (714)278-2101

EMAIL: GBRUNELLE@FULLERTON.EDU

WEB SITE: http://faculty.fullerton.edu/gbrunelle

OFFICE HOURS: MW, 10:30-11:30, M, 6-7 p.m.

FINAL EXAM DATE AND TIME: Weds. Dec. 15, 7:30-9:20 p.m.

Please note: Fall Break is the week of November 22-28

*PLEASE ALSO NOTE: THE HISTORY DEPARTMENT REQUIRES THAT HISTORY MAJORS EARN A "C" OR ABOVE IN THIS CLASS, OR ELSE REPEAT IT!

Required Reading:

Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto, (New York: Viking, 1985)

Richard Appignanesi and Chris Garratt, Introducing Postmodernism, published in the US by Totem Books, published in the UK by Icon books (info@iconbooks.co.uk).  ISBN 1-84046-056-3 

John Tosh, The Pursuit of History, Longman, ISBN: 0582772540

Patrick Manning, Navigating World History: Historians Create a Global Past (Macmillan; 2003) ISBN: 1-40396-119-0

Mark T. Gilderhus, History and Historians, (New York: Prentice Hall, 1995)

Lynn Hunt, The New Cultural History, (Berkeley: Univ. of California, 1989)

Natalie Zemon Davis, The Return of Martin Guerre, (Harvard UP, 1983)

In addition, you should purchase Strunk and White, The Elements of Style (Longman), 02530902X

Selected short readings on reserve at the library.

Please note: All books will be available at Little Professor Text Books, 725 North Placentia Ave., Fullerton, CA, 92632, (714)996-3133

Course Description: This course is designed to introduce history majors to the study of history. In particular it emphasizes the development of what is called historiography, or the history of history and the concept that history is about more than facts, that good history requires interpretation. We will cover the development of history as a field of research, a category of analysis and a form of literature, from the earliest historian, the Greek Herodotus, to the present, and focus on how historians arrive at interpretations. During much of the class we will grapple in particular with twentieth century historiographical development, and the injection of theory into history, and the growth of specializations, such as social, economic, cultural and gender history. By the end of this course, students should be better prepared to understand the historical interpretations which they will encounter in their upper division history courses.

Learning Goals and Objectives: The goals and objectives of this course are primarily in the area of comprehension, but students will also be required to write a book review paper in which they must hone their critical reading and writing skills.

1. To ensure that history majors understand the nature and importance of historical interpretation.

2. To inculcate in students a sensitivity to the concept of historical debate. How and why do historians arrive at opposing interpretations.

3. To acquaint students with the important schools of history and to the uses of theory in historical analysis.

4. To permit students to assess the nature and validity of interpretation in actual monographs, through critical book reviews.

5. To offer students an opportunity to practice their critical reading and writing skills through essay exams and a comparative book review paper.

Assessment:

! Students will be assessed in this course by means of two essays exams, a midterm and a final, each worth one third of their final grade. The date and time of the final are Weds. Dec. 15, 7:30-9:20 p.m.

! They will also be expected to write two position papers, six to eight pages in length, based on the class readings. Moreover, students must hand in a draft of each of their papers the week prior to their due dates. I will edit and return this draft, which students must then hand in appended to their final draft. The purpose of this is twofold. First, it requires students to edit and rewrite their work, essential steps in the process of learning to write well. Second, it allows me to judge progress in content and writing skills for each student, which in turn leads to assessment based on the individual skill level of each student. The papers will constitute the final third of students= grades (15% per paper and presentation - see below).

! Please note that due to the small but significant minority of students who plagiarize, either the first or final draft of your paper must be handed in via Turnitin.com. Students will find a Powerpoint presentation on how to use Turnitin at: http://fdc.fullerton.edu/technology/turnitin/default.htm. I will also discuss Turnitin the first day of class. The class ID number is 1157247. The password is "password." Rather than wait to be caught plagiarizing, deliberately or inadvertently, I strongly urge you to submit your drafts and review your reports on them yourselves. If your papers contain more than 24% material from other sources (i.e., yellow or above on your report), even if cited correctly, this constitutes too many quotes or otherwise "borrowed" material, and the paper should be revised to reduce this. If you have quoted from sources and not cited them, you must cite them in the revised version. If I catch you "borrowing" too many quotes from legitimate sources, I will require you to rewrite your paper in your own words. Failure to do so will result in an "F" for the paper. If I find that you’ve purchased the paper from an "essay mill," I will drop you from the course and report you for academic dishonesty.

