An examination of the theory and practice of research and writing history, including formulation of hypotheses, research proposal development, resources, bibliography, and completing a project of original, scholarly research with an emphasis on the Americas or Eurasia that is subjected to the evaluation of other members of the class. (Fall, Spring, Summer) [Graded (Standard Letter)]

Any materials needed for this course will be provided free of charge as links in the corresponding modules on CANVAS.

• Demonstrate factual and critical knowledge about past historical events, institutions, movements, figures, and societies and have the ability to identify key events that express change over time in a particular place or region, identify how change occurs over time, and explain historical continuity and change.
• Demonstrate the ability to understand, describe, and critically assess historical theories, principles, and concepts and possess the ability to apply historical theories, principals, and concepts.
• Demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrate the ability to apply historical methods and research protocols to formulate historical questions, obtain data from primary and secondary sources, critically assess primary and secondary sources, and follow scholarly conventions of the discipline.
• Demonstrate critical and analytical thinking and reasoning skills and demonstrate the ability to construct well-organized historical arguments that utilize historical data in support of a thesis.

Modules – 50% of final grade

In order to assist your progress towards a quality research paper (“Capstone”), you are expected to fulfil preparatory research steps in a series of modules during the semester. These modules will be graded pass/fail, but points will be docked for late work.

Final Paper – 50% of final grade

Your final paper will be graded based on fidelity to:

• Clean syntax/grammar/readability
• Implementation of instructor feedback
• Chicago footnote formatting (explained in more detail below)

Final Paper Requirements

1) Length and Format

• 16–20 pages, double-spaced (not including title page)
• 12-point Times New Roman font
• 1-inch margins
• Page numbers in the top right corner
• Title page required

2) Your paper must include a separate title page with the following lines: (see example below)

• Paper title
• Your name
• Course title and number
• Instructor name
• University name
• Date of submission

3) Chicago Footnote Citation

Use Chicago footnotes to cite sources when you quote, paraphrase, or use information from a secondary or primary source. Help the reader identify the part of the text by providing page or at least section identifications when possible.

Example in text:

According to historian Volker Ullrich, the political instability of the Weimar Republic intensified as a result of President Hindenburg’s lack of commitment to democracy.¹

Corresponding footnote below:

Volker Ullrich, Fateful Hours: The Collapse of the Weimar Republic (New York: W.W. Norton, 2024), 276.

Footnotes should be 10 font, single spaced with one space in-between footnotes.

How to create a footnote in Word/Mac:

• Place your cursor precisely where you would like the footnote
• Footnotes go at the very end of a sentence (following any punctuation, quotation, or parentheses).
• Word shortcut: Alt + Ctrl + F
• Mac shortcut: Option + Command + F
• If you cite the same source again, you should use a shortened footnote in subsequent footnotes after the first full citation (explained in more detail below)
• If the same source is cited two or more footnotes in-a-row, then the subsequent footnotes after the first can replace the citation with “Ibid.” (see example below)

3.a) Chicago footnote guide (books)

First name, Last name, Title in italics (Place of publication: Name of publisher, Year of publication), page number.”

Example:

Eric D. Weitz, Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007), 315.

Shortened later citation:

Weitz, Weimar Germany, 322.

3.b) Chicago footnote guide (articles)

First name, Last name, “Title in quotation marks,” Name of publication in italics, publication volume [if applicable], publication number [if applicable] (year of publication in parentheses): page number.

Example:

Mark Mazower, “The Cold War: A Twentieth Century Conflict,” The Historical Journal 53, no. 1 (2010): 229.

Shortened later citation:

Mazower: “The Cold War,” 230.

3.c) Chicago footnote guide (archival source)

First name, Last name, Source description [if applicable], “Title of source in quotation marks,” Date of source, Name of archive, Archival collection indicator, Archival folder number [if applicable], frame or page number [if applicable].

Example:

Karl Megerle, Propaganda Committee memo, “Sprachregelung für Propaganda gegen Roosevelt-Churchill-Erklärung,” August 15, 1941, Political Archive of the Foreign Office, Germany RZ 703/R 97625, frame 423615.

Shortened later citation:

Megerle, “Sprachregelung für Propaganda gegen Roosevelt-Churchill-Erklärung.”

3.d) Chicago footnote guide (online archival source)

First name, Last name, Source description [if applicable], “Title of source in quotation marks,” Date of source, Name of archive, Archival collection indicator, Archival folder number [if applicable], URL.

Example:

Abraham Lincoln, Letter to Charles Sumner, September 23, 1863, The Online Lincoln Library, sumner-1863-09-23.

Shortened later citation:

Lincoln to Sumner, September 23, 1863.

3.e) Here are some examples of what footnotes may look like at the bottom of a Word document:

Course Calendar

Module 1 – Topic Exploration and Research Questions
Due May 17th

Module 2 – Secondary Source Discovery
Due May 24th

Module 3 – Historiographical Analysis
Due June 7th

Module 4 – Primary Source Plan
Due June 21st

Module 5 – Blueprint
Due July 5th

Module 6 – Draft
Due July 26th

Module 7 – Final Paper
Due August 16th

CANVAS

This course will be administered entirely via CANVAS with the expectation that students acquire, complete, and submit work online in a timely fashion.

Students should expect regular so-called “CANVAS messages” from the instructor.

AI Disclaimer

The use of predictive text AI (such as Chat GPT, among others) is strictly prohibited. All assignments and work in this course will be run through multiple different AI-detection softwares. Even using these technologies to generate ideas will ping these softwares. Do not use them at all (!) Students found using these technologies will face academic integrity disciplines outlined in SUU Policy 6.33.

Do not use Grammerly. These detection softwares flag Grammerly as predictive text AI.

The use of predictive text AI (such as Chat GTP, among others) is strictly prohibited. All assignments and work in this course will be run through multiple different AI-detection softwares. Even using these technologies to generate ideas will ping these softwares. Do not use them at all (!) Students found using these technologies will face academic integrity disciplines outlined above (SUU Policy 6.33).

Electronic Devices Disclaimer

Other than laptops for note-taking, no electronic devices are allowed to be operated without the consent of the instructor. Your phone is only approved for classroom related activities. All other use of electronic devices without the permission of the instructor is prohibited.

Regular attendance is required at all class meetings. You are required to notify the instructor if extraneous circumstances may necessitate an accommodation.