This course will ask students to write and rewrite a series of papers. Through class discussion and individual meetings with the professor, students learn to articulate a thesis, develop an argument with evidence, and cite historical source materials. Students will usually take this class in their sophomore or junior year. Courses at the 2000 level may cover a topic as well as an area over a broad historical period. They develop the ability to read historical information in textbooks, monographs, and articles and to discuss that material in class.
Students form historical arguments in writing papers and participate in oral discussions.
3000 level courses require a higher and more varied reading load than those on the HIST 1000 and 2000 levels. Students will usually take these classes in their sophomore, junior, and senior years. It is a seminar course based on readings and discussion. Each student will write a major paper of at least 15 pages based on independent research in the library. Depending on the topic of the course, students will be asked to use both primary sources and specialized historical literature.