History 3800: Historian’s Craft

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30-1:45 Haley 3345

Dr. Kate Craig

kmcraig@auburn.edu Thach Hall 320E (through the double doors)

Office Hours: Wed. 12:30 - 3:30

And by appointment.

"Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side she see: What is your name? What are your sources? What is your historical argument?"

Welcome to Historian’s Craft! This class is boot camp for the history major; its purpose is to help you develop the research, writing, and speaking skills that will be essential to your success in future history classes (and after graduation). You have chosen to major in a field that lets you be an intellectual omnivore; nothing you know or learn will go to waste.

However, that element of choice and self-direction can often feel daunting as you begin your journey as a historian. I have designed the class to ease you into the complicated and often technically challenging world of original historical research with small steps. At the same time, I hope this class will give you not only the tools and training you need to survive, but also the confidence to add your voice to conversations about the past. Now more than ever, the relationships between the present and the past are coming under intense scrutiny. As a historian, you will need to confront these issues and to decide what you, and your research, are all about. My best piece of advice for this class is that if you are having trouble, or simply want to talk through your ideas, come to my office hours. This will be a challenging class, and I am here to help you. Several check-ins are built-in throughout the semester, but I am always available.

Syllabus Table of Contents

I. Attendance ...............................................................................................................................2 II. Required Materials ..................................................................................................................2 III. Assignments .............................................................................................................................3 IV. Plagiarism .................................................................................................................................4 V. Accommodations ....................................................................................................................4 VI. Grading Policies ......................................................................................................................4 VII. Course Schedule .....................................................................................................................5

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I. ATTENDANCE • Attendance is required in this course. You will need to sign in every day.

• You are allowed two “freebie” unexcused absences. Every unexcused absence after these

two freebies are gone will result in points being deducted from your final grade according to the following formula: (points lost) = (additional unexcused absences)2

• For an absence to be excused, you must submit documentation to me within a week of returning to class. Valid reasons for excused absences are listed in the Student Policy E-Handbook. Vacations, oversleeping, etc. are not valid reasons.

• Put your phone away. Texting, wearing headphones, sleeping, coming in late, leaving early, chatting about matters unrelated to the course, or any other disruptive behavior will result in an unexcused absence for that class. The policies on acceptable classroom behavior are in the Student Policy E-Handbook.

II. REQUIRED MATERIALS • Two books are required for this class. I usually try my best to keep textbook costs down,

but I believe these two books will be extremely valuable to you in the future and are worth acquiring permanently. They are:

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. “They Say / I Say”: The Moves That Matter in

Academic Writing. Third edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2014. --> I will be using the third edition, which should be cheaper because you can

buy it used, but the fourth edition is OK too.

Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers. Eighth edition. Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013.

--> I will be using the eighth edition, which should be cheaper because you can

buy it used, but the ninth edition is OK too. • I would also strongly recommend purchasing a dedicated Craft binder. Keeping your

assignments, ideas, sources, and notes organized will be essential in this class. We will also discuss digital methods of note-taking and source organization.

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III. ASSIGNMENTS

• This class has a single goal: the development of an original historical research project that results in a formal, ten-page (~2500-3000 words, NOT including footnotes and bibliography) research paper. The final draft of this paper is 20% of your grade.

• All other assignments are meant to build towards this final draft, by either developing

critical skills or providing checkpoints. You should expect to turn something in almost every day. 15 assignments are smaller assignments (Level 1, L1) and 5 are more significant (Level 2, L2). Level 1 assignments are each worth 3% of your grade for a combined total of 45%, Level 2 assignments are each worth 7% of your grade for a combined total of 35%. They are given in the course schedule, but a full list is below. Submit all assignments on CANVAS before the beginning of class, and bring a printed copy to class with you (with the exception of the Signed Time Affidavits).

LEVEL ONE ASSIGNMENTS

R Jan. 17 Under the Hood Worksheet #1 R Jan. 24 Signed Time Affidavit #1 T Jan. 29 Ideal AHA Conference Schedule R Jan. 31 Primary Source Mini-Presentation #1 T Feb. 5 Primary Source Mini-Presentation #2 R Feb. 7 First Draft of Annotated Primary Source Bibliography T Feb. 19 Under the Hood Worksheet #2 R Feb. 21 List of Key Terms/Topics/Subjects T Feb. 26 First Draft of Secondary Source Bibliography R Feb. 28 Secondary Source Mini-Presentation #1 T Mar. 5 Secondary Source Mini-Presentation #2 T Mar. 19 Signed Time Affidavit #2 R Mar. 21 Abstract T Apr. 9 First Draft of Introduction R Apr. 18 Peer Review Commentaries

LEVEL TWO ASSIGNMENTS

T Feb. 12 R Feb. 14

Final Annotated Primary Source Bibliography

R Mar. 7 Three-Page Historiography with Secondary Source Bibliography T Mar. 26 R Mar. 28

Paper Outline

R Apr. 11 First Full Paper Draft T Apr. 23 R Apr. 25

Final Presentation

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IV. PLAGIARISM • If you plagiarize, you are taking advantage of other Auburn students. You are not

affecting me; you are affecting all your friends and colleagues by devaluing their work. If a professional historian (like me) ever plagiarized, they would lose their job immediately. This is an especially serious issue for this class, since its theme is original research.

