PAINTER SAMPLE SYLLABUS APRIL 2018 HIS-XXX: Nineteenth-Century Europe [Semester and Year]; [Session Days and Time] Cassandra Painter Office [XX]; Office Hours [XX] [Institutional Email] Required Texts Mary Gaskell, North and South Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal and Paris Spleen Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from the House of the Dead Sigmund Freud, On the Interpretation of Dreams Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds Other primary source readings posted online Optional Textbook (for reference only, if desired): John Merriman, A History of Modern Europe, Volume Two: From the French Revolution to the Present, Third Edition (New York: Norton, 2010) Course Description and Objectives This course examines the cultural, socioeconomic, and political history of Europe from the French Revolution of 1789 to the outbreak of World War I in 1914, with a particular focus on Britain, France, Germany, and Russia. Throughout, it will examine Europeans’ varied and evolving answers to three central questions: (1) what does it mean to be human?; (2) what does it mean to be modern?; and (3) what does it mean to be a citizen?. Topics include the birth of new political movements such as liberalism, socialism, nihilism and populism; the emergence of new nation-states; industrialization and social change; technology and the 1
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PAINTER SAMPLE SYLLABUS APRIL 2018
HIS-XXX: Nineteenth-Century Europe[Semester and Year]; [Session Days and Time]
Mary Gaskell, North and SouthKarl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist ManifestoCharles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal and Paris SpleenFyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes from the House of the DeadSigmund Freud, On the Interpretation of DreamsFriedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals and Ecce HomoH.G. Wells, War of the WorldsOther primary source readings posted online
Optional Textbook (for reference only, if desired):
John Merriman, A History of Modern Europe, Volume Two: From the French Revolution to the Present, Third Edition (New York: Norton, 2010)
Course Description and Objectives
This course examines the cultural, socioeconomic, and political history of Europe from the French Revolution of 1789 to the outbreak of World War I in 1914, with a particular focus on Britain, France, Germany, and Russia. Throughout, it will examine Europeans’ varied and evolving answers to three central questions: (1) what does it mean to be human?; (2) what does it mean to be modern?; and (3) what does it mean to be a citizen?. Topics include the birth of new political movements such as liberalism, socialism, nihilism and populism; the emergence of new nation-states; industrialization and social change; technology and the transformation of work and leisure; imperialism, nationalism, and racism; culture wars and philosophical debates. Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
Give a chronological narrative of the key events in the history of nineteenth-century Europe
Identify important nineteenth-century events, figures, and ideas and explain their significance
Make arguments regarding the interpretation of nineteenth-century European history, supported by evidence drawn from primary sources
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You will be assessed in three different areas of increasing complexity: (1) historical knowledge, (2) historical thinking, and (3) historical skills. You could also think of these three areas as what historians know, how historians think, and what historians do.
Introductory courses will concentrate more heavily on Area 1 – that is, on learning information about the history of a particular time and place. Area 2 challenges you to ask certain questions about the information: why is it important? How do we discover this information through analyzing historical sources? What are the limits of these sources? More advanced courses will focus on Area 3, which requires you to use these questions to “do history:” conducting research with both primary and secondary sources to create new interpretations of the past.
1: Historical Knowledge Ability to identify key figures, ideas, and events
Awareness of broad themes characterizing a particular historical era
Mastery of historical narrative, placing events in chronological sequence and drawing causal relationships between them
2: Historical Thinking Ability to place primary sources in their historical context and identify their broader significance
Awareness of the ways in which contingency, individual beliefs and experiences, social values, and environment influence historical actors
Mastery of critical analysis of texts using contextual clues and outside historical knowledge
3: Historical Skills Ability to construct an original argument about a historical subject supported by evidence, using primary and secondary sources
Awareness of existing historical scholarship and the analytical frameworks historians use
Mastery of creative engagement with sources to produce new knowledge in conversation with other scholars
Assignments
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There are three different types of assignment in this class, targeted at these different assessment areas: (1) in-class quizzes, (2) CAPSI reading responses, and (3) papers.
In-class quizzes assess Area 1, Historical Knowledge. They will test your mastery of the course material and are primarily intended to make sure I’ve succeeded in giving you a basic understanding of the material covered in lecture. They will also encourage you to attend class regularly and take good notes, as you will have a minute to look through them before the quiz begins. There will be 11 quizzes over the course of the semester, peer-graded in class. At the end of the semester, your lowest quiz grade will be dropped.
CAPSI reading responses assess Area 2, Historical Thinking. They will require you to analyze the primary source readings assigned for each week of the course by identifying each source’s Context, Audience, Purpose, Speaker, and Importance (see worksheet and example on the following pages at the end of the syllabus). Filling out these CAPSI sheets will not only prepare you to discuss the readings in class, but also help you study for the final exam.
