What
is History?
Here are some Internet Links
History 290 – Approaches to History
University of Evansville Spring 2002
Dr James Lachlan MacLeod
INTRODUCTION
What is history? From where do we get our history? Who
decides what is and is not history? What parts of the past are preserved, what
parts are forgotten, and what makes the distinction? Is the history in a
college textbook more reliable that that in a Hollywood movie? Or a novel? Or
in our grandparents’ memories? What aspects of 2002 will become history? Why?
These are all important questions for
us, whether or not we intend to become professional historians. We are formed
by our history and we are all currently forming history for our children, and
so it seems appropriate that we should study what history is and how it is
delivered to us.
That is what we will try to do in History 290 this semester. Thanks for
signing up for the class, and I hope you enjoy it. Life is too short to be
poker-faced. The class will be as informal as possible, and I will do my best
to make sure that you all have an enjoyable and successful time.
REQUIREMENTS
Your grade in this class will be based on the following
elements:
Presentation 20%
Participation 20%
First
Draft Term Paper 20%
Revised Final Draft Term Paper 20%
Final Exam 20%
Please note
that attendance is carefully recorded and excessive absences will have a
devastating impact on your grade in this class.
MOVIES
This class also requires attendance at six Wednesday evening movie screenings in Graves 100; the movies will be discussed on the following Friday class. The movies and dates are as follows:
Jan 23 Braveheart
Feb 6 The Name of the Rose
Feb 20 A League of Their Own
Mar 13 Michael Collins
Apr 3 Malcolm X
Apr 17 Saving Private Ryan
CLASS STUDY DAYS
There will be five Friday Class Study Days when the class will not meet and you may use that time as you choose. These dates are Jan 18, Feb 1, Mar 1, Mar 22, and Apr 12.
READING
You must buy and read the following five texts by these dates:
Michael T Isenberg, Puzzles
of the Past. An Introduction to Thinking About History (1985) – read by Jan
14
Anne Llewellyn Barstow, Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts (1995) – read by Feb 11
Alexander Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962) – read by Feb 25
Robert Graves, Goodbye to All That. An Autobiography (1929) – read by Mar 18
Geoff Dyer, The Missing of the Somme (1994) – read by Apr 8
We will be reading these books, not necessarily for the information that
they contain, but to look critically at different ways in which history is
delivered to us. How have others looked at history? What are the strengths and
weaknesses of a feminist perspective on the witch hunts? What do we learn from
a novel? Can we trust autobiography? What does a book about war memorials and
memory tell us about the nature of history?
WRITTEN WORK
Effective writing is the single most
essential tool for historians, and therefore 40% of your grade in History 290
will be earned through the production of a research paper that has been
carefully crafted. You may turn in as many drafts as you wish, but at least one
draft must be submitted by March 11, and the final product is due April 15.
Your paper must have at least 12 sources, of which no more than 4 can be
websites. Your final paper must be no shorter than 13 pages and no longer than
15, excluding title page and works cited pages. You should use 12 point font,
double spaced, with adequate margins.
You may write on any topic; but you
must meet with me to agree on it as soon as possible.
In the grading of all written work,
credit will be given for well-constructed, clearly argued and accurately
researched writing: errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar will be
penalized. Please note the ZERO TOLERANCE
policy with regards to plagiarism and unauthorized aid.
CLASS PRESENTATIONS
This is a seminar-based course and each
student or group of students (2-4 per group, depending on class numbers) is
expected to prepare and deliver a presentation at one of the meetings of the class.
This is to take the form of a discussion of one of the topics listed; the
earlier you sign up the more choice you have as to when you present; you must
decide on a topic and a date by 14 January 2002. Please note the
following points carefully:
- These
topics are all obviously controversial; it might be helpful for your group
to present the alternative views on the topic and then sum up at the end.
You are of course not expected to agree with all of the topic statements,
but you are expected to make an historical case for whatever position you
are covering.
- Presentations
must be collaborative efforts; you will receive the same grade as your
partner(s) and so it is your responsibility to ensure that the collective
product is a good one.
- This
means that you must meet with your partner(s) to discuss the project in
detail well before the due date.
- You
must meet with me to discuss your detailed plans at least TWO days before
the presentation. At this meeting you will submit a bibliography of
sources that you have used.
