History
387
Practice
and Theory of History
Reed
Browning
First
Semester, 2004-2005
Historians
have long asked themselves whether their craft is an art or a science. (Quick question: what answer does Kenyon
apparently give to that question?) The
fact that there can be uncertainty about the matter suggests that the practice
of history is actually part art and part science. The goal of this seminar is to give students
majoring in history a structured opportunity to reflect about the field of
study they are committing their time and energy to. To that end, we will have lots of discussion,
an individual oral report opportunity for every student, two team-structured
collaborative activities (each culminating in an in-seminar presentation), a
set of three written assignments, and summary accounts (by you) of the results
of your individual research endeavors.
The
seminar meetings will vary in content and format from one week to the
next. Nevertheless, whatever shape they
take, in order to participate effectively and honestly you must be ready for
discussion by having read the assignment for the day and, if you have a special
presentation for the day, by being prepared to make your report.
Books
to be purchased:
Joyce
Appleby, Lynn Hunt, and Margaret Jacob, Telling the Truth About History
Marc Bloch, The Historian’s Craft
Gertrude Himmelfarb, The New History and the Old
Niall Ferguson, ed., Virtual History
Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing
History
also
Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers,
Theses, and Dissertations
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September 2 Getting
Launched
Introductions
Getting organized
September 9 Planning
a History Curriculum
Each
of the four teams will have received a description of a history department at a
particular kind of college or university and on this day will present a
proposed curriculum for that department. Your proposal should provide a
statement of departmental mission, a list of courses that will be taught, and a
structure for a major. This exercise
will allow the seminar to discuss the reasons why the study of history may or
may not be important.
September 16 A
Crisis for Historians?
In
the past several years a number of eminent historians have been accused of
unethical professional behavior. The
conjunction of so many lapses has led people to speculate about a “crisis” in
historical scholarship. We will receive
reports on three cases and then discuss their implications. What better way to explore what historians do
for a living than to examine some careers that have run into trouble, right?
Reports
on:
Michael
Bellesisles
Joseph
Ellis
Doris
Kearns Goodwin
September 23 An
Historian Observes Himself
Marc
Bloch was one of the greatest historians of the twentieth century. His examination of what he did – The
Historian’s Craft – is a celebrated account of what historians do. We will discuss this book. In preparation, each of you should write
an essay of no more than 1000 words that describes and analyzes your
reaction to Bloch’s prescription.
September 30 History
in the United States I: The Era of Intellectual Absolutisms
For
the next three weeks we will be reading Telling the Truth About History,
by Joyce Appleby, Lynn Hunt, and Margaret Jacob. This work will allow us to
understand how history has been conceived of and studied in the United States
over the course of the last 250 or so years.
For today you should read pages 1-125.
Additionally, we will have oral reports on:
Thucydides
(why is he often called the father of history?)
Karl
Marx (what was his contribution to the study of history?)
Alexis
de Tocqueville (how did he shape thinking about U.S. history?)
October 7 History
in the United States II: The Dethroning of Absolutisms
This
is the second week of the Appleby, Hunt, and Jacobs book. Read pp.
128-237. This week we need oral reports
on:
Friedrich
Nietzsche (why do so many find him peachy?)
Clifford
Geertz (what can anthropology teach history?)
Michel Foucault (why did this French intellectual
sweep American academe by storm?)
October 14 History
in the United States III: The Future of
the Study of History
Read
pp. 241-309 of Appleby, Hunt, and Jacob.
We’ll have five reports this week.
Each is on a fine recent history book, chosen because each book
exemplifies the imaginative things historians are now doing.
Natalie
Zeman Davis, The Return of Martin Guerre
Carlo
Ginzburg, The Cheese and the Worms
Richard
Price, Alabi’s World
Marshall Sahlins, How ‘Natives’ Think, About
Captain Cook, for Example
Jonathon Spence, The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci
October 21 COUNTERFACTUALISM
Scientists
often use controlled experiments to tease out the truth. Should historians use counterfactuals? In exploring that question we’ll discuss
Niall Ferguson’s essay, “Virtual History: Towards a ‘Chaotic’ Theory of the
Past,” in Virtual History, pp. 1-90.
In preparation, each of you should write an essay, not to exceed
1000 words, presenting your thoughts about what Ferguson has written. We’ll also set up the counterfactualism
teams.
Research
proposals are to be submitted at this class.
October 28 WEEK
OFF FOR INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCES
November 4 TIPS
ON WRITING PAPERS AND CITING SOURCES
Today
we examine some of the techniques, conventions, and habits of organization and
presentation that mark the practice of historians who have mastered their craft. For today’s meeting you should read Mary Lynn
Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History. Please come with questions. I may not have answers – but if I don’t, that
just makes the question more interesting, useful, and entertaining.
November 11 TESTING THE CHALLENGE OF
COUNTERFACTUALISM
Today
we’ll hear a group report from each of the four teams on each of the four
counterfactual essays that you’ve analyzed.
November 18 A
TRADITIONALIST ASSESSES POSTMODERNISM
Not
every historian is happy with the directions of modern historiography. For
today we read several essays defending traditional practices, all from Gertrude
Himmelfarb’s The New History and the Old, pp. 1-69, 143-84.
***FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19:
RESEARCH ESSAYS ARE DUE***
December 2 ORAL
REPORTS ON STUDENT RESEARCH PAPERS: I
Half
of the seminar members will outline the findings of their research work at this
meeting.
December 9 ORAL
REPORTS ON STUDENT RESEARCH PAPERS: II
The
other half of the seminarians will outline the findings of their research
efforts at this meeting.
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1. The course grade will be determined by the
following formula:
your participation in discussion 25%
your research essay 25%
your two shorter essays 20% (10% for each)
your oral report 15%
your team success on the Ferguson assignment 15%
2. My office is 9 Seitz House. My office hours
are 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If those aren’t convenient for you, we’ll
find a time that works better. My e-mail
address is browninr@kenyon.edu. My office phone
number is 5642. My home phone number is
427-3155, and you may feel free to call me at any reasonable hour.
3. Please feel free to speak to me whenever you
have questions. Some of this material
may at first seem forbidding, but I’m hopeful everyone will find it
interesting, maybe even enchanting, once we’ve discussed it. And in particular, I invite you to speak to
me whenever you wish about my assessment of your work in the course. Don’t be shy.
4. Plagiarism is the use and representation of
someone else's work as one's own. It is
the most serious offense that can be committed in an academic community. We are obliged to acknowledge our debts to
the labors of others, and recourse to notes (footnotes or endnotes) is the most
typical way of fulfilling that obligation.
Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and
Dissertations gives wonderful advice on building notes and bibliographies.
The Student Handbook contains a full discussion of plagiarism. Please read it. I will be glad to discuss any issues about
plagiarism with any student.
5. I will have more to say at a later date about
the research essay, which is due on Friday, November 19, just before the
Thanksgiving break. This assignment will
be the major research-and-writing assignment of the seminar.
6. If you have a physical, psychological, medical or
learning disability that may impact your ability to carry out assigned course
work, I would urge that you contact the Office of Disability Services at
5453. The Coordinator of Disability
Services, Erin Salva (salvae@kenyon.edu), will
review your concerns and determine, with you, what accommodations are
appropriate. All information and
documentation of disability is confidential.
7. I encourage the use of
foreign languages in student research work.
I realize that few students will be proficient at reading Dutch, French,
German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, or Swedish, and so I'll be
pleased to make significant adjustments in expectations if anyone wants to try
to do some of the reading for the research essay in a language other than
English. Please speak to me about the
possibility if the prospect seems enticing.