Professor Nikhil Pal Singh
Smith 103G
Autumn 2004
Description
This course serves as a framework within which senior honors students in history prepare to write their honors
theses. We begin with a discussion of some important conceptual and methodological questions historians face
today. This is intended to help you to develop critical skills for evaluating historical writing, and to begin working
on your own scholarly research. We conclude with a series of “workshops” in which we collectively discuss and
critique student research
proposals and historiographical essays.
Objectives and
Assignments
During this quarter, you are expected to: 1) precisely define your research project, 2) read extensively in relevant
secondary literature, 3) undertake preliminary research in primary sources, 4) participate in class discussions
and peer evaluation of student work. The actual writing of the thesis takes place, and will be accomplished next
quarter (HIST 492).
You will also be asked to: 1) complete a set of assigned readings, 2) write a short 4-5 page thesis prospectus
(including a 1-2 page bibliography of primary and secondary sources), and 3) write a 10-12 page historiographical
essay that assesses
four to five secondary works relevant to your thesis topic. (Additional guidelines
for writing assignments will be distributed.)
The Senior Thesis
The senior thesis should be between 35 and 50 pages in length (not including endnotes or appendices), typed,
double-spaced in a 12-point font. It may be written on any topic that is historical in nature, (that is, it must deal in
some way with past human experience). The thesis must be grounded significantly in primary sources, by which I
mean historical artifacts created during the period you are studying. Such sources need not be written, nor do they
need to be “historical” in the conventional sense – poems, plays, coins, films, or photographs may well be more
central to your enterprise
than newspaper articles, government documents, statutes, or diaries.
Writing a thesis requires greater individual initiative and work than you are likely to have done in other courses.
Students will meet with me on an individual basis this quarter and next to report on your progress. Weekly seminar
meetings in fall quarter (HIST 491) will provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, and an atmosphere of group
support as you begin your research. Attendance is expected. We will not meet regularly as a group during winter
quarter (HIST 492), as you will be working independently on your theses. We will, however, reconvene the class at
the end of winter quarter, where you will share the results of your research, get feedback from your peers, and
complete the final revisions
to your thesis.
A few additional guidelines: 1) Students should define a research project that can be completed successfully with
primary sources available in the UW libraries. Reliance upon distant archives, or on primary materials that can only
be accessed through Interlibrary Loan is discouraged; 2) Students should not choose a topic that requires extensive research in a language other than English, unless they have fluency in that language; 3) At each stage of your
research, you should consult with an appropriate UW faculty mentor who is a specialist in your topic area. (If
necessary, I will facilitate the process of choosing a faculty mentor); 4) Students should consult the Chicago Manual
of Style for guidelines
for mechanics and footnoting.
Class Schedule
October 4: Introduction
Overview of course
and discussion of syllabus
October 11: Doing Library Research
Meeting with History
Librarian Theresa Mudrock, Suzallo
Library
October 18: Narrative, Context and Event
Eric Foner, The Story of American
Freedom
October 25: Self, Subject and Archive
November 1: Periodization, Space and Territory
November 8: No Class Meeting
November 15: Prospectus Workshop
Discussion of and
Critique of Thesis Prospectus (Groups A/B)
November 22: Prospectus Workshop
Discussion and
Critique of Thesis Prospectus (Groups C/D)
November 29: No Class Meeting
December 6: Essay Workshop
Discussion and
Critique of Historiographical Essays (Groups A/B)
December 13: Essay Workshop
Discussion and
Critique of Historiographical Essays (Groups C/D)