History 268-010
History and Memory
Spring Semester, 2003
Professor: Anne M. Boylan Office: 206 Munroe (831-2188) I do
not have voice mail
Office Hours: Mondays, 11:15-1:00; Wednesdays, 11:15-1:00
(and other times by appointment)|
email: aboylan@udel.edu
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Course information
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Description: This seminar for history majors emphasizes the skills and
methods needed for doing historical research and writing. The
particular subject of the seminar, “history and memory” involves the study
of how individuals and groups have created, produced, perpetuated, and
contested “collective memories” of the past. Seminar readings
and discussions will focus on the United States in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. A good deal of the seminar work will focus on problems
of historical research and interpretation, and will be completed in work
groups.
Objectives:
Students should finish the course with:
**A basic knowledge of library and Internet resources for doing
historical research;
**Some basic skills at evaluating research materials, both print
and on-line;
**Some knowledge of the history of historical writing (historiography)
**An understanding of how to read primary and secondary sources
carefully and attentively;
**An ability to develop logical historical arguments based on
evidence
**An awareness of what constitutes clear, grammatical and economical
writing;
**Some experience with speaking clearly and articulately before
a group;
**An understanding of the central concepts historians use when
they analyze “collective memory”;
**Heightened awareness of how societies memorialize their pasts,
and who participates in the memorializing process.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Sanford Levinson, Written in Stone
Edward Linenthal and Tom Engelhardt, eds., History Wars
Tony Horwitz, Confederates in the Attic
Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History
All other readings (marked * on the syllabus) are on reserve in
the library
Recommended: Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1) Attendance is required at all seminar meetings.
If you will be late for class, or have a very good excuse for missing a
seminar meeting, you must call me before 3:15 on the class day, or leave
a message for me on e-mail or with the History Department office (831-2371).
I do not have voice mail.
2) Written Work: In addition to written exercises
assigned in seminar, students will write two longer essays (6-12 pages),
due March 26 and May 26. Guidelines will be handed out in seminar.
On all written assignments, students may ask me to review a draft before
handing in the assignment.
3) Field Trips: The class will take three field trips as
a group, to Morris Library on February 24 and 26, and to downtown Newark
on April 7. In addition, each seminar member is required to attend
one history-related event on campus and submit a two-paragraph report,
summarizing (paragraph 1) the speaker or event's main points and (paragraph
2) your reactions to the speaker or event. I will provide a list
of suggested individual field trips.
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GRADING: All work will receive a letter grade (using pluses and
minuses.) A=90-100; B=80-89; C=70-79; D=60-69;
F=10-59
Work not handed in will receive a grade of zero.
Each student will be graded on individual and on group projects; at
the end of the semester, each student will evaluate his or her participation
in the work group, and that of others.
Weekly written exercises:
30%
Work group & class participation: 25%
First essay: 20%
Second essay: 25%
(These are guidelines only; I also give credit for improvement.)
Students are expected to be familiar with the policy on academic
honesty, including the definition of plagiarism found in
the Student Handbook. If you are in doubt about any course
requirement, please consult me before attempting to complete it.
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SYLLABUS
Below is a week-by-week listing of seminar topics and assignments.
It is not written in stone, however, and may be changed if necessary.
Feb. 12 Course introduction
Assignment: Form work groups & formulate group rules
Feb. 17-19 Individual & Collective Memory: introduction to issues
Monday:
Assignment: WPA interviews (handout)
William Maxwell, "Billie Dyer" in Billie Dyer and Other Stories (handout)
Wednesday:
Assignment: Matthew Dennis, Red, White, &
Blue Letter Days: An American Calendar, pp. 217-255 (handout)
Horwitz, Confederates in the Attic, pp. 3-88
Written Assignment: Write an abstract of pp. 217-255
of Red, White, & Blue Letter Days.. Your abstract should
provide a correct citation, in footnote form, for the chapter.
ABSTRACT DUE Wednesday
An abstract is a condensation, or re-statement of an article or
book chapter. In writing it, you attempt to condense an author’s
main point and subsidiary arguments down to one single-spaced page (or
two double-spaced), avoiding terms such as “the author states” or “the
author argues.” You merely re-state the author’s points in your own
words.
Feb. 24-26 Research tools: Library Skills
Monday: Meet at the Library Circulation Desk
Assignment: Rampolla, Pocket Guide to Writing in History,
pp. 1-20.
Wednesday: Meet at the Library Reference Room, Main Level
Written Assignment: due next Monday, March 3, at 3:30:
Library
search exercise handed out February 24
LIBRARY SEARCH EXERCISE DUE MONDAY, March 3.
March 3-5 Research tools: Library skills & primary source analysis
Monday: Discussion of Library search exercise
Wednesday:
Assignment: *Kirk Savage, “The Politics of Memory: Black Emancipation
and the Civil War Monument,” in John Gillis, ed., Commemorations:
The Politics of National Identity, pp. 127-149;
*John Bodnar, Remaking America, pp. 3-9
Rampolla, Pocket Guide, 68-82
Written Assignment: Write an abstract of the Savage essay.
Your abstract should provide a correct citation, in footnote form,
for the article.
