Getting Medieval on American History Research: A Method to Help Students Think Historically
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| Title: | Getting Medieval on American History Research: A Method to Help Students Think Historically |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Burkholder, Peter |
| Source: | History Teacher. Aug 2010 43(4):545-562. |
| Availability: | Society for History Education. California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90840-1601. Tel: 562-985-2573; Fax: 562-985-5431; Web site: http://www.thehistoryteacher.org/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 18 |
| Publication Date: | 2010 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Descriptive |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | United States History, History Instruction, Majors (Students), College Students, Primary Sources, Research Projects, Student Research, Student Interests, Research Methodology, Learning Experience |
| Geographic Terms: | New Jersey |
| ISSN: | 0018-2745 |
| Abstract: | In an attempt to increase college history majors' ability to analyze primary sources, the author set up a unique research project designed to tap into his students' personal interests, and which would utilize a specific method requiring them to grapple with primary source materials in an unfamiliar, though hopefully more profitable fashion. The personal connection was accomplished by making his school's buildings and grounds (an erstwhile Vanderbilt family estate), as well as their former occupants, the objects of inquiry. The novel approach consisted of applying a modified research technique called diplomatics (not to be confused with diplomacy or diplomatic history), a method typically employed by medievalists and archivists, to the nineteenth- and twentieth-century American source materials. The result was a project that challenged the students in an entirely new way, exposed some of their preconceptions about what constitutes a "typical" history paper, and got them thinking about primary sources on a deeper, more sophisticated level. (Contains 2 figures and 10 notes.) |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2011 |
| Access URL: | https://www.thehistoryteacher.org/A10Preview.html |
| Accession Number: | EJ933466 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | In an attempt to increase college history majors' ability to analyze primary sources, the author set up a unique research project designed to tap into his students' personal interests, and which would utilize a specific method requiring them to grapple with primary source materials in an unfamiliar, though hopefully more profitable fashion. The personal connection was accomplished by making his school's buildings and grounds (an erstwhile Vanderbilt family estate), as well as their former occupants, the objects of inquiry. The novel approach consisted of applying a modified research technique called diplomatics (not to be confused with diplomacy or diplomatic history), a method typically employed by medievalists and archivists, to the nineteenth- and twentieth-century American source materials. The result was a project that challenged the students in an entirely new way, exposed some of their preconceptions about what constitutes a "typical" history paper, and got them thinking about primary sources on a deeper, more sophisticated level. (Contains 2 figures and 10 notes.) |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0018-2745 |
