Nancy Fitch
Fall 2013
HIST 501, Section 1, Schedule # 12321
H 126
Tuesday 7:00-9:45 p.m.
Office: H820M
Office Phone: 657-278-2964
Office Hours: TTh 1:15-2:15, Tu 6-7, and by appointment or via email
Email:
HISTORY 501
HISTORY AND THEORY
**[NOTE 1: THIS CLASS WILL USE PLUS/MINUS GRADING]
C O U R S E D E S C R I P T I O N A N D L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S
· Course Description: Welcome to History 501. This graduate reading and discussion course introduces students to key methodological and philosophical issues in history. Some of you may be confused by the term “historical theory,” since it implies variation beyond mere fact. That is precisely the point. We will study history from an epistemological standpoint. That is to say we will consider History as a constructed and fluid body of knowledge, one that has changed significantly in its techniques and in relation to other disciplinary fields over time, especially in the last twenty years.I have tried to chose authors and texts from a range of historical fields and time periods, although most of these works deal with the history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a reflection of my own area of expertise.
· Learning objectives: The general goal of all history department courses is to help students become historically literate. Such literacy is achieved if students are able to
o demonstrate knowledge of historical, facts, themes, and ideas;
o demonstrate the ability to reason through analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of historical evidence; and
o demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate historical knowledge and reasoning orally and in writing both individually and in cooperative learning venues.
· Historical Knowledge: The course is designed to help you better understand the theoretical and methodological influences that have been most important in shaping the current discipline of history.
· Historical Reasoning: The course is also intended to help you learn to critically analyze recent secondary works more effectively by improving your ability to
o recognize that the past is represented in a variety of ways;
o recognize and critically interrogate secondary interpretations of other historians;
o identify the theoretical and methodological approaches employed in secondary works;
o understand documentary criticism and interpretation;
o read more critically;
o evaluate the different ways historians use evidence;
o put more independent thought and reflection into essays;
o argue your own position against other points of view.
· Communication: Finally, the course is intended to improve your ability to communicate your ideas effectively through formal written essays and frequent participation in class discussions. Such exercises will help you to
o effectively express complex ideas both orally and in writing by summarizing and paraphrasing professional historians’ ideas as well as by articulating your own critical observations; adhere to conventions of good historical essay writing, especially through rigorous documentation.
· Note!! Class participation is a must. In class debates will be conducted on sound evidence and in the spirit of balanced academic inquiry. Disruptive behavior and/or Ad Hominem arguments will result you being dropped from the class. Period. You are expected to come to class. If you have three or more unexcused absenses, you will receive a “D” in the discussion portion of the class. If you miss five or more classes without some extraordinary reasons, you will receive an “F” for this portion of the class.
· I will also create an electronic bulletin board, which will also be used toward the discussion portion of your grade.
R E Q U I R E D C O U R S E M A T E R I A L (Reading List)
· This is your core reading list of books, and they are available at the "Little Professor Book Center", 725 N. Placentia Avenue, Fullerton, CA 92632; Phone: (714) 996-3133; Fax: (714) 528-1888; E-mail:
--(recommended) Bernard Bailyn, The Barbarous Years: The Peopling of British North America—The Conflict of Civilizations, 1600-1675 (Vintage, 2013)
--Judith Butler and Elizabeth Weed, The Question of Gender: Joan W. Scott’s Critical Feminism (Indiana University Press, 2011)
--Benjamin Cawthra, Blue Notes in Black and White: Photography and Jazz (University of Chicago Press, 2011)
--Bernard S. Cohn, Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge (Princeton University Press, 1996)
--Laurent Dubois, Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France (University of California Press, 2010)
--Linda Espana-Maram, Creating Masculinity in Los Angeles’s Little Manila: Working-Class Filipinos and Popular Culture in the United States (Columbia University Press, 2006)
--John Lewis Gaddis, The Landscape of History: How Historians Map the Past (Oxford University Press, 2002)
--(recommended) Trevor R. Getz and Liz Clarke, Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History (Oxford University Press, 2012)
--(recommended) Laura Lunger Knoppers and Joan B. Landes, eds., Monstrous Bodies/Political Monstrosities in Early Modern Europe (Cornell University Press, 2004)
--(recommended) Jill Lepore, The Name of War: King Philip’s War and the Origins of American Identity (Vintage, 1999)
--Deborah Lipstadt, Denying the Holocaust (A Plume Book, 1999)
--(recommended) Lester K. Little and Barbara Rosenwein, Debating the Middle Ages: Issues and Readings (Blackwell, 1988)
--(recommended) Alyssa Sepinwall, Haitian History: New Perspectives (Routledge, 2012)
--Miriam Silverberg, Erotic Grotesque Nonsense: The Mass Culture of Japanese Modern Times (University of California Press, 2009)
-- (recommended) Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Locks, reprint ed. (Broadway Paperbacks, 2011)
--John Storey, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction, Sixth Edition (Pearson, 2012)
--Jay Winter, Sites of Memory: Sites of Mourning: The Great War in European Cultural History, reprint ed. (Cambridge University Press, 1998)
Additional reading will be posted under “Course Documents” in the Titanium site for this course.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
· Titanium Group Questions and Responses (25%): You will be divided into four groups of five students each. Each week, one of you will be the group leader. On this week, you must post a question pertaining to the week’s reading by Saturday at 7:00 p.m. The rest of the group members must respond to the question by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, the day of the class. The group leader will be in charge of keeping the discussion going. In this discussion, you may pose other kinds of questions you have—like I really don’t understand what Foucault means by subject, what do you think? Or what does the author mean by hegemony? Your performance will be evaluated twice, although I will read each group’s questions and answers, which will serve as the basis of class discussion. Group leaders may be asked to summarize the argument and theories used in the books in class.
