For history majors, the historiography class is no walk on the beach. For one it's required for the major and has a reputation for being difficult. It has all the markings of a graduate seminar in that it is a small class and strays from the standard lecture pattern, focusing on student-led discussion. And it's taught by three professors, who are sometimes in the third-floor Mary Berry classroom at the same time. Sounds like a student's worst nightmare.
Historiography is the study of the history of history writing.
Through the study of important historians and their methodologies, students look for the answers to these questions and others. Ultimately, students leave the class with a greater appreciation for how histories are written and by whom. Historiography has been a mainstay on the Simpson campus for some time. The idea for the class was first brought to Simpson and taught in the mid-sixties by Joe Walt and Bill Helfrich. History professors Owen Duncan, Bill Friedricks and Kathy Tumpek lead the current class.