Course Description
Locating and using historical source materials, written and oral, published and unpublished. 411A: American; 411B: European; and 411C: Wider World. Prerequisite: For social studies licensure students: HIS 430 and permission of instructor; for all other history majors: HIS 391 and permission of instructor; Notes: Required of history majors; May be repeated once for credit when topic varies.
Syllabus
Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:
Students successfully completing this course will be able to:
Analyze historical duration, succession, and change in terms of human agency and larger systems or structures.
Use historical thinking to contextualize and analyze primary and secondary sources representing different points of view.
Conduct original research by investigating and interpreting primary and secondary sources.
Use evidence-based reasoning to interpret the past coherently while developing and presenting an original argument, orally and in writing.
Course Grading Information:
Activity/Performance Measure | Percentage/Points |
|---|---|
Online discussions | 20% |
Skills exercises & writing assignments | 35% |
Draft research paper sections | 15% |
Final research paper | 30% |
Grading Scale:
Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
93% - 100% | A |
90% - 92% | A- |
87% - 89% | B+ |
83% - 86% | B |
80% - 82% | B- |
77% - 79% | C+ |
73% - 76% | C |
70% - 72% | C- |
67% - 69% | D+ |
63% - 66% | D |
60% - 62% | D- |
0% - 59% | F |
Attendance/Participation:
Attendance and participation will not be graded in this class.
Course Materials Purchased by the Students:
Chávez, Ernesto. The U.S. War with Mexico: A Brief History with Documents. The Bedford Series in History and Culture. Bedford/St. Martins, 2007.
Greenberg, Amy S. Manifest Destiny and American Territorial Expansion: A Brief History with Documents. Second edition. The Bedford Series in History and Culture. Bedford/St. Martin’s, Macmillan Learning, 2018.
Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History. Eleventh edition. Bedford/St. Martin’s, Macmillan Learning, 2025.
Schrag, Zachary M. The Princeton Guide to Historical Research. Skills for Scholars. Princeton University Press, 2021.
Scholarly Perspectives
This course engages diverse scholarly perspectives to develop critical thinking, analysis, and debate and inclusion of a reading does not imply endorsement.