From Round to Square (and back)

For The Emperor's Teacher, scroll down (↓) to "Topics." It's the management book that will rock the world (and break the vase, as you will see). Click or paste the following link for a recent profile of the project: http://magazine.beloit.edu/?story_id=240813&issue_id=240610

A new post appears every day at 12:05* (CDT). There's more, though. Take a look at the right-hand side of the page for over four years of material (2,000 posts and growing) from Seinfeld and country music to every single day of the Chinese lunar calendar...translated. Look here ↓ and explore a little. It will take you all the way down the page...from round to square (and back again).
*Occasionally I will leave a long post up for thirty-six hours, and post a shorter entry at noon the next day.

Saturday, January 30, 2021

Historical Research Methods 2021a

On this date in Round and Square's History
17 January 2020
 
[a] Land and ocean RF
Method and Theory in History
(History Workshop)
History 190
Spring 2021
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
8:00-10:00
Tuesday, Thursday 
Archival Research

Robert André LaFleur                                              Office Hours:
Morse Ingersoll 206                                                  Email me (this is life in a pandemic)
363-2005                                                                            
lafleur@beloit.edu                                                                     

Required Books           
Becker, Howard. Tricks of the Trade.
Booth, Wayne. The Craft of Research.
Duby, Georges. History Continues.
Larson, Erik. Devil in the White City. 
Lin, Jennifer. Shanghai Faithful. 
Presnell, Jenny. The Information-Literate Historian.
Peacock, James. The Anthropological Lens.
                                       ***  *** 
Research notebook (preferred copies available at the bookstore)
Chicago Manual of Style Guidelines (available at the bookstore) 
Round and Square (www.robert-lafleur.blogspot.com)
The New York Review of Books (NYRB)

Readings Available in .pdf Format 
Geil, William Edgar. Adventures in the African Jungle Hunting Pigmies (1917).
Geil, William Edgar. China's Sacred 5 (1926).
Geil, William Edgar. The Isle That Is Called Patmos (1896, 1904).
Stead, William T. William Edgar Geil: The Missionary Missioner (1910).
Wilson, William Whitwell. An Explorer of Changing Horizons (1927).
 ***  ***
Doylestown Historical Society Geil Exhibit (2010) 
Newspaper Articles with a Geil Focus 

Reserve Books
All books are on library reserve.

Course Description  
This course acquaints students with the different approaches to writing history by providing samples of the various ways in which historians (and non-historians) have treated problems in the past. The class also aims to give students experience doing history by working with various kinds of sources. Finally, the course seeks to excite students about the field of history by addressing the issue of why someone would want to become an historian. This course is required for all history majors, who should complete it by the end of their sophomore year or before they declare a major.

Evaluation
Quizzes                                                 15%        Every Session
Research Proposal Letter                     20%        Week Four
Daily Email Updates (T, Th, F)               10%       Every Week
Research Proposal (Skeletal Version)  20%        Week Nine
10,000-word Research Proposal           35%       Week Sixteen
Class attendance and participation is expected.  
See my class attendance and participation policy.
Late assignments will be penalized—see my late assignment policy.

Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course. 
In particular, if you have a physical, psychological, medical, or learning disability or health consideration that may impact your coursework and/or require accommodations, please feel free to approach me and/or the Learning Enrichment and Disability Services (LEADS) located on 2nd floor Pearsons (north side), 608-363-2572, learning@beloit.edu, or make an appointment through joydeleon.youcanbook.me. LEADS will work with you to determine what accommodations are necessary and appropriate.  Contact that office promptly, however, since accommodations are not retroactive. Every effort will be made to give you agency over disclosure of your disability status. Confidentiality is maintained to the extent possible but at times others need to know to some information to provide you appropriate accommodations. 

HIST 190
Spring 2021
Week I
Monday, February 15 
Film: Geil of Doylestown (in-class Monday)
Philip Whitwell Wilson, An Explorer of Changing Horizons, 19-97
     The First Book: Apprenticeship
          The Horizons
          His Inheritance
          The Struggles of a Student
          The Objective
          Towards the Sun
          The Twilight of Old Turkey
          The Island of Saints
          The Seven Lamps
          The Arming of Europe
William T. Stead, "Missionary Missioner," 1-62
     The Man and His Methods
     Round the World after Missionaries
     The Great Melbourne Mission
     Across China and Darkest Africa
     In Defence of Missions
     A Missioner for the Missions
     
Tuesday, February 16 (Archival Work on Your Own)
From the Geil Archive (read all posts)  
     Introduction 
     1-Southern Mountain Museum
     2-Sacred Mountain Map
     3-Hat and Cattle
     4-Seeking Anthropology
     5-Curly Fives
     6-How to Write the Book
     7-Mortarboard Man
     8-Orator
Send me a brief email message (just a few sentences) with your thoughts