• Plagiarism refers to the submission of any work that is not your own. This includes copying material from the internet, buying a paper, sharing exams, checking your phone or other materials during an exam, and quoting a book without quotation marks or citations. I will report all plagiarism cases to the Academic Honesty Committee.

• We will discuss appropriate citation practices at length in this class. Most plagiarism cases

I have seen have been the result of carelessness in citation practices, not intentional deception, but ignorance is not an excuse. Auburn’s Academic Honesty Code is found at: https://sites.auburn.edu/admin/universitypolicies/Policies/AcademicHonestyCode.pdf

V. ACCOMMODATIONS

• If you need accommodations, contact the Office of Accessibility [1228 Haley Center, 844-2096 (V/TT)] to establish documentation, submit your approved accommodations through AU Access, and email me (kmcraig@auburn.edu) so that we can meet and discuss what you need. We must meet in order for you to receive your accommodations.

VI. GRADING POLICIES

• I do not award extra credit “upon request”. This is non-negotiable. I will round up final grades only if they are within a point and if you have missed £ 2 classes.

Example One: You have missed two classes and have an 89.2 à 90 = A Example Two: You have missed three classes and have an 89.2 à 88.2 = B Example Three: You have missed no classes and have an 88.6 à 88.6 = B

• Late work will be accepted for up to a week for 50% credit. Submit work on time! • The grade breakdown and scale is as follows:

90-100 A 80-89.9 B 70-79.9 C 60-69.9 D <59.9 F

Level 1 Assignments 45% (15 assignments, 3% each) Level 2 Assignments 35% (5 assignments, 7% each) Final Research Paper 20%

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VII. COURSE SCHEDULE

Turabian = A Manual for Writers (chapter numbers for eighth edition)

TSIS = They Say, I Say (chapter numbers for third edition) R Jan. 10 The Breakup: questions, sources, perspective, chronology, and hypotheses. T Jan. 15 Under the Hood #1: What goes into a piece of historical scholarship? --> In this session and the next, we will be disassembling examples of

historical writing to see how the different core pieces-- primary sources, secondary source, and argument-- fit together to make a cohesive whole.

Reading: TSIS Preface & Introduction

R Jan. 17 Under the Hood #2: What goes into a piece of historical scholarship?

Reading: Kelley, Robin. "An Invisible Army: Jobs, Relief, and the Birth of a Movement." In Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression, 13-33. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990. (CANVAS) [Note: This is a link to the folder, since you will also need to refer to the files: Abbreviations, Notes to Chapter One, and Bibliography] Due: Under the Hood Worksheet #1 [L1] (CANVAS)

PART ONE: PRIMARY SOURCES T Jan. 22 Fantastic Primary Sources and Where to Find Them #1 [Digital Resources]

--> In this session and the next, we will be discussing where and how historians find primary sources. Note that we are beginning with sources, not topics-- this is a conscious choice I will talk more about in class. As part of this process, I will ask you to "go fishing"-- to poke through different digital and physical collections to find interesting source material. You will be reporting on your findings next week. During this process, I want you to truly explore within and beyond your interests: this is time you need to give yourself to encounter the unexpected.

Reading: Hecht, Gabrielle. "Primary Sources and the (In)visibilities of History." In Being Nuclear: Africans and the Global Uranium Trade, 341-50. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012. (CANVAS)

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R Jan. 24 Fantastic Primary Sources and Where to Find Them #2 [Meet At Library]

Reading: Turabian, Chapter 3: "Finding Useful Sources" Due: Signed Time Affidavit #1 [L1] (CANVAS)

T Jan. 29 Philosophical Interlude: What Kind of Historian Are You?

