HIST 498: SENIOR RESEARCH SEMINAR
Monday and Wednesday, 12:00 – 1:15 p.m. • Library 194 (History Conference Room)
Instructor: Dr. Leslie Madsen-Brooks
E-mail: lesliemadsen-brooks@boisestate.edu
Office phone: (208) 426-4035
Office: Library 183
Office hours: 1:30 to 2:50 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, and by appointment.
HIST 498 is part of the Foundations Program
Boise State’s Foundations Program provides undergraduates with a broad-based education that spans the entire university experience. HIST 498: Senior Research Seminar satisfies three credits of the Foundation Program’s Finishing Foundations requirement. It supports University Learning Outcomes 1-4:
ULO 1: Write Effectively
ULO 2: Oral Communication
ULO 3: Critical Inquiry
ULO 4: Innovation and Teamwork
History 498 is the “capstone” seminar for history majors. In this class, the student’s main tasks will be to write a paper in which s/he examines a historical topic as historians do, using primary sources and the work of historians who have come before them as their guide. Students will also present and discuss the results of their research and critique the work of others in the class.
Introduction
Welcome to History 498, the History department’s capstone course. This course asks you to synthesize the knowledge and skills you have developed over your undergraduate career as a history major. By the end of the course, you will have authored a carefully researched and thoughtfully written paper on an historical topic.
Writing a research paper can be an intimidating task, but it doesn’t have to be. In this course, we’ll break down the process of research and writing into manageable pieces. We will
- consider topic selection
- explore research methods
- brainstorm how best to organize the tremendous amount of source material you collect
- determine how best to order various sections and paragraphs within the paper
- assist one another with feedback and revision.
Learning goals
Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to:
- Write and speak effectively about a historical topic.
- Present a historical argument supported by evidence from primary and secondary sources.
- Demonstrate knowledge and effective use of the conventions of historical writing and argument.
- Develop and present an original historical argument based on independent interpretation of sources.
- Evaluate and critique other historians’ arguments and conclusions.
Course materials (available at the campus bookstore)
- Elements of Style by William Strunk and E. B. White (any edition)
- The Craft of Research, 3rd edition, by Wayne Booth, Gregory Colomb, and Joseph Williams
- Additional readings on the course website
Participation
The day-to-day requirements of this course are simple: do the required research and writing tasks, reflect on them, and come to class prepared to engage in thoughtful discussion and meaningful collaboration.
Your presence in class is very important. Participation in course discussions constitutes a significant portion of your grade (10%), and an additional 15% of your grade is determined by the quality of your contributions to your group. To receive an A for your participation, you must participate meaningfully every day we have class discussion or collaboration. Merely attending class will earn you a C- for participation.
A note about technology: During class discussions, I would appreciate it if laptops are closed and cell phones put away. That said, while groups are working together, digital devices (and laptops or tablets in particular) may prove useful and even necessary. If you have a documented disability and need to use a laptop or other device as assistive technology during class discussion, please let me know and I’ll be happy to make an exception.
Writing
The quality of your writing—both its clarity and the depth of thought expressed in it—is the primary determinant your final grade in this course. It is imperative, then, that you schedule sufficient time to conduct the research required for the paper, write a solid first draft, and conduct several revisions.
Please do come see me for help with your research paper, as there won’t be an opportunity to rewrite it for a better grade.
Late assignment policy
In the historical professions, deadlines matter. Exhibitions must open on time. Grant proposal deadlines aren’t negotiable. Collaborative public history endeavors—like building digital tools and organizing festivals—require everyone to contribute in a timely manner so that work may proceed on schedule. The same holds true for this class.
Assignments must be turned in at the beginning of class on the day they are due. Late assignments will be penalized 1/3 of a grade (e.g. a B becomes a B-) after the beginning of class, and I will deduct an additional 1/3 grade for each 24 hours that pass before you turn in the paper.
That said, I’m not heartless. If you have an emergency or anticipate not being able to turn in your paper on time, come see me and we’ll see if we can work something out.
Please note: Technological failure does not constitute an emergency. Hard drives fail, servers go down, file transfers time out, and files get corrupted. You must plan for such contingencies: keep backups of your files, have extra ink cartridges handy, know where the local wifi hotspots are in case your home internet connection goes down. Technological issues are not excuses for late work. Please protect yourself (and your grades) by managing your time and backing up your work.
Grade distribution
- Participation in class discussion (as evaluated by instructor): 10%
- Collaboration contributions (as reported by your group): 15%
- Preliminary outline and annotated bibliography: 20%
- Rough draft: 20%
- Final paper: 35%
If you make a sincere effort throughout the course and demonstrate significant improvement during the semester, I will adjust your final grade accordingly. (No, this does not mean you should turn in substandard work at the beginning of the semester.)
Plagiarism
A student commits plagiarism not only if she turns in someone else’s work as her own, but also if she borrows others’ ideas or phrases without giving them credit. We can discuss this in class if anyone has questions. Any student who plagiarizes or cheats on any assignment may receive an F on the assignment or in the course and may be subject to academic discipline by the university.