Wednesday, February 17
Duby, History Continues
          Foreword, by John W. Baldwin
          Preface
          The Choice
          The Patron
          The Building Blocks
          The Treatment
          Reading
          Construction
          The Thesis
          Matter and Spirit
          Mentalités
          Art
          The Collège de France     
          Travels
          Honors
          On Television
          William the Marshall
          Kinships
          Projects   

Thursday, February 18 (Archival Work on Your Own)
Doylestown Historical Society Online Archive 
Spend half an hour or more looking carefully through the DHS online archive. Follow these instructions carefully. [1] Click on "Archives." [2] Search "Geil." Now you should have access to hundreds of pages of material (4,300+ individual items). Just proceed randomly for now, and explore the different kinds of documents in the Geil archive. Send me an e-mail message of at least a few brief paragraphs describing your exploration (lafleur@beloit.edu).
 
Friday, February 19
Weekly "Clan Meeting" (I'll explain in class)
At the end of this first week, discuss three main things with your fellow "clan" members. First, what is "research?" The verb is often used these days to mean "checking the Google machine." You can be sure that such a definition won't cut it in this class. Second, "who" was William Edgar Geil? If you have characterized him in a single line of praise (or blame)...you have a lot of work to do (you do, anyway, so no worries). Finally, third what, among the readings this week (all kinds) has really caught your eye (so to speak)?
Write a short message (send to me at lafleur@beloit edu) answering these three questions and give a sense of your clan group's discussion.
***  *** 
Late assignments will be penalized—see my late assignment policy.

Week II  
Monday, February 22
Geil, The Isle That Is Called Patmos (1896) Spend thirty minutes to an hour with this book.
     Carefully read all front matter...in detail.
     Examine all photographs carefully and study the book's organization     
            A Trip to Patmos
            The Monastery of St. John
            Persecutions
            John and the Revelation
            The Geography of Patmos
            Georgirene's Description of Patmos
            St. John's Visit to Patmos
            Patmos in Classical History
            The Re-Inhabiting of the Island
            The Female Monastery
            Home Life on Patmos
            Mount St. Elias
            Prochorus
            Hermits of Patmos
            The Monastery of the Apocalypse
            A Meditation
*Geil, The Isle That Is Called Patmos (1904) Spend at least three hours with this book (your success in this class depends upon it). Review the marked (*) chapters especially carefully
            *The Voyage to Patmos
            *Landing in Patmos
            *The Geography of Patmos
            *Persecutions and John
             John and His Writings
            *John in Legend
             Christodoulos, Founder of the Monastery
             *Patmos in 1677
             *The Monastery of St. John
             *The Monastery Library
             Hermits of Patmos
             The Nunnery
             The Seminary
             Mt. St. Elias
             The Monastery of the Apocalypse
             *The Laity of Patmos
             *Home Life in Patmos
             *The South of Patmos
             *The North of Patmos
             *Farewell to Patmos 

Tuesday, February 23 (Archival Work on Your Own)
Frank Saloman, On the Art of Writing Proposals (.pdf file).
LaFleur, The Two Faces of China (.pdf file).
Send me a brief email message, letting me know the direction in which your 
planning is going.

Wednesday, February 24
Presnell, The Information Literate Historian, xv-xix, 1-51 
       Preface
       Historians and the Research Process: Getting Started
       Reference Resources 
Booth, The Craft of Research: 1-50
       Thinking in Print: The Uses of Research
       Connecting with your Reader: (Re-)Creating Yourself and Your Reader
       From Topics to Question

Thursday, February 25 (Archival Work on Your Own)
Doylestown Historical Society Online Archive 
Spend half an hour or more looking carefully through the DHS online archive. Follow these instructions carefully. [1] Click on "Archives." [2] Search "Geil." Now you should have access to hundreds of pages of material (4,300+ individual items). Just proceed randomly for now, and explore the different kinds of documents in the Geil archive. Send me an e-mail message of at least a few brief paragraphs describing your exploration (lafleur@beloit.edu).
See my class attendance and participation policy.
Late assignments will be penalized—see my late assignment policy.
 
Friday, February 26
Weekly "Clan Meeting"
[1] Read Brooke Mackowiak's research proposal from this class in 2018 (she's 
    studying for a PhD in history right now). 
[2] Think about how she handled each of the required sections for the proposal. It's 
      not "perfect," but it is extremely good.
[3] Pay special attention to the manner in which she used a "spark" in what she saw in 
     the Geil (DHS) archive to connect it with her own interests.
[4] NOW...think hard about how you might do something similar and write a paragraph 
     about what a proposal that channels your interests might look like.
[5] Whether or not you have already found a connection or not (but especially) if you 
      still feel lost, write a paragraph or two describing some of the things that interest 
      you when you think of "historical research." Put succinctly: What interests you 
      (whether you think it connects to the Geil archive or not).
Write a message that will be a little bit longer this week than usual. It is important. (Send it to me at lafleur@beloit edu). Answer these questions and give a sense of your clan group's discussion.
***  *** 
Late assignments will be penalized—see my late assignment policy.

