WEEK ONE \u2013 INTRODUCTION<\/strong> Wednesday \u2013 8\/24\/16 \u2013 What do historians do? Focus Question: What is good historical practice?<\/p>\n By the Monday, August 29 make sure you have set up a user name for the course blog.\u00a0 See here for instructions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WEEK TWO \u2013 WELCOME TO THE GILDED AGE<\/strong> Wednesday \u2013 8\/31\/16 \u2013 A particularly disastrous age? Focus Question: What are the central questions of histories of the Gilded Age and American disasters?<\/p>\n WEEK THREE \u2013 HISTORIOGRAPHY<\/strong> Preparatory assignment #1 (see Titanium for more detailed instructions and the assessment rubric)<\/a><\/p>\n In 700 to 1000 words, write a formal synthesis of THREE of the articles or chapters we read in week 2. In doing so, make sure to make an identifiable argument about the state of the field. This should include what central questions your three articles or chapters share, how those questions have shaped historical arguments, what questions seem to remain unanswered, and where you would like either field to go in future. Due by 5:00 PM on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9th.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Focus Question: What are some different historiographical approaches?<\/p>\n WEEK FOUR \u2013 THINKING HISTORIOGRAPHICALLY: ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY<\/strong> Focus Question: How did nineteenth-century Americans understand their environments and the natural world? Should we think of the stripping of the plains as a natural disaster?<\/p>\n WEEK FIVE \u2013 PRIMARY SOURCES<\/strong> Wednesday \u2013 9\/21\/16 \u2013 Interpreting the fire Focus Question: How did Smith use primary sources to illustrate competing historical interpretations of fire?<\/p>\n WEEK SIX \u2013 HISTORICAL FICTION<\/strong> Wednesday \u2013 9\/28\/16 \u2013 The reaction Focus Question: What is gained by Larson\u2019s style of writing? What is lost?<\/p>\n Preparatory assignment #2<\/a><\/p>\n Assignment overview:<\/b><\/p>\n In 700 to 1000 words, write a formal analysis of one source related to the Chicago Fire. This essay should situate the sources in the time and place of its production and make a concrete argument.\u00a0 It should answer a more focused version of the following question: How did Chicagoans experience the fire?<\/p>\n Writing process:<\/b><\/p>\n First, pick a primary source from the list of eyewitness accounts<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before you begin writing, carefully read (and re-read) your source, extracting as much information as you can.<\/p>\n Think about the source\u2019s production: Who produced it, when, and why?<\/p>\n Pay attention also to what the source is not telling you: its unstated assumptions, the partiality of its perspective.<\/p>\n Think about the source’s potential audience. Who was the intended recipient? Who else might have seen this source and reacted to it?<\/p>\n Think about the significance of the source more broadly: What can it tell us about its author\/creator? What can it tell us about the context in which it was produced?<\/p>\n Develop a thesis about the past that the source(s) can support. It is more important that this thesis be specific and sustainable, rather than large and ambitious.<\/p>\n Remember, you have a VERY limited source base; avoid making sweeping, reaching claims. Contextualize. A well-crafted thesis should make a claim that can be proved with your source. (Hint: successful papers will not make claims about “all Americans” or “all Chicagoans”)\u00a0 Your thesis will lead smoothly into an essay discussing these sources and what we can learn from them.<\/p>\n Be sure to include support from the sources (and correct citations) for your arguments and for any secondary sources you find it appropriate to include.<\/p>\n Due by 5:00 PM on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WEEK SEVEN \u2013 INTERPRETING ISAAC\u2019S STORM<\/strong> Wednesday \u2013 10\/5\/16 \u2013 Storm recovery Focus Question: How did the Galveston Hurricane shape American ideas about disaster preparadness?<\/p>\n Preparatory assignment #3<\/a><\/p>\n Come up with three options for the subject of your final paper proposal. These should have temporal and spatial markers, but need not be too specific. (i.e. \u201cSomething about the Chicago fire \u2013 maybe about race?\u201d is perfectly ok.) Due by 5:00 PM on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7th.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WEEK EIGHT \u2013 LIBRARY SESSION\/INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS<\/strong> Monday \u2013 10\/10\/15 or Tuesday \u2013 10\/11\/16 or Wednesday \u2013 10\/12\/16 \u2013 Individual meetings (schedule using http:\/\/shrouta.youcanbook.me<\/a>)<\/p>\n Preparatory assignment #4<\/a><\/p>\n In 400 to 500 words, write a polished paragraph describing the subject of your final paper proposal. This paragraph should include a snappy title, an announcement of the topic, two or three historical questions (see Rampolla for a discussion of what makes good historical question) and a brief discussion of potential primary sources. Due by 5:00 PM on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14th. – In addition to posting to TITANium, also post your topic to the course blog.