HIST4990 - History Senior Seminar-Historiography

Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury, The National Trust.
Ms 20, f. 13v. After Christopher De Hamel, Medieval Craftsmen. Scribes and Illuminators (London: British Museum Press, 1992).
Imagine yourself in the picture above...

This course is required for all history majors.

Pre-requisites are at least twelve (12) credits in history & satisfactory completion of HIST3990 Junior Seminar with at least a B-.

NOTE: A petition is required before registering, this can be obtained through the department Chair.

Historiography is not the study of history itself, but of the writings about history. It is an analysis of how historians have analyzed the past. It asks questions like, is there a pattern to how the past is written about? Can we learn anything about the past by looking at how it has been written about? Are there techniques and methods for studying the past? In this course you will examine and discuss how other historians have analyzed the past, paying special attention to their methods and techniques. Theories that will be discussed include post-modernism, reconstruction, deconstruction, the Marxist critique, the Feminist critique and others. It will also discuss the use of primary source materials and the mechanics of how professional historians do their job.

This is not an easy course. It demands a shift of gear from doing history to reflecting on how it’s done. It involves thinking philosophically and learning to think in terms of the theory of research and analysis. The end result is that you leave thinking like an historian.

You are joining a long and noble tradition. Historians have changed the world, exposed wrongdoing, supported those who fight for right, and reminded us where we came from and how we might go forward.

Historians are the keepers of the past,

we know where all the secrets are kept. . .

Dr. Brian Regal

Professor for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine

Department of History, LHAC 212

email: bregal@kean.edu

Course description: Open only to history majors. Geared to the highest competency. Staffed by department members who will give insight into the problems of historical methodology and research. Writing emphasis course.

NOTE: We will employ the Chicago Manual of Style for writing research papers. MLA or APA Style are forbidden.

Dr. Regal’s Course Objectives: Students will study the techniques, methodologies and underlying theories and philosophies of professional historical research. They will conduct a major research project based on original sources which they will prepare and analyze. Each step of the research project will be graded and critiqued by the instructor as well as classmates. The students will gain first hand experience in the use and handling of primary research materials, learn to use research repositories and learn the proper form of scholarly historical writing. In general, the student will become familiar with the ways of being a professional historian.

• Syllabus Summer I 2024 M-Th 8-10am (NOTE: the syllabus is subject to change over the course of the semester).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VbfRp6TAimhWSpWrZ4b2-6wJJ2CQSmgY/view?usp=sharing

Final project alternate forms: Instead of doing the standard research paper, education students can opt to do a complete course prep package (grammar school or high school) which conforms to state requirements. Also, Students can produce a broadcast ready podcast. Alternate projects will still require the same amount of work as the research project. If you are interested in taking this alternate path see me first.

• 4990 Slide show: 5/10/2024

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19XgJbkT8Suv_ZjDiv1tlNi16d29gz6Wo/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117428245962695631831&rtpof=true&sd=true

• Chicago Manual of Style quick guide: Updated May 17, 2021.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Pg5bPcugFhHtz0UHOsVIunTLwhf_w_iE/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117428245962695631831&rtpof=true&sd=true

NOTE: There will be no textbook for this section. The required readings are articles attached here. See the syllabus.

1. A Short History of History in America

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w9AX6I_JKw8Dg4-K34qsE9sNSVY-P948/view?usp=sharing

2. Great White Men

3. American Intellectual History

4. What do historians do anyway?

https://kuhistoryblog.wixsite.com/historyblog/post/what-do-historians-do-anyway

5. The Strange Magic of Libraries