· Primary Source paper (10%): You will be required to submit one short paper in which you use the theories discussed in class to critically “read” a primary source. This may be from your area of emphasis. You will be fairly free to choose your own source, but you should consult with me before writing your paper. This paper will be 5-7 pages in length and must incorporate some of the approaches, methods, or theories discussed in the readings and in class.
· Secondary source paper (10%): In the second section of the class, you will be exposed to multiple readings on new approaches, controversies, and debates in history. All of the readings in this section are secondary sources (so is the Nixon Library and Museum even though it contains many primary sources). In the second paper, you are to use this reading or the museum to write an essay on “the state of the field” on one of these topics based on the class readings. In this essay, you should critically evaluate the theoretical and historiographical foundations of the works you chose to analyze. This paper will be 5-7 pages in length and must incorporate some of the approaches, methods, or theories discussed in the readings and in class.
· Final Essay (35%):
o OPTION ONE: You will be required to submit a final comparative essay involving 4-8 books and/or articles that explores the theoretical and historiographical trajectory of a topic of your choice. It should be 15-20 pages of text, plus endnotes and bibliography. Your choice of topic is open, but you should consult with me about it. Except under extraordinary circumstances, your bibliography should include works written in several different time periods, like the beginning, middle, and end of the Twentieth Century. The purpose of this restriction is to help you see and understand the different ways in which historians have pursued history over time, how the questions they have asked have changed, etc. I realize that there may very well be some topics for which there isn’t a long tradition of historical writing—for these topics, you really should work closely with me. The paper must be typed, double-spaced, with Times New Roman 12-point font and standard margins. Students must follow the citation format and style guidelines listed in the Chicago Manual of Style (Turabian), which is available on-line or at the Reference Desk of Pollack Library.
o OPTION TWO: Analyze the work of your favorite or not so favorite historian and write a critical analysis of the historiographical and theoretical trajectory of his or her work. This analysis should be 15-20 pages of text, plus endnotes and bibliography. You may choose any historian you like, although the historian you chose should have written enough books and articles and that you can explore a field of study through the examination of his or her work. Please consult with me on your choice. The paper must be typed, double-spaced, with Times New Roman 12-point font and standard margins. Students must follow the citation format and style guidelines listed in the Chicago Manual of Style (Turabian), which is available on-line or at the Reference Desk of Pollack Library.
o OPTION THREE: Take one of the themes discussed in the course—photography, music, history and memory, race, gender, nationalities and identities, soccer or other sports—and write a critical analysis of the historiographical and theoretical trajectory of the topic. Much, for example, has been written on photography and how it has changed over time, but how have the uses of photography in history changed? What are some of the key works in the history of photography from the historian’s perspective? A lot of sixties popular musicians have been writing their biographies in the last few years. What do the stories of the bands and band members of the sixties tell us about the sixties? A recent TV documentary looked at “Sunset Strip” as a vehicle for understanding the cultural history of L.A. as well as the history of music over much of the last century. How has digitization changed the practice of history? Soccer is an interesting topic for historians precisely because of the way Laurent Dubois has written about it. Related topics might include how societies have used Olympic games and opening ceremonies to represent a country’s nationalism or sense of history. Some examples include the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the 2008 Chinese Olympics, the 2012 London Olympics. Issues of nationalism and identity have also surfaced in protests and killing, for example in the Olympics held in Mexico City and Munich. Again, these are merely meant to be suggestions, and I urge you to think about the topic creatively. As with the other options, this analysis should be 15-20 pages of text, plus endnotes and bibliography. The paper must be typed, double-spaced, with Times New Roman 12-point font and standard margins. Students must follow the citation format and style guidelines listed in the Chicago Manual of Style (Turabian), which is available on-line or at the Reference Desk of Pollack Library.
· Participation: (20%): You must vigorously participate in class discussions. Being present is not enough. This is an intellectually challenging course, and I will be evaluating your ability to respond to the challenge of the assigned reading (some of which might be very difficult) and your willingness to engage your classmates in meaningful scholarly discussion. I have cut way down on the assignments from past classes, both to try to make this experience work better for you and to send the message that the reading and discussion of the books is the most important part of this class. It is obvious to me when you don’t do the reading, and this will lower your grade. Repeated unexcused absences will result in a significantly lower grade in class participation.
G R A D I N G P O L I C Y Your grades on the papers will be based on three major, closely related criteria:
1. Use of relevant class material, including readings, lectures, discussions, and films.(evidence)
2. Expression of ideas in a clear, concise, and engaging prose (style)
3. Development of an argument or point of view that is pertinent to the issue at hand and that has breadth, coherence, and insight (interpretation)
These criteria will translate into grades as follows:
A: excellent in all three areas. Offers an insightful argument based on ample, sound evidence.
B: good. Strong in all three areas or notable strengths in one balanced by weaknesses in another.
C: average. Adequate performance in one or more areas offset by serious weakness in others that leaves presentation fragmented, unclear, or narrow.
D: poor. Notable problems in all three areas. Remedial work needed to improve substantive understanding or basic communication.
F: unacceptable. Serious flaws in all three areas.
No evident engagement in the assignment.
Grades will be based on the plus/minus grading system as follows:
100% A+
93-99% A
90-92% A-
87-89% B+
83-86% B
80-82% B-
77-79% C+
73-76% C
70-72% C-
67-69% D+
63-66% D
60-62% D-
59% and below F
If you do not understand the basis of the grade you received or if you disagree with the assessment, please speak with the professor. Wait at least 24 hours after receiving the grade to re-read professor comments and reflect on the evaluation. Please act within a couple of weeks of the return of the exam.