A Different Type of Seminar

Welcome to History 511. I believe I can say with confidence that this seminar will be unlike any other you take in the course of your graduate program. Many of the books we read will be different. More importantly, much of the work we do will be very different. Why is that? Well, unlike other seminars you take here at UT, our primary concern is neither content nor research methodology. This semester, we’ll be concerned with pedagogy, course construction, and course mechanics. As such, this course works along a line of tension, between preparing you to teach a “Survey of World History” and preparing you better simply to teach.

I’ve enjoyed thinking through this course in part because it is so different. It’s my hope that the structure of the seminar will reinforce the pedagogical goals I hold for us all. If you’re interested, I wrote a short piece on my blog while I was conceiving of this class.

I’m looking forward to a great semester!