--> We're going to take this session as a pseudo-break to discuss why we became historians, whose stories we feel called to tell, and the extent to which our personal histories affect the work that we do. To prepare for this discussion, you will be looking through the conference schedule for the 2019 meeting of the American Historical Association to find the panels and topics that interest you, as well as reading Robin Kelley's reflections on the personal influences that led him to write Hammer and Hoe and the connections he sees between the past and the present. Guest Interview: "Why and How I Became a Historian" Reading: Kelley, Robin. "Preface to the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition." In Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression, 13-33. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990. (CANVAS) Due: Ideal AHA Conference Schedule [L1] (CANVAS)

R Jan. 31 What You Found #1: Primary Source Presentations and Discussion

--> In this session and the next, you will be showing your classmates the primary sources you discovered and explaining why you think they are interesting. Together, we will talk about what ideas these sources suggest, the broader historical conversations they connect to, and the projects they might generate. We will also discuss citation practices for primary sources. Guest Interview: "My Experiences in the Archives"

Reading: Turabian Chapter 4: "Engaging Sources" Due: Primary Source Mini-Presentation #1 [L1] (CANVAS)

T Feb. 5 What You Found #2: Primary Source Presentations and Discussion

Guest Interview: "Oral Histories"

Due: Primary Source Mini-Presentation #2 [L1] (CANVAS)

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R Feb. 7 Your Primary Sources: Developing Your First Research Pitch

--> In the following week, you will be meeting with me individually. You will have five minutes to convince me that you have assembled primary sources that are a) interesting b) historically significant c) appropriate for a project of this size (neither too many nor too few). If I am unconvinced, you will need to rethink your primary source base and try again. During this class session, we will talk about why primary sources are the foundation of a successful historical research project and what you will need to have in hand in order to proceed to the next stages. Reading: Fleming, Robin. “Writing Biography at the Edge of History.” American Historical Review 114, no. 3 (June 2009): 606-614. (CANVAS) Due: First Draft of Annotated Primary Source Bibliography [L1] (CANVAS)

T Feb. 12 Project Pitch Meetings (7 people) R Feb. 14 Project Pitch Meetings (7 people)

--> Preparing For Your Pitch Meeting. After hearing your pitch, I will ask questions and give you one of four outcomes:

1) All clear. I am completely convinced that you are familiar with your primary sources and research question, that the sources are interesting, significant, and appropriate for a project of this size, and that the project has a high chance of success. 2) Accepted with revisions. I am convinced that your sources and question have merit, but there are minor issues that should be resolved in order to put the project on an ultimately successful path. However, the issues are not significant enough to require a new pitch meeting. 3) Revise and resubmit. I have serious misgivings about the project in its current condition; I am not convinced there is a high chance of success. You have the option to either address my concerns and re-pitch this project (note: this will need to be a substantial, not a cosmetic, revision), or to find a new source base / question and pitch that instead. 4) Rejected. There are insurmountable problems with the primary source base and/or research question that mean the project has little to no chance of success. This outcome requires that you find an entirely new source base and/or question, and pitch it to me again.

Due at Pitch Meeting: Final Annotated Primary Source Bibliography [L2] (CANVAS)

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PART TWO: SECONDARY SOURCES T Feb. 19 Under the Hood #3: What is Historiography?

--> In this session, we will return to disassembling historical works to take an even closer look at how they discuss other historians' work on their topic: that is, how do they summarize, evaluate, and put other historical sources in conversation with each other to clarify the goals and importance of their own research? How do the authors move between addressing these other authors' arguments, their own primary sources, and their own arguments? What roles do secondary sources play in historical writing? Reading: Harvey, Karen. “Barbarity in a Teacup? Punch, Domesticity and Gender in the Eighteenth Century.” Journal of Design History 21, no. 3 (October 2008): 205-219. (CANVAS) Due: Under the Hood Worksheet #2 [L1] (CANVAS)

R Feb. 21 Finding Relevant and Appropriate Secondary Sources

--> In this session, we will be discussing exactly what kinds of secondary sources you will need to find, read, and evaluate in order to join the historical conversations on topics surrounding your primary sources, with the goal of preparing you to present a preliminary secondary source bibliography by the following session. Reading: TSIS Chapter 14: "Reading for the Conversation" Due: List of Key Terms / Topics / Subjects [L1] (CANVAS)

T Feb. 26 "They Say": Summarizing and Quoting Others' Arguments

--> In this session, we will be practicing using templates from They Say, I Say to summarize and quote other historians' arguments, in preparation for your presentations on secondary sources relevant to your project over the next two class sessions. Please bring one of your secondary sources listed on the first draft of your secondary source bibliography to this class (you do not need to have read it yet). Reading: TSIS Chapters 1-3: "Starting With What Others Are Saying," "The Art of Summarizing," "The Art of Quoting" Due: First Draft of Secondary Source Bibliography [L1] (CANVAS)

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R Feb. 28 What You Found #3: Secondary Source Presentations and Discussion

--> In this class meeting and the next, you will be summarizing one of the secondary sources (that you have read, obviously) for your classmates and explaining why and how it is important for the historical conversations that are relevant to your own work. Together, we will talk about how these other authors' arguments might be useful to you in defining your own argument based on your primary sources. Reading: [The secondary source you are presenting on] Due: Secondary Source Mini-Presentation #1 [L1] (CANVAS)

T Mar. 5 What You Found #4: Secondary Source Presentations and Discussion

Reading: [The secondary source you are presenting on] Due: Secondary Source Mini-Presentation #2 [L1] (CANVAS)

R Mar. 7 Philosophical Interlude: Joining the Historical Conversation

--> In this session, we will talk about the challenges of developing an original historical research project and whether or not things have gone as we expected them to back in January. We will also discuss the process of gaining the confidence to add your own voice to the historical conversation, based on the scrupulous primary and secondary source research you have performed.

