HISTORY 210
Introduction to History

This class is the student's introduction to what it means to be a practicing historian. Students will be exposed to the bulk of the skills listed in the standards, and will begin to understand the relationship between those skills and the discipline of history. In History 210, students will identify the argument and structure of representative works of history, and hopefully begin to think about how each argument fits into the larger historiographical picture. The writing required in various sections of History 210 gives the student a valuable grounding in the writing techniques, styles of argument, and conventions of citation present in the discipline. In addition, History 210 sections are primarily discussion-based, enabling students to share their thoughts on the discipline with other nascent historians. The course is seen by the department as a departure point. The students are introduced to the various skills of the historian, but we expect that it will take several more upper division classes--and, ultimately, the research seminar--before all of these skills are brought to fruition. This course should be taken as soon as possible after a student decides to be a history major, or immediately after transferring in as a history major.

Students cannot take upper division history courses until they have completed History 210 (or are concurrently enrolled).

BASIC SKILLS
At a faculty retreat, the History Department identified 7 main skills that should be addressed in History 210 (an eighth skill--technology use--is addressed in History 226).

WHAT THESE SKILLS MEAN:
1) RESEARCH SKILLS/GATHERING SOURCES: History 210 addresses the basics such as how to frame the research questions, where to look for materials, and how to use information once found. The skills will be further developed in upper division classes and especially in History 490

2) PRIMARY/SECONDARY SOURCES: In history, there are two main categories of information--primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are sources produced at the time by people living through the events. Secondary sources are after the fact historical accounts, usually involving analysis and a particular point of view and frequently written by professional historians. It is necessary for students to understand the differences between primary and secondary sources, the strengths and weaknesses of both and how they can and should be used.

3) CRITICAL THINKING: This skill is absolutely vital to a practicing historian. Since so much of history is interpretive, critical thinking abilities differentiate a historian from someone who merely catalogs facts or names or dates. For example, a critical reading of sources reveals the authors' potential biases, the underlying meanings of the authors' linguistic choices, the context in which the source was created, as well as the significance of what the source omits or passes over. Ideally, all history courses will require critical thinking and analysis.

4) HISTORY METHODOLOGIES: Students, obviously, need to understand the discipline in which they are majoring. Often, non-historians gravitate towards two vastly different interpretations of history. Some claim that historians merely recite the facts of the past-- names, dates and chronologies. Alternately, many in the humanities argue that history is nothing more than a subjective fictional narrative, inseparable from a novel or a short story. While names and dates are important building blocks, our majors need to understand that history is much more than that. The discipline of history rests instead on analysis and interpretation. Students need to be exposed to the various possible methodologies open to historians. These methodologies can come in the form of sweeping all-inclusive theories (such as Marxism or liberalism), historically useful conceptualizations (borderlands, the "frontier," national identity or nationalism) or particular areas of study (diplomatic history, social history, gender history, political history). The methodology used by the historian can influence the questions asked, the types of evidence consulted (oral histories, government documents, cultural artifacts, public speech), the accepted evidentiary standard, and the nature of causation.

5) HISTORIOGRAPHY: Historiography--the history of history--involves studying how these different methodologies have been deployed over time. Understanding the differences between Marxist history and nationalist history, for example, as well as the historical events that produced these different schools of history, will help students evaluate the sources they read. It also helps student historians cobble together a methodology of their own, which will be of benefit to them whether they are research historians, history teachers or public sector employees. Historiography also helps our majors understand that history is not static, that interpretations and analyses are always shifting and changing in response to new evidence or changed assumptions.

6) ORAL PRESENTATION: Historians may write a lot but they also spend a good deal of their time teaching classes and attending conferences where they exchange their ideas with others in their profession. Therefore, it is vital that historians have good oral skills, that they know how to take all that information they have gathered and communicate it to others.

7) WRITING: It is importatnt for the historian to be able to take all the information he or she has gathered and create a coherent, well-supported, well-written argument from it. Writing is a vital part of the historical craft and as such it is important that students learn how to write history in its various forms.

THE COURSE:
At least one History 210 is offered each semester. Spring 2003, the course will be taught by Professor Knirck and Professor Evans (his will beoffered once a week as a night course). In Fall 2003 there will be one section offered by Professor Paulet. Students should keep in mind that this is a 4 UNIT course and will require a lot of work and reading on their part. In addition, because the nature of the course is to expose students to a broad historical base, unlike upper division courses, the readings will not deal with one specific time period or area but will encompass a