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St. Lawrence University Department of History
Spring 2016
History 476A Senior Seminar: Water in History, Global and Local
Course Description and goals
In this course we will read about the history of human interactions with rivers, wetlands, and river deltas around the world. We will study the topic from multiple approaches, reflecting the inter-disciplinarity of the field of environmental history. How have people’s ideas about water and nature changed over the centuries? What economic and political interests have been crucial? How have human efforts to dig canals, drain swamps, irrigate crops and straighten rivers created unforeseen ecological and social consequences? We will read about case studies in Germany, India, China and the United States. In the second part of the semester students will choose a river somewhere in the world to focus on for their own research.
Themes that run throughout this course are the efforts by humans to comprehend and control the rest of the natural world, the unintended consequences that emerge from these efforts, the evolution of knowledge, attitudes and ideas about nature, and the influence of economics and politics in the relationship between people and their natural surroundings.
At the beginning of the course we will examine common material through common texts. In the second part of the course students will craft high-quality research papers of 20-25 pages on individually chosen topics. These papers will be expected to demonstrate a comprehension of the historiography on the topic while contributing original insights based on students’ primary and secondary source research. This course is intended to be the summation of your history major or minor career. It will allow you to demonstrate what you have learned about the craft of history and bring all of your skills together to produce a piece of original scholarship.
Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:40-2:10 p.m.
Location: Piskor 101
Instructor: Dr. Anne Csete
Office Hours: Mondays 12:15-1:15 pm and Fridays 9:20-10:20 am or by appointment
Phone: 229-5827 Office: Piskor 217 E-mail: [email protected]
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Texts:
Mark Cioc. The Rhine: An Eco-Biography, 1815-2000. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002. ISBN: 978-0-295-98254-0
Michel Danino The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati NewYork: Penguin Books, 2010 ISBN: 978-0-143-06864-8
David A. Pietz. The Yellow River: The Problem of Water in Modern China Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-674-05824-8
Carol Sheriff. The Artificial River: The Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, 1817-1862. New York: Hill and Wang, 1996. ISBN: 978-0-8090-1605-1
Writing guide Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 8th ed. (2014)
Requirements:
Class preparation and participation 10% Reading summaries/questions 20% Bibliographic and organizational work 10% Comparative essay on secondary sources and presentation 10% Primary Source Review 10% Research Presentation10% Full draft 15% Final Draft 15%
Class Participation The following criteria will serve as the basis for your class preparation and participation grade:
Your regular, thoughtful, informed discussion of the readings and assignments Engagement with questions posed by me to the class Attention and responses to other students’ questions, comments, and projects Discussions in pairs or small groups, and other in-class spoken activities In-class writing exercises (free-writing, responses to questions on the reading, etc.)
Reading summaries with questions An important skill we are working to develop is critical reading, and a great way to improve this is to write about what you read. Therefore a significant percentage of the class credit in this course is from reading summaries and discussion questions. The grading criteria are: 1. Substance (they show thought and effort) 2. Mastery of material (they demonstrate understanding of the readings’ main points, thesis or arguments, use of evidence, and analysis) 3. Discussion questions that are substantive, creative and thought-provoking.
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The Research Project
Please note: Keep all of your graded work to hand in along with your final paper.
Bibliographic and Organizational Work
1. Topic selection: Prepare a list of three possible subjects for your research projects.
2. Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Sources: Identity 2-3 primary and secondary sources for each of your possible topics and present in correct bibliographic form.
3. Revised Bibliography: the complete bibliography for the topic you have selected should include both primary sources (at least 3) and secondary sources (at least 15 sources).
4. Thesis Statement, Final Bibliography, and Outline: A statement of the thesis of your research paper and a final bibliography, together with a detailed outline of your research paper.
Comparative secondary scholarly essay and presentation From your project bibliography, you will select two secondary sources and write a three-page comparison. Be prepared to present it to the class in an informal presentation.
Primary Source Review and presentation An oral and then a three-page written analysis of one or two of your primary sources.
Research Presentation A formal presentation of the results of your research.
Full draft The full draft of the research paper will be complete, in correct form with footnotes and bibliography.
