Schedule of Class Meetings, Fall 2009
Tues. Sept. 1 Devoted to organization
Tues. Sept. 8 Some Classic Articles about 3 Big Questions: The Purpose of History, The
Objectivity of History, The
Carl Becker, “Every Man His Own Historian” [JSTOR]
Charles Beard, “Written History as an Act of Faith” [JSTOR]
Leopold von Ranke, “Preface to the First Edition of Histories of the Latin and
Germanic Nations” [Handout]
J. H. Hexter, “The Pennant Race and the Baseball Season, or Historical Story and Narrative Explanation: [Handout]
From G. R. Elton, The Practice of History [Handout]
From E. H. Carr, What is History? [Handout]
Students must prepare a 5 page paper reacting to any two of the assigned readings. Due on Mon. Sept. 7
Tues. Sept. 15 What the Hell is Historiography? Changing Fashions in the Writing of
History
Georg Iggers Historiography in the Twentieth Century, Introduction, Chapters 1, 4-5, 7, 8-10
Tues. Sept. 22 Thinking about Documents, Part I
Text of the Magna Carta
Selection from Elton, Practice of History [Handout]
5 page paper due on Mon. Sept. 21 (assignment announced previous week)
Tues. Sept. 29 Authenticity and Agency in History, Part I
Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Silencing the Past. Power and the Production of History
Tues. Oct. 6 Library Orientation (one hour)
Written statement about plans for final paper due on Mon. Oct. 5. To be
discussed in class.
Fall Break. No Session
Tues. Oct 20 Authenticity and Agency in History Part II (History without Great Men)
Emmanuel LeRoy Ladurie, “History that Stands Still,” “ French Peasants in the Sixteenth Century” [Handout]
James C. Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance, Chapts. 1, 6-8[Uris 2 hr. reserve]
Tues. Oct. 27 Thinking about Documents, Part II
Text of The Confessions of Nat Turner [Handout]
Dominick LaCapra, “Rethinking Intellectual History and Reading Texts” [Handout]
5 page paper due on Mon. Oct. 26
Tues. Nov. 3 Gender Questions
Joan Wallach Scott, Gender and the Politics of History, Introduction, Chapters 1-4, 9-10.
Tues. Nov. 10 Nationalism and History, Part I
Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities
Tues, Nov. 17 Nationalism and History, Part II. Is There a Global History?
Thomas Bender, A Nation Among Nations (Omit Chap. 3)
Tues, Nov. 24 Presentation of Final Paper
Tues. Dec. 1 Presentation of Final Paper