Dr. Neil Jumonville
Florida State University
AMH-6148
Fall 1999

READING LIST

Francis Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe [1869] in France and England in North America, vol 2, (NY: Library of America, 1983). Read pages 1085-1103, and 1308-1479.

Henry Adams, History of the US in the Administrations of Jefferson [1890-91], abridged and edited by Earl Harbert (NY: Library of America, 1986). Read pages 5-53, 107-226, and 319-79.

Fredrick Jackson Turner, The Frontier in American History [1920] (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1986). Read chapters 1, 7, and 9-12.

Vernon Parrington, Main Currents of American Thought, vol one [1927] (Norman, OK: Univ of Oklahoma Press, 1987). Read pages 3-75, and 179-247.

Constance Rourke, American Humor [1931] (Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 1986). Read pages 3-104, 163-265, and 288-302.

Daniel Boorstin, The Genius of American Politics (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953).

Neil Jumonville, Henry Steele Commager: Midcentury Liberalism and the History of the Present (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1999).

Herbert Gutman, Work, Culture, and Society in Industrializing America (NY: Vintage, 1977). Read chapters 1, 4, 5. [Pages 3-78, and 211-260.]

Peter Novick, That Noble Dream (NY: Cambridge Univ Press, 1988). Read chapters 13-16.

* There will be a photocopied packet of readings available to be purchased at TARGET COPY on Tennessee Street. It will contain all of the starred (*) readings in the weekly assignments.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Read these requirements closely, because they tell you all you need to know about the operation of the class and the requirements for your paper. Don't read these once and then forget them, because you'll be judged on the basis of them.

ATTENDANCE: Because each of these classes represents one week's worth of the course, it is important not to miss any of them, except under the most unavoidable circumstances. Part of your discussion grade is also a grade for attendance--which means showing up for class on time. If you're someone who makes a habit of walking in after class begins, then you'll feel the impact quite significantly in your semester grade.

READING: All students must complete the reading for the course. Weekly assignments are indicated in the syllabus. It is important for you to do the reading in time to participate in the discussions.

DISCUSSIONS: As much as possible, the discussions will be a friendly exchange of ideas, but part of your grade for the semester will be based on your active participation in the dialogues.

PAPERS: There will be one research paper due in class on THURSDAY DECEMBER 9. You may write your paper on any historian(s) or historiographical issue important enough to warrant study. This is not meant to be a study in biography, although biographical elements may be included. You should connect the subject of your paper to the historiographical themes and issues that we cover in the seminar during the semester. Your choice of subject is not limited to major figures, but make sure to choose a topic that has potential importance in the field at large. Remember Melville's advice: "To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be who have tried it."

All papers are to be exactly 20 pages of text (with normal margins) and no more than 3 pages of single-spaced endnotes (so no more than 23 pages total). Papers may not be one page more or less. This is to give you practice writing to required length, as you will need to do throughout your career. Please use endnotes rather than footnotes.

The papers will be graded on the strength of their ideas; the breadth, depth, and originality of their research; the originality, intelligence, and power of their thesis or interpretation; and the grace and clarity of their writing (their use of language, spelling, punctuation, and syntax). Naturally, any plagiarism (having someone write the paper for you, or copying it from another source) will result in an immediate failure of the entire course.

All papers must be double-spaced and either typewritten or printed by computer. Handwritten papers will not be accepted. No extensions on written assignments, even in the event of a nuclear war. For every day the paper is late, it will drop a full grade (for example, from a B+ to a C+).

PRESENTATIONS: Each student will give two presentations to the seminar during the course of the semester.

The first presentation will be sometime during weeks four through nine, and will be on a historian or point of view related to the outlook we are reading for that week. This presentation will be assigned early in the semester to give you time to prepare it. It should be a 20 minute presentation delivered lecture style, and you should plan to lead a discussion of the material for 10 minutes followiing your presentation. Total time will be 30 minutes.

The second presentation will follow the format of the first, but will summarize the results of your semester research paper. Pay particular attention to your interpretation and how it relates to the content of the seminar throughout the semester.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Students with disabilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act should follow these steps: 1) Provide documentation of your disability to the Office of Disabled Student Services (08 Kellum Hall, 644-9566). 2) Bring a statement from the Office of Disabled Student Services indicating that you have registered with them to your instructor the first week of class. The statement should indicate the special accommodations you require.

GRADES: Class discussion will count 40%. Each of your two presentations will count 10%. The final research paper will count 40%.

