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Texas Wesleyan University Course Syllabus Spring 2018 |
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Course: HIS 4320-01 Memory, Story
Telling and Oral History |
Course Meeting Time:
Thursday 7-9:30 Location: EJW B26 Office: PMC 244 |
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Instructor: Chris Ohan |
Office Hours: Monday and
Wednesday 9-12 and 2-3; Tuesday and Thursday 3:30-5:30, or by appointment |
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Phone: 817-531-4913 |
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E-mail: cohan@txwes.edu |
Webpage: www.historymuse.net |
Oral
sources tell us not just what people did, but what they wanted to do, what they
believed they were doing and what they now think they did. As oral
historians, we must do three jobs at the same time. We must do the
historian's job of trying to understand what happened, the anthropologist's job
of understanding how people tell their stories and then move back and forth
between these two levels.
--Allesandro Portelli
[I]rrelevancies and discrepancies must not be denied, but
these will never be understood if we take oral sources merely as factual
statements. --Luisa Passerini
Memory
installs remembrance within the sacred… [it] is absolute, while history can
only conceive the relative….The task of remembering
makes everyone his own historian. –Pierre Nora
Course Description: A seminar that examines
critical current issues via the method of oral history. In this course you will be participating in
two oral history projects; one involving a thematic history related war and the
other, a life history.
Learning
Outcomes: Upon successful completion
of this class students will be able to conduct background research on the
personal life experiences of individuals.
They will be able to develop and conduct oral history interviews with
contemporary peers to capture and understand a past event, life, or
experience. Students will be able to
compare, contrast, and summarize what you’ve learned across generations. They will acquire the skill associated with
the personal interview and methods of life history/storytelling. They will be able to assess the importance of
perspectives of the past regardless of actual veracity and, finally, students
will learn to use basic qualitative analysis software for interview analysis.
Learning Objectives Program
Goals
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Objective 1: Students will
gain an understanding of the past relative to the experiences of their
narrators. |
1. Develop a general
knowledge of human history, including a basic chronology of both western and
non-western societies covering time periods from the ancient to the modern. |
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Objective 2: Student ought
to be able to use historical comparison as an analytic tool; recognize the
different interpretations of the experiences of their narrators. |
2. Understand
Historical Interpretation and Historiography. |
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Objective 3: 1. Students
will be able to conduct background research on the personal life experiences
of individuals. 2. Students will be able to
develop and conduct oral history interviews with contemporary peers to
capture and understand a past event, life, or experience. 3. Students will be able to
compare, contrast, and summarize what you’ve learned across generations. 4. Students will acquire the
skill associated with the personal interview and methods of life
history/storytelling. 5. Students will be able to
assess the importance of perspectives of the past regardless of actual
veracity. 6. Students will learn to
use basic qualitative analysis software for interview analysis. |
3. Learn the various skills
associated with the craft of history. These skills include: a. Reading Comprehension and
Cognitive Skills b. Historical Thinking
Skills c. Research Skills d. Written Communication
Skills e. Oral Communication Skills f. Computer Literacy |
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Objective 4: This course
will quip students with interviewing and research skills connected to
professional research, teaching and/or graduate study. |
4. Students completing a major
in the Department of History will be prepared to enter graduate programs in
History, teach History in secondary or middle schools, or enter other careers
open to graduates with degrees in the Liberal Arts. |
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Required Materials: |
Yow, Recording Oral History.
AltaMira, 2005. |
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Additional Text: |
Margaret Ahnert, The Knock at the Door |
Instructional Methods/Class Format: All classes
will consist of discussion of course material; primarily the Yow and then the
Sheikh texts but also the interviews once they begin. You must be present to discuss and I assume
that you will complete the assigned readings for each week. It is also assumed that you will attend all
classes.
Class Schedule:
See below.
Evaluation and Grading: Since this is
a seminar, there are no exams. Your
grade will be based on your written material (essentially 5 assignments) as
well as your in-class participation and presentations. On February 15 the Ahnert
review is due; March 1 the first oral transcript and analysis; and May 10 the
second transcript and analysis are due.
This is a rough breakdown of
grading for the course: Ahnert Review 15%; Oral History I 20%, Analysis 15%, Oral
History II 25%, Analysis 15%, Participation in a UC Day roundtable discussion (18
April) 10%. Letter grade equivalent for this class: A (90-99), B (80-89), C
(70-79), D (60-69), F (59 and below)
Class Participation: This is NOT a
lecture class. At this point in your
academic career you should be able to engage the material and actively and
intelligently participate in class discussions.
Participation in class discussions will make the difference if your
final grade is borderline.
University
College Day roundtable discussion. You are responsible for participating in a UC
Day roundtable discussion on 18 April drawing on the information/analysis from
the first oral history you conduct.
Discussions topics/script will be decided by class consensus.
Writing: Writing for
this course should employ standard academic formatting—double spaced, 12-point
Times font, 1 inch margins all around—with citations following Chicago
style. If you need help with this see
the guides on the links page of the class website, the Wesleyan library or the
instructor. Correct use of source information
and citations is assumed on the college level.
