>This course aims at introducing the basic concepts of history and the historian and developing students’ fundamental skills of conducting historical research and writing. These skills include using reference tools, locating and studying various historical documents, formulating research questions, identifying different categories of historical materials and their features, criticizing, analyzing and organizing historical data, mastering the principles of historical writing and its various styles and academic formats, grasping techniques of oral presentation and discussion, etc. Visits to libraries(Online visit arranged by librarians due to pandemic), museums, archives or field trips may also be arranged.

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, students will be able to: 
1. understand the basic concepts of history and the role of the historian; 
2. master the empirical methods and skills for historical research; 
3. understand and follow the principles of historical writing and recognize various styles and formats of academic writing; 
4. grasp the skills of oral presentation, questioning and discussion, etc.; 
5. master the techniques to collect historical materials and explore historical monuments for academic research; 
6. develop critical, analytical and creative thinking on diversified themes of historical study. 

References Used in the Course

13 Lectures

(Temporarily conduct Zoom teaching.

Resume face-to-face teaching at T.Y. Wong Hall, Ho Sin-Hang Engineering Building (TYW LT) when the pandemic stabilizes.)

1. General Introduction: Historical Methodology (9 Sep)
2. History, Historiography and the Historian (16 Sep)
3. Historical Thinking and Presentation Techniques (23 Sep)
4. Categories, Classes and Collection of Historical Materials (30 Sep)
5. Historical Research Using Library Resources and Reference Materials: Online University Library Tour (7 Oct)
6. Historical Research and Archives and Museums (14 Oct)
7. Identification and Criticism of Historical Materials (21 Oct)
8. Processing Historical Materials for Application (28 Oct)
9. Deduction of Historical Events and Construction of the Past (4 Nov)
10. Fundamental Skills for Oral History and Historical Study (11 Nov)
11. Principles, Formats, and Academic Standards for Historical Writing (18 Nov)
12. Exemplary Historians’ Views on Historical Studies (25 Nov)
13. Conclusion: Contemporary Historians and Trend of Historical Studies (2 Dec)

Assessment & Assignments

1. Term Paper (5000-7000 words)                             65%
2. Interactive Tutorial                                                  15%

 (Include term paper presentations and commentary. Temporarily conduct Zoom tutorials. Resume face-to-face tutorials when the pandemic stabilizes.）

3. Blackboard Video/Radio MC Test                         10%
4. Museum Visit Worksheet                                       10%      

(Teacher would provide historical sources including relics pictures to students for completing museum worksheet if the museum visit is canceled due to the pandemic.)

Grade Descriptors

Grade A 

Outstanding performance on all learning outcomes. 

Grade A-

Generally outstanding performance on all (or almost all) learning outcomes. 

Grade B 

Substantial performance on all learning outcomes, OR high performance on some learning outcomes which compensates for less satisfactory performance on others, resulting in overall substantial performance.

Grade C

Satisfactory performance on the majority of learning outcomes, possibly with a few weaknesses. 

Grade D 

Barely satisfactory performance on a number of learning outcomes 

Grade F

Unsatisfactory performance on a number of learning outcomes, OR failure to meet specified assessment requirements.

2 Visits & 12 Tutorials

1) Online University Library Tour(探尋文獻史料──網上參觀中大圖書館) on Zoom on 7 October (Wed) 10:30am-12:15pm.

Include: 1. Workshop on Finding Information and Primary Sources for Historiography(歷史資料檢用工作坊) and 2. Introduction to Special Collections(圖書館特藏善本文獻簡介).

2) Visit to Exhibition of Hong Kong Museum of History(探尋文物史料──參觀香港歷史博物館展覽) on 24 October (Sat).

(To be confirmed. The visit may be postponed to 31 October (Sat) or a Saturday morning in November due to the decoration work of the Museum. Teacher would provide historical sources including relics pictures to students for completing museum worksheet if the museum visit is canceled due to the pandemic.)

Visit Time: Group A: 10:30am-12:00pm; Group B: 11:00am-12:30pm

Assemble Point & Time: Museum Main Lobby(博物館地下大堂), Group A: 10:15am; Group B: 10:45am.

