HI 200 Syllabus

HI 200
The Historian’s Craft
Boston University. Fall, 2008
R.S. Deese
rsdeese@bu.edu
617-353-2554
Office: rm 502, 226 Bay State Rd.
Office Hours: W,F 2:30-4PM
Tel: 353-8313



HI 200: The Historian’s Craft




“History is bunk,” in the oft-quoted words of Henry Ford, or, as Napoleon put it, it is merely “a fable agreed upon.” Such cynicism about what most people accept to be “history” has a certain facile appeal, but it also begs the question: Is it possible to research and write an account of the past which, instead of being “bunk,” is scrupulously honest, and which, instead of being a “fable agreed upon,” overturns our most comfortable assumptions and challenges us to see not only the past, but also the present and the future in ways that we had not conceived before? If it is possible to create this kind of scholarship in history, should the field be described as a science, an art, or a combination of both?

This course will consider the nature of history itself, and will assess a number of methods for researching, writing, and evaluating original historical scholarship. You will write two five-page historiography papers, and one twelve-page analytical paper interpreting two primary sources and placing them in their historical context. Most important, you will be expected to complete all assigned reading before class and participate in each day’s discussion. In addition to written work, each student will be required to do two oral presentations based on each of your two historiography papers. Your oral presentations, along with your attendance and general participation, will constitute nearly a third of your grade in this course.


Course Goals:

• Master professional standards of research, writing, and documentation

• Learn to view the historian’s profession in its contingent historical context

• Assess a broad array of methods and genres for historical research and writing



Grade Breakdown:

Participation: 30%; Paper 1: 20% ; Paper 2: 20%; FINAL PAPER: 30%



Required Readings

Thomas Frank, The Conquest of Cool. ISBN: 0226260127
Sidney Mintz, Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History ISBN: 0140092331
Richard White, The Organic Machine. ISBN: 0809015838
Jonathan Spence, The Gate of Heavenly Peace. ISBN-13: 978-0140062793
Robert Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre. ISBN: 0394729277
Michael Frayn, Copenhagen. ISBN: 0385720793
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland. ISBN: 0486404293
Robert Evans, In Defense of History. ISBN: 0393319598

Schedule of Readings & Assignments

9/8 Introduction

9/15 Conquest of Cool (Presentations)

9/22 Sweetness & Power (Presentations)

9/29 The Organic Machine (Presentations)

10/6 Paper One due in class. Film (TBA)

10/14 Information Technology Center session

10/20 Environmental History (Presentation)

10/27 The Gate of Heavenly Peace (Presentations)

11/3 Copenhagen (Presentations)

11/10 Paper Two Due in class (Film TBA)

11/17 Mugar Library session

11/24 Herland (Presentations)

12/1 In Defense of History (Presentations)

12/8 FINAL PAPER DUE IN CLASS


Note on Plagiarism

Needless to say, the work you present must be entirely your own and all sources must be diligently credited in your footnotes and bibliography. Any attempt at plagiarism, representing the work of another person as your own, will be result in failure in this course and severe disciplinary action by Boston University. If you should need more information on this subject, consult the website of the History Department.