John S. Ott
Department of History
Portland State University
Fall 2014
(c) This and all linked pages
HST 300: The Historical Imagination
(T/TH, 10:00-11:50, CH 441)
Course description
HST 300: The Historical Imagination is designed to introduce History majors and minors to the basic issues of historical source assessment and interpretation, methodologies, philosophies of History, and pedagogy that historians consider in conducting their professional discipline. This course therefore explores, through discussion, lecture, and in-class exercises, the historian’s craft: philosophies, theories, tools, methods, and language. Among the topics considered: the history of historical thought; the elusive nature of the “fact”; debates on the possibility of objectivity; source interpretation and its methodologies; and twentieth- and early twenty-first-century schools and methods of historiography. We will also begin building research skills and familiarize ourselves with some of the tools central to historical research, with an eye toward preparing students to succeed in the department’s upper-division research readings colloquia and seminars (HST 405-407).
Course objectives
Course materials
- To explore the history and philosophy of History as a field of human inquiry, understanding, and action;
- To acquire a basic comprehension of different schools of historical thought and their methods and theories;
- To gain basic mastery of the resources available for historical research at and through Millar Library;
- For students to develop their own nascent philosophy of History and historical processes;
- To develop awareness of the past’s complexity, its uses, and its manipulations in both the past and the present.
All texts below are required and available for purchase at the PSU Bookstore.
Suggested (but not required!) texts for students seeking help or insight into research and writing with respect to the discipline of History and its practices:
- E. H. Carr, What is History? (Vintage Books, 1961)
- Walter Prevenier and Martha C. Howell, From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods (Cornell University Press, 2001)
- Norman J. Wilson, History in Crisis? Recent Directions in Historiography, 2d ed. (Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005); 3d ed. (Pearson, 2014)
- Jenny L. Presnell, The Information-Literate Historian: A Guide to Research for History Students (Oxford University Press, c2007)
- William Kelleher Storey, Writing History: A Guide for Students, 2d ed. (Oxford University Press, 2004)
- Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 8th ed. (University of Chicago Press, 2013, with many reprints and earlier editions). Widely available, it condenses The Chicago Manual of Style, now in its 16th edition (University of Chicago Press, 2010). PSU currently subscribes to the Chicago Manual of Style database through Millar Library.
Criteria for evaluation
Students will be evaluated according to the criteria below. Assignment guidelines will be posted here well in advance of deadlines.
- Participation and attendance -- 200 points (20%). I consider active participation a critical component of every class I teach. Attendance will be taken daily through a circulated sign-in sheet; it is the student's responsibility to sign in. Attendance is weighted at 4 points/class (thus, assuming 17 days X 5 points ea. = 85/200 points for attendance). In determining participation portion of grade, excellent attendance without oral participation will usually be assessed a grade of “C” (thus, around 86/110 points). Note that one's participation grade cannot be higher than one's attendance grade, i.e., if you attend 80% of classes your participation grade cannot be higher than 80%.
- 'Writing with Style' (Chicago, APA, MLA) assignment -- 100 points (10%). Due Thursday, October 23, in class (at Millar Library).
- Library research “mission” -- 150 points (15%). Linked to presentation by Kristen Kern, History Reference Librarian, at Millar Library (see below). Due in class Tuesday, October 28.
- Short analytical essay (ca. 4-5 pp.) -- 225 points (22.5%). Due in class Thursday, November 13.
- Annotated course syllabus project -- 325 points (32.5%). Due in my office (CH 441-M), Tuesday, December 9, by 5:00. (You may also turn it in earlier.)
Plagiarism policy
Plagiarism, intentional or unintentional, is an intolerable infraction in any setting where ideas are exchanged and discussed, and is a violation of PSU's Code of Student Conduct. Papers that can be shown to have been plagiarized will automatically receive a “0” grade. Students will be required to resubmit their papers, and will be deducted in their grade an amount appropriate to the late paper policy given in the assignment guidelines. Repeated or particularly egregious offenses may give cause for additional action; note that PSU's Code considers as plagiarism work submitted for other courses and turned in to me as original. Ignorance is no excuse. If you are unsure what constitutes plagiarism, you may test yourself at this web site maintained by Indiana University: http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/plagiarism_test.html. I consider as plagiarism work submitted for other courses and turned into me as original, and will ask students to submit new, original work.
Students with disabilities
Students with disabilities who need additional consideration for the timely completion of any of the course requirements should speak to the instructor at the beginning of the term, and must be registered with PSU's Disability Resource Center (drc@pdx.edu).
E-mail policy
When e-mailing instructor, please bear in mind the following:
- I consider 48-72 hours to be a reasonable period in which to respond to inquiries. I am usually much faster than this, but not always.
- I will not, in general, respond to student e-mails received after 5:00 p.m. until the following day(s), nor will I generally respond to student e-mail sent after 5:00 on Friday until Monday morning. Please plan accordingly.
- Please remember to identify yourself and state your query as clearly as possible.
- I will not fill in students who miss class on the details of a particular lecture or discussion. Please seek that information from your fellow students.
