Winter, Spring 2009
HSTAS 555-556
Core seminar in Chinese History
Instructor: Patricia Ebrey
112A Smith
Office hours Tuesday 1:30-3:20
This two-quarter research seminar will meet five times in the winter quarter and four times in the spring quarter. The goal of this seminar is to get students doing “real” research, as much as possible with the goal of writing a publishable article or dissertation chapter. Each student will choose a research topic and present his or her progress to the class in stages, including presentation of an important secondary work in English, a key primary source in Chinese, a first draft, and a final draft. Students will be encouraged to get involved in each other’s projects and help each other formulate good topics, develop suitable strategies for researching them, and present their findings in persuasive ways. Facility in reading Chinese, including Classical Chinese, is necessary for this course.
No letter grades will be given at the end of the first quarter. The grade for both quarters, given after the completion of the second quarter, will be based on the final paper (50%), earlier presentations (25%), and contributions to the discussion and critique of other students’ work (25%).
Schedule
Winter Quarter
Week one (1/6) Introduction
Week three (1/20) Half the class will present a research paper topic and a key work of earlier scholarship on the topic.
Week five (1/27) The other half of the class will present a research paper topic and a key work of earlier scholarship on the topic.
Half A will need to bring the primary source they will be reading with the class the next week to distribute to the class. Providing vocabulary notes will be appreciated.
Week seven (2/17) Presentation of a key primary source (Half A). Be prepared to discuss issues of translation as well as interpretation.
Half B not presenting in week seven will distribute copies of their text and notes.
Week eight (2/24) Presentation of a key primary source, continued (Half B).
Spring quarter
Week four (4/20) Discussion of first drafts. Half the class will present their first drafts (at least 20 pages), having distributed them by email a week in advance. The other half of the class will distribute their drafts for discussion the following week.
Week five (4/27) Discussion of first drafts continued
Week eight (5/18) Discussion of final drafts (at least 30 pages) by half of the class (distributed by email a week in advance). Distribution of final drafts by the other half of the class.
Week nine is a university holiday (Memorial Day)
Week ten (6/1) Discussion of final drafts continued.