Required Texts
1. Benjamin, Jules R. A Student’s Guide to History. 11th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009.
2. Davis, Natalie Zemon. The Return of Martin Guerre. Cambridge: Harvard University, 1984.
3. Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 7th ed . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
4. Strunk, William and E. B. White, The Elements of Style. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2000.
5. Any combined dictionary and thesaurus of the English language published in the 21st century. Additional texts will be posted on Blackboard or available online.

Grading and Categories
15% Short Quiz: A short quiz will begin most classes. There will be other announced and unannounced quizzes. To determine your grade I convert the total number of points you earn into a percentage of the total possible number of points.
15% Oral Presentations I, II, and III.
20% Draft and Final Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography.
50% Tests: Sources, Book Review, Documentation, Martin Guerre, Style.

Grading and Attendance; Tardiness and Deadline Penalties
1. An unexcused absence for any one of the three library orientation classes results in a 10-point deduction in the Short Quiz category.

2. Any other unexcused absence results in a one-point deduction (per absence) in the Short Quiz category.

3. I penalize tardiness. Each late entrance results in a one-half point deduction in the Short Quiz category.

4. An unexcused absence from any of the oral presentations results in a 10-point deduction from your final research proposal grade.

5. An unexcused absence for an oral presentation results in a 10-point deduction in the Oral Presentations category.

6. I will deduct 5 points from draft or final research proposals turned in after class on the assigned day and 10 points for every day thereafter until I receive the assignment.

7. You will have assignments to complete outside of class. You must submit these in class on the day stipulated on the syllabus or stated in class or in an email.

All written assignments must be typed double spaced unless specified otherwise. Use a conventional 12-point font and 8.5 x 11 paper with one-inch margins on all sides. Always turn off justification and turn on page numbering. Do not use folders, binders, or plastic covers. Avoid Format Error penalties (FE).

You must earn a grade of C or higher to continue onto the Senior Thesis HIST 4950 class.

I will assess your final grade on the basis of a weighted average: A=100-90%; B=89-80%; C=79-70%; D=69-60%; F=50-0%

Make-Up Policy
There are no Short Quiz makeups.

Arrangements to make up missed major examinations (the five tests) due to properly authorized excused absences shall be initiated by the student within one week from the end of the period of the excused absences. Normally, a make-up exam shall occur within two weeks from the time that the student initiates arrangements for it.

The format of make-up exams and opportunities for students to make up work other than major examinations are at the discretion of the instructor, whose make-up policies should be stated in writing at the beginning of the term. This is Tiger Cub policy, Section 10.5, pp. 30-32.

General Classroom Policy: Behavior
You are expected to treat your professor, your fellow students, and the people of the past with consideration and respect at all times. Those who consistently exhibit disrespectful behavior will be asked to withdraw from the course. If at any time, you are troubled by any of the content of the course, you should contact me immediately.

Honesty
Academic honesty is expected of all Auburn University students. I will report to the Academic Honesty Committee any student I suspect of academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to plagiarism, cheating on quizzes or tests, and fraudulent excuses. You are required to read and abide by the Tiger Cub and Department of History policies on academic honesty.

Cell Phones and Laptops
I allow no laptops or other electronic note-taking devices. Please be sure all such devices including cell phones and pdas are turned completely off once class begins. Texting during class is rude and counterproductive.

Emails
It is your responsibility to read your Auburn emails. If you use an address other than your Auburn address, it is your responsibility to forward your Auburn mail to that address.

Students with Disabilities Policy
Please first register with the Program for Students with Disabilities located in 1244 Haley Center then bring the form to me in my office. We will discuss the form. I will sign and return it.

It will always be your responsibility to remind me at the beginning of a class if there is a particular condition about which I must be aware during that class session.

Withdrawal
You may withdraw from this class without penalty until mid-semester although you will receive a "W" on your transcript.

General Grading Rubric
In order to earn full credit for any in-class or take-home exercise, you must write complete formal sentences. A sentence begins with a capital letter, contains a subject and predicate, ends with a mark of punctuation, and expresses a thought. Use of the first-person voice (I, me, we), contractions (aren’t, can't), and colloquialisms (cool, awesome) are appropriate in informal writing only. Only complete formal sentences will earn full credit.

Week 1; Mon., Jan. 11 Orientation; Research Topics.
BRING all books and a copy of the syllabus. On Blackboard.
BRING print off and bring a copy of Research Proposal Guidelines.
BRING one typed page with your senior thesis topic, its historical significance, and an explanation of the choice.

Wed. Jan. 13 History and Historians
READ Benjamin Ch 1; Turabian Ch 1.
READ David Howarth, 1066, excerpt; Barbara Tuchman, A Distant Mirror, excerpt.

Fri. Jan. 15 Natalie Zemon Davis and The Return of Martin Guerre
READ Davis, Preface and Introduction

Week 2; Mon., Jan. 18 The Research Question in Theory
READ Benjamin Ch 6 to p. 94; Turabian Ch 2.

