HISTORY 226
Computer Research

PURPOSE:
This class is intended to introduce history majors to the uses of the technology for historical research. The class essentially has two components. In the first half of the class we will look at the various ways in which the internet and on line databases can assist researchers in accumulating sources, evaluating information, identifying relevant issues and engaging in dialogues with other scholars. During the second half of the course, student groups will design well-researched historically-based web pages. This portion will ideally help students learn about different ways of presenting research, as well as master the mechanics of creating a web page with Macromedia products Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash.

STRUCTURE:
More specifically, History 226 will acquaint the student with a variety of research possibilities involving the internet. Students will learn to use online library databases for the humanities, study the various internet search engines and their functions, and participate in on-line discussion lists with other historians. Given the vast amounts of information available on the internet today, it is also important for students to understand how to determine the veracity and utility of various historical web sites. Discussions and hands-on activities will allow students to begin understanding different standards by which to evaluate web sites and the information they contain. Finally, the course gives history majors an understanding of the enormous amount of primary source material available on the web. To this end, the course includes a discussion of archival web sites, museum sites and digital imaging projects. Ideally, this helps students understand that primary sources do not have to be written texts, and also that a lot of primary source material, previously available only in often-distant archives, is now available to a wider audience of scholars.

The culmination of this class is the production of student-designed web sites. Usually working in small groups, students will research a historical topic of their own choosing. This research involves both web-based research and also more traditional library research. Students will then design a multi-page web site using Macromedia products. This experience will give history majors important skills in web design-useful in a variety of careers that they might choose to pursue-and also allow them to present a research project in a slightly different format. The department strongly urges history majors to take this course early in their academic career, so the research skills they acquire will be useful to them as they proceed through the remainder of their degree.