ABSTRACT DUE WEDNESDAY
March 10-12 Textbooks
Monday:
Assignment: *Bessie Pierce, Public Opinion and the
Teaching of History, pp. 135-205 (Group 1); 206-298 (Groups 2
& 3);
Rampolla, Pocket Guide, pp. 83-97
Group assignment: At Monday’s class, each group will present
a typed summary of its chapter from Public Opinion and the Teaching
of
History. The summary should mention: 1) the names of all
groups discussed in the chapter; 2) when each group was active; 3)
the issues about which each group was concerned; 4) the changes each group
demanded, and the reasons each wanted the changes made. The summary
should use a correct citation, in bibliographical form, for the
chapter.
Wednesday:
Assignment and Written Assignment: Click onto one of these sites.
Read one of the following speeches: Ronald Reagan's Second Inaugural Address
(members of Group 1); George W. Bush's 2001 Inaugural Address (members
of Group 2); Jesse Jackson's "Common Ground" Speech (members of Group 3).
Bring to class a written summary of what specific "memory" of American
history the speaker sets forth in his speech. In your summary, indicate
what principle of selection the speaker used in developing his interpretation
of American history. Be sure to use a correct citation for the site
you have used.
http://thisnation.com/library/index.html
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/index.htm
SUMMARY DUE WEDNESDAY
March 17-19 Popular Presentations of History: Radio & Film
Monday:
Assignment: Films (in class) + *duPont "Cavalcade of America"
script list (for Wednesday)
Wednesday:
Assignment: *duPont “Cavalcade of America” script list
Group written assignment: Categorization: Each group will
bring to class a list of 5 themes or topics found in the duPont “Cavalcade
of America”script list (that is, your group will categorize the individual
scripts by type and come up with five categories). Indicate what
principle(s) of selection the group thinks underlay the decision to air
programs on the "Cavalcade of America." Please list the scripts in
your categories by title, not by number. In addition, because
all students are writing short essays on the "Cavalcade" program, include
a list of questions members of the group have about the program, or information
that group members feel they need in order to write an essay.
LIST DUE WEDNESDAY
March 24-26 Popular Presentations of History: Radio & Film
Monday & Wednesday: discussion of duPont "Cavalcade of America"
radio program
Assignment: *duPont “Cavalcade of America” script list
Rampolla, Pocket Guide, pp. 32-63
*Jason Loviglio, The Radio Reader
Chapter 10: "Radio's 'Cultural Front,' 1938-1948
by Judith E. Smith (Group 1)
Chapter 11: "Radio and the Political Discourse of
Racial Equality" by Barbara Savage (Group 2)
Chapter 17: "Radio Redefines Itself, 1947-1962"
by Eric Rotenbuhler and Tom McCourt (Group 3)
ESSAY DUE WEDNESDAY March 26
March 31-April 4 : SPRING BREAK
April 7-9 Collective Memory in Newark, Delaware
Monday: Field trip to downtown Newark; meet at class at
3:30 (rain or shine; if it’s raining, bring an umbrella)
Wednesday: Public Monuments
Assignment: Levinson, Written in Stone, pp. 3-90
Written Assignment: In one page (single-spaced), summarize precisely
Levinson’s description of the New Orleans Liberty Monument and the stages
of its history, and make a reasoned argument about what the city should
do with the monument. Use a correct citation, in bibliographical
form, for the reading.
ASSIGNMENT DUE WEDNESDAY
April 14-16 Public Monuments
Monday:
Assignment: Levinson, Written in Stone, pp. 90-139
Wednesday:
Assignment: Horwitz, Confederates in the
Attic, pp. 89-124
April 21-23 Museums, I
Monday:
Assignment: *Mike Wallace, “Visiting the Past: History
Museums in the United States,” in Susan Porter Benson, ed., Presenting
the Past, pp. 137-161
Written Assignment: Write an abstract of the Wallace
essay; give a citation in proper footnote form.
ABSTRACT DUE MONDAY
Wednesday:
Linenthal and Engelhardt, History Wars, pp. 1-62
April 28-30 Museums, II
Monday:
Assignment: Linenthal and Engelhardt, History Wars,
pp. 115-170
Group Written Assignment: We will have a class debate about
the Enola Gay exhibit; assignment to be handed out in seminar.
Wednesday:
Assignment: Linenthal and Engelhardt, History Wars,
pp. 63-96
May 5-7 Re-Enactments
Monday & Wednesday: Horwitz, Confederates in the Attic,
pp. 125-390
May 12-14 Individual Consultations on Second Essay
Assignment: Each student will attend a 30-minute conference
with me on his or her second essay project. Guidelines will be handed
out in seminar. Come to the conference prepared to discuss your essay
project, the sources you are using, and any questions you have.
May 19-21 Oral Presentations on final essays.
Assignment: Prepare a polished, articulate five-minute
oral presentation on your final paper project
May 26 SECOND ESSAY DUE to me by 5 pm.
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The National Archives: http://www.nara.gov
The Library of Congress American Memory Collection: http://rs6.loc.gov/amhome.html
The National Park Service: http://www.nps.gov
University of Virginia Slave Narratives Site: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/wpahome.html
George Mason University "History Matters" site:
http://www.historymatters.gmu.edu
Tulane University project on the crisis at Fort Sumter: http://www.tulane.edu/~latner/
The University of Virginia "Valley of the Shadow" site: http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/vshadow2
Georgetown University's American Studies site: http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/asw
The Chicago Historical Society on-line exhibits: http://www.chicagohs.org
Cornell University "Triangle Shirtwaist Fire" exhibit: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/
The National Women's History Project: http://www.nwhp.org
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Student
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