Instructor: Phil Roberts

Office: 356 History Bldg., 766-5311 or 766-5101; e-mail: philr@uwyo.edu

Class Meeting: W, Noon-1, History Lounge

Office Hours: M, W, 10-11:30 a.m., and by appointment.

Course Objective: As the title implies, the course is primarily applied in its scope although some reference will be made to theoretical materials. The objective of the course is to acquaint students with the history profession, both academic and professional, describe how various history organizations function, and how a newly-hired historian can succeed in both the academic and professional arenas. Emphasis will be placed on teaching strategies and techniques, but segments also will examine research methods, service requirements, and development of proposals for various activities in the profession. Roughly three-fourths of the time will be devoted to the academic teaching side and the rest to the research and professional sides.

All readings will be from journals in the field of history. Many (but not all) will be distributed as photocopies in the class period immediately preceding the date on which they will be discussed. As for the content applications of the course, particular stress will be placed on preparation within the student’s specific field in history and how that preparation has strong parallels with success/failure in history, academic or professional. The class setting will be informal so bring your lunch if you wish. We will have informal conversations with visiting faculty from time to time.

Assignments: Beyond the readings, students will be asked to think about methods of pedagogy appropriate to the discipline. Further, each student will be asked to construct the necessary elements and prepare the broad outlines for a survey course in history, as though she/he were to teach it. The course may be a survey in United States history, European history, or a specific subfield in which survey courses are typically taught at the freshman level. Students will develop the syllabus, prepare and present a formal lecture (suitable for presentation to a survey class in the student’s specific area of expertise and given toward the end of the semester in a formal setting), author exams/quizzes, and develop assessment procedures. Students also will prepare course materials for an advanced course in history. This will include drafting a syllabus and reading list, developing assessment options, and presiding over a "modified Socratic" seminar simulation. Additionally, students will prepare a conference proposal and develop a grant proposal. The final exercise will be to prepare for job interviews by writing one’s own curriculum vitae and letters of application.

Grading: Each assignment will be worth 10 percent of the final grade (syllabus for lecture course; syllabus for seminar course; sample mid-term exam; conference proposal; grant proposal; c.v./application letter= 60 percent). The remaining 40 percent will come from performance in "modified Socratic" seminar exercise; survey course lecture; and class participation.

Jan. 19: Introduction; distribution of syllabi; an overview of the profession of history

Readings:

David Pace, "The Amateur in the Operating Room: History and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning," American Historical Review 109 (October 2004), 1171-1191.

Betty A. Dessants, "Preparing the Teaching Portfolio," Perspectives 41 (Sept. 2003), 56-57

Feb. 9: Writing Syllabi and Exams: Assessing Student Performance

    Assignment: Prepare a syllabus for a typical survey course.

Feb. 16: Devising and Grading Exams and Papers; Dealing with Academic Dishonesty

Readings:

"Round Table (six brief articles)," Journal of American History (March 2004), pp. 1325-1356.

    Assignment: Devise a mid-term exam for a survey course

Feb. 23: Preparing for the Large Lecture Class and Using Technology in the Classroom

Mar. 2: Preparing for the Small Class, Upper-Division Seminar

Assignment: Develop a syllabus and reading list for a seminar course.

    Assignment: Write a proposal for a history conference

    Lecture schedule finalized.

Manuscript Collections.

Robert B. Townsend, "History and the Future of Scholarly Publishing," Perspectives 41 (October 2003), pp. 32-41. Also: http://www.theaha.org/perspectives

Mar. 30:. Museums, Historic Sites, Liberal-Arts Colleges, Mega-Universities: Specific

Expectations of Historians as Educators in Varied Roles

Apr. 6: Administration and Management: The "People" Factor; Peer Cooperation and

Evaluation; The Service Component: Committee Service and Outside Commitments

Apr. 13: "Modified Socratic" simulations. (Details to be announced before spring break).           

May 4: Formal lectures. Exact times and locations, TBA.