Papers assess your ability to apply your knowledge and thinking in Area 3, Historical Skills. This course has two “tracks:” Track A is aimed at beginners in the college-level study of history, and Track B is for History majors and advanced students. Track A has two modestly-sized papers: a Primary Source Analysis paper and Secondary Source Analysis paper. Track B is writing a 10-15 page research paper. More details on these papers are below. You must commit in writing to either Track A or Track B no later than [DATE].
In addition to these assignments, there will be one cumulative final exam. The exam will have three parts. As with the course assignments, these sections are targeted at the three assessment areas.
Part One will ask you to identify key terms (a person, event, place, or idea) from a list of key terms covered in the course (see lecture outlines). For each term, you will write a minimum of four sentences in which you identify the term, place it in historical context (including a specific date), and explain why it is important. You will be given a list of 5 terms; you must identify 3 of these 5.
Part Two will ask you to fill out a CAPSI sheet for a short “mystery document” related to the course material. Using clues from the document and your own historical knowledge, you will place the document in context and provide information about the document’s likely author, audience, and purpose, ultimately identifying its historical significance.
Part Three will ask you to write an essay in response to a prompt. You will be given a list of 3 prompts; you will choose and write a response to 1 of these 3.
Your final grade for the course will be calculated as follows:
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OR Track B Paper: 40%
PAINTER SAMPLE SYLLABUS APRIL 2018
In-class quizzes: 10%CAPSI reading responses: 20%Track A Paper 1: 20%Track A Paper 2: 20%Exam: 30%
TRACK A Paper One: Primary Source Analysis Assignment
Primary sources are texts, images, or objects which come from the time and place a historian is studying. They provide the raw material which historians use as evidence in their work to uncover and interpret the past. For this assignment, you will choose a primary source (or a collection of related sources) from Europe between 1789 and 1914. You will then write a 5-7 page, double-spaced paper (12 pt. font, 1 inch margins) in which you briefly describe and thoroughly interpret this source. (For tips on finding primary sources, see the handout.) Choose a source that you find fascinating. Pursue your interests and be creative!
When writing your paper, you should address the following questions:
Who wrote/created this source, when, and why? Who was his/her intended audience? What argument or point of view was he/she trying to communicate? What can (and can’t) this source tell us about the time and place in which it was created?
What questions about the past can it help us answer, and what new questions might it raise? In short, what is its historical significance?
This assignment is due [insert date].
TRACK A Paper Two: Secondary Source Analysis Assignment
Secondary sources are sources of information about the past that were created by a person who did not experience that past first-hand. Historians rely on secondary sources not only to learn about the past, but also what other scholars have said about it. Find an academic article written about a topic related to the primary source you selected for your previous paper. This article must be at least 8 pages long, no more than 30 years old, and cannot be a newspaper article, book review, or historiography review (tips on the following page). Attach a copy of this article to a 5 page, double-spaced reader’s response (12 pt. font, 1 inch margins) which addresses the following questions:
What is the author’s argument? (Do NOT just quote it; re-state it in your own words.) What primary sources does the author use as evidence to support their argument? Do you find the author’s argument persuasive? Why or why not? Explain thoroughly. Why is the author’s topic important? Why should we care about his/her research?
This assignment is due [insert date.]
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TRACK B Research Paper
For this assignment, you will write a 10-15 page paper (12 pt. font, double-spaced) which:
Analyzes a primary source or collection of related sources relating to 19th-century Europe
Makes an argument about how to interpret these sources and why they are important Identifies one point on which historians have disagreed over how to interpret either
your source(s) or a topic directly related to your source(s), presents the various arguments, and explains your own position based on your source analysis
Uses a minimum of 8 secondary sources
You will turn in a paper topic proposal with a research question and bibliography no later than [DATE]. The final paper will be due [DATE]. I will provide handouts with more information about how to write a research paper for Track B students.
Class Schedule
WEEK ONEThurs: Introduction
WEEK TWO Tues: Crises of the Old RegimeThurs: The French Revolution
READINGS (CAPSI Sheet on one): Immanuel Kant, What is Enlightenment?; Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, What Is The Third Estate? (excerpts); Maximilien Robespierre, The Cult of the Supreme Being (excerpts), On the Principles of Political Morality (excerpts), and Justification of the Use of Terror; Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (excerpts)
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 435-478
WEEK THREETues: “In the beginning was Napoleon . . .”Thurs: Restoration Europe: The New Old Regime?
