History 310-001 Spring 2004 Dr. Bouchard

The purpose of this course is to teach students how to think, read, and write like historians-analyzing both primary and secondary sources and writing a coherent and properly footnoted paper based on research in the sources.

Required Books (at the bookstore)
Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual, 3rd ed.
Barbara Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages
Suger, The Deeds of Louis the Fat, trans. Cusimano and Moorhead

In addition, students will probably buy at least one more paperback, to be used in the papers. Suggestions for these books will be given in class.

The course teaches the methods of historical analysis by concentrating on the history of western Europe during the Middle Ages. The course is divided into three sections, each of approximately 5 weeks. Each of the sections will count 1/3 of the final grade. Each of the sections will require a number of both shorter and longer written assignments, to build skills in writing about history. In the first section of the course, students will learn how to read and analyze primary sources. In the second, they will learn how to understand a historiographic problem. In the third, they will write a research paper that incorporates skills learned in the first two parts. Students will also share their research papers with the rest of the class. Detailed information on completing the papers and other assignments will be given during the course of the semester.

Attendance is mandatory. A student who is forced to miss a class (say, due to serious illness) will still be responsible for the material covered in it and for the assignment for the next class. Students who do not attend class or turn in assignments will be dropped.

It is History Dept. policy not to allow course drops after the end of Week 10.

Assignments

For Thurs, Jan 15: Write a brief paragraph on a topic in medieval history you think you might like to write a research paper on. Then read the first section ("Clarity") in Hacker's Pocket Manual of Style, and rewrite your paragraph so that it's improved. Due at the beginning of clas Thurs.

For Tues, Jan 20.
- Read the "Short History" textbook, pp. 115-125
- Read Suger, "Deeds of Louis the Fat," pp. 23-46
- Write a one-page analysis of what Suger is saying in these pages
Note: Bring Suger to class on Tues

Also start thinking about what primary source you would like to use for your first long paper. Suggested sources:

"Historical" sources
Einhard, Life of Charlemagne, in Two Lives of Charlemagne
Otto of Freising, Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa
Galbert of Bruges, The Murder of Charles the Good
The Life of Christina of Markyate
Benedict of Nursia, The Benedictine Rule
Adam, The Life of St. Hugh of Lincoln
The Book of Ste. Foy
Guibert of Nogent, Memoirs (trans. as Self and Society in Medieval France or as A Monk's Confession)
Orderic Vitalis, The Ecclesiastical History
Herman of Tournai, The Restoration of the Monastery of Saint Martin of Tournai
Hugh of Poitiers, The Vézelay Chronicle
John of Salisbury, Policraticus
St. Odo of Cluny
Odo of Deuil, De Profectione Ludovici VII in Orientem
The Letters of Abelard and Heloise
Rodulfus Glaber, Opera
Walter Map, Courtiers' Trifles
Joinville, Chronicles of the Crusades

"Fictional" sources
Marie de France, Lais
Chrétien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances
Gottfried von Strassburg, Tristan
Béroul, The Romance of Tristan
Andreas Capellanus, The Art of Courtly Love
The Death of King Arthur
Guillaume d'Orange: Four Twelfth-Century Epics
Lancelot of the Lake
Jean Renart, The Romance of the Rose or Guillaume de Dole
The Quest of the Holy Grail
The Song of Roland
Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival
The Nibelungenlied
Beowulf

For Thurs, Jan 22

- Read the "Short History" textbook, pp. 113-115, 125-147
- Read Suger, pp. 46-64, and be ready to discuss

For Tues, Jan 27

- Read the rest of Suger (to p. 159)
- Start working on your "Suger analytic paper" (3-5 pages), due the 29th (see description below)
- Be sure to bring to class the primary source on which you will wrote your Big Analytic paper so I can approve it

Writing an Analytic Paper on a Primary Source

These papers will be an opportunity for you to read and write about primary sources. Each paper will have a theme, stated at the beginning and discussed throughout, using specific examples from the text. The theme should be something about the views and attitudes of the author of the work, because by reading one person's work you are certainly in a position to say something about his viewpoint, but are not really in a position to make any sweeping comments about his period. Each paper should have a title that reflects the theme.

Papers should be typed, double spaced. Number your pages, by hand if necessary. Write in good, correct English and proofread carefully; neatness counts. Don't use slang, and also don't try to use "high-fallutin" language. Use plenty of references to specific passages in the text, and even short quotes (a few words or a sentence). Be sure to give specific page numbers whether you are quoting directly or just paraphrasing. However, don't try to pad your paper with long quotes. Especially don't expect a quote to "speak for itself," as it won't, explain and discuss all your quotes. Throughout, I want your ideas; although you can read the editors' introductions if you really want to, you certainly don't need to, and it is probably better not to, because your own good ideas could be pushed aside by the editor's.

