This course introduces graduate students to the diverse culture of historical research and methodologies that impact the processes of writing history, historical analysis, and the praxis of keeping memory. Students engage in the course aims and objectives of investigating who is constructing history and how history is being written by examining a diverse array of resources which include primary sources (i.e., diaries, letters, interviews, oral histories, newspaper articles, government documents), archival collection finding aids, digital history projects & exhibits, electronic records, photograph collections, and most importantly, archival collections. Students of the course are challenged to think critically about the multifaceted usages of history and meticulously study the fundamental methods of historical interpretation while developing the necessary skills of writing history and the cultural & political purposes of keeping memory. Most important, this course is driven by the significant functions of praxis in relation to archival research. Thus, students are provided with invaluable opportunities to actively engage in diverse field-based practicum data collection activities at various local and regional archival repositories. In conjunction with support from the course instructor, students apply the skills developed during the course by producing projects which align to their scholarly interests as prospective historians.
Credits: 3.0
Recent and Upcoming Instructors
- Benson, Richard D.
- Fall 2023 (2241-AT) / Class #: 32132 / Section: 1210-SEM