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WEEK NINE \u2013 MARX, LABOR AND INDUSTRY<\/strong><\/p>\n Monday \u2013 10\/17\/16 \u2013 Doing history in the nineteenth century Focus Question: What do we think about Marx as an historical figure? What do we think of him as an historian?<\/p>\n Preparatory assignment #5<\/a><\/p>\n Goals: <\/strong>In addition to developing your writing skills, which are central to every assignment in this course, PA #5 has three goals:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Assignment: <\/strong>At the top of the page, put a possible title for your final project.\u00a0 Also clearly state your principal historical question, and a few sentences further elaborating\u00a0on that question and\/or establishing the boundaries of your project.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Next, identify 2-3<\/u> primary sources which will help you research your historical question.\u00a0 Describe \u2013 to the best of your ability \u2013 the author and audience of each work in one or two sentences.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Finally, justify your choice of sources by explaining, in two to three sentences for each source, how each work is relevant to your historical question.\u00a0 Consider not only how the source will increase your knowledge of the particular historical context, but how it may shape your analytical framework and approach to your object of inquiry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Please format your work correctly using Turabian\/Chicago style bibliographic references, double-spaced, 12 pt, Times New Roman font, with 1\u201d margins.<\/p>\n Due by 5:00 PM on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21st.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WEEK TEN \u2013 THEORIZING CLASS<\/strong> Wednesday \u2013 10\/26\/16 \u2013 Meanings of earthquakes Focus Question: How do these scholars incorporate ideas about class and Marxist historiography into their arguments (hint: it might not be explicit)?<\/p>\n Preparatory assignment #6<\/a><\/p>\n Locate 5 secondary sources (at least one must be a book and at least three must NOT be texts that we have read for this class) that might help you explore your chosen topic. Use them to create an annotated bibliography, which includes proper Chicago style citations and a brief (1-2 sentence) description of the significance of each book for your project. Due by 5:00 PM on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28th.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WEEK ELEVEN \u2013 THEORIZING RACE AND GENDER<\/strong><\/p>\n Monday \u2013 10\/31\/16 \u2013 New historiographical directions (materials for in-class activity<\/a>) (map<\/a>)<\/p>\n Wednesday \u2013 11\/2\/16 \u2013 An unsinkable ship? Focus Question: How did the politics of race, class and gender inflect expectations about the Titanic?<\/p>\n Preparatory assignment #7<\/a><\/p>\n Assignment Overview: In 700 to 1000 words, write a formal analysis of one of primary sources you identified. This essay should situate the source in the time and place of its production, as well as in the historiographical literature you\u2019ve read so far. In doing so, make a concrete argument about how the kind of analysis you undertook is appropriate for your final project topic.<\/p>\n Writing process:<\/b><\/p>\n Before you begin writing, carefully read (and re-read) your source(s), extracting as much information as you can.<\/p>\n Think about the source\u2019s production: Who produced it, when, and why.\u00a0\u00a0 Make sure you include this information in the essay.<\/p>\n Pay attention also to what the source is not telling you: its unstated assumptions, the partiality of its perspective. \u00a0 Make sure you include this information in the essay.<\/p>\n Think about the source’s potential audience. Who was the intended recipient? Who else might have seen this source and reacted to it? \u00a0 Make sure you include this information in the essay.<\/p>\n Think about the significance of the source more broadly: What can it tell us about its author\/creator? What can it tell us about the context in which it was produced? \u00a0 Make sure you include this information in the essay.<\/p>\n Then think about the kinds of methods and approaches we have used so far.\u00a0 Will a Marxist approach help you to understand your source?\u00a0 A gendered approach?\u00a0 Social history?\u00a0 Be clear about the kind of analysis you are doing.<\/p>\n Having interrogated your source(s), develop a thesis about the past that the source(s) can support. It is more important that this thesis be specific and sustainable, rather than large and ambitious.<\/p>\n Remember, you have a VERY limited source base; avoid making sweeping, reaching claims. Contextualize. A well-crafted thesis will lead smoothly into an essay discussing these sources and what we can learn from them.<\/p>\n Be sure to include support from the sources for your arguments.<\/p>\n As always, be sure to use correct citation. This applies not only to references from your primary source but also to any secondary sources you find it appropriate to include.<\/p>\n Due by 5:00 PM on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4th.