Office Hours: Thursdays, 11:00 – 12:15 p.m., and by appointment. (Immediately before and after class is usually also a good time to have some questions answered.)

Note to Students: It is my pleasure to do what I can to help you meet your goals in this class. If you find yourself having trouble, please send me e-mail, use my office hours, or set up an appointment to see me.

Course Description

This course is designed for history majors to provide a broad foundation in how to think and work as historians. As the University of Idaho catalog description states about History 290: “Introduction to the discipline of history, basic skills for course work and research, and major schools of historical writing.” Learning to think in a discipline is a central goal of university education, and this course will help us all hone our skills as students of history. We will discuss major trends in historical scholarship, practice critical thinking and communication skills, and learn how to conduct and complete a research assignment.

For some of us, some material in this class will be a review, but sharpening reading, research, and communication skills is never wasted effort. For others, most of the material in this class will be new and will require practice. Thus, there will be opportunities for everyone, including the professor, to learn and practice old and new skills.

Required Books

The following list constitutes the required books for this course. They are available for purchase at the University of Idaho Bookstore. It is possible, even likely, that you could find some of the books cheaper through online booksellers.

· John Tosh, ed., Historians on History

· Elizabeth Vibert, Traders’ Tales

· Wayne C. Booth, et al., The Craft of Research, 2^nd edition

· Diana Hacker, Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age, third edition (This book is available online for free at www.dianahacker.com/resdoc and so the book is optional for purchase; however, some will find it much easier to use the print version.)

Assignments and Grading

Preparation (20%): For this class to work well, students need to come to class prepared to work on a daily basis. To encourage this, you will be graded on your willing participation, your preparedness, and your presence. This grade will be calculated by contributions to discussions, by attendance, by in-class assignments, and by my general observations. There may be graded in-class and unannounced quizzes.

Midterm (20%): Your midterm will cover the material learned from Historians on History. It will consist of one or two essay questions and perhaps some terms for identification. You will need to be able to demonstrate that you understand the major schools of historical thinking and apply their ideas.

Review of Traders’ Tales (10%): You will write a short (750-1000 words) book review of Traders’ Tales. Historians (and often history majors) are frequently asked to write critical reviews of historical monographs. Being able to succinctly summarize, and more importantly, to evaluate, a historical argument is one of the most important skills you can master.

Source Analyses (2 * 10%= 20%): You will have the opportunity to turn in two source analyses—one secondary, one primary—during the course of the semester. These sources will be related to your research project, and the analyses will reflect the types of thinking and writing historians typically undertake.

Research Project (30%): There will be several stages to your research project. Some portions will be graded simply whether you turned in a completed assignment that fulfilled the requirements, while others will receive a letter grade. Combined, these pieces will constitute your Research Project grade. You will need to turn in the following pieces:

· Proposal including a Preliminary Bibliography (ungraded) (approximately 2. 5%)

· Annotated Bibliography (ungraded) (approximately 2. 5%)

· Rough Draft of Introduction, Thesis, and Outline (graded) (approximately 5%)

· Final Draft (graded) (approximately 20%)

Policies

Late Work Policy: Your grade drops one full grade for each day your work is late. You must be in class the day it is due to turn in work. If you do not come to class, your work will be counted as one day late unless you have made prior arrangements. With legitimate, documented excuses or for absences arranged ahead of time, exceptions can be made.

Grade Challenges: I am willing to entertain grade challenges provided they are submitted in writing and that you wait 48 hours after the assignment is returned before you hand in your objection. You will then need to set up an appointment with me to discuss the assignment and grade. Also, you must initiate this process within one week of the time the assignment was returned to the class. After re-evaluating a grade and meeting with you to discuss the assignment and evaluation, I may change it.

Plagiarism: To plagiarize is to present someone else’s work as your own. To present someone else’s work as your own means to use someone else’s information, ideas or writing without explicitly acknowledging with quotation marks and/or citations that the ideas and/or writing are not your own. You may be plagiarizing even if you are not directly quoting. Plagiarism is a serious offense and I will give a 0 to the first assignment in which a student plagiarizes. If a student plagiarizes again, I will fail that student in the course. If you have ANY questions or confusions about plagiarism, please let me know before you turn in your work. It is essential to be using others’ ideas and information; however, you just must provide credit where credit is due. You may find additional information about Academic Honesty (and dishonesty) as part of the Student Code of Conduct.