Week III
                                       Check the Chicago Citation Quick Guide
Monday, March 1
Geil Exhibit (Doylestown Historical Society)
Geil Newspaper Articles (Doylestown Historical Society)
     Both of these resources will be provided via Dropbox by the instructor
Get an early start with the Tuesday reading if you can.

Tuesday, March 2 (Archival Work on Your Own)
Peacock, The Anthropological Lens, 1-62
(this is an important reading that is geared toward understanding what anthropologists do so that you can think about whether Geil's active fit (and didn't) the way anthropologists work and see the world today.
     Substance
Send me a brief email message (just a few sentences) with your thoughts

Wednesday, March 3
Presnell, The Information Literate Historian, 52-103 
     Finding Monographs and Using Catalogs
     Finding Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers: Using Indexes 
Booth, The Craft of Research: 51-101
     From Questions to a Problem
     From Problems to Sources
     Engaging Sources 

Thursday, March 4 (Archival Work on Your Own)
Doylestown Historical Society Online Archive 
Spend half an hour or more looking carefully through the DHS online archive. Follow these instructions carefully. [1] Click on "Archives." [2] Search "Geil." Now you should have access to hundreds of pages of material (4,300+ individual items). Just proceed randomly for now, and explore the different kinds of documents in the Geil archive. Send me an e-mail message of at least a few brief paragraphs describing your exploration (lafleur@beloit.edu).
See my class attendance and participation policy.
Late assignments will be penalized—see my late assignment policy.
 
Friday, March 5
Weekly "Clan Meeting" (I'll explain in class)
Reread the letter assignment, and write down short responses for each of the items that you are supposed to "cover" in your letter. Discuss the content of the letter with your clan group.

Second, give some thought to how you are going to make this letter "real" for your reader. You do need to cover all of the "academic stuff," but it must still be a real letter, and not a stealth paper for your professor. The best way to think bout this is that your reader will be reading it, but I'll be reading over his/her/their shoulder.
Write a short message (send to me at lafleur@beloit edu) answering these questions and give a sense of your clan group's discussion.

***Letter Assignment Due on Sunday, March 7 by 5:00 p.m.
Send to me as a .pdf file***
[b] Method RF


Week IV
Monday, March 8
Peacock, The Anthropological Lens, vii-xii; 63-112
     Method 

Tuesday, March 9 (Archival Work on Your Own)
Peacock, The Anthropological Lens, 113-145
     Significance
Send me a brief email message (just a few sentences) with your thoughts.

Wednesday, March 10
Presnell, The Information Literate Historian, 104-167 
     Evaluating Your Sources
     The Thrill of Discovery: Primary Sources
Booth, The Craft of Research: 103-151
     Making Good Arguments: An Overview
     Making Claims
     Assembling Reasons and Evidence 
     Acknowledgments and Responses

Thursday, March 11 (Archival Work on Your Own)
Doylestown Historical Society Online Archive 
Work through the DHS website. Work systematically (as we have done in class), and save files you might need for your final proposals onto a disk you can access while writing. If you are "done" with Geil, let me know about where the rest of your research is going. Whether or not you are using DHS, search specifically for research items for your own proposal (think of Presnell's book; use "everything"). Send me an e-mail by 11:00 p.m. telling me how the process went.
Late assignments will be penalized—see my late assignment policy.
See my class attendance and participation policy.
 
Friday, March 12
Weekly "Clan Meeting" (I'll explain in class)
First, write down some notes about the "larger vision" you have for your research proposal (imagine a full book that you would research and write, fully-funded, if you received a research grant from the proposal). Be ready to talk with your fellow clan members about that book idea (if you struggle with this, just think about my proposal for a book that explains China from a very different perspective than most other books). Second, explain what your research for this class (your "sample chapter" or, really, your research paper for 190, will be about. Third, explain some of the sources (it's still relatively "early") you would like to use. Fourth, discuss the relationship (think of Brooke Mackowiak's proposal, as well as mine) between the larger proposal "vision" and your specific research paper ("sample chapter").
Write a short message (send to me at lafleur@beloit edu) answering these questions and give a sense of your clan group's discussion.