Guest Interview: Finding My Historical Voice Due: Three-Page Historiography with Secondary Source Bibliography [L2] (CANVAS)

MARCH 11-15 SPRING BREAK

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PART THREE: ARGUMENT T Mar. 19 Returning to Your Primary Sources

--> In this session, we will talk about the process of returning to your primary sources and developing your own argument out of them in ways that build on, push back against, or change the direction of the historical conversations you identified in your historiography. We are now entering the final stage of the research process, when you use your original argument as the glue to bring primary and secondary sources together into a cohesive whole. Reading: TSIS Chapters 4-7: "Three Ways to Respond," "Distinguishing What You Say From What They Say," "Planting a Naysayer in Your Text," "Saying Why It Matters" Due: Signed Time Affidavit #2 [L1] (CANVAS)

R Mar. 21 "I Say": Finding Your Argument

--> In this session, we will be discussing historical argumentation. Succeeding in this stage of the project relies on the fact that you have already done the necessary groundwork: careful reading and note-taking on all the necessary primary and secondary sources. Now, we need to think about how a historical argument works. An abstract is a good assignment for this stage, because it condenses your entire argument into 300 words. Reading: Turabian Chapters 5-6: "Planning Your Argument," "Planning a First Draft" Due: Abstract [L1] (CANVAS)

T Mar. 26 Outline Meetings (7 people) R Mar. 28 Outline Meetings (7 people)

--> I will be meeting with each of you individually this week. Like the pitch meetings, you must come prepared with a full outline that will allow you to explain your ideas and current project status to me. Unlike the pitch meetings, this is not a gatekeeping moment; you are already committed to this project and cannot change it, and so my job at this point is to help you make it the most successful project it can be. Due: Paper Outline [L2] (CANVAS)

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T Apr. 9 The Art of Titles, Introductions, and Footnotes

--> In this session, the last one before you complete the first full draft of your paper, we will be thinking about the structures that will make your paper comprehensible to an audience of educated historians that aren't familiar with your sources and topic. Introductions can be the most difficult part of a paper to write, because they must establish your project as interesting and significant while bringing your reader up to speed on the historical background they need to understand your argument. We will also discuss the art of picking a title, and review once again the importance of footnotes. Reading: Turabian Chapter 7, "Drafting Your Report"; TSIS Chapters 8-11: "Connecting the Parts," "Academic Writing Doesn't Always Mean Setting Aside Your Own Voice," "The Art of Metacommentary," "Using the Templates To Revise" Due: First Draft of Introduction [L1] (CANVAS)

R Apr. 11 You Did It! Almost. Now We Revise.

--> By this session, you will have completed the first full draft of your paper. Rather than rest on your laurels, we will be working on "reverse outlining" to help you see the structure and flow of your paper. We will also be discussing the challenges of revision, and how to be a useful and helpful reader and editor for your classmates. Reading: Turabian Chapters 9-11, "Revising Your Draft," "Writing Your Final Introduction and Conclusion," "Revising Sentences" Due: First Full Paper Draft [L2] (CANVAS)

T Apr. 16 Philosophical Finale: Does History Matter?

--> In this session, we will be thinking once again about the goals of history and our own sense of purpose as historians. What factors led you to this project? Why does your work matter? What roles should historians and their work have, in the United States and in the world? What is, or isn't, a historian's job? Guest Interview: Why My Work Matters Reading: [Classmates' papers received in peer review]

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R Apr. 18 Workshopping

--> In this session, you will bring your comments on your classmates' first drafts and we will discuss everyone's papers in a roundtable format, to help you revise for your final presentations and final drafts. Reading: Turabian Chapter 12, "Learning from Your Returned Paper" Due: Peer Review Commentaries [L1] (CANVAS)

T Apr. 23 Final Presentations (7 people) R Apr. 25 Final Presentations (7 people)

--> In these last two sessions, we will hold a final conference in which you will present your research to your colleagues (classmates). You will have ten minutes to explain your argument, your sources, and their place in the historical conversation. Reading: Turabian Chapter 13.1 and 13.2: "Plan Your Oral Presentation," "Design Your Presentation to be Listened To" Due: Final Presentation [L2] (CANVAS)

FINAL PAPER DUE 5:00 PM MAY 1 (CANVAS)