HISTORY
4398 001:
"REFORM
AS A HISTORICAL PARADIGM"
Holden Hall 127
on MWF at 10:00 am
John Howe
Department of History, Texas Tech University (TTU), Lubbock, Texas 79409-l0l3
Interim Director,
Arts & Sciences
Medieval and
Renaissance Studies Center
Office in Holden Hall 143
Office Hours: MW 11:00-11:30am; Tu 9:30-10:15 pm; W
9:00-10:15 am. and by appointment
Telephone: 806 742-3744 (History Dept.); or 806 834-7544 (office)
E-Mail:
john.howe@ttu.edu; fax: 806-742-1060; web:
http://myweb.ttu.edu/jhowe
In senior seminar, students review historical methodology, research,
and academic writing; they produce a capstone paper.
In this particular senior
seminar, the chosen theme is
"reform." History is the critical study
of the known past, and its subject matter is essentially change over time.
But how can historians conceptualize and express historical change? They
employ literary plots such as tragedy and comedy, biological metaphors such as
growth and decay, and more mechanistic models such as restoration, revolution,
renaissance, and reform.
What roles do these models play in our understanding of history? Do they
really illuminate the past? Do they illuminate more than they obfuscate? Apart
from discrete historical events, do they have any reality?
To examine more deeply what historians
do, this course will undertake
a case study of “reform,” one of the most used but least analyzed ways to
describe historical change affecting human institutions.
Students
will attempt to advance our knowledge of history by attempting to employ a reform paradigm in a
major research paper.
Required Texts:
Marius, Richard, and Melvin E. Page.
A Short Guide to writing about History,
9th edition. Boston: Pearson, 2015.
Storey, William Kelleher.
Writing History: A Guide for Students,
5th edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
Assigned texts available on line.
Specific reading assignments are
listed in the "Reading and Lecture Schedule," just ahead and to the
right of the date of the class by which they should be completed. Each
assignment is the subject of the following lecture or discussion. Read so that
you arrive in class prepared to explain, praise, criticize, and question.
Successful completion of this
course requires regular attendance. In the classroom difficult reading
assignments are interpreted and contextualized and additional subject matter is
introduced.
It is necessary, however, to
carefully consult the class meeting schedule found in this syllabus. Unlike most
undergraduate classes,
senior seminars do not meet as a class in each regularly scheduled class period.
Especially during the second half of the course, some class sessions have been
converted into individual conference sessions, meeting at times which students
have scheduled with the instructor.
Failure to attend a scheduled conference session is equivalent to missing
a class. Pay attention to the syllabus and to your own personal calendars and
day planners so that you
avoid showing up on a wrong day.
Quizzes
In scheduled classes, there will be six
short in-class quizzes on the assigned readings.
These (largely)
multiple-choice tests have two goal: 1) to
encourage you to complete the reading assignments on schedule; and 2) to test
and reinforce your mastery of specific historiographical skills.
Book Reviews
Students will write two
book reviews:
1)
Each
student will choose a book that utilizes the concept of reform, which should
either be listed on an approved reading list of
relevant historical studies or should be a book brought to and specifically
approved by the instructor. Students will write double-spaced, three-page book reviews, describing the books
and analyzing their success or failure but also specifically focusing on how
they define and use the concept of "reform" and whether or not this model
actually helps explicate the book's
arguments. Due Wednesday Feb 7.
2)
Each
students will choose, from his or her preliminary bibliography of term paper
secondary sources, a historical monographs directly related to the paper topic. Each
will write a two-page
book review describing the chosen book and analyzing how well
its project succeeds. Due on Wednesday Mar 7.
Short Essay
Each student will write a five-page, double-spaced essay on the use of
"reform" as a historical model, attempting to define the concept and analyzing
whether or not it actually helps to explain historical events.
Due on Monday, Feb 26.
There will be no final
examination in this course. The
research paper itself is intended to test the mastery of historical methodology
that is the course goal.
Students will write a research
paper of 20-25 double-spaced pages, on any area of historical study that
pertains in some meaningful way to the idea of reform, the central paradigm of
the course. The topic must be
approved by the instructor in order to verify that it does have some significant
relationship to reform and that the student can access the
primary sources
needed to complete the project. To facilitate work on this assignment, over the
course of the semester students will meet with the instructor for two meetings (or
for more as
needed) to be scheduled at mutually convenient times.
Time for these meetings will be provided by suspending some regularly
scheduled formal classes.