Final Draft The final draft of your research paper along with your research portfolio.
assignment Due date
Topic selection Tuesday, February 23 Bibliography of primary and secondary sources Thursday, March 3 Thesis statement, final bibliography and outline Thursday, March 10 Secondary comparative paper and presentation Tuesday, March 17 Primary source analysis and presentation Tuesday, April 12 Full draft Thursday, April 21 Research presentation Tues/Thur May 3 and 5 Final draft Monday, May 9
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Basic format for writing assignments:
double-spaced 12-point font Approximately 250-300 words/page 1 to 1.25-inch margins all around Be sure to title the paper You do not need to include a cover page Documentation style: Chicago-style footnotes (not endnotes, please) and bibliography. Please number pages and staple them together—no paper clips or folders, please
Absence policy: You are allowed a maximum of two absences for the semester (the equivalent of missing one week of class), for any reason—illness, family crisis, extracurricular activities, driving your friend home, etc. I advise you to reserve your absence for truly necessary or important occasions. Pass/fail policy: Please note that this may not be taken as a pass/fail course.
Policy on use of electronic equipment in class: To be able to fully participate in and learn from our discussions you must come with copies of all the assigned readings and assignments. Unless you have a documented medical need to use a laptop in class, I ask that all mobile devices (computers, cell phones, tablets, etc.) be turned off and stowed out of sight. If you do have a documented need for a laptop in class, I ask that you refrain going online while in class. Experience has shown that allowing the use of laptops in class provide more distraction than benefit for individual students and for the class as a whole. (There is also scholarly research that supports this conclusion. One study showed that students who spent class sessions multi-tasking had similar GPAs to those students who did not attend class at all! Other students in the class reported laptops as the most significant impediment to their own learning.) See for example: http://www.mcla.edu/Academics/uploads/textWidget/3424.00018/documents/laptop_use_in_the_classroom.pdf
Regarding the Rampolla writing guide, please read the following sections, which are relevant to our course: 1.a Historical questions; 2a on working with sources, including the text box on p. 11; 3a and c on active reading and using primary sources, including the text box on page 35; 4 a-e on conventions of historical writing, developing a thesis and crafting a strong argument; all of chapter 5 on writing a research paper, and 7b on documentation. I will occasionally ask you to bring the Rampolla guide to class for discussion, but in general I will simply expect you to read these sections on your own and refer to them as necessary while working on your assignments.
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COURSE SCHEDULE
Please complete all readings before class meets on the date for which they’re assigned. Bring assigned readings to class. Assignments are due at the start of class, unless otherwise indicated. Date
Readings/Class Activities Assignments Due
Thursday
Jan 21
Introductions
Tuesday
Jan 26
reading: Sheriff, The Artificial River, chronology, map, introduction, and chapters one and two, pp. 3-51
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Thursday
Jan 28
reading: Sheriff, The Artificial River , chapters three and four, pp. 52-109
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Tuesday
Feb 2
reading: Sheriff, The Artificial River, chapters five and six and epilogue, pp. 110-177
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Thursday
Feb 4
reading: Cioc, The Rhine, Forward, introduction, and chapter two, pp. 3-45
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Tuesday
Feb 9
reading: Cioc, The Rhine, chapters three and four, pp. 46-107
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Thursday
Feb 11
reading: Cioc, The Rhine, chapters five and six, pp. 108-171
1-2 page reading summary/questions
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Tuesday
Feb 16
reading: Cioc, The Rhine, chapters seven and eight, pp. 172-207
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Feb 18
Midsemester break
Tuesday
Feb 23
reading: Danino, The Lost River, prologue, pp. 1-3, skim Part one
Topic list due in class
bring to class 2 discussion questions and identify two noteworthy passages from the reading
Thursday
Feb 25
Reading: Danino, The Lost River, Part two, chapter four, pp. 83-99
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Tuesday
Mar 1
Reading: Danino, The Lost River, chapters five and six, pp. 100-154
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Thursday
Mar 3
Reading: Danino, The Lost River, chapter seven, pp. 155-170
Bibliography of primary and
secondary sources due