READINGS (CAPSI sheet on one): Prince Klemens von Metternich, Political Confession of Faith, Carlsbad Decrees; Ludwig von Beethoven, Symphony No. 3, “Eroica” (see below)
ALSO: read PBS Keeping Score, “Beethoven’s Eroica;” watch performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica,” PBS Keeping Score ; watch Simon Cellan Jones documentary Eroica, BBC on youtube (83 minutes)
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 479-512; 569-578
***Commit to TRACK A or TRACK B in writing by this Thurs***
READINGS (CAPSI Sheet on one): Ernst Moritz Arndt, “The German Fatherland;” Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Addresses to the German Nation (excerpts); Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Defense of Poetry;” E.T.A. Hoffmann, The Sandman
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 582-585; 600-605
WEEK FIVETues: (First) Industrial RevolutionThurs: Middle Class Culture
READINGS (CAPSI Sheet on one): Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South; William Wordsworth, The Excursion ; Thomas Carlyle, “The Mechanical Age,” from Signs of the Times
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 513-563
***TRACK B Paper Proposal DUE***
WEEK SIXTues: Liberalism and Reform without Revolution: England Thurs: Liberalism and Revolution Aborted: France, Germany, Russia
READINGS (CAPSI Sheet on one): Thomas Babington Macaulay, Speech on the Reform Bill of 1832 ; François Guizot, Memoirs (excerpts); Johann August Wirth, The Hambach Festival; Petr Chaadev, Philosophical Letters (excerpts)
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 579-600; 605-612WEEK SEVEN
Tues: Revolutions of 1848Thurs: Revolutions of 1848 (continued)
NO READINGS THIS WEEK
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 613-643
***TRACK A Primary Source Analysis Assignment DUE***
WEEK EIGHTTues: “A Specter is haunting Europe:” Foundations of SocialismThurs: Colonialism Case Study: From Company to Crown Rule in India
READINGS (CAPSI Sheet on one): Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Communist Manifesto; Charles Creighton Hazewell, “British India” and “The Indian Revolt”
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 563-568; 835-842WEEK NINE
READINGS (CAPSI Sheet on one): Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal (excerpts); Charles Baudelaire, Paris Spleen (excerpts); Reviews of Eduard Manet’s Olympia, 1865 (excerpts)
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 725-741; 798-817
WEEK ELEVENTues: Reform, Rebellion, Radicalism: Russia under Alexander IIThurs: Reaction: Russia under Alexander III and Nicholas II
READINGS (CAPSI Sheet on one): Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The House of the Dead; Tsar Alexander II, Emancipation Manifesto of 1861; Konstantin Pobedonostsev, Reflections of a Russian Statesman (excerpts)
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 705-724
WEEK TWELVETues: Victorian EnglandThurs: The Scramble for Africa
READINGS (CAPSI Sheet on one): Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness; Rudyard Kipling, “Take Up the White Man’s Burden”
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 686-704; 820-834
WEEK THIRTEENTues: Culture Wars and the Search for Meaning: Religion, Scientific Positivism,
Occultism Thurs: Pseudo-Scientific Racism and Anti-Semitism
NO READINGS THIS WEEK
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 773-778; 798-817
***TRACK A Secondary Source Analysis Assignment DUE***
WEEK FOURTEEN Tues: The Irrational from Nietzsche to FreudThurs: “Philistinism,” Avant-Gardism, Consumerism: Fin-de-Siécle Arts and
READINGS (CAPSI Sheet on one): Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams (excerpts); Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals (excerpts)
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 773-778; 798-817
***TRACK B Research Paper DUE***
WEEK FIFTEENTues: “Dropping the Pilot:” Germany under Wilhelm IIThurs: “The lights are going out all over Europe:” Outbreak of World War I
READINGS (CAPSI Sheet on one): H. G. Wells, War of the Worlds
TEXTBOOK (optional, for reference): Merriman 672-673; 863-891
*** FINAL EXAM [DATE, TIME]***
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Name: _____________________ Date:___________
Primary Source CAPSI Sheet
Document Name:CONTEXT: when and where was the document produced? What contemporary events led to and influenced its creation or were influenced by it in turn?
AUDIENCE: who was intended to see/read/hear this document? How does the document target this audience?
PURPOSE: why was the document produced by its author? What information, argument, or message was it intended to convey?
SPEAKER: who is the author (or authors) of the document? What are the author’s personal biases?
IMPORTANCE: why does this document matter? What impact did it have? What can we learn from this document?
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CAPSI SHEET EXAMPLE
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, “GETTYSBURG ADDRESS” (19 NOVEMBER 1863)
Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate-we cannot consecrate-we cannot hallow-this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.
Source: Voices of Democracy Project, University of Maryland, <http://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/lincoln-gettysburg-address-speech-text/> (Accessed 6 October 2015).
SEE NEXT PAGE →
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Name: _____________________ Date:___________
Primary Source CAPSI Sheet - EXAMPLE
Document Name: Gettysburg AddressCONTEXT: when and where was the document produced? What contemporary events led to and influenced its creation or were influenced by it in turn?
19 November 1863, dedication ceremony for military cemetery at Gettysburg, PA, during US Civil War
Battle of Gettysburg on 1-3 July 1863: Union victory ends Confederate Gen. Lee’s bid to invade the North
50,000 casualties, largest number of entire war, subsequently regarded as key turning point
AUDIENCE: who was intended to see/read/hear this document? How does the document target this audience?
Crowd of dignitaries and local people gathered at cemetery dedication ceremony
American public, North and South, who would read speech in newspapers
Speech directly invokes Americans in its call to continue to Union cause (“It is for us the living, rather . . .”)