I am interested in your thoughts and your creative and analytical work. Please share them with me!
Accommodations
I need to hear from anyone who has a disability that may require some modification of seating, assignments, or other class requirements so that appropriate arrangements may be made. Please see me after class or during my office hours. (You will also need to contact the Disability Resource Center at 208-426-1583 located in the Administration Building, room 114 to meet with a specialist and coordinate reasonable accommodations for any documented disability. For more information on BSU Disability Resource Center (DRC) see the web site at http://drc.boisestate.edu/)
Our classroom weapons policy
In spring 2014, the Idaho state legislature voted to allow some people to bring guns onto college campuses, including into classrooms. I encourage all students to read the campus’s updated policy on firearms and weapons at http://policy.boisestate.edu/campus-security-and-safety/firearms-weapons-possession/.
You should also know that I am profoundly uncomfortable with the presence of weapons in the classroom, and I would appreciate it if students would not bring them to our class. Why? Because a gun represents to me the threat of violence, and thus the potential or implied presence of a weapon will change the way I teach and interact with students. Other students have let me know they do not feel as comfortable talking openly in the classroom knowing that guns have been welcomed onto campus.
I have crafted the following classroom policy on firearms in consultation with campus administrators knowledgeable about student safety, campus policy, and state law.
- If you are a qualified retired law enforcement officer or someone who holds an enhanced license to carry concealed weapons, you are legally permitted to bring your concealed weapon into the classroom.
- If I see a weapon in the classroom, even if it is exposed unintentionally, that weapon is no longer concealed. I will leave the classroom and call the police, and you will be asked to leave class for the day.
- If you view a weapon in this classroom and it makes you uncomfortable, please report it to me and leave the classroom. I will notify the police.
If the reasons for this classroom policy are not clear to you, I am happy to explain them, however the policy itself is not up for debate, negotiation, or revision.
If you would like to add Boise State’s Campus Security and Police Services to your phone’s contact list, the department may be reached at (208) 426-6911.
Talk to me
I will be available during my office hours to address your concerns with the class and assignments. I encourage you to come see me if you feel you have not been offered a chance to participate in class discussion, you are troubled by a particular assignment, you would like to talk more with me about an issue raised in class, or you have concerns about your performance in the course.
August 25: Introductions.
August 27:
- The Craft of Research, 9-27.
- Eltis et. al., “Agency and Diaspora in Atlantic History: Reassessing the African Contribution to Rice Cultivation in the Americas”
September 1: Labor Day. Class does not meet.
September 3: American Historical Review “Exchange” articles:
- Introduction: “The Question of ‘Black Rice’”
- Edelson, “Beyond ‘Black Rice’: Reconstructing Material and Cultural Contexts for Early Plantation Agriculture”
- Midlo Hall, “Africa and Africans in the African Diaspora: The Uses of Relational Databases”
September 8: American Historical Review “Exchange” articles, continued:
- Hawthorne, “From ‘Black Rice’ to ‘Brown’: Rethinking the History of Risiculture in the Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Atlantic”
- Eltis et. al., “Black, Brown, or White? Color-Coding American Commercial Rice Cultivation with Slave Labor”
September 10: Library Lab?
- The Craft of Research, 31-67
September 15: Strunk & White quiz #1, brainstorming topics, library research.
September 17: Library research. [Note: LMB is available for individual assistance on all library research days.]
- The Craft of Research, 68-101
September 22: Form groups. Research question due.
September 24: Group collaboration. Mind mapping. Formulating an argument.
- The Craft of Research, 105-29
September 29: Library research.
October 1: Group collaboration. Outlining.
- The Craft of Research, 130-151, 173-186
October 6: Strunk & White quiz #2. Group collaboration. Sign up for individual conferences.
October 8: Library research.
- The Craft of Research, 187-202
October 13: Preliminary outline and annotated bibliography due.
October 13-17: Individual conferences, by appointment.
October 20: Bring your work-in-progress for group discussion.
October 22: Bring your work-in-progress for group discussion.
October 27: Reconvene as a class to check in.
October 29: Rough draft due (at least 10 pages). Bring copies for LMB and for group members.
November 3: Class does not meet; LMB available for further individual conferences.
November 5: Class does not meet; LMB available for further individual conferences.
November 10: Feedback on drafts, from LMB and group.
- The Craft of Research, 203-212
November 12, 17, and 19: Group collaboration and individual conferences, as needed.
- The Craft of Research, 232-269
November 24-30: Thanksgiving break. Class does not meet.
December 1: Bring a polished, complete draft to class to share with your group. Reading papers aloud, preliminary feedback.
December 3: Group feedback, continued. Focused feedback on challenging sections.
December 8: Individual conferences or group work, as needed.
December 10: Final paper due. Course evaluations.
Monday, December 15, 12:00-2:00 p.m [final exam period]: TBD.