History 101 Handbook Flashcards

Flashcards based on the History 101 Handbook for Students.

What is the tangible product of History 101?

A research paper of thirty to fifty pages based on original research in primary sources.

What are the goals of the History 101 seminar?

To guide students in crafting a research paper through common readings, topic proposals, intensive research, draft writing, and revisions.

Where can students find models for their History 101 thesis?

Previous 101 papers kept on file in the History Department Library and scholarly historical journals.

What is a primary consideration when selecting a topic for History 101?

Interest in the subject and sources, as the project requires sustained attention through hard work.

What should a History 101 topic permit students to do?

Make an original contribution to our knowledge and understanding of history.

What is the difference between primary and secondary sources?

Primary sources are records and writings contemporaneous with the events studied, while secondary sources are the writings of later historians and commentators.

Give examples of primary source materials.

Literary, philosophical, or religious texts, government documents, organizational records, newspapers and magazines, chronicles, memoirs, oral histories, autobiographies, journals and diaries, travel accounts, novels, published correspondence, maps, photographs, and material artifacts.

What is the General Berkeley Library Collections Overview?

Historians draw on primary and secondary sources from the past. Original research requires discovering something new, independent, and interesting from sources that have not already been posted and analyzed

Where do projects almost inevitably start from?

The library.

What is the role of secondary materials in historical research?

To establish the general contours of the period, provide a sense of major events and developments, and present facts related to the topic.

What questions should you ask yourself when reading the works of other historians?

When was this study written? Who is the author? How does the author approach the subject? What kinds of sources does the author use? Is the argument convincing? What assumptions does the author make? What questions doesn’t the author answer?

What steps should you take when reading primary and secondary sources?

1. Read a few books and articles, to familiarize yourself with some of the major issues and interpretations, and to extract citations to source materials. 2. Immerse yourself in primary research, with occasional forays into secondary materials when you need more bibliographic references or clarification about a fact or event. 3. Return to the secondary literature before you begin to write your rough draft, so that you can place your own interpretation or thesis in a historiographical context.

What crucial thing is the essence of historical research?

Extracting from your sources the materials that are relevant to your topic, and recording and arranging those materials so that they are readily usable for analysis and composition.

What three different kinds of notes do you need?

Bibliographic references, notes on primary sources, and notes on secondary sources.

Why is organization so important for a paper of this size?

Because it provides a foundation of structure that helps you organize your material, makes it easier to present clearly and concisely, and helps you develop an argument supported by your evidence and leading to a logical conclusion.

Why is writing early in the process so helpful?

It is the only way to begin to structure your material, to see where the paper is heading, and to find the holes in logic and evidence that only further research and careful rethinking can fill.

What is plagiarism?

The appropriation and imitation of the language or ideas of another, representing them as one’s original thoughts.

What are the components of a superior 101 paper?

Thorough research, critical thought applied to the reading of source materials, an original and persuasive argument, attention to organization and logic, clear and forceful prose, and careful documentation of evidence.

Why are citations essential to your paper?

Because your reader should always be able, from your notes and bibliography, to find the works and the passages you cite.