PURPOSE: why was the document produced by its author? What information, argument, or message was it intended to convey?
Given to dedicate cemetery for war dead at Gettysburg Reassert foundation of US on principles of democratic
government and civil liberty Define Civil War as a war fought to preserve the Union and
continue work of ’76 Revolution (rather than states’ rights, slavery, domination of north over south, etc.; avoiding divisive issues?)
SPEAKER: who is the author (or authors) of the document? What are the author’s personal biases?
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), 16th US President Self-taught lawyer from IL, Republican party, elected president
1860 Recently signed Emancipation Proclamation on 1 January 1863 Running for re-election in 1864
IMPORTANCE: why does this document matter? What impact did it have? What can we learn from this document?
Eloquent and widely-reprinted statement of why the Civil War was being fought, justifying such tremendous sacrifices
Subsequently enshrined as foundational text of American principles alongside Declaration of Independence, Constitution, etc.
Shows Lincoln’s rhetorical skill, motivations
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Primary Source Project AssignmentPrimary sources are texts, images, or objects which come from the time and place a historian is studying. They provide the raw material which historians use as evidence in their work to uncover and interpret the past. For this assignment, you will choose a primary source (or a collection of related sources) from Europe between 1789 and 1914. You will then write a 5-7 page, double-spaced paper in which you briefly describe and thoroughly interpret this source. For tips on finding primary sources, see the following page. Pursue your interests! Be creative!
When writing your paper, you should address the following questions:
Who wrote/created this source, when, and why? Who was his/her intended audience? What argument or point of view was he/she trying to communicate? What can (and can’t) this source tell us about the time and place in which it was created?
What questions about the past can it help us answer, and what new questions might it raise?
You will be graded using the following rubric:
MEDIOCRE OR POOR (C+ to F)
GOOD (B- to B+) EXCELLENT (A- to A+)
WRITING STYLE AND MECHANICS - 20%
Several grammar, spelling, and mechanical errors. Style is repetitive or clunky. Difficult to follow. Lack of proof-reading. Generally an insufficient effort.
Writing is mostly clear and easy to follow. Few grammar, spelling, and mechanical errors. Some varied structures. Generally competent.
Sophisticated style and vocabulary. Well organized and engaging. Very few or no grammar, spelling, and mechanical errors. Generally a joy to read.
CHOICE AND DESCRIPTION OF SOURCE - 20%
Source may be unrelated to course or generally ill-suited to assignment. Vague or no description of source.
Source is relevant and a good topic for analysis. Adequate description. May be some inaccuracies or missing details.
Source is a creative and/or highly relevant choice. Description is accurate and richly detailed.
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HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF SOURCE -60%
Historical analysis of source is missing, highly inaccurate, or highly inadequate.
Historical analysis of source is present, but some required components (such as a discussion of the source's limitations) may be missing. Analysis may be simplistic or flawed.
Historical analysis of source is accurate, thorough and insightful. All required components are present.
Some Places to Find Primary Sources in European History
[UNIVERSITY LIBRARY]. You can search for materials published within a specific date range, or look for sourcebooks or textbooks which include reprinted primary sources. If [UNIVERSITY LIBRARY] doesn’t have the book you want, you can request it via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
Google Books. Go to <www.books.google.com/advanced_book_search>. You can set your search parameters so that you only get results printed within a certain date range. Other filters include language, author, publisher, and subject. This is a great way to find novels, magazine and journal articles, non-fiction, etc. written about a specific topic during a specific time. If the work is in the public domain (i.e., no longer under copyright), you can read or download it in its entirety for free.
Fordham University History Sourcebooks. Fordham University provides links to short or excerpted primary sources on a wide variety of topics in history at <http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbookfull.asp>.
Eurodocs. Primary source database maintained by Brigham Young University. Note: unlike Fordham’s database, many sources are available only in the original language (i.e., are not translated into English). <https://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Main_Page>
European History Primary Sources. Run by the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Searchable database of thousands of sites with primary sources related to European history. You can narrow your search to sites with sources in English, or look at sites related to the history of a particular country, time period, etc. <http://primary-sources.eui.eu/browse-repositories>
Europeana Collections. <http://www.europeana.eu/portal/en>. A collection of millions of texts, artworks, music, maps, fashion, and just about anything else you can think of, drawing on museums from across Europe.
The European Library. <http://www.theeuropeanlibrary.org/tel4/>. Another database linking the online collections of several European museums. Not as large as Europeana Collections.
Artstor Digital Library. A database of paintings, photography, etc., searchable by country and type. You will need to access this through [UNIVERSITY LIBRARY]. Go to [WEBSITE, etc. etc.] and click on Artstor. Enter your [UNIVERSITY ID AND PASSWORD] when prompted.
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German History in Documents and Images. The German Historical Institute has an excellent collection of primary sources from 1500 to the present. <http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/>.
These are just some of the resources available to you. Don’t be limited by this list!
