Course Name:Historical
Research and Methods
Course Prefix: HIST
Course Number: 4985
Submitted by (Name & E-Mail): Vikki Vickers,
vikkivickers@weber.edu
Current Date: 9/12/2012
College: Social & Behavioral Sciences
Department: History
From Term: Spring
2013
Substantive
|
new |
Current Course Subject
N/A Current Course Number |
|
Subject: HIST
Course Number: 4985 |
Check all that apply:
This is for courses already approved for gen ed. Use a different form for proposing a new gen ed designation. DV CA HU LS PS SS EN AI QL TA TB TC TD TE |
Course Title: Historical Research and Methods
Abbreviated Course Title: Historical Methods
| Course Type: | LEC |
Credit Hours: 3.0 or if variable hours: to
Contact Hours: Lecture Lab Other
Grading Mode: standard
| This course is/will be: |
a
required course in a major program a required course in a minor program a required course in a 1- or 2- year program elective |
Prerequisites/Co-requisites:
Course description (exactly as it will appear in the catalog, including prerequisites):
This course teaches research and writing skills and is designed to prepare History students for History 4990. Students will learn how to find a research topic, develop a thesis, identify primary sources, cite those sources, and prepare a research proposal. The course will expose students to models of good historical writing and argumentation which will serve as models for their own writing.
Justification for the new course or for changes to an existing course. (Note: Justification should emphasize academic rationale for the change or new course. This is particularly important for courses requesting upper-division status.)
HIST 3000
(SI)(Investigating History) was created to fulfill a dual role: it served the
department as an historical methodology course and was also a Scientific Inquiry
course allowing History Majors and Minors to take a History course for SI
credit. As such, the course was designed academically to focus on meeting
university SI curriculum standards while also teaching students about the craft
of History.
In 2007, recognizing the need to better prepare students for HIST 4990 (the
capstone Senior Seminar course) the Department of History made HIST 3000 (SI) a
prerequisite of HIST 4990 and developed new guidelines for the course in an
effort to focus more specifically on preparation for HIST 4990 while still
meeting Scientific Inquiry requirements.
There are two key academic reasons why we need to develop a new 4000-level
Methods course: (1) HIST 3000 (SI) as a prerequisite for 4990 no longer meets
department needs pedagogically, and (2) as a 3000-level course, the HIST 3000
prerequisite for 4990 has proved to be problematic -- students only view it as
another upper-division course rather than an introduction to the Capstone. This
negates the impact of the course being a prerequisite.
One pedagogical reason to design our Historical Methods as a new 4000-level
course is because of the "death" of Scientific Inquiry for new History Majors.
HIST 4985 is specifically designed only to prepare History students for 4990
with no reference to previous SI standards. An emphasis will be placed in
particular on research and citation methods, analyzing and evaluating sources,
evaluating and creating arguments, and -- most significantly -- crafting a
working proposal and bibliography for their Senior Thesis in 4990.
As a 3000-level course, the department has had difficulty with students who take
their 4990 prerequisite course too early, not understanding that it is intended
to "piggy-back" onto their capstone. This is clearly a problem directly related
to the course number itself: students see it only as another upper-division
credit course rather than as stepping-stone to Senior Seminar. This seemingly
minor psychological distinction has serious pedagogical implications. As a
consequence of students taking the class too soon in their program (sometimes
two years or more before they take 4990), students are often ill-prepared for
the rigors of the course because they have had very few (if any) upper-division
courses before taking 3000. Another issue with Majors taking 3000 too soon in
their programs is that they often forget their research topics or choose another
one and have to start from scratch again in 4990. This effectively means that
students place themselves in a position to do 30 weeks worth of work in 15. This
has the effect of negating the purpose of the 3000 prerequisite altogether.
Changing the course number from 3000 to 4985 will inhibit students from taking
the course too soon, allowing them to receive the full benefits of the course as
a prerequisite. As a result, our Majors will be better prepared for 4990 and
will be able to write a better quality Senior Thesis -- therefore the academic/
pedagogical objectives of 4985 and 4990 will both be met as intended.
INFORMATION PAGE
for substantive proposals only
1. Did this course receive unanimous approval within the Department?
true
If not, what are the major concerns raised by the opponents?
2. If this is a new course proposal, could you achieve the desired results by revising an existing course within your department or by requiring an existing course in another department?
No. As stated above, this course needs a 4000-level designation and it needs to be designed solely as a prerequisite for 4990. A now-defunct SI course no longer serves our department's pedagogical needs.
3. How will the proposed course differ from similar offerings by other departments? Comment on any subject overlap between this course and topics generally taught by other departments, even if no similar courses are currently offered by the other departments. Explain any effects that this proposal will have on program requirements or enrollments in other department. Please forward letters (email communication is sufficient) from all departments that you have identified above stating their support or opposition to the proposed course.
There are no other departments on campus that offer a course in Historical Research Methods. Only the Department of History offers such a course. Only the department of History has a 4985 course number for a Research Methods course. Other departments at WSU offer methodology courses, but none of them are in the field of History. This course is discipline-specific (as are methodology courses in general). HIST 4985 will have no impact on other departments on campus with regard to program requirements or enrollments. If non-History students enroll in 4985 for credit, they will be under the same obligation to seek approval from their Major or Minor as they would taking any course outside their Major or Minor.
4. Is this course required for certification/accreditation of a program?
no
If so, a statement to that effect should appear in the justification and supporting documents should accompany this form.
5. For course proposals, e-mail a syllabus to Faculty Senate which should be sufficiently detailed that the committees can determine that the course is at the appropriate level and matches the description. There should be an indication of the amount and type of outside activity required in the course (projects, research papers, homework, etc.).