History 6780: Research Seminar in Recent U.S. History
Western Michigan University, Fall 2009
Thursday, 3:30-6:00pmProfessor Ed Martini
4413 Friedmann Hall4434 Friedmann Hall
Office Hours:269-387-4487 (o)
T/Th, 1-2; and by Appointment269-544-0684 (h) edwin.martini@wmich.edu
Course Description
This seminar in recent United States history is designed to develop and sharpen the research skills of advanced graduate students interested in working in this period. It presumes background in the history and historiography of the post-1945 period in U.S. history, a basic ability in working with primary documents, and that students already have a familiarity with sources they will be using for their research project. Each student will complete a major research paper, based on primary sources and suitable for publication in an appropriate academic journal. Students will also complete several smaller projects related to common research-oriented academic tasks, including a brief research prospectus and bibliography, a review essay, a conference submission abstract, a review of one of your colleague’s work, and a conference presentation on your research that will be delivered to the class. We will meet regularly to discuss common readings focused around research methodology and related challenges, but the majority of time will be devoted to student research, including several weeks of independent research conducted in close consultation with the instructor.
Assignments and Grading:
1. Research Prospectus and Bibliography (15%) – Due October 1
Each student will develop an original research prospectus, along with a complete, formatted bibliography, that lays out the research project in which they will be engaged during the semester. Every student must meet individually with the instructor to discuss the research project prior to the class meeting on September 24.
2. Group Reports on Relevant Resources (10%) – Due October 8 and 15
Students will work in groups of two to identify, locate, and explore the relevant scholarly resources related to their research topics. Students will produce both written and oral reports (in the form of useful handouts for their colleagues) of these resources in two phases. On October 8, reports will focus on archival holdings, both traditional and online, addressing the size, scope, content, funding opportunities, and the accessibility of the holdings, including any archives in which group members are working or have used for their research. On October 15, presentations will focus on other scholarly resources for that field, including journals, listservs, professional organizations, funding opportunities, websites, and other relevant resources.
3. Review Essay (15%) – Due October 29
Each student will produce a synthetic review essay on three or more recent books related to their research topic. The essay must be completed according to the guidelines of Reviews in American History, available at
<http://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/reviews_in_american_history/guidelines.html>
4. Conference Abstract (10%) – Due November 5 (via email)
Each student will develop an abstract for a conference paper designed for an actual conference for which their research project would be appropriate. The guidelines and format should follow whatever guidelines are given in the actual Call for Papers (CFP). The actual CFP for which the abstract is designed must be turned in along with the abstract.
5. Peer Review and Drafts (10%) – Drafts due November 19, Peer Reviews Due December 3
Each student will work with a peer review partner, reading and providing substantive written feedback on
the partner’s draft essay. Two copies of the full draft of the essay are due on November 19, one to your instructor and one to your peer review partner. Peer reviews should consist of two parts: First, the essay itself, closely copy edited. Secondly, a written review of the paper of around five double spaced pages, addressing the same issues on which final papers will be graded: the logic and structure of the argument, the use of evidence to support that argument, and the presentation of the material, including grammar and readability. Peer reviews are due on December 3, at which time students will also receive feedback from the instructor.
6. Conference Presentation (10%) – December 3
On December 3, we will hold an extended class session, beginning at 3pm, during which time students will present a modified, conference-style version of the essay, based on the abstract submitted earlier. If appropriate, we may organize the session into two or more “panels,” as we would see at an actual conference. Each presentation should be no longer than twenty minutes, to leave time for questions and discussion. This class session will also be made open to other members of the department if they wish to join us. Presentations will be graded on content as well as delivery. Visual aids, PowerPoint or otherwise, are optional.
7. Final Paper (30%) – Due December 14 by 3pm
The final draft of the research paper should be suitable for publication in a relevant, appropriate, academic journal. While the submission guidelines for journals may vary however, papers for this course should be completed according to the guidelines laid out in the Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition). Final papers must include footnotes (not endnotes) and a complete, properly formatted bibliography.
