"The past, of course, can never change. But our understanding of the past changes constantly."                               
                                        - Alan Brinkley

Professor: Dr. Cathy McDonnell Schultz
     Office: S317
     Office Phone: 740-3595
     e-mail: cschultz@stfrancis.edu
     Office Hours:  T  Th 10:30 - 12:00; M W 12:30-1:30
     Other times by appointment      

As a Catholic university rooted in the liberal arts, we are a welcoming community of learners challenged by Franciscan values and charism, engaged in a continuous pursuit of knowledge, faith, wisdom, and justice, and ever mindful of a tradition that emphasizes reverence for creation, compassion, and peacemaking. We strive for academic excellence in all programs, preparing women and men to contribute to the world through service and leadership.

Course Description:
      A writing-intensive course which "familiarizes the senior history major with historiographical issues, covers basic methodologies for research and writing history, prepares the student for the senior thesis and/or internship, and provides vocational information." (USF catalog)
    
Course Outcomes: By the end of this course, you should have achieved the following outcomes:

A) Acquired a deeper understanding of primary and secondary research and be able to do research effectively in both.
B) Describe and characterize the history of historiography, and current themes and trends in the discipline.
C) Write a good historiographical review.
D) Become skilled in locating and using local history resources.
E) Lead an effective class discussion on issues of historiography and history.
F) Have your oral and written communication skills sharpened through class discussions and written assignments.

Required Texts:
Please buy the following from the bookstore:

Peter Novick, That Noble Dream
James Loewen, Lies My Teacher Told Me
Strunk and White: The Elements of Style
Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and other Unnatural Acts.

Recommended but not required: Eric Foner, The New American History (can order online)

 Requirements and Grading Percentages:
 (These may be altered at the professor’s discretion.)

A. Class participation: It is expected that you attend EVERY class, read the assignments, and have a voice in class discussions. This class will be run as a seminar, which means we will primarily have class discussions and small group work. 15% of your final grade will be based on your class participation.

B. Quizzes and Exam: There will by regular quizzes on the reading material. 5-10% of course grade.

C. Final Exam: There will be a final exam  given during finals week. Worth 15% of final grade.

D. Historiographical Review: For your major paper, you will be doing an extensive historiographical review on the literature of a particular theme or topic, ideally the topic of your senior thesis. There will be four steps to this major paper: proposal, bibliography, rough draft, and final draft. Together it's worth 30% of final grade.

E. Book Review: You will do a full book review of one of the most important secondary sources for your topic. 10% of final grade.

F. Primary Source Evaluation II: Each of you will compile 3 or 4 primary sources relevant to your topic and evaluate them as to effectiveness, bias, strengths and limitations. 10% of final grade.

G.  Leading class: Each of you will be responsible for leading a class (usually in pairs) two or more times. You will be graded for your grasp of the material, your ability to convey it, and your creativity. This will count as 10% of your final grade.

H. Portfolio: At the end of the semester you will be required to hand in your portfolio containing all the items listed on the sheet handed to you in Doing History. It will be graded for inclusion of material, on organization, and on professional appearance. 5% of final grade.

I. Standard Exam for Assessment Purposes: You must take the ETS Field Exam for History,  which will completed in class towards the end of the semester. 

Turnitin.com For both written assignments, you must hand in a regular (hard) copy to me AND submit an electronic copy (word processing file) to www.turnitin.com. You will need to go to that web site, create an account for yourself, then access the course by using its class ID# and password. Then you can follow the directions to submit your paper. Here are the numbers you need for the class.
Class ID#: 1949368     Password: senioritis

IMPORTANT NOTE on PLAGIARISM:   Plagiarism is claiming someone else's work as your own, and will of course not be tolerated. You may not copy (whether exactly or with slight changes) from any book, Web site,  pre-existing paper, or any other source. Such dishonesty will be rewarded with an F for the project and a possible F for the entire course. Furthermore, your name will be submitted to the Academic Dean.

     We will be using published book reviews extensively in this class in researching historiographical reviews. If you use them in writing your own essays,  you must take GREAT CARE to cite them in your paper. Failure to do so may constitute plagiarism.

I assess you class participation according to the following rubrics:
    "A": Participates in almost every discussion, presents original ideas with vivid details. Asks pertinent, probing, questions; builds on speakers' ideas. Treats colleagues with respect. Listens actively. Shows clear evidence of having read the material  carefully and thoughtfully.
    "B":  Participates in most discussions, ideas have a clear sequence and purpose supported by sufficient details. Asks questions. Shows evidence of having read the material.
    "C": Occasionally participates in discussions. Asks few questions. Reads only occasionally.
    "D": Rarely participates in discussions. Ideas seem irrelevant.  Rarely asks questions. Poor eye contact.
    "F": Doesn't participate in discussions. Little/no eye contact.    

Rubrics for Written Assignments
For the historiographical review and all formal writing assignments, I will grade according to the following rubrics.
    "A": Appealing to read, neat, and creative. Original ideas are presented forcefully, sequentially, and reflect vivid and concrete details. Sources are cited correctly. Paragraphs are unified and coherent. Transitions help the reader follow ideas.Very few spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors.
    "B": Appealing to read; neat in appearance. Main idea is presented with details. On the whole, sources are cited correctly. Paragraphs are unified, and good transitions help  the reader follow ideas. No more than 5-7 spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors.
     "C": Paper is readable. Main idea is presented sequentially, with details. Paragraphs are, for the most part, coherent, though in spots may be confusing. No more than 10 spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors.
    "D": Paper is sloppy. Main idea is vague; sequence is confused; detail is insufficient. Source are incorrectly cited. No more than 15 spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors.
    "F": Paper is sloppy. Ideas cannot be identified. Paragraphs are unclear and/or lacking transitions. Consistent lack of basic sentence structure. More than 15 spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors.
 

