The Historian's Craft (Flexible Schedule)

What do historians do and why is it important? The work of the historian is absolutely vital to today's society. Understanding history is relevant to today's complex world. Historians may work in museums or for the government, but historians also conduct research. Learning to think like a historian is beneficial to future academic development. 

Primary source documents allow us to step into history and learn about it from the perspective of being there.

Interpreting historical data, assessing it, and presenting it with intellectual integrity are skills that students can take with them into their future academic and professional life, regardless of the path they choose. 

This course uses the Canvas LMS.

In this class, students will learn all about the historian's craft. This class will require research and writing. Students will choose a topic and locate a primary source document that is relevant to that topic. Throughout the five-week course, students will gain valuable skills toward conducting a primary source analysis on their chosen topic/document. In this course, students will also be introduced to important aspects of the field, including learning about archives and research methods (through both electronic and print media), using the Chicago Manual of Style (Turabian Style), and how to form a historical argument using both primary and secondary sources. 

The class schedule will be as follows:
Week 1: Introduction to the Historian's craft and Primary Sources
Week 2: Choosing a Topic, Performing Research, and Thinking Critically
Week 3: Analyzing a Primary Source and Intro to Chicago Style Citations
Week 4: Presenting Research and Thinking like a Historian
Week 5: Forming a Historical Argument and Intro to Historiography

This is a flexible schedule class because it will focus on creating the primary source analysis. Students can work at their own pace, but it is important to stay on track as the course builds from one week to the next. Videos and presentations will take the place of live lectures and will provide students with all the knowledge and skills that they need to propel them toward mastery of historical thinking. At the end of week 4, students will submit their primary source analysis (2-3 pages). Through discussions beginning in week 1, students will work step by step to choose their topic, begin researching, and form their analysis. This ensures that students will be on track to complete the analysis by week 4 and will possess all the necessary skills and knowledge to do so. During week 5, we will wrap up the course and introduce students to another critical aspect of historical analysis, the historiography.