COLLOQUIUM IN PUBLIC HISTORY

Dr. Rodney Carlisle - Armitage 354

History Department phone: 225 6080

Fall, 1998

email: carlisle@crab.rutgers.edu

This course is designed to introduce the student to a number of ways in which the discipline of History is applied both by academics and by non-academic practitioners. Through readings and discussions, students develop familiarity with several basic trends in recent historiography, and how they have affected the profession. After a review of some aspects of recent literature on the practice of history, each student will chose a particular public historian, review his or her career and works, and present both an oral and a written evaluation of the author's approach. The student should choose a living author, and should arrange to interview the author in person or by telephone. See below for details on interview. If the interview is arranged in person, it can serve as an introduction to some of the methods of oral history technique, which we will discuss in the course. For the purposes of this syllabus, the evaluation of the individual historian will be called an "Historiographic Note."

Each week through weeks 2-9, each student is to submit a single copy of a 3-4 page written commentary on the readings, called a "Commentary" in this syllabus. This section of the course will serve to introduce new graduate students to the colloquium method of instruction. For new and more advanced students, the writing exercises may help sharpen analytic and writing skills. All should gain a picture of some of the current trends in history and public history from these readings, their discussion, and the Commentaries.

Guidelines for preparing both the Commentaries and the Historiographic Note are presented later in this syllabus.

READINGS

Barzun and Graff: The Modern Researcher (5th ed.)

Benson, et. al.: Presenting the Past

Marty and Kyvig: Nearby History

Henderson and Kaeppler: Exhibiting Dilemmas

West: Domesticating History

Jones and Cantelon: Corporate Archives

Stull: History on the Internet

Materials from: Current Public History controversies. [These will be distributed in class.]

SCHEDULE

WEEK TOPIC/DISCUSSION READING TO BE COMPLETED

1. Introduction to the topic

2. History as Scientific Method Barzun and Graff

3. New perspectives: Social sides Benson:as assigned

4. New perspectives: Nearby History Marty and Kyvig

5. Historic artifacts as documents Henderson and Kaeppler

[At this session, each student should submit the name of the historian who will be the topic of his or her Historiographic Note, together with a list of that author's published works, in the order of publication date. Those works to be read for the Historiographic Note should be marked with an asterisk.]

6. Homes as historic texts West

7. Corporate Archives Jones and Cantelon

8. Contemporary access: Stull

9. Contemporary Public history cases [handout]

Sessions 10-14:

Student seminar oral presentations of Historiographic Notes on particular historians, as scheduled.

GUIDELINES

GUIDELINE FOR COMMENTARIES ON READINGS

R.1.In general the focus in the written Commentary should center on these questions:

How do the authors define a good approach to history?

What is the underlying central thesis of the work?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the argument as presented?

What ideological positions are reflected in the authors' approaches to the past?

What insights from the authors are particularly valuable?

What limitations do you detect in the authors' approach?

R.2. Good style, of course, dictates that you not cover these questions as if they were simple question and answer propositions. You should write a coherent essay addressing these and other aspects of the work you think are pertinent. You should strive to express your own reactions, expressing both your positive and negative responses to the questions in R.1.

R.3. The manuscript should be no longer than 3 to 4 pages, double spaced.

R.4. You should use a word processor, should double space, and should number your pages. References to page numbers in the works you cite may follow the MLA style if you prefer.

GUIDELINE FOR THE "EXECUTIVE SUMMARY" OF HISTORIOGRAPHIC NOTE

E.S.1. When scheduled to make the oral presentation, each student is to bring a one page "Executive Summary" of his or her oral presentation of the Historiographic Note for distribution to the group. Prepare sufficient copies of the Executive Summary for all members of the class. The oral presentation will be limited to 20 to 35 minutes, to be followed by a discussion up to 10 minutes.

The Executive Summary should:

E.S.2. Succinctly present the chronology of the historian's life: birth, education, career.

E.S.3. Present a list of the publications of the author (if any), with those you are discussing in detail marked with an asterisk.

E.S.4. Present a paragraph summarizing the historian's ideology, slant, or approach. In this paragraph you should give an indication of the historian's self-image.

GUIDELINE FOR ORAL PRESENTATION 20 TO 35 MINUTES

O.P.1. Using the Executive Summary, you should make clear for the class what type of historian is the subject of your study. You should be familiar with some of his or her works (written or other) and be prepared to discuss them, and to answer questions about your subject. Those scheduled later in the semester will have the advantage of having completed the oral interview, and should be able to give the class an impression of the historian's personality and character. In one sense, your oral presentation is much like a "briefing" presented at staff meetings of corporate and government organizations. Do not think of your presentation as a lecture.

O.P.2. After the presentation, you should be sure to make notes on any questions, comments, suggestions, and ideas received in the class and work to incorporate useful elements in your final written version. Your ability to incorporate suggestions will be part of the judgment on the final written product.