If you would like to write a first draft before the papers are due, I would be happy to discuss it with you. Feel free to consult me at all stages of composition. Late papers will be penalized a letter grade a day for lateness (for example, from a B to a C for a paper that was due on a Tuesday but turned in on Wednesday, and so on). Write your papers with plenty of time to spare and avoid problems.

For Thurs, Jan 29
-Because of the university's closing, the due date for the Suger paper has been pushed back. Come to class with questions and/or a rough draft.
-Thurs is the deadline for having me approve your primary source for your first big paper.

For Tues, Feb. 3
-Paper analyzing Suger (page 64 to the end) is due. Length, 3 to 5 pages, see above for requirements. Avoid penalties for late papers by turning it in on time.
- Start reading your primary source for your next paper assignment.

For Thurs, Feb 5
Start working on an analytic paper, 5-10 pages, based on the primary source you chose (see above for requirements). It will be due on Thurs. Feb. 12.

For Tues, Feb. 10
Continue working on primary source analysis paper (due Thursday). Come to class with questions and comments. Note: If you want to talk to me with a rough draft, I will have office hours next week on Monday 12-3 as well as my regular Tuesday office hours, 11-12 and 3-3:30.

For Thurs, Feb. 12
- Everybody gets a free, no-penalty, automatic extension of their primary source paper until Feb. 19. This extension is being given because I want to make sure everyone writes a good paper. If you weren't in class on Tuesday to pick up your Suger paper, comeand get it, because my comments may help you write a better primary source paper.
- In addition, get started on your next assignment (also due the 19th), which is to find a recent secondary source (academic book) on an aspect of medieval history and write a short paper (1 paragraph to 1 page) summarizing the author's argument and who/what s/he is arguing against. More information on this assignment will be given in class.

Tues, Feb. 17
No class, President's Day.

Thurs, Feb. 19
Two (2) papers are due:
- Your long primary source paper--this is it, no more extensions or bonus days.
- A short "historiographic" paper. Requirements follow. Be sure to bring your book to class on Thurs. as well as the paper.

If you're having trouble conceptualizing what your analytic primary source paper should look like, I've posted a sample Suger paper to give you a semi-model of what I have in mind (of course, your own papers will have different themes and arguments). Click here to see the Suger paper.

Library Assignment--Find a Book

Go to the library and find a book on medieval history. Look in the early parts of the DA, DC, or DD classifications (respectively British, French, and German history), or in the BR or BX sections (church history and history of religion), or in the roughly 350 numbers of CB (cultural history). The book should be an academic book (ie published by a university press, with footnotes or endnotes), published in the last 20 years or so (since 1980). Don't get a book that's just an overview of medieval history, but one on a specific topic. Your choice of topic is not important at this point.

Write a brief paper about the book (under 1 page). Put the book's author and title in correct bibliographic format (the "Turabian" format, also known as "Chicago" format, check your Style Manual). Then write a long paragraph summarizing the book's argument. What is the author's purpose? What is s/he arguing, on the basis of what sort of primary sources? Who is s/he arguing against? What are the time and geographical parameters of the book? Paper will be due Feb. 19th (Thurs).

For Tues, Feb 24
Find a review of the book from the last assignment (or, if you want, start over, with a different book and its review--in this case, you'll need to redo the last assignment). Write a paragraph on how you would assess the book now, in light of the reviewer's comments, with which you do not have to agree. Again, give the citation in correct Turabian/Chicago format.

In addition, you may want to get started on the next big assignment, finding a cluster of 4 or 5 books that all deal with the same question and are arguing with each other (or building on each other). More details on this assignment will follow next week.

For Thurs, Feb. 26
- Get your one page "library assignment" and "review of the book" assignment turned in if you haven't already (last call!). You've made it this far through the class--don't blow it now.
- Read Rosenwein, "Short History," pp. 119-21
- Read over the xeroxed article handed out in class and be ready to discuss it (extra copies in the History front office if you weren't in class to get it).
- Start thinking further about your "historiographic essay," which will be due in 2 weeks or so, but on which you need to get started. Information follows.

Historiographic Essay

Find a collection of related books, 4 or 5 (one article may substitute for one of the books). Good places to look: The footnotes of one of the books, or the AHA Guide to Historical Literature (in the Reference section in Bierce, DA20 .A447 1995). Choose recent publications and books that seem to be speaking to each other. You may also want to look at some reviews of these books, though no more than one review is required.