Secondary Source Project AssignmentSecondary sources are sources of information about the past that were created by a person who did not experience that past first-hand. Historians rely on secondary sources not only to learn about the past, but also what other scholars have said about it. Find an academic article written about a topic related to the primary source you selected for your previous paper. This article must be at least 8 pages long, no more than 30 years old, and cannot be a newspaper article, book review, or historiography review (tips on the following page). Attach a copy of this article to a 5 page, double-spaced reader’s response which addresses the following questions:
What is the author’s argument? (Do NOT just quote it; re-state it in your own words.) What primary sources does the author use as evidence to support their argument? Do you find the author’s argument persuasive? Why or why not? Explain thoroughly. Why is the author’s topic important? Why should we care about his/her research?
You will be graded using the following rubric:
MEDIOCRE OR POOR (C+ to F)
GOOD (B- to B+) EXCELLENT (A- to A+)
WRITING STYLE AND MECHANICS - 20%
Several grammar, spelling, and mechanical errors. Style is repetitive or clunky. Difficult to follow. Lack of proof-reading. Generally an insufficient effort.
Writing is mostly clear and easy to follow. Few grammar, spelling, and mechanical errors. Some varied structures. Generally competent.
Sophisticated style and vocabulary. Well organized and engaging. Very few or no grammar, spelling, and mechanical errors. Generally a joy to read.
CHOICE AND DESCRIPTION OF ARTICLE - 20%
Article may be unrelated to course or generally ill-suited to assignment. Basic information about article lacking.
Article is relevant and provides plenty of material for analysis. Adequate description. May be some inaccuracies or missing details.
Article is a creative and/or highly relevant choice. Description is accurate and richly detailed.
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UNDERSTANDING OF AND RESPONSE TO ARTICLE’S ARGUMENT -60%
Fails to correctly identify or misunderstands author’s argument. Response to the argument is missing or very minimal.
Identifies author’s argument, but may fail to appreciate its complexity. Response is short or lacking in evidence or complexity.
Analysis of the author’s argument is accurate, thorough and insightful. Response is lengthy, well-argued and creative.
Finding and Choosing Academic Articles on European History
Some Places to Find an Article:
Go to the Periodicals section of [UNIVERSITY LIBRARY], located [LOCATION]. You will find current issues of several journals about European history displayed for you to browse. Older issues are stored in the stacks. Note: you cannot check out journals and periodicals, so you will have to make a copy of your article or complete the assignment in the library.
Search the online catalog of [UNIVERSITY LIBRARY] and set your search parameters to bring back article results. You will be able to access many articles online. Others will be in back issues of periodicals located in the library stacks. If you have your heart set on an article that is not available online or in the stacks, you can request it via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
Look in an anthology – that is, a book with multiple articles written by different authors on a single topic. Search for the topic you are interested in using [UNIVERSITY LIBRARY] online catalog. Look for results which have editor(s) (ed.) instead of an author. This is a good indication that you have an anthology rather than a monograph.
Use JSTOR or Project Muse. These are online databases of many academic journals where you can search for and download articles. You will need to access it through [UNIVERSITY LIBRARY] website. Go to [DIRECTIONS].
When Choosing an Article:
Do not choose a historiography review – that is, an article that talks about what several other historians have written about a topic. Also, do not choose an article in which an author reviews one or more books. Those articles are highly useful, but not appropriate for this assignment. Finally, no newspaper articles – we’re looking for an article written for an academic rather than a general audience, published in a journal or periodical.
In addition to articles by historians, you may also choose articles by scholars from related disciplines like anthropology, sociology, English/literary studies, art history, etc. If you
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choose such an article, however, remember that your analysis needs to be from a historian’s perspective.
Your article needs to be related to your primary source, but feel free to interpret this broadly. If your primary source is a women’s fashion catalog, for instance, you could use articles on fashion and designers, but perhaps also articles the working conditions of seamstresses, or women’s social roles at the time/place of the catalog.
If you are unsure about your choice of article or don’t know where to start, ask me!
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Writing a Research Paper for History CoursesA historical research paper makes a fact-based argument about the interpretation of the past, using primary sources as evidence. It does not simply describe historical events, persons, or ideas “for their own sake.” Instead, it analyzes the raw material of the past in order to generate new ideas and insight. Finally, a research paper in history should demonstrate awareness of preexisting research on the topic in question. It engages in “dialogue” with other scholars, drawing on their insights as well as critiquing them in the process of making an original argument, an interpretation that contributes something new to the “conversation.”
For this course, Track B students will write a 10-15 page paper (12 pt. font, 1-inch margins, double-spaced) which:
Analyzes a primary source or collection of related sources relating to Europe since ca. 1750
Makes an argument about how to interpret these sources and why they are important Identifies at least one point on which historians have disagreed over how to interpret
either your source(s) or a topic directly related to your source(s), presents the various arguments, and explains your own position based on your source analysis
Uses a minimum of 8 secondary sources
First, you will turn in a paper topic proposal with a research question and bibliography no later than [DATE]. A paper topic proposal should have:
A narrowly-defined topic that can be adequately addressed in 10-15 pages. “The American Civil War,” for instance, would be much too big a topic to handle, and has no specific focus. “Comparison and contrast of black soldiers’ experiences in Union and Confederate militias,” on the other hand, would be much better.
