History H547: Special Topics in Public History Professor: E.B. Monroe

Fall, 2004 Office: Cavanaugh 529

Classroom: Conference Room, Indiana Historical Society Phone: 278-2255

Office Hours: by appointment Email: emonroe@iupui.edu

Local and Community History

Goals: This course will acquaint students with the development of local and community history and will explore the issues and concepts of these studies in the United States. Students will gain a substantive understanding of how communities and their citizens have contributed to our understanding of American history. They will also be introduced to different methodologies of inquiry, such as architectural history, cultural and historical geography, legal history, economy history, and social history. To better understand the relationship of methodology to research results, each student will prepare a short written and oral reports on source types (deeds, tax records, fire insurance maps, etc.), a review essay on five articles/books, an annotated bibliography, and a term paper dealing with a specific topic in one community over time. Assignments related to researching community history will be an integral part of weekly activities. The class will also visit the research collections of the Indiana Historical Society and Indiana State Library and other institutions where guest speakers will identify important portions of their collections that students can use to complete their course assignments. The products of the course itemized below at “evaluation” represent about pages of written assignments to be completed by each student.

Method: Discussion and intellectual exchange are important components of this course. Emphasis will be placed on thoroughly understanding a relatively modest amount of weekly reading. Each week students will be expected to be familiar with required readings. Most of the class periods will be devoted to discussion. All students are expected to engage in class discussions and in dialogues with guest speakers.

Assignments:: Each student will prepare two source reports, three primary reader reports, a short topic statement, an annotated bibliography, a draft term paper, and a final, revised term paper. Each assignment will be discussed in class in advance of the due date, and all projects are described below.

Evaluation: Students are expected to participate in every class and complete several written assignments. Satisfactory class participation including the 2-page source reports will constitute 10% of the final course grade. The 3 to 4 page primary reader reports will be worth 25% of the final grade. The annotated bibliography of about 10-12 pages will be worth 25%. The draft term paper (8 to10 pages) and oral presentation will be worth 15%. The final paper of about 12 pages will be worth 25%. There will be no tests..

Grading: Grades of A, A-, B+, B, B- may be assigned in this course. The grade of A+ will be assigned occasionally. Grades below B- are considered failing in a graduate class..

Policies::

All students are expected to attend and participate in every class. Absence without the advance consent of the instructor (barring unforeseen disasters) will result in the loss of two (2) points on the final course grade.

All projects are due on the date assigned. Failure to turn in a project on the date due will result in the loss of two (2) points on the final course grade.

A grade of zero (0) will be assigned to any work that has been produced by academic misconduct, including cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, interference, or violation of course rules. A student also must not intentionally or knowingly help or attempt to help another student to commit an act of academic misconduct. The definitions for these forms of misconduct are found on page 36 of the IUPUI Bulletin for 2004-2006 and on the Office of the Registrar’s website at: http://registrar.iupui.edu/misconduct.html. I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

A grade of “incomplete” will not be assigned except in the event of a catastrophe such as serious personal illness or death of a family member. All incompletes must be arranged in advance of the final day of class. Arrangement for an incomplete will require the instructor’s approval of a signed statement from the student about the reason for requesting the incomplete and a date when all remaining work will be submitted.

In case of bad weather: If class is cancelled by the university or the instructor, or you have an acceptable excuse for absence, your assignments are due to the History Department office before the next session of class. Please ask the secretary to initial and date/time the assignment.

Texts: Four texts for this course and the dates on which they are to be discussed are listed in bold in the class assignments.

General Assignments:

Each week there will be four books listed for class readings. On the first night of class we will divide the readings up among students. The goal will be for each student to be the “primary” reader about every fourth week. In addition, each student will either skim the books or read several book reviews of the those listed in each week’s assignments. Thus every week each student will skim four books or read several reviews of them, and participate in class discussion about the readings. Every fourth week approximately each student will be the primary reader, responsible for presenting a synopsis of each book listed for the class and leading the discussion. Major topics for discussion will include finding out about the authors, placing the books in the context of similar research, and analyzing the methods, sources, and arguments of the authors. The primary reader will provide copies of the primary review to all class members and the instructor.

Written Assignments:

All assignments for this course must be typewritten, one-inch margins, double-spaced and composed in excellent grammar and style with no spelling errors. Try to stay within 10% +/- of assigned page count and try to use a point size similar (but no smaller) than this print. All projects should be proofed. Asking someone to proof your papers does not constitute cheating. Your name should be typed in the upper right corner of the first page (no need for a title page) and may also be shown on subsequent pages. All pages should be numbered. And all notes should be end notes, printed on separate pages at the end of your paper. Projects should be stapled together (no folders, binders or dogears). Always be sure to keep a copy of your papers.