Note: As a graduate student at Western Michigan University, "You are responsible for making yourself aware of and understanding the policies and procedures in the Graduate Catalog (pp. 25-26) that pertain to Academic Integrity. These policies include cheating, fabrication, falsification and forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism, complicity and computer misuse. If there is reason to believe you have been involved in academic dishonesty, you will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs. If you believe you are not responsible, you will have the opportunity for a hearing. You should consult with your instructor about an issue of academic honesty prior to the submission of an assignment or test."
Required Readings
David Fischer, Historians’ Fallacies (Harper and Row, 1970)
John Lewis Gaddis, The Landscape of History (Oxford, 2002)
Ernest May, ed., American Cold War: Strategy: Interpreting NSC 68 (Bedford St. Martin’s, 1993)
Suggested: Chicago Editorial Staff, Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition)
*Other readings on reserve, available through Waldo Library E-Reserve and in our course binder in the History Department, are marked with an asterisk on your syllabus
Schedule of Seminar Meetings and Assignments
September 10 – Some Starting Points – Does History Really Have a Method? Or a Purpose?
- Gaddis, The Landscape of History
- Spiegel, “Presidential Address: The Task of the Historian,” AHR 114 (February 2009), 1-15.
September 17 – Framing Research: The State of a Field
-Fischer, Historians’ Fallacies, Introduction, Part I (xv-102)
-*Booth et. al, The Craft of Research (University of Chicago, 2003), Chapters 3-6 ( pp. 40-108)
-*Graser, “World History in a Nation-State: The Transnational Disposition in Historical Writing in the
United States,” JAH 95 (March 2009), 1038-1052
-*Zeiler et. al, “The Diplomatic History Bandwagon: A State of the Field,” JAH 95 (March 2009),
1053-1091
September 24: State of the Art: A Suri Sampler
-*“The Rise and Fall of an International Counter-Culture, 1960-1975,” AHR 114 (February 2009), 45-68
-*“Henry Kissinger, the American Dream, and the Jewish Immigrant Experience in the Cold War,”
Diplomatic History 32 (November 2008), 719-47
-*“Détente and Human Rights: American and West European Perspectives on International Change,”
Cold War History 8 (November 2008), 527-45.
- *“The Cold War, Decolonization, and Global Social Awakenings: Historical Intersections,”
Cold War History 6 (August 2006), 353-63.
-*“Explaining the End of the Cold War: A New Historical Consensus?” Journal of Cold War Studies 4
(Fall 2002), 60-92.
October 1 – Jeremy Suri Lecture, 4pm, Meader Rare Book Room, Waldo Library, 3rd Floor
*DUE: Research Prospectus
October 8 – Working in Archives, Working with Primary Sources
-Group Reports on Resources I: Archival Sources, online and off
-Interpreting Evidence or, Twenty Different Ways of Looking at the Same Thing:
May, ed., American Cold War Strategy: Interpreting NSC-68
October 15 – Staying Current, Working with Sources (cont’d)
-Group Reports on Resources II: Journals, Organizations, Listservs, Conferences
-Individual Introductions of Topics, Sources, Issues
-Primary Source Workshop: Bring Your Troublesome Sources with You
October 22 – Putting it All Together
-Fischer, Historians’ Fallacies, Part II (103-262)
-*Review Essay Sampler
-The Ups and Downs of Book Reviews
October 29 – Barbara Hanawalt lecture, 4pm, Meader Rare Book Room, Waldo Library, 3rd Floor
*DUE: Review Essay
November 5 – No Class Meeting (ASA)
*DUE (via email): Conference Abstract
November 12 – No Class – Individual Meetings with Instructor
November 19 – Polishing Drafts, Revising Arguments
Fischer, Historians’ Fallacies, Part III (263-318)
*DUE: Two Drafts of Final Papers (one copy to Dr. Martini, one to your peer review partner)_
In Class – Developing Presentations for Conferences, or,
“Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About Academic Conferences But Were Afraid to Ask”
November 26 – No Class - Thanksgiving
December 3 – Presentations (start at 3pm, stay until we’re done)
*DUE: Peer Reviews of Draft Essays
**Note: This session is open to the department
December 10 – End of Term Pot-Luck, Martini House, Kalamazoo 5pm
**Monday, December 14 - Final Papers Due in my box by 3pm