A research question that is analytical rather than merely inquisitive: not just “how were black Confederate and black Union soldiers’ experiences in the Civil War similar and different?,” but “what can the similarities and differences of black Confederate and Union soldiers’ experiences tell us about racism in 1860s America?”
A list of potential primary and secondary sources to use in your paper. This list should be at least 5 sources long. Your final paper must have at least 1 primary source and 8 secondary sources.
I will return your proposals by the next class meeting. The final paper will be due [DATE]. Don’t forget to cite all sources using the Chicago Manual of Style format (see citation and formatting handout). You will be graded according to the rubric on the reverse of this page.
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How to Format Papers for this CourseGeneral Formatting
All papers turned in for this course must be typed, not handwritten. (This excludes CAPSI sheets. You are free to type or handwrite these as you prefer.) They must conform to these general formatting rules:
double-spaced (excluding the heading) 1-inch margins on all sides font must be Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial font must be 12 pt.
Headings
At the top of the first page of your paper, you must provide the following information:
Your name The course title and/or number (“Nineteenth-Century Europe” and/or “HIS-XXX”) The date
Below the heading should be the title of the paper. Your title should be centered on the page.
Page Numbers
Please include your last name and the page number in a header on all pages of your paper except the first page (“Painter 2”). If you don’t know how to insert page numbers or use Headers in Word, watch a tutorial, Google it, or ask someone to show you how to do this.
Citation and Bibliography Formatting
You will be expected to cite all sources as well as provide a bibliography at the end of your papers. Historians format their citations and bibliographies according to the Chicago Manual of Style. This means that you will be using footnotes, rather than parenthetical in-text citations. I realize many of you may be using Chicago style for the first time, but Word (and other word-processing programs) makes the process relatively easy these days.
In addition, you can find detailed examples on how to cite different kinds of sources in Chicago Style online. I highly recommend the Quick Guide at http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html, which is reproduced on the next several pages. The Online Writing Lab (OWL) hosted by Purdue University also has a good page on Chicago Style: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/.
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Notes and Bibliography: Sample CitationsThe following examples illustrate the notes and bibliography system. Sample notes show full citations followed by shortened citations for the same sources. Sample bibliography entries follow the notes. For more details and many more examples, see chapter 14 of The Chicago Manual of Style. For examples of the same citations using the author-date system, follow the Author-Date link above.
Book
Notes
1. Zadie Smith, Swing Time (New York: Penguin Press, 2016), 315–16.2. Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015), 12.
Shortened notes
3. Smith, Swing Time, 320.4. Grazer and Fishman, Curious Mind, 37.
Bibliography entries (in alphabetical order)
Grazer, Brian, and Charles Fishman. A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2015.
Smith, Zadie. Swing Time. New York: Penguin Press, 2016.
For many more examples, covering virtually every type of book, see 14.100–163 in The Chicago Manual of Style.
Chapter or other part of an edited book
In a note, cite specific pages. In the bibliography, include the page range for the chapter or part.
Note
1. Henry David Thoreau, “Walking,” in The Making of the American Essay, ed. John D’Agata (Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2016), 177–78.
Shortened note
2. Thoreau, “Walking,” 182.
Bibliography entry
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Thoreau, Henry David. “Walking.” In The Making of the American Essay, edited by John D’Agata, 167–95. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2016.
In some cases, you may want to cite the collection as a whole instead.
Note
1. John D’Agata, ed., The Making of the American Essay (Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2016), 177–78.
Shortened note
2. D’Agata, American Essay, 182.
Bibliography entry
D’Agata, John, ed. The Making of the American Essay. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2016.
For more examples, see 14.103–5 and 14.106–12 in The Chicago Manual of Style.
Translated book
Note
1. Jhumpa Lahiri, In Other Words, trans. Ann Goldstein (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016), 146.
Shortened note
2. Lahiri, In Other Words, 184.
Bibliography entry
Lahiri, Jhumpa. In Other Words. Translated by Ann Goldstein. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016.
E-book
For books consulted online, include a URL or the name of the database. For other types of e-books, name the format. If no fixed page numbers are available, cite a section title or a chapter or other number in the notes, if any (or simply omit).
Notes
1. Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1851), 627, http://mel.hofstra.edu/moby-dick-the-whale-proofs.html.
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2. Philip B. Kurland and Ralph Lerner, eds., The Founders’ Constitution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987), chap. 10, doc. 19, http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/.
3. Brooke Borel, The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016), 92, ProQuest Ebrary.
4. Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (New York: Penguin Classics, 2007), chap. 3, Kindle.