Wed. Jan. 20 The Research Question in Practice
READ Benjamin Ch 5 pp 78-79: Oral Presentations.
BRING one-page revised essay on your topic and your research question.
ORAL PRESENTATION I: Present your topic and research question to the class. Five minutes.

Fri. Jan. 22 ORAL PRESENTATION I continues.

Week 3; Mon., Jan. 25: Evidence, Interpretation, and the Library.
READ, print, and study the sheet on Evidence.
READ Benjamin Ch. 6 pp 94-109; Turabian Ch. 3; Davis Chs 1, 2.

Jan. 27 Library Orientation I. Meet in lobby, Mell St. Entrance, RBD Library.

Jan. 29 Library Orientation II. Meet in lobby, Mell St. Entrance, RBD Library.

Week 4; Mon., Feb. 01 Evidence and Library Review; Documents and Archives
READ Davis Chs 3-4
BRING a one-page list of sources relevant to your research topic from the library orientations.

Feb 03 Library Orientation III: Archives. Meet in lobby, Mell St. Entrance, RBD Library.

Feb 05 Evaluating and Using Sources
REVIEW Howarth, Davis, and Tuchman
READ Benjamin Ch. 3, Ch 6 pp 109-127; Turabian Ch. 4.

Week 5; Mon., Feb 08 Scholarly Articles and Monographs.
READ Davis Chs 5-6
BRING a one-page typed annotated list of one book and two articles. In the annotation explain their authority (what makes them scholarly) and their relevance to your research topic.

Feb 10 Historiography
READ Benjamin Ch 1 pp 7-8.
READ Robert Finlay on Davis and Martin Guerre on the UF homepage.

Feb 12 TEST: Sources. Test covers all readings and lectures on sources.

Week 6; Mon., Feb 15 The Book Review
READ Benjamin Ch 5 pp 70-77.
READ any one review of Davis from the website. Be prepared to discuss it.
BRING a photocopy of at least one scholarly review of one of the books you listed for Week 5.
USE for H-Net academic book reviews.

Feb 17 Book Reviews: Reading and Using. Writing the 5-point 1-page book review. See File.

BRING a copy of the guidelines on writing the 5-point 1-page review. Feb 19 TEST: The Book Review.

Week 7; Mon., Feb 22 Citing Sources
READ Davis Chs 7-8.
READ Benjamin Ch 8; Turabian Ch 15; STUDY Turabian Chs 16 and 17.

Feb 24 Citing Sources.
BRING one-page typed list of five secondary sources from the 2000s not already submitted and at least three primary sources on your topic.

Feb 26 Citation Exercises: Footnotes, endnotes, bibliographies.
BRING Turabian.

Week 8; Mon., Mar. 01 Citing Sources
READ Davis 9-10.
BRING Turabian: Citation Exercises: Primary Sources

Mar 03 Citation Exercises: Source identification and citation.

Mar 05 TEST: Citation and Documentation

Week 9; Mon., Mar. 8 Proposal Conceptualization
READ Davis Ch 12, Epilogue, Bibliography.
READ Benjamin Ch 4, Ch 7 pp 128-143; Turabian Chs 5-9.
BRING one typed page with a topic sentence, thesis statement, and introductory paragraph of your proposal.

Mar 10 Honing the thesis statement
BRING Davis, and copies of Howarth and Tuchman.

Mar 12 Framing the proposal: structure and narrative style.
BRING a draft if you have one.

Week 11; Mon., Mar. 22: Research Proposal Drafts Due.
ORAL PRESENTATION II. Critiqued oral sessions, 10 min.

Mar. 24 Oral presentations continue. Attendance required.
Mar 26 Oral presentations continue. Attendance required.

Week 12; Mon., Mar. 29 Common Errors
READ Forty Tips for Proper English.
READ, STUDY, and BRING Strunk & White, entire.

Mar. 31 Figures of speech
READ, STUDY, and BRING Strunk & White.

Apr. 02 TEST: Davis’s Martin Guerre: narrative, history, and historiography.

Week 13; Mon., Apr. 05 The art of the strong verb
READ Turabian Ch 12.
READ, STUDY, and BRING Strunk & White.
BRING one-page typed short essay on your topic using strong, active-voice verbs.

Apr. 07 Writing exercises
READ Turabian Chs 9, 10, 11.

Apr. 09 TEST: Style: Strunk & White: Common errors, writing, and rhetorical style.

Week 14; Mon., Apr. 12 No Class: Polish your proposal!
Apr. 14 No Class: Polish your proposal!
Apr 16: Final Written Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography Due.

Week 15; Mon., Apr. 19 Oral Presentation III. 15 min.
Apr. 21 Oral Presentation III continues.
Apr. 23 Oral Presentation III continues.

Week 16; Mon., Apr. 26 Oral Presentation III continues
Apr. 28 Oral Presentation III continues.
Apr. 30 Oral Presentation III continues.

Week 17; Mon., May 3 LAST CLASS: The Future of History.