How to Make History, or the Art of History: Past, Present, & Future
HIST 243
Spring 2022 not offered
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History is one of the oldest of intellectual endeavors and through its many transitions and versions around the world it is unified generally by its literary and artistic character as much as by its research intensity. It is a study of finding out but also always about the telling. With the development of professional historiography in the 19th century, the imaginative and creative aspects of making history have been spoken about less, but they have remained crucial parts of history's success. Today especially, it is important to understand the versions of history-making that have existed and the possibilities for students and other historians to make well-shaped, moving, decisive history. The course will examine the history of history-making, looking through its long history around the world to understand historiographical developments but also to give ourselves examples now for ways of writing history more effectively. The course will pay unusual attention to the possibilities of making history today, not only in the academy, but in fiction, in film, on television--everywhere that history is, in fact, made. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (HIST-MN)(HIST) |
Major Readings:
Readings will consist of classical examples of history from antiquity to the present as well as the study of history on film, on television, in painting, and fiction. Texts will include extracts from sources as diverse as Bible, Herodotus, Tacitus, Peter Brown, Maya Jasanoff, Jill Lepore, and Susannah Greenblatt, a recent Wesleyan thesis writer and short film producer.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Writing: The course will require an essay studying a historical product--book, film, or other artform--and several shorter works exploring writing history in different modes or genres. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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