"Skeletal" Research Proposal Due on Sunday, March 21 by 5:00 p.m.
Send to me as a .pdf file

Week V
Monday, March 15
LaFleur, Writing, History, and Culture (Rob's Writing Guide)
           70-81  Part Three—Writing and Time (read the story)
             5-30  Part One—The Writing Process (read very carefully)
            32-67 Part Two—Styling Culture: Navigating Grammatical Forests (just look 
                       through the numbered items so that you're familiar with the system when 
                       you get your letters back tomororow).
Larson, Devil in the White City            
Do your best with this book. Spend a few hours reading, and do your best to get a sense of the story detailing the creation of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair (this is important for the themes in our course). The murder stories are also revealing of larger themes, but learn as much about the World's Fair as you can.
          Prologue: Aboard the Olympic
          Part I: Frozen Music
          Part II: An Awful Fight
          Part III: In the White City
          Part IV: Cruelty Revealed
          Epilogue: The Last Crossing
          Notes and Sources
          Bibliography

Tuesday, March 16 (Archival Work on Your Own)
Farge, The Allure of the Archives, 1-78           
            Traces by the Thousands
             On the Front Door
             Paths and Presences
             She Has Just Arrived
             Gathering and Handling the Documents
Send me a brief email message (just a few sentences) with your thoughts

Wednesday, March 17
Presnell, The Information Literate Historian, 168-246
     History and the Internet
     Maps: From Simple to Geographic Information Systems  
     Beyond the Written Word...
Booth, The Craft of Research, 153-213
     Warrants
     Planning
     Drafting Your Report 
     Revising Your Organization and Argument

Thursday, March 18 (Archival Work on Your Own)
Doylestown Historical Society Online Archive 
Work through the DHS website, and check the DVDs on library reserve if you wish. Work systematically (as we have done in class), and save files you might need for your final proposals onto a disk you can access while writing. If you are "done" with Geil, let me know about where the rest of your research is going. Whether or not you are using DHS, search specifically for research items for your own proposal (think of Presnell's book; use "everything"). Send me an e-mail by 11:00 p.m. telling me how the process went.
Late assignments will be penalized—see my late assignment policy.
See my class attendance and participation policy.
 
Friday, March 19
Weekly "Clan Meeting" (I'll explain in class)
Go back through the research proposal assignment and make sure that you have a solid grasp of the elements of your proposal. Now, write down some thoughts about how each section is going. Discuss the sections with your fellow clan members, and describe your "skeletal" research process.
Write a short message (send to me at lafleur@beloit edu) answering these questions and give a sense of your clan group's discussion.

"Skeletal" Research Proposal Due on Sunday, March 21 by 5:00 p.m.
Send to me as a .pdf file

Week VI
Monday, March 22
Becker, Tricks of the Trade, 1-145
          Tricks
          Imagery
          Sampling (for this chapter, use your larger vision of your overall project to
                           guide you; although it is grounded in social science research, 
                           there is a good deal that historians can learn).
          Concepts

Tuesday, March 23 (Archival Work on Your Own) 
Farge, The Allure of the Archives, 79-124           
             Captured Speech
             The Inventory Room is Sepulchral
             Writing
Send me a brief email message (just a few sentences) with your thoughts

Wednesday, March 24
LaFleur, "One World, One Pivot" (.pdf file)
Presnell, The Information Literate Historian, 247-321
     Statistics: Quantifying History  
     Presenting Your Research
Booth, The Craft of Research, 214-276
     Communicating Evidence Visually
     Introductions and Conclusions
     Revising Style: Telling Your Story Clearly
     Some Last Considerations

Thursday, March 25 (Archival Work on Your Own)
Doylestown Historical Society Online Archive 
Work through the DHS website, and check the DVDs on library reserve if you wish. Work systematically (as we have done in class), and save files you might need for your final proposals onto a disk you can access while writing. If you are "done" with Geil, let me know about where the rest of your research is going. Whether or not you are using DHS, search specifically for research items for your own proposal (think of Presnell's book; use "everything"). Send me an e-mail telling me how the process went.
Late assignments will be penalized—see my late assignment policy.
See my class attendance and participation policy.

Friday, March 26
Weekly "Clan Meeting" 
For this final "clan meeting," print your skeletal proposal and mark it up (spend thirty minutes doing this). Put in new and further ideas that might go into your final proposal. When you meet with your fellow clan members, discuss your ideas and how you will use the next ten days to finish a project that will combine both "vision" (your overall idea for a possible book) and the "granular" detail of source-driven, archival, work in your sample chapter (i.e., your research paper for the course).
Write a short message (send to me at lafleur@beloit edu) answering these questions and give a sense of your clan group's discussion.
***  *** 

Final Research Proposal Due on Sunday, April 4 by 5:00 p.m.
Send to me as a .pdf file

Week VII
Monday, March 29
Becker, Tricks of the Trade, 146-219
           Logic
           Coda

Tuesday, March 30
Work on your final research proposal.
Send me a brief email message (just a few sentences) telling me how it's going.

The module ends today, but you still have until Sunday to finish your proposals.
***  *** 
Late assignments will be penalized—see my late assignment policy.

Final Research Proposal Due on Sunday, April 4 by 5:00 p.m.
Send to me as a .pdf file

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