Course Schedule and Reading Assignments:

(All readings and assignments are due on the day they are listed.)

PART I:  BASIC HISTORIOGRAPHY, or "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS AN HISTORIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW AND WHY DO I HAVE TO WRITE ONE?"

Week One:
8/21:  Syllabus and course introduction. 

8/23: An intro to American historiography. Read essay from Interpretations of American
History by Gerald Grob and George Billias (handout given on the first day of class.)

Week Two :
8/28: Continue to discuss Grob and Billias reading

8/30: Example of Historiography: "Paul Revere's Ride" handout.
Topics Due for Thesis/Historiography Topic.

Week Three:
9/4: Strunk and White, Elements of Style. Read first half. Annotate and personalize it, and bring books to class.

Week Five
9/18: Novick, chapter 14: pp. 469-491.
 Bibliographies Due. Compile an annotated list of some significant books and journal articles on your topic. Minimum number is five. Annotated means that for  each source  you give the author's thesis, and a brief summary of the contents. Continue discussing Novick.

9/20:  Novick, That Noble Dream, chapter 14: pp. 491-521.   

Week Six:
9/25:  Write a one-page historiographical review based on three book reviews handed out in class.
          (see handout given in class last week)  Bring in 2 copies of the paper for peer evaluation during class.

9/27: Examples of historiography: Read student-written historiographical reviews. (Handed out in class last week.)

Week Seven:
10/2:  Novick, That Noble Dream, chapter 15: pp. 543-546; 551-557; 563-568.

10/4:  Book Review Due. Use guidelines given in Methods and Skills book. Bring in 2 copies of the paper for peer evaluation during class. Submit to turnitin.com

      Week Eight:
10/9:  Novick, That Noble Dream, chapter 16

10/11:  Wrap up major themes from Novick..
 
          Week of 10/17-10/24 is Fall Break; Enjoy!

PART II; PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING HISTORY OR  "WHY WE DO THAT THING WE DO"

Week Nine:
10/23: Lies My Teacher Told Me, introduction and chapter 1 .

10/25:  Lies My Teacher Told Me, chapters 2 and 3. Student presenters: ___________________________________.

Week Ten:
10/30:    Lies My Teacher Told Me, chapters 7 and 8. Student presenters: ___________________________________

11/1:    First Draft Historiographical Review DUE . Must be submitted to turnitin.com
Bring in 2 copies of the paper for peer evaluation during class.       

Week Eleven:
11/6:   Lies My Teacher Told Me, chapters 10 and 11. Student presenters: ___________________________________.

11/8:  Lies My Teacher Told Me, chapters 12 and Afterword. Student presenters: ___________________________________   

Week Twelve:
11/13:   Historical Thinking , Introduction and chapter 1  Primary Source Evaluation Due. Submit to turnitin.com

11/15:  Historical Thinking , chapters 2 and 3   Student presenters:___________________________________    .

Week Thirteen
11/20:  Historical Thinking , chapters 4 and 5   Student presenters:___________________________________   

11/22:  No class for Thanksgiving

Week Fourteen:
11/27:  Historical Thinking , chapters 7 and 8  Student presenters:___________________________________    .

11/29:     Historical Thinking , chapters 9 and 10   Student presenters:___________________________________    .

Week Fifteen:
12/4:  ETS History Exam given in class 

12/6:   ETS History Exam given in class.
Final Draft: Historiographical Review Due. Submit to Turnitin.com Portfolios handed in.

Good Links:
Studying History
A Hypertext in American History  Compare outlines of American history from 1954, 1963, 1990, and 1994. See changing historiography in action!
Check out a  virtual, local history museum. created by college history students.
 American Memory Project
Life Histories from Federal Writers' Project
 Internet History Sourcebooks Project
 
  Academic Integrity: Academic integrity requires that all academic work be wholly the product of an identified individual or individuals. Collaboration is only acceptable when it is explicitly acknowledged. Ethical conduct is the obligation of every member of the University community, and breaches of academic integrity constitute serious offenses. Since a lack of integrity hinders the student's academic development, it cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. Violations include but are not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and denying others access to information or material. See USF Catalog for further clarification and information on grievance procedures.

Special Needs: The University strives to be in compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. To this end, a student who requires special support or arrangements due to a disability should contact the Office of Disability Services Administrator, Pat Vivio at 815-740-3204 in the Academic Resource Center (Library) to coordinate accommodations. This contact should occur no later than the first week of classes in order to allow for sufficient time to provide accommodations. Should a need arrive after the start of a semester, the student is encouraged to contact the ADA coordinator as soon as possible. Each case will be reviewed on an individual basis.

Academic Support Services: Various types of academic services offered by the Academic Resource
Center (ARC) 815-740-5060 located in Room 214 in the Library. Online
and distance learning students can contact ARC for appropriate resources.
Library services include a number of online services and full text databases. Call the Library at 815-740-5041 for additional information.

The instructor reserves the right to adjust the syllabus and class schedule as circumstances may warrant during the semester.

Students are expected to follow all policies in the USF Catalog and Student Handbook.