bring to class 2 discussion questions and identify two noteworthy passages from the reading
Tuesday
Mar 8
reading: Danino, The Lost River, chapters eight and nine, pp. 171-224
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Thursday
Mar 10
reading: Danino, The Lost River, chapter ten, pp. 225-251
Final topic selection and revised
bibliography due in class
bring to class 2 discussion questions and identify two noteworthy passages from the reading
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Tuesday
Mar 15
reading: Danino, The Lost River, chapter eleven and epilogue, pp. 252-294
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Thursday
Mar 17
secondary source comparison oral
presentations secondary source comparison essays
due
March 19th
to 27th
Spring Break
Tuesday
March 29
Reading: Pietz, The Yellow River, introduction and chapter one, pp. 1-27
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Thursday
March 31
Reading: Pietz, The Yellow River, chapter two, pp. 28-69
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Tuesday
Apr 5
Reading: Pietz, The Yellow River, chapter three, pp. 70-129
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Thursday
Apr 7
Reading: Pietz, The Yellow River, chapter four, pp. 130-193
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Tuesday
Apr 12
Primary source presentations
Primary source analysis papers due
Thursday
Apr 14
Reading: Pietz, The Yellow River, chapter five, pp. 194-257
1-2 page reading summary/questions
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Tuesday
Apr 19
Reading: Pietz, The Yellow River, chapter six, pp. 258-321
1-2 page reading summary/questions
Thursday
Apr 21
Informal presentations and problem-solving workshop
full drafts due in class
Tuesday
Apr 26
No class—required meeting with professor
Thursday
Apr 28
No class—required meeting with professor
Friday
Apr 29
Campus Festival of Scholarship
Tuesday
May 3
Research presentations
Thursday
May 5
Research presentations
Monday, May 9 Final drafts of research papers and complete portfolios. Please turn in the graded drafts of all research project stages. These portfolios are due in my mailbox in the history department faculty mailroom by 4:30 p.m. No Exceptions. Late work will not be accepted.
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HISTORY DEPARTMENT COMMON STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC HONESTY
Policies and sources on academic honesty All scholarly endeavor builds on the work of others in the context of the community of learners of which both faculty and students are a part. The integrity of this community can be maintained only by the full, honest, and appropriate acknowledgement of the sources of our data and ideas. The History Department will not tolerate academic dishonesty, including plagiarism on papers, cheating on quizzes and exams, and turning in work you have already submitted in another class. The Department will uphold SLU’s policy on this. From the Constitution of the Academic Honor Council, http://www.stlawu.edu/studentlife/student_handbook ―Plagiarism: Presenting as one’s own work the work of another person--words, ideas, data, evidence, thoughts, information, organizing principles, or style of presentation--without proper attribution. Plagiarism includes paraphrasing or summarizing without acknowledgment by quotation marks, footnotes, endnotes, or other indices of reference (cf. Joseph F. Trimmer, A Guide to MLA Documentation). ―Claims of ignorance and academic or personal pressure are unacceptable as excuses for academic dishonesty. Students must learn what constitutes one’s own work and how the work of others must be acknowledged. Any student found guilty of academic dishonesty by the Academic Honor Council may have a letter placed in his or her permanent file. We expect all of our students to familiarize themselves with the following: • Your course syllabus and your professor’s stated expectations on class assignments. • The full SLU policy on academic honesty (the basis of the Academic Honor Card that you signed in FYP), described in the SLU Student Handbook. For more information on plagiarism, see the following: • Mary Lynn Rampolla, A Pocket Guide to Writing in History, 7th ed. (Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Avoid It, 98-105). • Munn Writing Center handout, “What is Plagiarism?” If, after reviewing these guidelines, you are still uncertain about anything or have questions, be sure to ask before you turn in written assignments.
Policies on academic dishonesty If your professor encounters a suspicious paper or exam, ―s/he has the obligation to call the offending student(s) to account (SLU Student Handbook, 61). Plagiarism cases brought before the Academic Honor Council have resulted in sanctions ranging from failure on the assignment, to failure of the course, to expulsion from the University.
A final caveat: Do not underestimate your professors’ ability to detect plagiarism, or our willingness to have suspicious papers and exams investigated. If you can find it online so can we. Please don’t risk it.