- Presentations
must be accompanied by one or all of the following: handouts, powerpoint
presentation, slides, overheads, videos, music.
- The
purpose of item 4 is not decoration: whatever you use should enhance and
illustrate your presentation; ideally they would provide examples of what
you are discussing.
- Your
presentation must have a clear introduction and a clear conclusion.
- Your presentation should seek to raise a number of
questions and challenge your classmates to discussion; and feel free to
offer your own views - the presentation is supposed to be an expression of
informed opinion. The presentation must, however, involve a
series of questions to stimulate class discussion; these are not to be
simple ‘quiz’ style questions but thought-provoking questions about ideas
and issues.
- The presentation is intended to help you to gain
confidence in presentation of material in front of a class. Feel free to
experiment with different techniques – credit will be given for
originality and creativity.
- The presentation should reflect the length of a
class period, with about 10 minutes left in a 50-minute period.
Presentations that are significantly too long or too short will be
penalized.
- I don’t want to see anyone reading his or her
presentation off an Internet print-off; this is to be YOUR work based on
YOUR research.
20% of your final grade rests on this; if you have any
questions please don’t hesitate to ask me beforehand.
PRESENTATION TOPICS AND DATES
Jan 23 ‘The
Protestant Reformation was a disaster.’
Feb 6 ‘The
European Renaissance was something that only affected the Elite.’
Feb 20 ‘The
US Civil War was the fault of the North.’
Mar 13 ‘Imperialism
did more good than harm.’
Apr 3 ‘The
Holocaust never happened.’
Apr 17 ‘US
policies are to blame for the attacks of September 11 2001’
ATTENDANCE
POLICY
Students are expected to
attend class on a regular basis. There is an attendance policy; students who
exceed their permitted number of excused absences will be penalized by one
grade drop on each occasion they exceed their maximum limit.
ONLY TWO UNEXCUSED ABSENCES
ARE PERMITTED IN THIS CLASS.
Absence from class is permitted only in cases of extreme
sickness or ill-health. In the event of
such an occurrence, it is incumbent upon the student to see a qualified medical
authority and to obtain a certificate of certified absence within 24 hours of
the absent class. Apart from this form
of justified absence, no other absence is excused except where authorised by
the Chair of the Department of History.
Finally, a note of warning concerning
punctuality. Any student who arrives
later than ten minutes for class (including movie screenings) will be deemed to
be absent from that class, and the absence will count as an unexcused
absence. Similarly, I expect work to be
handed in by the set time and date.
Unless a request for an extension has been made and agreed, all overdue
papers will be awarded an automatic "F".
OFFICE HOURS
I am available to
meet with you during my regular office hours which for this semester are
Mon Wed Fri 9.00-10.00
Tues Thurs 10.00-11.00
For your own convenience, try to make
an appointment in case I am meeting another student. Any other time between 9
and 5 during the week, feel free to come up and talk about the course.
Dr James Lachlan MacLeod
Office Olmsted 343
telephone 2599
email jm224
Website
access through History Dept homepage at
http://history.evansville.edu
History
290 Calendar for Spring 2002
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Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
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Jan 7 |
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Jan 14 |
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Study day |
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Jan 21 |
MLK
day |
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Presentation #1 6.00 Braveheart |
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Discuss Braveheart |
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Jan 28 |
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Study day |
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Feb 4 |
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Presentation #2 6.00 Name of the Rose |
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Discuss Name of the Rose |
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Feb 11 |
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Feb 18 |
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Presentation #3 6.00 A League of their Own |
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Discuss A League of their Own |
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Feb 25 |
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Study day |
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Mar 4 |
Spring Break |
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Mar 11 |
First draft paper due |
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Presentation #4 6.00 Michael Collins |
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Discuss Michael Collins |
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Mar 18 |
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Study Day |
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Mar 25 |
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Easter
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Apr 1 |
Easter
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Presentation #5 6.00 Malcolm X |
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Discuss Malcolm X |
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Apr 8 |
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Study Day |
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Apr 15 |
Final draft papers due |
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Presentation #6 6.00 Saving Private Ryan |
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Discuss Saving Private Ryan |
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Apr 22 |
Last class |
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Reading Day |
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12.30 Final Exam |
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Apr 29 |
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3 Witchcraze Reviews