HISTORY 819N

RESEARCH SEMINAR IN NARRATIVE HISTORY

Fall Term, 2003 Professor Henretta

The prime goal of the seminar is the completion of a article-length research paper based on primary sources. Grades will be based primarily on this research paper, which is due on Friday, December 19.

Early in the seminar will meet as a group to discuss various books and articles. The emphasis will fall primarily on their "technical" aspects: their use of sources, methods, organization, mode of argument and, particularly in this seminar, their writing style and use of "narrative."

Week 1 Organizational Meeting: (September 3)

Week 2 (September 10)

Garrett Mattingly, The Armada, pp. 1-51, 93-109 DA360. M3

John Demos, The Unredeemed Captive, Prologue and chap. 1 E197. D46 1994

Paul E. Johnson and Sean Willentz, The Kingdom of Matthias, Prologue and chap. 1 BR1718.M3J64 1994

Week 3 (September 17) No Class Meeting: By Friday, September 19, submit short prospectus outlining paper topic or possible topic, and indicating sources to be used.

Week 4 (September 24)

Stanley Wolpert, An Error of Judgment, pp. 3-18, 210-219, 231-243 PZ4. W866 ER

Jonathan Spence, The Death of Woman Wang, pp. 99-139 HQ1767. S63

Natalie Davis, Fiction in the Archives, pp. 1-35, 77-104 PQ613. D38 1987

Hayden White, Tropics of Discourse, chapter 5 D13. W566

Week 5 (October 1)

Laura Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife's Tale, chap. 3 F29. H15 U47 1990

Richard White, Remembering Ahanagran: Storytelling in a Family's Past, Intro.,

ch 4-5, 16, 18; pp. 249-53 and ch 33; and Epilogue CT275.W55416W48 1998

Judith Walkowitz, City of Dreadful Delight, Intro. and chap. 3 HQ72. G7W33 1992

Week 6 (October 8)

James W. Davidson, "The New Narrative History," Reviews in American History

Volume 12 (Sept., 1984), 322-334.

William J. Cronon, "A Place for Stories," Journal of American History, vol 78

(March 1992), 1347-1376.

Hayden White, Tropics of Discourse, chaps. 1 and 5

Week 7 (October 15)

Clifford Geertz, Works and Lives, chap. 4 GN307. 7. G44 1988

Timothy H. Breen, Imagining the Past, pp. xii-74 F129. E13 B74 1989

Robert Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre, chap. 4 DC33. 4. D37 1984

John Demos, Entertaining Satan, chap.7 BF1576. D42 (1982)

Week 8 (October 22)

Nelson Goodman, "Twisted Tales," in W.J.T. Mitchell, On Narrative, pp. 99-116

(personal copy on reserve)

Sara Maza, "Stories in History," American Historical Review, vol. 101 (December, 1996), pp. 1493-1525

Richard Price, Alabi's World, pp. 1-39, 79-103 F2431. S27 A457 1990

Alan Steinberg, review of Lawrence M. Friedman, Crime and Punishment in American History in Law and History Review 14 (Spring 1996), 209-212 [copies provided]

Weeks 14 (December 3) Class discussion of the draft papers

Final Draft due on Friday, December 19, 2000

CONFERENCES & WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

Fri. Sept. 19 Submit a short essay that defines your topic, the issues you plan to explore and the primary sources you plan to use--along with a preliminary bibliography.

Wed. October 4 Submit a short essay that places your proposed work in the broader historiography of the topic or issue and that explains how you might incorporate narrative elements in your paper.

Wed. October 25 Submit a tentative outline of your essay that presents its structure and argument.

Friday, Nov. 21 Submit a partial draft of your paper, with explanatory precis inserted for any unfinished sections.

Please set up a conference if you have any questions about the writing assignments or if you are having difficulties with the research and the writing. I will also set up conferences, as necessary. The best days for appointments are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, when I am usually at the University for most of the day. You can reach me by phone (301--405-4269) or by e-mail: henretta@umd.edu