Course Syllabus
T (9/30) Introduction to course themes and requirements
Why on earth are you studying History? And what exactly IS it, anyway?***************
I. History, Historians, and Historical Writing, seen Historically
TH (10/2) The History of Historical Writing: Paradigms of Classical Antiquity
Readings:
- Carr, What is History? chap. 1;
- Norman Wilson, History in Crisis? pp. 1-12 [3d edition]; pp. 1-13 [2d edition];
- Thucydides, History of the Peloponnensian War, Book I, Chapter I (read to "The Causes of War")
Lecture1: Historiography in the Ancient World: Greece and Rome
T (10/7) The History of Historical Writing II: The Middle Ages and Renaissance
Readings:
- Carr, What is History? chap. 2;
- "The Chronicle of Bourbourg," trans. J. S. Ott (Course reserves);
- Niccolo Machiavelli, History of Florence, Book III, Chapter I; and Book V, Chapter I<>
Lecture2: Historiography in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
TH (10/9) The History of Historical Writing III: 'Rational' history and the Enlightenment
Reading:
- Voltaire, The Age of Louis XIV, trans. M. P. Pollack (New York, 1969), pp. 1-5, 320-338, 452-60 (Course reserves)
Lecture3: Voltaire and Enlightenment Historiography
***************
II. Methodologies and practices: Getting After the ‘Fact’
T (10/14) What is a fact? What is a source? Sez who? How do you find them? Then what?
Readings:
Walter Prevenier and Martha Howell, From Reliable Sources, chaps. 1-3 (pp. 17-87); Carr, What is History? chap. 3 (pp. 70-112)
TH (10/16) Traps, methods, and approaches for the History writer
Readings:
- Carr, What is History? chap. 4 (pp. 113-143);
- Wilson, History in Crisis? pp. 14-24 [3d edition]; 17-27 [2d edition];
- Prevenier and Howell, From Reliable Sources (pp. 119-143)
WRITING WITH STYLE ASSIGNMENT DUE, IN CLASS (AT MILLAR)******************
III. The advent of 'modern' History (ca. 1800-1945)
T (10/28) Leopold Von Ranke: the birth of positivist History
TH (10/30) Marx
Readings:
Lecture5: Karl Marx's Historical Vision
- Karl Marx, A Critique of the German Ideology, parts A and B (“Idealism and Materialism” and “The Illusion of the Epoch”) (1845-46; pub. 1932);
- Wilson, History in Crisis? pp. 48-53, 99-101 [3d. edition]; pp. 53-59, 110-113 [2d edition]
T (11/4) Whig History and Presentism
Readings:
- Herbert Butterfield, The Whig Interpretation of History, "Introduction" and Chap. 2, “The Underlying Assumption”;
- Wilson, History in Crisis? pp. 25-41 [3d edition]; pp. 28-46 [2d edition]
TH (11/6) Historicism and the History of Thought
Readings:
- R. G. Collingwood, The Idea of History (Oxford, 1946), pp. 282-315 (Course reserves);
- Wilson, History in Crisis? pp. 76-80, 94-98 [3d edition]; pp. 87-90, 105-110 [2d edition]
*********************
IV. Clio and the other muses: New frames of analysis (ca. 1945-present)
T (11/11) NO CLASS, VETERAN'S DAY OBSERVED
TH (11/13) The Annales School, Big History, and Microhistory
Readings:
Lecture6: The Annales School and Microhistory
- Wilson, History in Crisis? pp. 62-76 [3d edition]; pp. 70-86 [2d edition];
- Prevenier and Howell, From Reliable Sources, pp. 109-112;
- Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, Montaillou, The Promised Land of Error (New York: Vintage Books, 1979; orig. published 1975), pp. 139-168 (Course reserves)
SHORT ESSAY DUE, IN CLASS
T (11/18) Radicalism and Postmodernism
TH (11/20) Gender and History
Readings:
- Wilson, History in Crisis? pp. 107-124 [3d edition]; pp. 119-137 [2d edition];
- Prevenier and Howell, From Reliable Sources, pp. 99-109;
- Watch YouTube interview between Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault (6:51), then read:
- Michel Foucault, “Nietzsche, Genealogy, History,” in The Foucault Reader, pp. 139-164, ed. Paul Rabinow (NY: Pantheon, 1984; orig. pub. in Language, Counter-Memory, Practice. Selected Essays and Interviews, 1977)
T (11/25) Orientalism and Postcolonialism
Readings:
- Joan Kelly, “Did Women Have a Renaissance?” in Women, History, and Theory (Chicago, 1984; originally published 1977), pp. 19-50 (Course reserves);
- Joan Scott, “Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis,” The American Historical Review 91:5 (December 1986): 1053-1075 (available via J-Stor);
- Wilson, History in Crisis? pp. 101-107 [3d edition]; pp. 114-119 [2d edition]
TH (11/27) NO CLASS, THANKSGIVING OBSERVED
Readings:
- Wilson, History in Crisis? pp. 125-141 [3d edition]; 138-154 [2d edition];
- Edward Said, Orientalism (NY: Vintage Books, 1979), ‘Introduction,’ pp. 1-28 (Course reserves);
- Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Silencing the Past. Power and the Production of History (Boston, 1995), chap. 4, 'Good Day, Columbus' (pp. 110-140) (Course reserves);
- YouTube: Interview with Edward Said on Orientalism (to 10:35)
T (12/2) History and the sciences
Readings:
- Daniel Lord Smail, On Deep History and the Brain (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008), 'The New Neurohistory' (pp. 112-156) (Course reserves)
**************
V. Final Considerations
TH (12/4) The Future of History in Crisis?
Readings:
- Wilson, History in Crisis? pp. 141-165 [3d edition]; pp. 155-163 [2d edition];
- Prevenier and Howell, From Reliable Sources, pp. 143-150;
- Carr, What is History? chaps. 5-6
***SYLLABUS PROJECT DUE BY 5:00 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, IN MY OFFICE***