Write a historiographicessay in which you define a problem that all of the books are addressing, and discuss the ways that the different books answer the questions, including what sorts of analysis they use, what sources they use, etc. Be sure to include a bibliography page, with all works cited in correct Turabian ("Chicago") format (check your Style Manual). Total length, 6-10 pages. Due March 11.

For Tues, March 2
- Finish finding the 4-5 books you'll be using for your historiographic essay (relatively recent books that all treat a similar issue, see above). The essay will be due March 11. Bring at least some of the books to class so I can approve them. Tip: If you want to look at book reviews, don't just check the year in which the book appeared. Book reviews often appear 1-2 years after the book itself.
- Bring the xeroxed "Chapter 2" to class again, as we'll finish discussing it.

For Thurs, March 4
Start working seriously on your Historiographic Report, due March 11. I'll be in my office from 10:30-12 and from 3 to whenever I head home. We'll meet in class, but most of the class time will be an extension of office hours. I want to see rough drafts, sections, introductions, whatever you have. I want you all to do well!

For Tues, March 9
I'll be in my office most of the time from about 10:30 in the morning until time for class, if you want to bring me a rough draft, outline, etc. We'll meet at our usual time and place for class, but most of the classtime will be a further opportunity for you to make sure your Historiographic paper is on the right track. Don't wait until the last minute--a paper like this can't be written overnight, and you want to avoid the heartbreak of grade-drop for late papers.

For Thurs, March 11
- Historiographic papers due (but you already knew that).
- I'll be giving out the assignment in class for the next big project and discussing requirements.

Research Paper in Medieval History - 310

The final third of the course will require a research paper on some aspect of medieval history, and will be based on both primary and secondary sources. In essence, you will define a problem that the primary sources will answer (examples: how were the Crusades seen at the time? what were some attitudes in the twelfth century toward chivalry? what were considered the attributes of a good king? etc.). Try to make your question something about the attitudes of the authors of your primary souces, not simply "what happened in the twelfth cetury." Then you will put your own analysis of the primary sources into the context of what modern scholars have to say on the topic. You may agree with the scholars (or at least some of them), disagree, or argue that no one else has addressed the question the way you have.

The paper will require at least two primary sources (if you wish, one may be the primary source you used for your analytic paper, but this is not necessary). It will also require a minimum of 5 secondary sources. If you are continuing with the same topic you began with your historiographic assignment, then you will need to add at least 4 more secondary sources beyond what was in that paper. All sources, primary and secondary, will be appropriately cited, both in the footnotes and on a bibliography page.

The deadline for having your topic and books approved is the Tuesday after break, March 30. Warning: do not try to wait until the next day or Thursday, because I will be out of town.

Part of the learning experience associated with this assignment is doing multiple drafts, improving the paper each time. A first draft is due Thursday, April 8. Failure to turn in the rough draft on time will result in a "zero" for that assignment.

During the final two weeks of the semester, students will read and comment on each other's semi-final drafts. The final, revised paper is due at the last class meeting of the semester. Final length: 10-15 pages.

For Tues, March 16
Class cancelled because of snow! Use the time to start giving your research paper serious thought. See your Thursday, when I'll have your Historiographic papers to give back.

For Thurs, March 18
Start thinking about your big research paper and come to class with at least a tentative idea of what you want to write on. (See requirements above.)

For Tues, March 30
This is the deadline for having the topic for your research paper approved. Bring your books to class so I can look at them and approve them.

For Thurs, April 1
No class, while I'm at the Medieval Academy of America meetings. Work on your research papers. You've made it this far. The end is in sight. Don't give up now.

For Tues, April 6
Last chance to ask questions about your research paper and receive guidance before it's due (Thurs). Remember, there will be no extensions given if you don't have your rough draft ready to turn in on Thursday. You will receive both a zero for the assignment and a serious frowny face. Take your vitamins to avoid waking up sick that day.

For Thurs, April 8
First drafts of your research paper are due in class. No extensions or late papers. See you then!

For Tues, April 13
First drafts returned, discussed.

For Thurs, April 15
We will start discussing each others' papers in class: Dale, Tomara, Kristin.

For Tues, April 20
We will continue discussing papers in class: Doston, Julia, Adam.
Andrew, Abby, and Jeff will bring copies of their papers to distribute (10 copies).

For Thurs, April 22
We will discuss the last group of papers: Andrew, Abby, Jeff, Jason.

For Tues, April 27
Last chance to revise your papers.

For Thurs, April 29
Final versions of papers due--no extensions or late papers.

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