HIST 497H: History Seminar

Course Description

This course is unlike other courses offered by the history discipline in that its primary function is to introduce students to the process of intensive historical inquiry with its end being the production of a high-quality, original research paper. As a seminar, it is intended for advanced concentrators who will research their own specialized topics within the intellectual community of the seminar?providing support and enrichment for the other class members. The general theme for the semester is ?Microhistory.? Within this general rubric we will be focusing upon three major issues: 1) Microhistory as a tool of historical investigation/analysis [i.e., what is microhistory?], 2) the advantages/disadvantages of this approach to historical inquiry [what can it reveal for us?], and 3) employing the technique to produce a discrete microhistorical study [how do we do it?]. The overall purpose of this micro-level approach is to provide a distinct, readily accessible medium through which to consider broader historical trends.