The grade for the seminar paper
will depend not only upon the final version of the paper but also
upon the completion of and documentation of certain preliminary steps that are
basic to successful research:
1) a subject area and a potential
topic or topics are due on Wednesday February 28;
2) a partial bibliography of
primary and secondary sources is due on Wednesday March 7;
3) a show-and-tell presentation
of your system for assembling and organizing research data is due by class time
on Friday March 30;
4) a rough draft must be submitted by Monday Apr 9;
5) The grade on the
rough draft will be replaced by the grade earned by the polished draft due
no later than 9:00am Wednesday May 16.
Failure to meet the assigned deadlines will result in grade penalties. If some form of preliminary draft is not submitted by Apr 9, a failing grade will be awarded for the whole seminar paper assignment. Other late steps will be penalized one letter grade, if presented one class late, but later submissions will not be accepted. Avoid plagiarism on all steps.
UNIVERSITY
NOTES:
NECESSARY ACCOMMODATIONS
Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special
arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact the instructor
as soon as possible so that the necessary accommodations can be made.
Observance
of a religious Holy Day:
Texas House Bill 256
requires institutions of higher education to excuse a student from attending
classes or other required activities, including examinations, for the observance
of a religious holy day. The student shall also be excused for time necessary to
travel. An institution may not penalize the student for the absence and allows
for the student to take an exam or complete an assignment from which the student
is excused. No prior notification of the instructor is required.
ACADEMIC
INTEGRITY: "Texas
Tech is committed to creating an exciting university atmosphere that is free of
academic dishonesty. All members of the university community, including faculty,
students, and staff, are upheld to the standard of having integrity in the work
they produce. The standard is for all members of the Texas Tech community to
contribute to the campus environment in an ethical, fun, and honest manner.
Integrity matters because student success matters."
Academic integrity violations are outlined in the Code of Student Conduct,
Part X. B3 of the Student Handbook.
Because we live in
an imperfect world, it is sometimes necessary to undergird ideals with
enforcement mechanisms. For academic integrity violations Texas Tech mandates
specific disciplinary outcomes. See
TTU Student Judicial Programs.
.
The course grade will be computed
as follows: 10% from the six quizzes (2% for each of the best five, with the
lowest grade dropped); 10% from the two book reviews (5% each); 20% from the two
midterms (10% each); 15% from the short essay on the utility of reform as a
historical concept; 35% for the seminar paper assignment (3.3% for the
submission on area and topic), 3.3% for the partial bibliography of primary and
secondary sources, 3.3% for the presentation of the system for assembling and
organizing research results, and 25% for the rough draft—a grade that can be
replaced by the grade on the final draft.
Penalties have been specified for late submission of assignments related
to the seminar paper.
10% of the grade will also be
assigned for class participation.
The class participation grade is based on attendance, class preparation, and
class contributions. Students outstanding in these areas get the
class-participation percentage credited as an `A'; those adequate but
undistinguished have the points dropped out of the average (so that they neither
help nor hurt); those below acceptable standards have them credited as an `F'.
F Jan 19
Introduction to Senior
Seminar
Marius 1-9;
Storey 1-3
M Jan 22 What
Is History?
[Tu Jan 23 Last
day for student-initiated Drop/Add]
Storey 98-99;
W Jan 24
What Is Historical Change?
F Jan 26
Quiz
/ Reform or Reformation as a
Historiographical Paradigm
M Jan 29
Book Reviews as Historical
Scholarship
Marius 8-21
W Jan 31 Essays
as Historical Scholarship
Marius 107-13; Storey 106-21. Work on book review
[F Feb 2 Last
day to drop a course without academic penalty]
F Feb 2
Quiz / Mechanics of History: Style
Marius
113-20; Storey 121-25. Work on book review
M Feb 5 Quiz
/ Mechanics of History: Grammar
Marius
121-23. Finish book review
W Feb 7 Class
Reports on Books Using Reform Models
Begin essay on the utility (or
not) of "reform" as a paradigm in history
F Feb 9 Class
Reports on Books Using Reform Models
Storey 52-61 and 137-38; Marius
133-42
M Feb 12
Mechanics
of History: Systems of Source Citation
Marius 21-25; Storey 49-51; TTU Statement on Academic Integrity. Continue work on your essay; prepare a sheet of paper that identifies a commonly accepted system of source citation and presents examples of note and of bibliographical citation for 1) an article from a history journal, 2) a monograph, 3) a study contained in a collection of articles, and 4) a study published online on the Web—due Wed Feb 14.