Failure to cite or format according to one of the styles listed will
result in a lower grade. See Grading
Guidelines on the class webpage for specific grading criteria regarding written
work.
Late
Submissions: Please note that work submitted after the
specific time that it’s due will be penalized at the rate of one letter grade
per day. No work which is more than 4
days late will be accepted. Please do
not waste time with excuses; just get assignments turned in.
Attendance is mandatory. Since
we meet only once each week, you should consider yourself in dire circumstances
if you miss more than one scheduled class meeting. The last day to drop is Tuesday, 17 April. If you stop attending class and do not
withdraw, expect to fail.
Texas Wesleyan University
Policies:
·
Students should
read the current Texas Wesleyan University Catalog and
Student Handbook to become familiar with University policies.
· Cheating, plagiarism (submitting another person’s
material as one’s own), or completing assignments for another person who will
receive academic credit are impermissible. This includes the use of
unauthorized books, notebooks, or other sources in order to secure or give help
during an examination, the unauthorized copying of examinations, assignments,
reports, or term papers, or the presentation of unacknowledged material as if
it were the student’s own work. Disciplinary action may be taken beyond
the academic discipline administered by the course instructor. Course exams may
not be printed out. Any person possessing a hardcopy of a course exam will be
in breach of copyright and may be held liable.]
·
Texas Wesleyan
University adheres to a disability policy which is in keeping with relevant
federal law. The University will provide appropriate accommodation as
determined by the Director of the Counseling Center, Dr. Michael Ellison.
Students must notify instructors of any permanent or temporary disabilities and
must provide documentation regarding those disabilities prior to the granting
of an accommodation. For assistance, students should consult with Dr. Ellison
at mellison@txwes.edu or (817) 531-7565.
·
Course syllabi
are intended to provide students with basic information concerning the course.
The syllabus can be viewed as a 'blueprint' for the course; changes in the
syllabus can be made and students will be informed of any substantive changes
concerning examinations, the grading or attendance policies and changes in
project assignments.
·
Any course taken
at Texas Wesleyan University and repeated for a grade must be repeated at Texas
Wesleyan University. Any course taken at another university may be repeated at
Texas Wesleyan, and the most recent grade on the course will be counted. When a
course is repeated, the grade point average will be computed using the most
recent grade achieved.
· As noted in the catalog under the Unified
Discrimination and Harassment Policy, Texas Wesleyan University is committed to
providing an environment free of all forms of prohibited discrimination and
sexual harassment. If you have
experienced any such discrimination or harassment, including gender- or
sex-based forms, know that help and support are available from the following
resources:
o
Complete
online incident report: StART Incident Report Form
o
Contact
Campus Conduct Hotline (24 hours a day): (866) 943-5787
o
Campus
security (24 hours a day): (817) 531-4911
o
Dean
of Students: deanofstudents@txwes.edu OR (817) 531-4872
o Please be aware that all Texas Wesleyan University
employees, other than designated confidential resources (i.e., Community
Counseling Center) are required to report credible evidence of prohibited
discrimination or harassment to the University’s Title IX Coordinator, or to
one of the Title IX Assistant Coordinators.
If you wish to speak to someone confidentially, please contact the
Community Counseling Center at (817) 531-4859 to schedule an appointment.
Academic Integrity:
Familiarize yourself with Wesleyan’s Student Code of
Conduct. Academics are not only devoted
to learning, research, and the advancement of knowledge, but also to the
development of ethically sensitive and responsible persons. By accepting
membership in this class, you are joining a community characterized by free
expression, free inquiry, honesty, respect for others, and participation in
constructive change. All rights and
responsibilities exercised within this academic environment shall be compatible
with these principles.
Academic Dishonesty is a breach of the Student Code of
Conduct. Dishonesty includes:
- Plagiarism, representing the work of another as
one's own work;
- Preparing work for another that is to be used as
that person's own work;
- Cheating by any method or means;
- Knowingly and willfully falsifying or
manufacturing scientific or educational data and representing the same to
be the result of scientific or scholarly experiment or research;
- Knowingly furnishing false information to a
university official relative to academic matters;
- Soliciting, aiding, abetting, concealing, or
attempting conduct in violation of this code.
Academic Dishonesty will not
be tolerated in this course. Any offense will result in an F in the class (not
simply on the assignment) and be referred to the appropriate academic officials
for adjudication. If you have any questions regarding this subject please see
me. For a detailed description and
further clarification, please see the link for “Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty”
on my website, the 2017-2019 Wesleyan Catalog (p. 84-86), or the Student
Handbook.
Miscellaneous:
- Education
is a privilege not a right.
- I
facilitate learning. The burden of
learning is always on you.
- Unless
used to retrieve relevant online documents, turn your cell phones and
other mobile devices off and put them away. I reserve the right to confiscate any
mobile device that disrupts the learning environment. If there is an issue that necessitates
corresponding electronically or receiving a call during class time, do not
come (this should not be class, all students will be required to take a
reading quiz.