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WEEK TWELVE \u2013 POLITICS AND TECHNOLOGY Monday \u2013 11\/7\/16 \u2013 The politics of water \u2022 Watch The Plow that Broke the Plains (1937)<\/a> [T]\n Wednesday \u2013 11\/9\/16 \u2013 New historical technologies Focus Question: How can we put these readings in conversation with our other texts on the gilded age? On the practice of history? With the present?<\/p>\n WEEK THIRTEEN \u2013 CHOOSING A THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE Monday \u2013 11\/14\/16 \u2013 What is theory for, anyway? Wednesday \u2013 11\/16\/16 \u2013 Theory in action Focus Question: How do different theoretical perspectives lead to different historical arguments about different topics? About Mary Mallon?<\/p>\n Preparatory assignment #8<\/a><\/p>\n Assignment Overview: <\/strong>In 700-1000 words, write an essay in which you explore the scholarship that has been done on your chosen research proposal topic. Place the writings of different scholars in conversation with each other and to your historical question. Be sure to articulate a clear argument for what you see as successful or unsuccessful approaches to the topic.<\/p>\n You must discuss five works.\u00a0 At least one must be a book and at least three must be articles.\u00a0 No more than two can have come from our course readings.<\/em><\/p>\n Make sure you include all <\/em>of the following components in your synthesis.\u00a0 These should not merely be bullet points, but rather coherent prose:<\/u><\/p>\n Relation to topic: <\/strong>You must make clear how all of the works under review relate to a topic of historical inquiry.\u00a0 This must be more than just “readings for 300A.”\u00a0 They might represent different approaches to a topic, different aspects of the history of a topic, or examples of other scholars\u2019 approaches to similar topics.\u00a0 You must make clear how each work relates to a single historical question.<\/p>\n Thesis: <\/strong>By contrast with the book review, a synthesis essay is organized around a thesis. The bulk of your paper will be devoted to proving this thesis. This thesis can take several forms.\u00a0 Possible forms include the identification of a theme <\/em>in the three works, the identification of a development <\/em>in the three works or the identification of common approaches<\/em> to a particular topic.<\/p>\n Compare\/Contrast:<\/strong> In order to illustrate how each work relates to the broader historiography, you must explicitly compare and contrast the approaches, arguments and evidentiary uses of the works under review.\u00a0 In doing so, you will discuss points of convergence among these works as well as points that are in dispute.<\/p>\n Historical question:<\/strong> Finally, a historiographical review should position your historical question in terms of other writing on your topic.\u00a0 You should clearly and explicitly explain how your historical question fills a hole or offers a new approach to your particular topic.<\/p>\n Due at 5 pm on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18h.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n WEEK FOURTEEN \u2013 FALL BREAK \u2013 NO CLASS<\/strong><\/p>\n WEEK FIFTEEN \u2013 HOW TO WRITE<\/strong><\/p>\n Monday \u2013 11\/28\/16 and Tuesday \u2013 11\/29\/16 \u2013 Individual meetings (schedule via http:\/\/shrouta.youcanbook.me<\/a>) Wednesday \u2013 11\/30\/16 \u2013 Historical writing practice \u2013or \u2013 what makes good historical writing? WEEK SIXTEEN \u2013 PEER REVIEW AND WRAP-UP<\/strong><\/p>\n Preparatory assignment #9<\/p>\n Bring a rough draft (Introduction + historiography + primary source analysis + discussion of further primary sources) TO CLASS on MONDAY, DECEMBER 5th.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Monday \u2013 12\/5\/16 \u2013 Peer review<\/p>\n SUBMIT ROUGH DRAFT HERE<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wednesday \u2013 12\/7\/16 \u2013 Wrap-up<\/p>\n
\nMonday \u2013 8\/22\/16 \u2013 Introduction to the Course<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Robert Darnton. \u201cWorkers Revolt: The Great Cat Massacre of the Rue Saint-S\u00e9verin\u201d in The Great Cat Massacre<\/a> [T]\n\u2022 Rampolla. A Pocket Guide to Writing History. Part 1
\n\u2022 Watch 4 videos (don\u2019t just do the first four!) from \u201cWhat I Do: Historians Talk About Their Work\u201d<\/a> [T]\n
\nMonday \u2013 8\/29\/16 \u2013 What was the Gilded Age?
\n\u2022 Charles W. Calhoun. \u201cMoving Beyond Stereotypes of the Gilded Age\u201d in OAH Magazine of History. Vol. 13, No. 4, Summer 1999. <\/a>[T]\n\u2022 Richard Schneirov, \u201cThoughts on Periodizing the Gilded Age: Capital Accumulation, Society, and Politics, 1873-1898.\u201d The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era , Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jul., 2006<\/a>) [T]\n\u2022 Rampolla. A Pocket Guide to Writing History. Part 2<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Stephen Biel. American Disasters. Introduction
\n\u2022 Bergman, J. \u201cDisaster: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis.\u201d History Compass 6, no. 3 (2008): 934\u2013946.<\/a> [T]\n
\nMonday \u2013 9\/5\/16 \u2013 NO CLASS \u2013 LABOR DAY
\nWednesday \u2013 9\/7\/16 \u2013 What is Historiography anyway?
