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Liberal Study
Upper Level
Credits: 2
Term(s) Offered (Subject to Change) :
ARCHIVED PER HIMANEE GUPTA-CARLSON. LAST TERM OFFERED - NOVEMBER 2010.
Historiography seeks to understand the ways in which history has been written by exploring what shapes historical works. Historiography considers influences on works of history like what methods and sources were chosen and why, who was the intended audience, and why certain sources or topics are ignored in certain historical accounts.
Larger questions include: What is History? What are historical facts? What is the relationship between past and present? What are current issues concerning the writing and teaching of history? How do views on the role and interpretation of history relate to the methods and sources that historians use? Why is history rewritten? These are the kinds of questions that students will consider in this fifteen week, 2-credit course, focusing on conceptual issues surrounding the writing of history. In examining these issues, students will also deal with methodological concerns and changing approaches to historical analysis.
Note: For students who need 4-credits of historiography, there is a 2-credit independent study available that can be done in conjunction with this 2-credit course. Ideally, students should take the course and the independent study in the same term, though in some cases it may be possible to take the independent study following the course (pending instructor availability). In the independent study, students will choose a topic of their choice, such as a comparative analysis of several books and/or articles on the same topic; or an in-depth study of some approach to history, such as women's/gender studies, "history from below," oral history; or historiographical issues in teaching history.
Prerequisites: Previous history courses, including at least one upper-level course.