Primary Reader Review (due throughout the semester): three to four pages each. At the top of page one provide the complete bibliographical citations (single-spaced) for all items reviewed. The citations should be as you would find them in a published book review or bibliography. The purpose of the review essay is to evaluate the character of the items reviewed and analyze the authors’ major contributions. You should briefly discuss each author’s background and his/her thesis. You should spend most of your energy, however, discussing the sources and methodology used by the authors to address major problems of community histories. And you should draw comparisons between the assumptions, research techniques, and conclusions of each work. The review need not have endnotes, just cite author and appropriate pages in parentheses (Hoskins, 12) in your essay.

Topic Statement (due September 21): about 300 words. Identify the title of your proposed topic and briefly discuss its significance. What major historical problem(s) will you address? Why are they important? How do you propose to contribute to historical literature–what will distinguish your research from your predecessors in the same field? What will be the scope of your research? Will this research produce a thesis? Who is your thesis advisor?

Source Reports (due September 28, October 19): one page (front and back) single-spaced. Each student will be assigned two primary sources used frequently in local history. In a one-page paper each student will define the source, state what information a source may (or may not) provide, describe or show examples of sources, and identify where additional information may be obtained. Each student will bring to class enough copies for all members of the class and the instructor. And each student will give a brief (5 minutes) presentation on the source. Sources include: U.S. Census records, probate records, church records, vital records, military records, voting records, city directories, immigration records, tax records, maps, plats, city planning and zoning records.

Annotated Bibliography (due November 2): about 10-12 pages. You should include about twenty secondary items and five primary ones. An annotated bibliography is a list of important references for your research. The secondary items should include both books and journal articles that are germane to your topic. Each entry should have a complete bibliographical citation (single-spaced) followed by at least a paragraph (double-spaced) about the item and its relevance to your topic. Of course this means you must have read or at least skimmed each item. The annotation should be in complete sentence form. For examples, consult the Chicago Manual of Style or any works published by major academic presses. All entries should be listed alphabetically by the last name of the author or editor. You should list the primary references separately. All of the books and articles for this course provide proper citation format for secondary references. Your primary references could include items such as: letters and papers of individuals related to your topic, some government documents, deeds, wills, church records, vital records, business papers, diaries, maps, photographs, etc. In other words Marion County Deed Books is one entry, as is the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Lebanon, Indiana, even if there are hundreds of deed books and Sanborn maps covering 100 years of development in Lebanon.

Draft Term Paper (due Friday, November 19): about 8-10 pages. Don’t let the name fool you. I expect this paper to conform in style and presentation to other formal assignments; I merely call it “draft” to distinguish it from the revised and final version of the paper. In one extended essay present your topic, your hypothesis, your analysis of your research findings, and your conclusion. Be sure to fit your research into the literature of your topic. This is a formal paper (even as a draft) that has all of the bells and whistles like discussion notes and source notes. Structure your paper like the articles in the major professional journals (American Historical Review, Journal of American History). Graphics are encouraged if appropriate but do not affect essay length.

Topics for papers will be chosen in consultation with the instructor during the first three weeks of class. Acceptable topics might include: a specific factory community, how alleys affect neighborhoods, the role of ethnicity in the creation of a neighborhood, rural schools and communities, effects of the automobile/streetcar/train on a community, how government institutions affect communities, social mobility, size of farms and communities, the role of the river and a community, etc.

Oral Presentation (due December 7): Will take about 10-15 minutes, with 5 minutes for questions from other members of the class. Oral presentations should follow the general format of the paper itself.

Final Paper (due Monday, December 13): about 10-12 pages, based on the comments of classmates and my written comments on the draft paper. You may also include new research findings.

Class assignments (Note–the dates printed in bold will be attended by IHS participants):

Aug 31 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF COURSE

Excerpt from Nearby History

Sept. 7 ENGLISH COMMUNITY STUDIES

Blythe, Ronald. Akenfield: Portrait of an English Village. (Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1969).

Hoskins, W.G. The Making of the English Landscape. (Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1970).

Laslett, Peter. The World We Have Lost: England before the Industrial Age. (New York: Scribner’s, 1965).

Thompson, E.P. The Making of the English Working Class. (New York: Vintage Books, 1966).

14 URBAN HISTORY

Blackmar, Elizabeth. Manhattan for Rent 1785-1850. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1989).