\n\u2022 Jeremy Popkin. From Herodotus to H-Net. Preface and Chapter 1
\n\u2022 Rampolla. A Pocket Guide to Writing History. Part 3a and 3b<\/p>\n
\nMonday \u2013 9\/12\/16 \u2013 Thinking environmentally
\n\u2022 William Cronon. Nature\u2019s Metropolis. Prologue and chapter 1<\/a> [T]\n\u2022 Rampolla. A Pocket Guide to Writing History. Part 3d
\nWednesday \u2013 9\/14\/16 \u2013 \u201cTaming\u201d the West
\n\u2022 William Cronon. Nature\u2019s Metropolis. Chapter 2<\/a> [T]\n
\nMonday \u2013 9\/19\/16 \u2013 Experiencing fire
\n\u2022 Rampolla. A Pocket Guide to Writing History. Part 3c
\n\u2022 From Herodotus to H-Net. Chapters 2 and 3.
\n\u2022 \u201cThe Great Chicago Fire\u201d website<\/a> [T]\n
\n\u2022 Smith, \u201cFaith and doubt: the imaginative dimensions of the Great Chicago Fire,\u201d in American Disasters<\/p>\n
\nMonday \u2013 9\/26\/16 \u2013 The Inundation
\n\u2022 Larson. Isaac\u2019s Storm. Chapters 1-3<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Larson. Isaac\u2019s Storm. Chapters 4-6<\/p>\n
\nMonday \u2013 10\/3\/16 \u2013 Authorial intent
\n\u2022 Rampolla. A Pocket Guide to Writing History. Parts 6 and 7
\n\u2022 Craig Offman. \u201cA tempest around \u2018Isaac\u2019s Storm\u2019\u201d in Salon (1999)<\/a> [T]\n
\n\u2022 Patricia Bellis Bixel, \u201c”It Must Be Made Safe”: Galveston, Texas and the 1900 Story,\u201d in American Disasters<\/p>\n
\nMonday \u2013 10\/10\/16 \u2013 Library session
\n\u2022 Rampolla. A Pocket Guide to Writing History. Part 5a<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 From Herodotus to H-Net. Chapter 4
\nWednesday \u2013 10\/19\/16 \u2013 Marx
\n\u2022 \u201cThe Communist Manifesto\u201d watch (this version)<\/a> and read (the text)<\/a><\/p>\n\n
\nMonday \u2013 10\/24\/16 \u2013 Race and Quake
\n\u2022 T. Steinberg, \u201cSmoke and mirrors: the San Francisco earthquake and seismic denial\u201d, in American Disasters.
\n\u2022 Rampolla. A Pocket Guide to Writing History. Parts 5b and 5c<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Kevin Rozario. \u201cWhat Comes Down must Go up\u201d in American Disasters
\n\u2022 Mike Davis, Ecology of fear: Los Angeles and the imagination of disaster (Vintage Books, 1999)<\/a>. Introduction [T]\n
\n\u2022 From Herodotus to H-Net. Chapter 6
\n\u2022 Rampolla. A Pocket Guide to Writing History. Parts 5c, 5d and 5f<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Steven Biel. \u2018\u201cUnknown and Unsung\u201d: Feminist, African American and Radical Responses to the Titanic Disaster.\u2019 In American Disasters<\/p>\n
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Clayton R. Koppes. \u201cDusty Volumes: Environmental Disaster and Economic Collapse in the 1930s.\u201d Reviews in American History. Vol. 8, No. 4 (December 1980)<\/a> [T]\n
\n\u2022 \u201cScaling the Dust Bowl,\u201d in Placing History: How Maps, Spatial Data, and GIS Are Changing Historical Scholarship<\/a> [T]\n\u2022 Explore Mapping Indigenous LA<\/a> [T]\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n\u2022 From Herodotus to H-Net. Chapter 7
\n\u2022 Listen to your assigned episode of the In Theory Podcast.<\/a> [T]\u00a0 Make sure to make note of (1) the theories engaged with in the episode (2) how the podcasters apply those theories to everyday life and (3) what other things you might apply that theory to.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Judith Walker Leavitt. Typhoid Mary \u2013 all students read the first chapter, groups of students will read different book chapters<\/a> [T]\n\n
\n\u2022 Rampolla. A Pocket Guide to Writing History. Parts 5e and 5g<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 William Cronon, \u201cA Place for Stories: Nature, History and Narrative.\u201d The Journal of American History, Vol. 78, No. 4 (March 1992), pp. 1347-1376<\/a> [T]\n\u2022 George Orwell. \u201cPolitics and the English Language\u201d [T]<\/a><\/p>\n