Shortened notes
5. Melville, Moby-Dick, 722–23.6. Kurland and Lerner, Founders’ Constitution, chap. 4, doc. 29.7. Borel, Fact-Checking, 104–5.8. Austen, Pride and Prejudice, chap. 14.
Bibliography entries (in alphabetical order)
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007. Kindle.
Borel, Brooke. The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016. ProQuest Ebrary.
Kurland, Philip B., and Ralph Lerner, eds. The Founders’ Constitution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987. http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/.
Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1851. http://mel.hofstra.edu/moby-dick-the-whale-proofs.html.
For more examples, see 14.159–63 in The Chicago Manual of Style.
Journal article
In a note, cite specific page numbers. In the bibliography, include the page range for the whole article. For articles consulted online, include a URL or the name of the database. Many journal articles list a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). A DOI forms a permanent URL that begins https://doi.org/. This URL is preferable to the URL that appears in your browser’s address bar.
Notes
1. Susan Satterfield, “Livy and the Pax Deum,” Classical Philology 111, no. 2 (April 2016): 170.
2. Shao-Hsun Keng, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem, “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality,” Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 9–10, https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.
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3. Peter LaSalle, “Conundrum: A Story about Reading,” New England Review 38, no. 1 (2017): 95, Project MUSE.
Shortened notes
4. Satterfield, “Livy,” 172–73.5. Keng, Lin, and Orazem, “Expanding College Access,” 23.6. LaSalle, “Conundrum,” 101.
Bibliography entries (in alphabetical order)
Keng, Shao-Hsun, Chun-Hung Lin, and Peter F. Orazem. “Expanding College Access in Taiwan, 1978–2014: Effects on Graduate Quality and Income Inequality.” Journal of Human Capital 11, no. 1 (Spring 2017): 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1086/690235.
LaSalle, Peter. “Conundrum: A Story about Reading.” New England Review 38, no. 1 (2017): 95–109. Project MUSE.
Satterfield, Susan. “Livy and the Pax Deum.” Classical Philology 111, no. 2 (April 2016): 165–76.
Journal articles often list many authors, especially in the sciences. If there are four or more authors, list up to ten in the bibliography; in a note, list only the first, followed by et al. (“and others”). For more than ten authors (not shown here), list the first seven in the bibliography, followed by et al.
Note
7. Rachel A. Bay et al., “Predicting Responses to Contemporary Environmental Change Using Evolutionary Response Architectures.” American Naturalist 189, no. 5 (May 2017): 465, https://doi.org/10.1086/691233.
Shortened note
8. Bay et al., “Predicting Responses,” 466.
Bibliography entry
Bay, Rachael A., Noah Rose, Rowan Barrett, Louis Bernatchez, Cameron K. Ghalambor, Jesse R. Lasky, Rachel B. Brem, Stephen R. Palumbi, and Peter Ralph. “Predicting Responses to Contemporary Environmental Change Using Evolutionary Response Architectures,” American Naturalist 189, no. 5 (May 2017): 463–73. https://doi.org/10.1086/691233.
For more examples, see 14.168–87 in The Chicago Manual of Style.
News or magazine article
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Articles from newspapers or news sites, magazines, blogs, and the like are cited similarly. Page numbers, if any, can be cited in a note but are omitted from a bibliography entry. If you consulted the article online, include a URL or the name of the database.
Notes
1. Rebecca Mead, “The Prophet of Dystopia,” New Yorker, April 17, 2017, 43.2. Farhad Manjoo, “Snap Makes a Bet on the Cultural Supremacy of the Camera,”
New York Times, March 8, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/technology/snap-makes-a-bet-on-the-cultural-supremacy-of-the-camera.html.
3. Rob Pegoraro, “Apple’s iPhone Is Sleek, Smart and Simple,” Washington Post, July 5, 2007, LexisNexis Academic.
4. Tanya Pai, “The Squishy, Sugary History of Peeps,” Vox, April 11, 2017, http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/4/11/15209084/peeps-easter.
Manjoo, Farhad. “Snap Makes a Bet on the Cultural Supremacy of the Camera.” New York Times, March 8, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/technology/snap-makes-a-bet-on-the-cultural-supremacy-of-the-camera.html.
Mead, Rebecca. “The Prophet of Dystopia.” New Yorker, April 17, 2017.
Pai, Tanya. “The Squishy, Sugary History of Peeps.” Vox, April 11, 2017. http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/4/11/15209084/peeps-easter.
Pegoraro, Rob. “Apple’s iPhone Is Sleek, Smart and Simple.” Washington Post, July 5, 2007. LexisNexis Academic.
Readers’ comments are cited in the text or in a note but omitted from a bibliography.
Note
9. Eduardo B (Los Angeles), March 9, 2017, comment on Manjoo, “Snap.”
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For more examples, see 14.188–90 (magazines), 14.191–200 (newspapers), and 14.208 (blogs) in The Chicago Manual of Style.
