“Facts are stubborn things.”
[PRINTABLE SYLLABUS]
Required Text
- Zachary M. Schrag, The Princeton Guide to Historical Research (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2021) [LIBRARY ONLINE]
Additional Readings
- 1619 Project, Intro by Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times, August 19, 2019. [WEB]
- David W. Blight, “For Something beyond the Battlefield”: Frederick Douglass and the Struggle for the Memory of the Civil War,” Journal of American History75 (March 1989): 1156-1178 [JSTOR]
- DeNeen Brown, “[Angela’s Story]: A Symbol of Slavery –And Survival,” Washington Post, April 29, 2019 [PDF]
- Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center, Dickinson College (2023) [WEB]
- Cornelia Hughes Dayton, “Taking the Trade: Abortion and Gender Relations in an Eighteenth-Century New England Village.” William & Mary Quarterly48 (Jan. 1991): 19-49 [JSTOR]
- Dickinson student projects: Sarah Goldberg // Shayna Herzfeld // Gracie Perine // Colin Macfarlane // Rachel Morgan // Maeve Thistle
- Anna Dickinson, Perils of the Hour (1864), Knowledge for Freedom seminar (2022) [WEB]
- Dickinson & Slavery, House Divided Project at Dickinson College (2019) [WEB]
- Timothy B. Huebner, “Roger B. Taney and the Slavery Issue: Looking Before –and Beyond—Dred Scott,” Journal of American History 97 (June 2010): 17-38 [JSTOR]
- Wendy K. Moffat,“ Political Metaphors: Teaching on a Cold-War Campus,” John & Mary’s Journal 14 (2001): 31-51. [PDF]
- Esther Popel Shaw, Personal Adventures in Race Relations (1948) [WEB]
- Underground Railroad Online Handbook, NPS / House Divided Project (2023) [WEB]
- US Constitution on Slavery, Knowledge for Freedom seminar (2022) [WEB]
Research Journal
Students will submit four (4) research journal entries (2-4 pages each or about 500 to 1,000 words per entry), posted PRIVATE at the course website. These narrative essays will detail efforts to meet assigned research tasks. The first entry (due by Mon. Feb. 10) will describe book reviews from an academic historical journal provided by Prof. Pinsker. For the second entry (Mon. March 3), students will analyze the effectiveness of one or more historic wayside markers either on campus or in Carlisle. The third entry (Mon. March 31) will describe how students used either Ancestry.com or one of the library’s historical newspaper databases (or both) to conduct targeted research on a possible subject for their final project. The final journal entry (Mon. April 14) must describe an archival research trip to the College Archives or elsewhere conducted for the biography project. Each journal entry should include Chicago-style footnotes and 2 to 3 images, properly captioned and credited. Entries will be graded on research effort, depth of analysis and quality of prose. Late entries will be penalized up to 5 points each day.
Biography Project
The highlight of this semester will be a multi-media biography project that analyzes a significant figure from either Carlisle or Dickinson history. Students should begin by submitting an ungraded proposal for their project by Monday, April 7. Students will then submit a 10- to 12-page biographical research paper (by Mon. April 21) that describes the life and times of their subject as well as offering an assessment of how the college or local community has so far commemorated this figure (or not) and how the commemoration efforts might be improved with an updated wayside marker. These draft papers will receive provisional grades. The next week, students will also lead a short presentation in class on their subject that will count toward final participation grades. Students will finally revise and transform their various efforts on this project into a public history website on the free platform Weebly (by Tuesday, May 6). The site will include a home page and at least three content pages covering the life, times, and public memory of their subject. Each page should include a multi-media tool: short video, timeline, and draft wayside marker. Projects will be graded on research and design efforts, depth of analysis, and quality of prose. Late submissions will be penalized 5 points per day.
Grade Distribution
Class Participation 30 percent
Research journal (4 entries x 10 pts each) 40 percent
Biography project 30 percent
Class Schedule
| Monday | 1/20 | Methods & Expectations | — |
| Thursday | 1/23 | LAB: Henry W. Spradley | Dickinson & Slavery + Macfarlane project |
| Monday | 1/27 | Defining Terms | Schrag, chap. 1-2 |
| Thursday | 1/30 | LAB: Angela | 1619 Project + Angela’s story + [ US Constitution & Slavery ] |
| Monday | 2/3 | Framing Questions | Schrag, chap. 3 |
| Thursday | 2/6 | LAB: Sarah Grosvenor | Dayton article |
| Monday | 2/10 | Historiography | Schrag, chap. 4 |
| Monday | 2/10 | Journal #1: Book reviews | Due posted by 5pm |
| Thursday | 2/13 | LAB: William and Eliza Parker | UGRR handbook |
| Monday | 2/17 | The Politics of Evidence | Schrag, chap. 5 (Late start: 2pm) |
| Thursday | 2/20 | LAB: Roger Taney | Huebner article |
| Monday | 2/24 | Text Sources | Schrag, chap. 6 |
| Thursday | 2/27 | LAB: Anna Dickinson | KFF seminar + Perine project |
| Monday | 3/3 | Other Sources | Schrag, chap. 7 |
| Monday | 3/3 | Journal #2: Wayside markers | Due posted by 5pm |
| Thursday | 3/6 | LAB: Frederick Douglass | Blight article |
| Monday | 3/10 | NO CLASS (Spring Break) | |
| Thursday | 3/13 | NO CLASS (Spring Break) | |
| Monday | 3/17 | Databases and Archives | Schrag, chap. 8-9 |
| Thursday | 3/20 | FIELD TRIP: College Archives | Library basement |
| Monday | 3/24 | Close Reading | Schrag, chap. 10 |
| Monday | 3/24 | Bell Lecture: Evan Young | 430pm, Denny 317 |
| Tuesday | 3/25 | Wert Lecture: Fergus Bordewich (required) | 7pm, ATS |
| Thursday | 3/27 | LAB: Tom Torlino | Carlisle Indian School database |
| Monday | 3/31 | Organizing | Schrag, chap. 11-12 |
| Monday | 3/31 | Journal #3: Ancestry + | Due posted by 5pm |
| Thursday | 4/3 | LAB: Esther Popel | Popel Shaw memoir |
| Monday | 4/7 | Writing & Storytelling | Schrag, chap. 13-14 |
| Monday | 4/7 | Project proposals | By 5pm via email |
| Thursday | 4/10 | LAB: Laurent LaVallee | Moffat article + Herzfeld project |
| Monday | 4/14 | Style Guides | Schrag, chap. 15 |
| Monday | 4/14 | Journal #4: Archival research | Due posted by 5pm |
| Thursday | 4/17 | LAB: Pierce Bounds | Goldberg project |
| Thursday | 4/17 | Pflaum lecture: Elisabeth Leake | 630pm, Stern Great Room |
| Monday | 4/21 | Going Public | Schrag, chap. 16 |
| Monday | 4/21 | Biography papers due | By 5pm via email |
| Thursday | 4/24 | LAB: John Cuddy and Mary Dillon | Thistle project + Morgan project |
| Monday | 4/28 | Student presentations | |
| Thursday | 5/1 | Student presentations | |
| Tuesday | 5/6 | Biography projects due | By 5pm via email |