! I will assign students their paper topics, which will be staggered during the semester. Ideally, however, each student will do one paper before the midterm, and a second after it.

! Along with their papers, students will be required to give a five-minute oral presentation discussing the reading they have analyzed in their papers. This will mean that each week students through their presentations will begin the discussion of the readings for that week. The purpose of this part of the assignment is to offer students the opportunity to develop the oral communication skills so vital successful history teaching.

! Students who are late with their papers and/or unprepared to offer the oral presentation will lose 10 points from their grade for the paper unless in exceptional circumstances they have contacted me prior to the day the paper is due and received permission to be late. Please note that via Turnitin.com I will know the date in which the paper was turned in.

! Although I do not grade directly on class participation, this class is by and large a discussion class in which lecture is kept to a minimum. In order for the class to work, therefore, students must keep up with the reading and participate in class. I keep track of participation, and those students who participate regularly (meaning more than simply being present in class, although attendance is obviously a necessary first step) can rise as much as a half a grade in their final grade above what they have earned on their tests and paper.

Makeup Policy: If you must miss an exam or the deadline for the paper, you must have a valid emergency (severe illness or death of self, spouse or very close relative; pets, distant relatives or mild illnesses are right out). In the event of such an emergency, you must contact me before the exam or due date (unless you= re on the freeway without a cell phone), by email, on the phone or in person, to make alternate arrangements. Do not ask for extensions or makeup exams days after the missed deadline.

Honor Policy: Students are encouraged to collaborate in discussing their work inside and outside of class. However, anything you hand in should represent your own efforts. In the event of cheating, University Honor Policy will be observed. The link to the University’s Honor Policy is: http://senate.fullerton.edu/PDF/300/UPS300-021.pdf

Course Outline:

Week One/Aug. 25: Introduction. Are the facts just the facts? Bias, interpretation and evidence in history. What do we mean by historiography and why do we study it? What is evidence and how do we use it to mold and support an argument? Is history a science or a form of literature, or both? Reading: In class, handouts of Herodotus and Thucydides.

Week Two/Sept. 1: Early history writing; basic elements. Why do we thinks of the Greeks as the creators of history as we know it? What are the most basic elements of history which distinguish it from fiction? Primary versus secondary sources. Basics of Historiography, an overview from Greeks to modern times. Reading: Gilderhus, History and Historians, all.

Week Three/ Sept. 8: Dawn of the Modern Era; the impact of Karl Marx. Reading: Marx, The Communist Manifesto, all, and excerpt, on reserve, from E.P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class.

Week Four/Sept. 15: Dawn of the Modern Era, part II. Spengler, Weber, Toynbee, Freud and other greats; also, the Annales school and anthropological and ethnohistory. Reading: On reserve, excerpt, Oswald Spengler, The Problem of Civilization, excerpt, Arnold Toynbee, A Study of History, David Gaunt, Memoir on Anthropology and History, "Recent Perspectives on Witchcraft," James Axtell, excerpts, The European and the Indian, and Natives and Newcomers, all on reserve.

Week Five/Sept. 22: Modern historiographical debates; historical analysis since the 1970s. Reading: Manning, Navigating World History, Parts I and II.

Week Six/ Sept. 29: Modern historiographical debates continued; Navigating World History, Parts III and IV

Week Seven/Oct. 6: First half of class: Midterm. March 19, Navigating World History, Part V.

Week Eight/ Oct. 13: Hunt, et. Al. The New Cultural History, Part I.

Week Nine/Oct. 20: The New Cultural History, Part II.

Week 10/Oct. 27: Postmodernism – what is it and why does it matter? Reading: Introduction to Postmodernism, all.

Week 11/Nov. 3: Gender as a category of historical analysis. Reading: Bock, Tosh, Scott, and Davidoff, from your readings on reserve.

Week 12/Nov. 10: Gender as a category of historical analysis. Reading: Laqueur, Roper, Trumbach, Hall and Vickery, from your Readings on reserve.

Week 13/Nov. 17: Cultural history, fiction and film. Reading: Natalie Zemon Davis, The Return of Martin Guerre, all and AAHR Forum, the Return of Martin Guerre, on reserve.

Please note that Fall break is the week of November 22 – no class!

Week 14/ Dec. 1: The Return of Martin Guerre.

Week 15/ Dec. 8: Discussion, film, book and forum, The Return of Martin Guerre. Conclusion.

Week 16/Final Exam, Weds., Dec. 15, 7:30-9:20 p.m.

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