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 Introduction to Historical Studies | Fall 2005 OfficeRoom 121, North BuildingOffice Hours:Tuesdays, 8:00-10:00AMContactphone: 905-569-4959E-mail: m.tavakoli@utoronto.ca Course DescriptionThis writing-intensive course introduces students to historical thinking and writing in the humanities and social sciences and explores the emergence of Classics, History, and Religion as fields of academic inquiry. Writing is an integral component of critical historical thinking skills. Both
historical description and historical explanation involve the interrelated tasks
of learning to write and writing to learn. Critical evaluation of historical
writing is likewise intimately related to the ability to write critically and
historically, skills that could be acquired only in a writing intensive course.
By learning to reason and to write historically in Introduction to Historical
Studies, students will acquire the foundational skills that are essential for
their educational success in higher level courses in the Classical
Civilizations, History of Religions, Women’s/Gender Studies, and History
programs. To enhance the utility of Introduction to Historical Studies as a writing
intensive course each class session will be organized around fundamental issues
as: "what is history and historicity," "what is time and time-distancing," "what
is historical reasoning," "what is historical evidence," "what is historical
description and explanation," and "how does one write historically?"
Additionally students will learn about the significance of gender as a
historical category and the importance of the "historical turn" in various
disciplines in the humanities. By learning the significance of historical
reasoning in other disciplines, students in this course will acquire skills that
can be easily applied to courses in other disciplines. In this writing-intensive course, prior to each class session students will
be required to write a micro-essay of approximately 500 words on the central
question of the week. These micro-essays will be critical summaries/reflections
on the assigned readings, which will introduce students to the works of
prominent historiographers and philosophers. For instance, the assigned readings
on "what is history" will include passages from Immanuel Kant, Georg W.F. Hegel,
Karl Marx, Edward Carr, and R. G. Collingwood. Through such assignments students
will learn about both the diversity of perspectives on the explored questions
and the significance of their prominent authors. Students will be required to
post their micro-essays on the course website at least 48 hours prior to the
class meeting. These postings will be accessible to other students and to the
writing associate for responses and feedback. To create a collaborative learning environment, students in this course will
be divided into online writing communities of approximately 7 individuals. In
addition to writing a micro-essay on the critical question of the week, each
student will be required to write a brief 100-word critical reflection on
micro-essays written by other students in their writing community. In this
assignment students are asked to treat their peers as scholars and to ascertain
how their perspectives relate to the views of the authors of the assigned
readings. These critical comments will be also posted online and will be
available to all students and to the writing associate for the course. To contribute to the development of an active intellectual community on
campus, students in this course will be also required to attend at least 4
out-of-classroom lectures and/or conferences. They will be asked to write a
brief summary of no more than 100 words describing the fundamental argument of
each speaker. In addition to engagement in campus-wide intellectual activities,
this assignment will enable students to learn how to summarize elaborate
arguments, skills that are essential to historical writing. At the end of the semester each student is required to write a coherent final essay of approximately 5000 words addressing all the questions that were explored during the semester. In this assignment each student will be able to revisit her/his own weekly postings and to rewrite them into a coherent historigraphical essay embodying the scholarly tools of historical objectivity and evidentiary support. For their final grade, students will be asked to compile all of their written assignments into electronic portfolios. Course Requirements1. Biweekly summaries/analyses for a total of 6 one-page papers (approx. 500 words each). These analyses should be made available to other students via the Internet at least 24 hours prior to each class meeting. 2. Biweekly critiques of your peers' position papers for a total of 6 one-page papers (approx. 100 words each). Your critiques should be made available to other students via our discussion list. 3. Small groups will lead online discussions on assigned readings. All students are expected to participate regularly and actively in these discussions. Failure to do so will have a detrimental effect on your grade! 4. Students registered for this course are also required to participate in at least 4 sessions of university-wide seminars and/or public lectures related to Historical Studies. A short report (approx. 400-500 words) of these sessions should be sent to the Teaching Assistant assigned to your group. 5. A final take home essay exam (approximately 2500 words) on key Historiographical concepts, due 6 December 2005. 6. A weblog consisting of your weekly summaries, critiques, lecture reports, and the final take-home exam. GradesStudents will be evaluated by attendance, quality participation in the course, and by the quality of their written works. Percentages will be assigned on this following basis: 1. Biweekly summaries/analyses, 20% Required Texts:Week I: Introduction to Historical Studies
Writing
about History Week II: History, Historiography, and Historicity Paul Newall, Philosophy of History Allan Megill, Relativism, or the different senses of objectivity, Academic Questions, Vol. 8 (06-01-1995), pp 33.
Theron F. Schlabach,
Ten
Commandments of Good Historical Writing Week III: Universal History Immanuel Kant, "Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose," in Kant: Political Writings, ed. Hans Reiss (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970), 41-53. Immanuel Kant,
An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment? In Practical Philosophy
(Cambridge University Press, trans. and ed. Mary J. Gregor, 1996) Week IV: Hegel’s Philosophy of History G. W. F. Hegel,
THE PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY, trans. J. Sibree (New York: Prometheus Books,
1991) Some books and
hints on Hegel's Philosophy of History Week V: Marxist Philosophy of History Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party, trans.
Samuel Moore (London: 1888; Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia
Library). Karl Marx, Introduction to A Contribution to A Critique of Political Economy
Karl Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon Week VI: Darwinian History Robert M.
Young, Darwinian Evolution and Human History Week VII: The Decline of the West Week VIII: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions "Thomas Kuhn," in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Frank Pajares, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: Outline and Study Guide Malcolm R. Forster,
Guide to Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, March 19,
1998 Week IX: Gender and History Louise A. Tilly, "Gender,
Women's History, and Social History," Social Science History, Vol. 13, No. 4
(Winter, 1989), pp. 439-462 Emily S. Rosenberg, "Gender,"
The Journal of American History, Vol. 77, No. 1 (Jun., 1990), pp. 116-124 Ann-Louise Shapiro, "Introduction:
History and Feminist Theory, or Talking Back to the Beadle," History and
Theory, Vol. 31, No. 4, Beiheft 31: History and Feminist Theory (Dec., 1992),
pp. 1-14 Week X: Classical Studies James J. O'Donnell,
Late
Antiquity: Before and After Steven J Willett, "Postmodernist
Classics," Academic Questions (Spring 2004), 59-66 Week XI: History of Religions Sam Gill, "The
Academic Study of Religion," Journal of the American Academy of Religion >
Vol. 62, No. 4, Settled Issues and Neglected Questions in the Study of Religion
(Winter, 1994), pp. 965-975 Week XII: Art History Whitney Davis,
When Pictures Are Present: Arthur Danto and the Historicity of the Eye Week XIII:
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