- Since
much of the class material can be related to current events (national and
international), you are expected to have a sense of what’s going on (i.e.
headline news). This, by the way,
is one mark of an “educated” person.
My Goal in this class
is that you actively participate in the process of preparing (researching) for
oral history interviews, transcribe and use (analyze) the information
gained. In essence, you will be creating
tangible primary sources and then engaging those sources to understand,
critically evaluate and, in some cases, reconstruct certain aspects of regional
history. The oral histories gathered
will eventually be placed in the Wesleyan library. There is, therefore, an intellectual as well
as physical product for the course.
Please consider the classroom
an open forum for discussion—of anything related to the themes and topics of
the course. (Of course, any argument—whether
spoken or written—must be supported. If
you don’t already know it, an unsubstantiated opinion is mere gibberish.) While I (or other students) may challenge
beliefs/perspectives, realize that the purpose is not to change them. That said, an open/tolerant attitude is
essential in this class. Since we will
be dealing with issues to which you may have a connection or interest, there
will be differences of opinion. If you
choose to be intolerant with narrators and/or interrupt class discussions, I
reserve the right to take over an interview and/or ask you to leave the
classroom. I will protect the integrity
of the learning environment for those of us who want to learn.
Book
Review Format (please consult the
book review rubric: https://lat.taskstream.com/rubricExternal/awcwcscwcyc2cqct)
1. 5-6 pages
typewritten, double-spaced. Title page,
if used, does NOT count. Observe the
normal rules of writing such as standard one-inch margins, page numbering, etc.
2. Full
bibliographic citation on the title page or at the top of the first page. (Consult an MLA or Chicago style guide if
you’ve forgotten how to do this. Do NOT
make up your own form.)
3. Brief
introduction to the topic or subject of the book. Why is this topic or subject important to the
period of history being covered?
4. Summarize
the author’s thesis (argument) and main points concisely but fully. (What do you think the author is trying to
accomplish by writing the book?)
5. Briefly
say something regarding the author’s qualifications.
6. Critique
the book. (What you’re doing is
analogous to what happens in a courtroom. Consider yourself the judge and the
author a lawyer who has presented an argument/case. It’s up to you, having read his/her
argument/case to decide whether or not her claims have
validity.) Based on your answer to #4 do
you find his/her arguments and conclusions convincing? How does s/he do in terms of accomplishing
his purpose for writing? Do not walk
fences or resort to elementary tactics such as pleading ignorance. (This should be about one-half of your
paper.)
(6a.
If the book is a work of literature, you’ll still consider what the author is
trying to accomplish, but you’ll need to think about what the work says about
the time period or place in which it’s set, the
characters, the environment, etc. For
example, you’d look at it the same way an historian would look at More’s Utopia or possibly Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Those works are good literature but say a lot
about the time period in which they were written.)
7. While a
review does not usually include the readers own opinion, you may provide a
brief personal evaluation of no more than one paragraph. Be sure to explain and support your opinion
carefully and coherently. At this point
in your academic career, you ought to have an informed opinion. “Informed” suggests that you’re offering
specific evidence as to how and why you agree or disagree.
8. This is
not a research paper, so formal footnoting is not necessary. If you do quote or draw on information that
is not your own, simply use a parenthetical reference according to MLA or
Turabian/Chicago style.
9. Papers
which are turned in after the time they are due will be penalized one letter
grade for each day. No papers which are
more than four days late will be accepted.
If you or someone close to you is looking like they’re coming down with
the latest disease or that they might need emergency surgery, turn it in
early. If you want mercy, pray.
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Jan 18 |
Course Introduction What are we going to do and
why are we going to do it? |
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Jan 25 |
A discussion about the
issues and a theoretical foundation Readings: Nora, Between Memory and History; Portelli, The Peculiarities of Oral History; Sacks, “Ethics and Politics in Oral History Research” |
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Feb 1 |
Our method: oral history Readings: Yow chs. 1-2; Ahnert, The Knock
at the Door |
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Feb 8 |
Preparation for the first
project: formulating the interview guide Readings: Yow chs. 3-4, 6 |
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Feb 15 |
No formal class
meeting. Students will be meeting
separately with the instructor and conducting interviews this week. Ahnert Review due by 7pm (Blackboard) |
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Feb 22 |
Analysis and
Interpretation: What did we learn? Readings: Yow ch. 10 |
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March 1 |
Interviewing for a life
history Interviewing Ordinary
People – Who can we interview and what can we ask? Finalizing narrators,
interview guides and goals Interview 1 transcript and analysis due Readings: Sample from life of "RCS" |
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March 22 |
Interviews. No formal class
meeting. Students will be meeting
separately with the instructor. |
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April 5 |
Interviews. No formal class
meeting. Students will be meeting
separately with the instructor. |
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April 12 |
Individual reports begin Preparation for University
College Day Presentation |
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April 18 |
University College Day:
Presentation |
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April 19 |
Individual reports conclude |
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April 26, May 3 |
Analysis and Interpretation |
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May 10 |
Interview 2 transcript and analysis due |