OFFICE HOURS: Friday 12:05 to 1 pm, in Bellamy 420.

THR, SEP 2. WEEK 1: EARLY AMERICAN HISTORIOGRAPHY

No reading. We will discuss American historiography before the romantic historians. A short tour of library indexes.

THR, SEP 9. WEEK 2: ROMANTIC HISTORY

Francis Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe [1869] in France and England in North America, vol 2, (NY: Library of America, 1983). Read pages 1085-1103, and 1308-1479. (Reading in this book = 189 pages.)

* Francis Jennings, "A Vanishing Indian: Francis Parkman Versus His Sources," Pennsylvania
Magazine of History and Biography 87(3):306-23, July 1963.

* David Levin, "The Historian as Romantic Man of Letters," History as Romantic Art [1959] (NY: AMS Press, 1967), pp. 3-23.

THR, SEP 16. WEEK 3: SCIENTIFIC HISTORY

Henry Adams, History of the US in the Administrations of Jefferson [1890-91], abridged and edited by Earl Harbert (NY: Library of America, 1986). Read pages 5-227. (Reading in this book = 222 pages.

* Van Wyck Brooks, "On Creating a Usable Past," in Claire Sprague, ed., Van Wyck Brooks: The Early Years (NY: Harper, 1968), 219-26.

Presentations on related historians.

THR, SEP 23. WEEK 4: THE FRONTIER THESIS

Fredrick Jackson Turner, The Frontier in American History [1920] (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1986). Read chapters 1, 7, and 9-12. (Reading in this book = 146 pages.)

Presentations on related historians.

THR, SEP 30. WEEK 5: PROGRESSIVE HISTORY

Vernon Parrington, Main Currents of American Thought, vol one [1927] (Univ of Oklahoma Press, 1987). Read pages 3-75, and 179-247. (Reading in this book = 140 pages.)

Presentations on related historians.

THR, OCT 7. WEEK 6: AMERICAN STUDIES: MYTH AND SYMBOL

Constance Rourke, American Humour [1936] (Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 1986). Read pages 3-104, 204-265, and 288-302. (Reading in this book = 164 pages.)

Neil Jumonville, Henry Steele Commager: Midcentury Liberalism and the History of the Present (Chapel Hill, UNC Press, 1999). Read pages 70-77, and chapter 8.

Presentations on related historians.

THR, OCT 14. WEEK 7: CONSENSUS HISTORY

Daniel Boorstin, The Genius of American Politics (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953). (Reading in this book = 189 pages.)

Jumonville, Henry Steele Commager. Read pages 230-44.

Presentations on related historians.

THR, OCT 28. WEEK 8: THE LEGACY OF MIDCENTURY HISTORIANS

Neil Jumonville, Henry Steele Commager: Midcentury Liberalism and the History of the Present (Chapel Hill, UNC Press, 1999). Read the preface, and pages 3-70, 81-192, and 244-78. (Reading in this book = 215 pages.)

THR, OCT 21. WEEK 9: SOCIAL HISTORY

Herbert Gutman, Work, Culture, and Society in Industrializing America (NY: Vintage, 1977). Read chapters 1, 4, and 5. (Reading in this book = 124 pages.)

* Philip Morgan, "Work and Culture: The Task System and the World of Lowcountry Blacks, 1700-1880," William and Mary Quarterly 39(4):563-599, October 1982.

Presentations on related historians.

THR, NOV 4. WEEK 10: THE CRISIS IN HISTORY

Peter Novick, That Noble Dream (NY: Cambridge Univ Press, 1988). Read chapters 14-16. (Reading in this book = 161 pages.)

Jumonville, Henry Steele Commager. Review chapter 8.

* Thomas Haskell, "Objectivity is not Neutrality: Rhetoric vs. Practice in Peter Novick's That Noble Dream," History and Theory 29(2):129-57, May 1990.

THR, NOV 11. WEEK 11: VETERAN'S DAY HOLIDAY

No class. Work on your research paper.

THR, NOV 18. WEEK 12: ROUNDTABLE ADVISING

No reading. Meet in class to discuss research projects and trade advice.

THR, NOV 25. WEEK 13: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

No class. Work on your research paper.

THR, DEC 2. WEEK 14: RESEARCH

No class. Work on your research paper.

THR, DEC 9. WEEK 15: RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS

Presentations of students' research projects.

RESEARCH PAPERS DUE IN CLASS TODAY.