Assignments Spring 2012

1. Participation. This is a participation-intensive seminar. In order for it to work well, we all must come to class prepared to discuss the readings. While I do not have an explicit attendance policy for the class, you simply need to be here every week, ready to work hard. Participation will also include reading and reviewing your classmate's work as small writing groups for each of the three main writing assignments.

2. Weekly Blog Posts. (20%) The lion's share of your writing for this class will be done on your own blog. Each of you must register a free blog on wordpress, and provide me that information before our second meeting on the form here. Blog posts will consist of both freeform reactions to and analysis of our weekly readings and discussions, or short essays on specific prompts. Your participation grade will be determined by your weekly posts. Students will blog the week their group is designated, or comment on their colleagues posts, or lead discussion of issues identified in those posts. See the schedule. I firmly believe that education is a communal process, that benefits greatly from a group dynamic. The demands of such an approach to the educational process live in tension with the right to educational privacy. In order to balance those contending tendencies, you may run your blog under a pseudonym. I only ask that you let me know what it is!
   

3. Historical Problem. (20%) Chose a secondary source (book required) related to your general topic and identity the historical problem(s) it grapples with, assess the strength and weaknesses of the piece, and analyze its structure, argument and standards of evidence. 4 pages. Due 21 Feb. Assignment Sheet here.

4. Historical Method. (25%) Chose a secondary source (article required) related to your general topic and identify the historical methods it grapples with, assess its strengths and weaknesses with respect to how it links sources and arguments, and discuss its object of research. 4 pages. Due 13 March. Assignment Sheet here.

5. Primary Source Analysis. (25%) Choose a primary source related to your general topic. This should b e discrete and well-bouded, of a manageable length, and should bear more or less on the topic you want to pursue next year. Write a critical reivew of the source. 4 pages. Due 17 April. Assignment Sheet here

6. Archival Resource Description.(10%) Locate, annotate and present information to the class on an archive resource pertinent to your project. Due 1 May.

Written assignments should be double-spaced, with 1-inch margins, 12-pt. font, and utilize Turabian-style foot- or endnotes.