WRITTEN PRESENTATION OF HISTORIOGRAPHIC NOTE

H.N.1. The final written version of the Historiographic Note is to be submitted in the 14th week; the due date will be announced. The written treatment of the historian chosen should, as a minimum, accomplish the following:

H.N.2. Give biographical details, including education and publication interests.

H.N.3. The historian's point of view and style of historical work should be examined. In order to explore these questions, the student should present a close examination of two or more of the historian's works. If the historian's work has taken the form of exhibits, displays, programs, or other non-written historical products, those should be analyzed. In particular, such issues as these are appropriate:

What is the historian's point of view, on political/social issues?

What types of sources does he or she use?

How well does the historian measure up to the standards set by Barzun and Graff?

What sort of audience/client is the historian writing for?

How receptive is the historian to such techniques as:

quantification, oral history, artifact/non-paper documents, social perspectives, use of modern tools of the trade including computer, photocopy, tape- recorder, or on-line research?

How does the historian interpret the material he or she works with?

H.N. 4. As to length, each student must define an appropriate treatment. In general a paper under 8 pages would probably be much too short for such a topic; one over 20 pages would probably be more extensive than necessary. Try to aim at about 10-15 pages for the main body of the paper.

Each student is to prepare a direct transcript of at least three pages of the tape to include as an appendix to the paper. You can choose any section of the tape to transcribe. The transcript should indicate the questioner with your initials, the respondent with their initials, and show the date of the interview. You may leave grammar and syntax uncorrected in this transcript.

WRITTEN MATERIAL IN GENERAL

Applicable to Commentaries, Historiographic Note, and Executive Summary:

W.1. Students should use a word processor. Beginning students may submit initial papers typed. The college computer center provides word processing equipment, and has evening hours.

W.2. All material should be double spaced (including block quotes, endnotes, and bibliographic material).

W.3. All pages should be numbered.

W.4. All material should be error-free.

W.5. Style should follow The Chicago Manual of Style, although in the commentaries, MLA style for cited material is acceptable.

W.6. Style or other errors identified in early papers should not occur in later papers.

W.7. You should learn to identify any weaknesses you have in style and to edit your own work so as to correct them.

If this is your first graduate course, you should recognize that these standards will be common to the rest of the graduate program.

GUIDELINES FOR INTERVIEW

It is basic to human nature to be complimented to be interviewed regarding one's life, works, and experiences. Some students find it a good method to call the subject, to describe their purposes, and to arrange to call back or to meet at a more convenient time. Phone interviews should be under 30 minutes; direct interviews under 75. Face to face interviews are far preferable to telephone interviews. Telephone interviews can be readily recorded (with the subject's oral permission on the tape) with an inexpensive jack or suction-cup microphone from Radio Shack.

The actual interview can combine Oral History and journalistic interviewing techniques. It is almost essential to tape the interview, which should only be done with the subject's awareness and consent (whether over the phone or in person). One should have a list of questions, but have them open-ended. Several useful questions are these: "Tell me about your background." "How did you become an historian?" "Do you have any particular models as historians that you admire or emulate?" "What factors contributed to your choice of topics?" "Tell me about how you actually go about conducting your research." "How do you visualize your audience?" You should supplement these ahead of time with at least 20 more designed to address the career of the particular historian you are interviewing; if the historian has published, you should have read as much of the historian's materialas you can find and key your questions to that material. If the historian's products take another form (such as exhibits, restoration, organizational work, curatorship, or site preservation and presentation) you should be as familiar as possible with that work.

The student should be prepared to summarize for the class lessons learned about the process of interviewing itself, while conducting the interview.

Further, specific guidelines and "How-to" points regarding the oral interview will be distributed in class. You should read and follow the guidelines as discussed in Marty and Kyvig, Nearby History.

Be sure to design and obtain a signature on an oral history release form. Keep the tape, prying out the tabs so that the tape cannot be recorded over. If this is our first experience using a tape recorder in a serious fashion, be sure to familiarize yourself with the working of your equipment prior to the interview.

GUIDELINES ON GRADING

The course grade will reflect these aspects:

Quality of written Commentaries

Quality of oral participation in class discussion

Quality of oral presentation of Historiographic Note

Quality of written Historiographic Note

The grade is not calculated by a formula with set proportions. However, the longer Historiographic Note is a major component in the evaluation of your performance in the course.

In general, these letter grades on work submitted should convey the indicated meaning and are more or less standard in our graduate program.

A = Expected level of performance at graduate level

A- = Work is at graduate level with only minor flaws

B+ = Work shows good promise of success in graduate level

B = Acceptable work

B- = Marginally acceptable work

C+ and below: Work is not at the graduate level; improvement is required. Note that course grades in this range are assigned to students who do not correct errors or style problems revealed in early papers. Thus errors that lead to B or B- grades on early papers if occurring in later papers will lead to progressively lower grades.

Note that two or more absences, excused or not, generally prevent a student from achieving a B- or better grade. This standard is necessary because so much of the learning and work of the course takes place in the class meetings.

If you have difficulty with an assignment, or if you do not understand either the assignment or the evaluation of it, please feel free to contact me in the office (by appointment) through email, or at the classroom.