Book review
Note
1. Michiko Kakutani, “Friendship Takes a Path That Diverges,” review of Swing Time, by Zadie Smith, New York Times, November 7, 2016.
Shortened note
2. Kakutani, “Friendship.”
Bibliography entry
Kakutani, Michiko. “Friendship Takes a Path That Diverges.” Review of Swing Time, by Zadie Smith. New York Times, November 7, 2016.
Interview
Note
1. Kory Stamper, “From ‘F-Bomb’ to ‘Photobomb,’ How the Dictionary Keeps Up with English,” interview by Terry Gross, Fresh Air, NPR, April 19, 2017, audio, 35:25, http://www.npr.org/2017/04/19/524618639/from-f-bomb-to-photobomb-how-the-dictionary-keeps-up-with-english.
Shortened note
2. Stamper, interview.
Bibliography entry
Stamper, Kory. “From ‘F-Bomb’ to ‘Photobomb,’ How the Dictionary Keeps Up with English.” Interview by Terry Gross. Fresh Air, NPR, April 19, 2017. Audio, 35:25. http://www.npr.org/2017/04/19/524618639/from-f-bomb-to-photobomb-how-the-dictionary-keeps-up-with-english.
Thesis or dissertation
Note
1. Cynthia Lillian Rutz, “King Lear and Its Folktale Analogues” (PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2013), 99–100.
Shortened note
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2. Rutz, “King Lear,” 158.
Bibliography entry
Rutz, Cynthia Lillian. “King Lear and Its Folktale Analogues.” PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2013.
Website content
It is often sufficient simply to describe web pages and other website content in the text (“As of May 1, 2017, Yale’s home page listed . . .”). If a more formal citation is needed, it may be styled like the examples below. For a source that does not list a date of publication or revision, include an access date (as in example note 2).
Notes
1. “Privacy Policy,” Privacy & Terms, Google, last modified April 17, 2017, https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
3. Katie Bouman, “How to Take a Picture of a Black Hole,” filmed November 2016 at TEDxBeaconStreet, Brookline, MA, video, 12:51, https://www.ted.com/talks/katie_bouman_what_does_a_black_hole_look_like.
Bouman, Katie. “How to Take a Picture of a Black Hole.” Filmed November 2016 at TEDxBeaconStreet, Brookline, MA. Video, 12:51. https://www.ted.com/talks/katie_bouman_what_does_a_black_hole_look_like.
Google. “Privacy Policy.” Privacy & Terms. Last modified April 17, 2017. https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
The Chicago Manual of Style Online. “Notes and Bibliography: Sample Citations.” Accessed April 16, 2018. http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html.
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Five Tips for Top-Notch Writing
1. Vary your sentence length and structure.
This is a short sentence. Here is another short sentence. They both have five words. The subject always comes first. The verb is always next. The pattern repeats and repeats. It is boring to read.
Now watch. What if, to draw your interest, I vary the structure and length of the sentences? Something magical happens. From plodding along, the pace of the narrative changes. If done well, it can transform the reader’s experience. In fact, once a writer has hooked the reader’s attention, confidently carrying him along in the flow of her words, she can take risks: complex structures, dependent clauses, parallel construction, and extended metaphors all become potential devices she can employ.
2. Avoid passive voice.
Passive voice is to be avoided. The subject of the sentence, the doer of the action, is easily left out by the writer. Students of history are especially encouraged to omit this technique for this reason. The all-important historical actor can be lost by this way of writing. Sentences are also made unnecessarily clunky.
Avoid passive voice. The writer can easily leave out the subject of the sentence, the doer of the action. For this reason, professors especially encourage history students to omit this technique. By writing in this way, writers can lose the all-important historical actor. It also makes sentences unnecessarily clunky.
3. Don’t use non-specific nouns such as “things” or “people.”
Things were bleak in Germany at the end of World War II. People were homeless and many were dead or wounded.
The economic situation and the popular mood were bleak in Germany at the end of World War II. Millions of war-weary civilians were homeless and many were dead or wounded.
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4. Inject your analysis. Explain rather than merely describe.
The German government issued the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. Jews lost their citizenship rights and they were no longer allowed in public places like parks and movie theaters. They couldn’t marry non-Jewish Germans.
As part of an escalating process of dehumanization, the German government issued the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. Jews lost their citizenship rights and they were no longer allowed in public places like parks and move theaters. By removing them in this way from the public view, the government further weakened the social ties that had formerly bound Germans and their Jewish neighbors together. The Nuremberg Laws also forbade Jews from marrying non-Jewish Germans, which followed logically from the Nazi Party’s emphasis on eugenics and racial purity.
5. Avoid clichés. They are uncreative and usually give no meaningful information.
Since the dawn of time, men have sought power. One such man was Adolf Hitler. In 1923, he led a putsch to try to become the leader of Germany.
In Germany after World War I the new Weimar Republic suffered a crisis of legitimacy. In its early years many individuals tried to illegally seize power. One such man was Adolf Hitler, who led a putsch in 1923.