Accommodations: Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify me during the first week of class of an accommodation(s) needed for the course. Late notification may mean that requested accommodations might not be available. All accommodations must be approved through Disability Support Services located in the Idaho Commons Building, Rm. 333, 885-7200, or dss@uidaho.edu.

Expectations

Students will:

	attend all classes.
	finish assigned readings and work on time and be prepared to answer questions and discuss reading content.
	spend time contemplating the basic issues discussed in class and in the reading.
	treat peers and professor with respect.
	engage in appropriate academic classroom behavior (e.g., arrive on time prepared to take notes, do not engage in social conversations or other disruptive acts, keep wireless phones off and out of sight).
	not navigate the Internet or read/write e-mail during class on their notebook computers.
	do not engage in "social loafing" during group assignments.
	take independent steps to solve any confusion due to missed class (or other reasons) by using appropriate methods.
	devote ample time to the course content despite work, social and other class obligations.
	do not cheat or be prepared to accept the consequences which will result in 0 points for the assignment. (Further discipline may be appropriate.)

The instructor will:

	arrive in class on time and be prepared to make effective use of the students' time.
	treat students and their opinions with respect.
	be available to students during office hours and at other times arranged by mutual agreement.
	make every reasonable effort to assist students in attaining their academic goals.
	assess student performance in as objective and accurate manner as is possible and as quickly as possible.
	challenge students to learn as much as possible.

Schedule

Please note that this is an approximation of what we will be doing and changes may be necessary. If so, they will be announced to the class. Also, the reading assignments are to be complete before you come to class on the day they are assigned.

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
8/23	Syllabus	Introductions and Expectations
8/25	Hacker, 1-6 (Research Questions and Search Strategies); Handout on Popular History, also found online at: http://hnn.us/articles/printfriendly/12073.html	Assignments Types of History

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
8/30	Tosh, ed., 1-45; Booth, et al., xi-xv, 3-16	History for Its Own Sake
9/1	Tosh, ed., 49-106	Political Histories

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
9/6	Tosh, ed., 109-66; Booth, et al., 17-33	The New Radicalism
9/8	Hacker, 7-28 (Finding and Evaluating Sources)	Library Visit for Primary Sources

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
9/13	Tosh, ed., 169-211; Booth, et al., 37-55	Learning from History
9/15	Hacker, 53-64 (Researching History)	Library Visit for Secondary Sources

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
9/20	Tosh, ed., 215-70; Booth, et al., 56-74	History as Social Science
9/22	Tosh, ed., 273-323	The Impact of Postmodernism

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
9/27	Tosh, ed., 327-39; Booth, et al., 75-89	Beyond Academia
9/29		MIDTERM EXAM

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
10/4	Primary Sources (Handout);	Research Proposal Due (consult Hacker for bibliographic form); Types and Biases of Primary Sources
10/6	Vibert, xi-xviii, 3-49; Booth, et al., 90-107	Reading Secondary Sources

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
10/11	Vibert, 50-83	Applying Sources
10/13	Vibert, 84-162 (we will not discuss Vibert’s book in class after today, but you must complete it to write your review)	Comparing the Use of Sources; Structuring an Argument

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
10/18		Bias and Primary Sources
10/20	Booth, et al., 111-26	Traders’ Tales Book Review Due

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
10/25	Booth, et al., 127-50	Making Claims and Supporting Them
10/27	Booth, et al., 151-81	Solidifying Arguments

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
11/1	Booth, et al., 185-207	Annotated Bibliography Due Beginning to Draft
11/3	Booth, et al., 208-40	Framing the Paper

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
11/8	Booth, et al., 241-62 (optional, required if appropriate to your research
11/10	No Class Meetings—Research and Meeting with Instructor	No Class Meetings—Research and Meeting with Instructor

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
11/15	No Class Meetings—Research and Meeting with Instructor	No Class Meetings—Research and Meeting with Instructor
11/17	No Class Meetings—Research and Meeting with Instructor	No Class Meetings—Research and Meeting with Instructor

FALL RECESS; NO CLASSES

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
11/29		Preliminary Draft Due (introduction, thesis, outline)
12/1	Booth, et al., 263-82	Revisions

DATE	READING ASSIGNMENT	TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION / ASSIGNMENTS DUE
12/6	Review Booth, et al., Quick Tips; Hacker (Chicago Style)	Checking and Re-Checking
12/8		Final Questions (and Answers)

FINAL PAPER DUE during scheduled Final Exam

Tuesday, December 13, 1-3 pm

in my office, Administration 315