SPRING 2002

Meets 2-5pm Fridays, in THH 107

Instructor: Philip J. Ethington (philipje@usc.ed)

Overview:

Students in this course will usually have completed its predecessor and companion course, History 500: Introduction to Graduate Historical Studies. The two main objectives of this course are: 1) To learn how to discover and investigate primary research materials; 2) To learn effective ways of designing and executing a research paper or multimedia work “of publishable quality.” Students will be graded on their participation in the seminars and on the quality of their final research paper or multimedia work. An "A" paper or work will be one that, with some further revisions, would be presentable as a submission to a major refereed scholarly journal (paper print or online).

This course has been revised from previous versions to include a serious approach to multimedia history. “Multimedia” is a generic term covering all forms of publication that are not limited to paper-printed distribution. The most common forms are web sites and CD-ROMs. The leading scholarly organizations in North America now take this form of publishing extremely seriously. For example, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and the American Historical Association are both now directly engaged in electronic publishing. In addition, such journals as The Journal of Multimedia History are exclusively digital and specializes in the new media.

By incorporating this new mission, History 601 does not abandon its original one: to train students to conduct primary research and to write excellent research essays. At the heart of any multimedia work is an essay or essays with interpretive and evidentiary challenges identical to those in traditional print media. The primary distinction of the new media over the old lies in the possible mode(s) of representation, strategies for presentation and “reading,” and the capacity to give the reader far more information (such as the primary documents themselves). The author’s ability to exploit these new capacities successfully depends upon learning new conceptual approaches (but also on rethinking ancient forms of hypertext, like annotation and footnoting) and also on the acquisition of new technical computing skills. Accordingly, this iteration of History 601 will include several hands-on History Lab workshops in web page design and creation and image manipulation.

This course also emphasizes training in basic primary and secondary research techniques: how to discover primary and secondary (re)sources. In addition to a constant discussion of these issues in the seminar, we will hold two workshops in collaboration with reference librarians: one on traditional searching methods using print sources, and one on digital “on-line” reference sources.

Students may choose either to write a traditional research paper or a multimedia publication. It is also possible to write both, or to write a traditional paper and a multimedia supplement. The course is designed at least to equip all students with the skills requisite to both modes of expression.

Assigned Readings:

Walter Prevenier, Martha C. Howell, From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods (Ithaca: Cornell Univ Press, 2001) ISBN: 0801485606

Marie-Laure Ryan, ed. Cyberspace Textuality : Computer Technology and Literary Theory (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999), ISBN: 0253212421

1 1/11 The centrality of the “prospectus”; History Lab workshop on exemplary multimedia history publications. First Prospectus Due (5 pages) See ideal outline below.

2 1/18 The basics: Taking notes, testing hypotheses, and following leads in the archives. none

3 1/25 Textual Sources and Historical Interpretation Prevenier and Howell

4 2/1 The Differences made by Hypertext and Cyberspace(In History Lab) Essays in Marie-Laure Ryan, ed.

5 2/8 History Lab workshop on digital image manipulation.

6 2/15 History Lab workshop on web site design.

7 2/22 History Lab workshop on web site authoring.

8 3/1 How to execute what you have planned in outline form. Outline of paper or website due

9 3/8 Presentation and Critique of Outlines

3/15 SPRING BREAK

10 3/22 Draft clinic and open Q&A concerning ongoing challenges Volunteers (2 or 3) present their work for group critique.

11 3/29 Draft clinic and open Q&A concerning ongoing challenges Volunteers (2 or 3) present their work for group critique.

12 4/5 Draft clinic and open Q&A concerning ongoing challenges Volunteers (2 or 3) present their work for group critique.

13 4/12 Draft clinic and open Q&A concerning ongoing challenges Volunteers (2 or 3) present their work for group critique.

14 4/19 Draft clinic and open Q&A concerning ongoing challenges Volunteers (2 or 3) present their work for group critique.

15 4/26 Celebration/Presentation Final Drafts Due

Ideal Prospectus Outline

The following is a template for you to use for any prospectus, of whatever length. It might be one page or 25 pages. It is also the germ of the “Introduction” to the research work itself. As you develop the actual research, you will undoubtedly revise the statements you originally make in the prospectus, and these revisions become the argument of the work.

I. Introduction/Abstract:

a. This is a study of...during... It is based on ... analysis of ... sources, [it argues that ...]

b. This study addresses the following literatures (A, B, and C).

c. Work in this/these area(s) have/has achieved x and y but not z.

d. This study will achieve z... (within specified limitations).

II. Literature Review (compressed)

III. Research Questions

(These grow out of Section II).

IV. Theory, Methods, and Sources

(To answer research questions in Section III).

V. Bibliography

A) Primary sources.

B) Secondary sources.