Course Description
This course will focus on the development of significant historical interpretations from the ancient Greeks to current popular and oral history. This course considers the ideas of an array of historians whose interpretations have shaped how we understand our past. In varying units students inspect the writings of prominent historians, such as Herodotus, Petrarch, Voltaire, Leopold von Ranke, Karl Marx, Arnold Toynbee, Frederick Jackson Turner, and Howard Zinn. Themes of study include the study of work of prominent scholars in the context of historical events, methodological approaches to writing history, and the challenges associated with interpreting and understanding the past.
Prerequisites
- ENG 101: English Composition 1
- ENG 102: English Composition 2
- 12 credits in History (Recommended)
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
- Identify the historical theory and methods involved in researching and writing history as measured by the completion of a research project that will:
- Discuss the work of prominent scholars on chosen historical events as evidenced by a literature review with the research paper.
- Discuss and analyze research methods used in the writing of history as evidenced in a review a methodological approach/es in writing history.
- Compare and contrast scholars’ interpretations of a chosen historical event in the body of the research paper.
- Identify, describe, and evaluate the major developments, trends and issues in historiography as measured by participation in weekly discussion boards.
- Compare and contrast the developments, trends and issues in historiography.
- Explain the evidentiary value of sources as evidence by the completion of a research project that demonstrates an analysis of:
- Interpret and analyze primary source material.
- Interpret and analyze secondary source material.
- Differentiate and discuss the assumptions, biases, goals and motives of historians that affect the studying and writing of history as measured by discussion board assignments, the midterm, the research paper, and the course final exam.
- Discuss history as discipline and the obligations and/or privileges associated with being a historian as evidenced by the course final exam.
Course Activities and Grading
| Assignments | Weight |
|---|---|
Discussion Boards (Weekly) | 10% |
Weekly Reading Responses (except weeks 7 & 15) | 20% |
Research Paper Proposal (Week 4) | 10% |
Midterm Exam (Week 7) | 10% |
Research Paper Annotated Bibliography (Week 8) | 10% |
Introduction and Thesis Assignment (Week 9) | 5% |
Full Draft of Research Paper Draft (Week 13) | 10% |
Final Draft Research Paper (Week 15) | 15% |
Final Exam (Week 15) | 10% |
Total | 100% |
Required Textbooks
Available through Charter Oak State College's Book Bundle
- Hoefferle, Caroline. The Essential Historiography Reader. Pearson, 2010. ISBN: 0321437624.
- Jenkins, Keith. Rethinking History, 3rd Edition. Routledge Classics, 2012. ISBN: 0415304431.
- Stunkel, Kenneth R. Fifty Key Works of History and Historiography, 2011. ISBN: 0415573327.
- Tosh, Jonathan. Historians on History. 3rd edition. New York: Pearson Longman, 2018. ISBN-10: 1-138-05720-7 or ISBN-13: 978-1-138-05720-3
Course Schedule
| Week | SLOs | Readings and Exercises | Assignments |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1-4 | What is Historiography? Why study it? Read:
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2 | 1-4 | Writing History and Historical Lenses Read:
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3 | 1-4 | Early Histories & Truth, Subjectivity and Bias in Writing History Read:
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4 | 1-2, 4 | Modern History & Understanding Frameworks Read:
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5 | 1-3 | Research and Evaluating Sources Read:
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6 | 1-3 | Marxism & Interpretation/19th Century Historiography Read:
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7 | 1-4 | Writing the Historiographical Essay Read:
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8 | 1-4 | 20th Century Historiography Read:
Watch: Open “email” office hours posted for this week for student meetings. |
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9 | 1-4 | Social History Read:
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10 | 1-4 | Post-Modernism and Historical Fallacy Read:
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11 | 1-4 | World Histories Read:
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12 | 1-5 | Cultural Histories Read:
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13 | 1, 3-5 | Who owns the past? Watch: |
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14 | 1-5 | Marxism & Interpretation/19th Century Historiography Read:
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15 | 1-5 | Final Week: Research Papers Due Read:
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Final Exam | |||
COSC Accessibility Statement
Charter Oak State College encourages students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities such as chronic diseases, learning disabilities, head injury, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder, or psychiatric disabilities, to discuss appropriate accommodations with the Office of Accessibility Services at OAS@charteroak.edu.
COSC Policies, Course Policies, Academic Support Services and Resources
Students are responsible for knowing all Charter Oak State College (COSC) institutional policies, course-specific policies, procedures, and available academic support services and resources. Please see COSC Policies for COSC institutional policies, and see also specific policies related to this course. See COSC Resources for information regarding available academic support services and resources.