Cronon, William. Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West. (New York: Norton,1991).

Diner, Hasia R. Lower East Side Memories: A Jewish Place in America. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000).

Thernstrom, Stephan. Poverty and Progress: Social Mobility in a Nineteenth-Century City. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1964).

21 Field trip–University Special Collections TOPIC STATEMENT DUE

28 RURAL COMMUNITIES. SOURCE REPORT DUE

Faragher, John Mack. Sugar Creek: Life on the Illinois Prairie. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986).

McMurry, Sally. Transforming Rural Life: Dairying Families and Agricultural Change, 1820-1885. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995).

Myers, Lois E. And Rebecca Sharpless. Rock Beneath the Sand: Country Churches in Texas. (College Station, TX: Texas A and M University Press, 2003).

Vlach, John Michael. Back of the Big House: The Architecture of Plantation Slavery. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993).

Oct. 5 Field trip–Indiana State Archives

12 STUDIES OF SUBURBS

Herbert Gans. Levittowners: Ways of Life and Politics in a New Suburban Community. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1982).

Jackson, Kenneth T. Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States. (Oxford University Press, 1985).

Stilgoe, John R. Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1939. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1988).

Warner, Sam Bass, Jr. Streetcar Suburbs: The Process of Growth in Boston, 1870-1900. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1962).

19 COLONIAL COMMUNITIES SOURCE REPORT DUE

Herman, Bernard L. The Stolen House. (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1992).

Brown, Jerald E. The Years of the Life of Samuel Lane, 1718-1806: A New Hampshire Man and His World. (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2000).

Merwick, Donna. Death of a Notary: Conquest and Change in Colonial New York. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999).

Walsh, Lorena S. From Calabar to Carter’s Grove: The History of a Virginia Slave Community. (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia, 1997).

26 STUDIES OF COMMUNITY ARCHITECTURE

Glassie, Henry. Pattern in Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1968).

Hubka, Thomas C. Big House, Little House, Back House, Barn: The Connected Farm Buildings of New England. (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1984).

Peterson, Fred. W. Homes in the Heartland: Balloon Frame Farmhouses of the Upper Midwest, 1850-1920. (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1992).

Wright, Gwendolyn. Building the Dream: A social History of Housing in America. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1981).

Nov.

2 COMMUNITIES AND WOMEN AND NATIVE AMERICANS BIBLIO. DUE

Child, Brenda J. Boarding School Seasons: American Indiana Families, 1900-1940. (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2000).

Demos, John. The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America. (New York: Knopf, 1994).

Deutsch, Sarah. Women and the City: Gender, Space and Power in Boston, 1870-1940. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).

Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz. Alma Mater: Design and Experience in the Women’s Colleges . . . . (New York: Knopf, 1984).

9 NO CLASS

16 NINETEENTH-CENTURY COMMUNITIES

Lebsock, Suzanne. The Free Women of Petersburg: Status and Culture in a Southern Town, 1784-1860. (New York: Norton, 1984).

Bruegel, Martin. Farm, Shop, Landing: The Rise of a Market Society in the Hudson Valley, 1780-1860. (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2002).

Johnson, Paul E. A Shopkeeper’s Millennium: Society and Revivals in Rochester, New York, 1815-1837. (New York: Hill and Wang, 1978).

Taylor, Alan. William Cooper’s Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier in the Early American Republic. (New York: Vintage, 1995).

19 FRIDAY DRAFT PAPER DUE

23 CONSULTATION ON DRAFT PAPER

Nov. 25 NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING

30 LEISURE AND COMMUNITY STUDIES

Brown, Dona. Inventing New England: Regional Tourism in the Nineteenth Century. (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995).

Dolan, Michael. The American Porch: An Informal History of an Informal Place. (Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2002).

Kline, Ronald. Consumers in the Country: Technology and Social Change in Rural America. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000).

Lewis, Charlene M. Boyer. Ladies and Gentlemen on Display: Planter Society at the Virginia Springs, 1790-1860. (Charlottesville, VA: Univesity Press of Virginia, 2001).

Dec.

7 CLASSIC STUDIES OF COMMUNITIES ORAL PRESENTATION

Stilgoe, John R. Common Landscape of America, 1580-1845. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1982).

Curti, Merle. The Making of an American Community: A Case Study of Democracy in a Frontier County. (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1959).

Demos, John. A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970).

Riis, Jacob A. How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York. (New York: Dover, 1971) [This is one of many republications and includes 100 photographs from the Riis Collection. Other editions are acceptable for this course.]

13 MONDAY FINAL PAPER DUE.