W Feb 14
Quiz /
Mechanics of History: Academic Honesty
Marius 26-47; Storey 62-77.
Continue work on your essay
F Feb 16 Historical
Analysis
Marius 60-72;
Storey 32-33
M Feb 19 Quiz
/ Primary and Secondary Sources
Survey the TTU Library Web Site and the Library's Guide to History Resources
W Feb 21
Library Resources—Meet in the
Library Lab 150
For medieval studies, see Web Resources and Source Collections; for the history of Christianity, see Resources; for general history, see Best of History Websites
F Feb 23
Electronic Resources
Finish essay
on the utility of reform models—due M Feb 26
M Feb 26 Class
Discussion on the Utility of Reform as a Historical Paradigm
Prepare a sheet of paper that
identifies the "area" in which you want to write your senior seminar paper and
also suggests one or more potential topics within that area that you would like
to investigate—due W Feb 28
W Feb 28 Class
Discussion on Potential Term Paper Projects
F Mar 2
Work on a partial bibliography
of primary and secondary sources; begin a two-page book review of a historical
monograph directly related to your research project
[M Mar 5 No organized class on this day]
Complete the partial
bibliography of primary and secondary sources and complete the book review—both
due W Mar 7
W Mar 7 Class
Discussion on Bibliographical Problems in Historical Research
Study
F Mar 9
Midterm on Writing History
Marius 75-97, 143-58;
Storey 78-97, 143-58. Read and analyze the
historical sources for your term paper. Prepare to sign-up in class on Mar 19 for an initial meeting with the
instructor
[Mar 10- 18
Spring Break]
M Mar 19
Writing a Rough Draft / Sign Up for Individual Meetings
Research and start a rough draft
of your paper; meet with instructor individually, as scheduled
[W Mar 21
No organized class on this day]
[F Mar 23
No organized class on this
day]
[M Mar 26 No
organized class on this day]
[W Mar 28
No organized class on this
day]
[Th Mar 31 Last
Day to Drop a Course which counts against drop limit]
Research and write a rough draft
of your paper; meet with instructor individually, as scheduled; prepare a
show-and-tell demonstration of the system you are using to assemble and organize
the historical evidence on which you are basing your project
F Mar 30
In-Class Presentations of
Student Research Methodologies
Research and start a rough draft
of your paper; meet with instructor individually, as scheduled
[M Apr 2
Easter Holiday]
[W Apr 4 No
organized class on this day]
[Th Apr 5 Advanced
Registration Begins]
Research and start a rough draft
of your paper; meet with instructor individually, as scheduled
[F Apr 6
No organized class on
this day]
Complete rough draft of
paper—due M Apr 9. Prepare to sign-up in class on Apr 9 for a meeting with the
instructor
M Apr 9 Class
Discussion of Preliminary Papers and Research Problems
Storey
128-31. Additional research and rewriting
[W Apr 11 No
organized class on this day]
A
[F Apr 13 No
organized class on this day]
Additional research and
rewriting. Prepare to sign-up in class on Apr 16 for possible additional
meetings with the instructor
M Apr 16
Papers Returned /
Discussion of Common Problems in These Drafts
Study your paper
corrections and your practical notes on historical methodology
W Apr 18
Midterm #2: Historical
Mechanics and Research Techniques
Additional research, rewriting,
and meetings with instructor as needed
[F Apr 20
No organized class on
this day]
Additional research,
rewriting, and meetings with instructor as needed
[M Apr 23 No
organized class on this day]
Additional research,
rewriting, and meetings with instructor as needed
[W Apr 25
No organized class on this
day]
Additional research,
rewriting, and meetings with instructor as needed
[F Apr 27 No
organized class on this day]
Additional research,
rewriting, and meetings with instructor as needed
[M May 30
No
organized class on this day]
Additional research,
rewriting and meetings with instructor as needed
[W May 2
No organized class on this day]
Submit final drafts of
terms papers—due F May 4. Be prepared to discuss in class what your paper has
achieved and what you learned from this exercise
F May 4
Presentations of Class
Papers
M May 7
Presentations of Class
Papers / Class Discussions of Reform and
Reformation
M
May 7 at 2:00pm
Make-Up Opportunity for
Justifiably Missed Midterms
No final examination.
Devote the time freed up to paper revision.
W May 16 at 9:00am
Last Chance to turn in re-written papers
May 20-21
Commencement
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