The Historian’s Craft

Catalog description

Credits 3. 3 Lecture Hours. CONTENT. Sophomore seminar. Instructors select different topics and assign distinct readings to meet the learning objectives. All sections address issues related to the work of the professional historian, including archival research, types of historical evidence, analysis and argumentation and the principles and methods of analytical narrative. Course content is selected to align with the course description and the current state of scholarship in the field. The presentation of course content fosters critical thinking in the context of scholarly consensus and debate, rather than instructors’ views, values or beliefs. BENEFITS. History teaches evaluation and synthesis of evidence, development of persuasive arguments in written and oral form, expansion of understandings of historical contexts that have contributed to human complexity past and present, including but not limited to the formation of group and individual identities, social and political dynamics, and debates about values and rights. Applying this knowledge produces more informed citizens, who are proficient in the abilities required by today’s workforce. Prerequisite: History majors.