Colonization, Colonies, Colonists

HIST4850: 
Senior Seminar

If you have completed a substantial number of the courses required for the BA in history, you may enroll in this class, with departmental permission. 


 By carrying out a major research project in HIST4850, you will develop awareness of  the practices of professional historians.  The principal focus of the Senior Seminar is research and writing.  You also will make oral presentations related to your research. In addition to developing the skills needed to accomplish this work, class members will acquire a more thorough and nuanced understanding of the course topic area. HIST4850 class meetings are conducted with a combination of lecture and seminar methods.

 

 World map

Fall 2010

 

Required Books:
Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History (5th ed.)ISBN-10: 0-312-44673-X; ISBN 13: 978-0-312-44673-X
Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, ISBN 0226816273
If you don't already have this, you will need it.  It is the official standard for the profession.
Other  reading may be assigned in class.   You also are expected to read scholarly articles and (at least!) two books related to your paper topic.

Helpful--or at least amusing:
Strunk & White, The Elements of Style, ISBN  020530902X
A classic, common-sense approach to writing.  If Turabian seems intimidating, start here.
Gordon, The Deluxe Transitive Vampire : A Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager and the Doomed, ISBN  0679418601 (Earlier editions will be acceptable.) Gordon's oddball examples and the illustrations in these two little books make them more enjoyable than the average grammar handbook
__________, The New Well Tempered Sentence : A Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed, ISBN 0618382011 (Earlier editions will be acceptable.).

Important policies: 

All written homework will be submitted using GaView.
Nothing will be accepted by email or other means, without special permission. 
Work containing plagiarism will not be accepted for any assignment. Any serious instance (significant portions of a paragraph) will result in formal proceedings against the offender. This will be further explained in class.
See "Syllabus All" for other course policies.

Click for a printer-friendly copy of this chart.  

Requirement

% value

Comment

Research paper

§Topic including discussion of potential sources.

 5 Submit a topic and a preliminary discussion of sources including both  library or archival sources with at least one possible source of primary material.   Submit via GaView

Students who fail to meet this requirement on time will be dropped from the class, because  work must be carried out in a timely fashion to produce a successful result.
Outline (detailed) &
projected bibliography.		 15 Submit via GaView. Show significant progress toward completion of the finished work.

Oral presentation

10

 Present a finished paper (50%) and make an oral presentation (10%) of its main points

Finished paper

50

Individual conferences, miscellaneous assignments

 Progress conference 5

Meet with Dr. Kemp individually at least once during research hours to discuss your progress.

Optional: submit first 3 pages of ms for comment, no grade. 

First three pages

Book reports

 § first written book report 15 Two-page summary & evaluation of each book.(5 points each)
Oral presentation & lead discussion on  one book (5 additional points)
second written book report
Oral presentation on one of these

Reminder:  Grades of C or better are required for most  courses in your major.

§
Marked items must be completed one week before mid-term.

 

Due dates are on
GaVIEW calendar.

The information in "Syllabus All" is part of the official syllabus for this course.