3) Arrangement of 12 Tutorials

Tutorial is held before and after lecture: 9:30-10:15am; 12:30-1:15pm (Wed).

Online tutorials are conducted on Zoom temporarily. Face-to-face tutorials would be resumed at T.Y. Wong Hall, Ho Sin-Hang Engineering Building(TYW LT) or other classroom when the pandemic stabilizes.

12 Tutorials:

1. Consultation on the course and lecture (9 Sep)
2. Consultation on term paper topic (16 Sep)
3. Consultation on term paper topic (23 Sep)

(Students are divided into Group 1, 2 and 3. Each group is also subdivided into Group A and Group B.)

4. Group 1 Term Paper Outline Presentation (Group 2 & 3 may freely join it) (30 Sep)
5. Group 2 Term Paper Outline Presentation (Group 1 & 3 may freely join it) (7 Oct)
6. Group 3 Term Paper Outline Presentation (Group 1 & 2 may freely join it) (14 Oct)
7. Group 1 (A) Term Paper First/Partial Draft Presentation & Commentary (Group 2 & 3 may freely join it) (21 Oct)
8. Group 2 (A) Term Paper First/Partial Draft Presentation & Commentary (Group 1 & 3 may freely join it) (28 Oct)
9. Group 3 (A) Term Paper First/Partial Draft Presentation & Commentary (Group 1 & 2 may freely join it) (4 Nov)
10. Group 1 (B) Term Paper First/Partial Draft Presentation & Commentary(Group 2 & 3 may freely join it) (11 Nov)
11. Group 2 (B) Term Paper First/Partial Draft Presentation & Commentary(Group 1 & 3 may freely join it) (18 Nov)
12. Group 3 (B) Term Paper First/Partial Draft Presentation & Commentary (Group 1 & 2 may freely join it) (25 Nov)

* Important References

* 杜維運：《史學方法論》。北京：北京大學出版社，2006。

張存武、陶晉生編：《歷史學手冊》。台北：食貨出版社，1977。

* 許冠三：《史學與史學方法》(校訂本)上下冊。香港：龍門書店，1975。

林鐵森主編：《中國歷史工具書指南》。北京：北京出版社，1992。

* 嚴耕望：《治史經驗談》第壹章。臺北：臺灣商務印書館，1981。

* 嚴耕望：《治史答問》。臺北：臺灣商務印書館，1988。

楊祥銀：《與歷史對話：口述史學的理論與實踐》。北京：中國社會科學出版社，2004。

瞿林東主編：《史學理論的世界視野：外國史學研究》。 北京：北京師範大學出版社， 2007。

朱政惠、胡逢祥主編：《全球視野下的史學：區域性與國際性》。上海：上海辭書出版社，2011。

* 蔣竹山：《當代史學研究的趨勢、方法與實踐：從新文化史到全球史》。台北：五南圖書出版股份有限公司，2012。

* 謝維揚、趙爭主編：《出土文獻與古書成書問題研究：”古史史料學研究的新視野研討會”論文集》。上海市：中西書局，2015。

王希、盧漢超等主編：《開拓者：著名歷史學家訪談錄》。北京市：北京大學出版社，2015。

* 王明珂：《反思史學與史學反思：文本與表徵分析》。臺北市：允晨文化實業股份有限公司，2015。

中國社會科學院歴史研究所、東方學會編集，渡邉義浩編：《中国史の時代区分の現在》。東京：汲古書院，2015。

阿納爾多・莫米利亞諾(Arnaldo Momigliano)著，晏紹祥等譯：《論古代與近代的歷史學》(Essays in Ancient and Modern Historiography)。北京：北京大學出版社，2015。

* 胡阿祥、顏岸青：《歷史學學術規範與方法論研究》。南京：南京大學出版社，2018。

Huang, Chun-chieh, Rüsen, Jörn, eds. Chinese Historical Thinking: An Intercultural Discussion. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Gm; Taipei: National Taiwan University Press, 2015.

* Wilkinson, Endymion Porter. Chinese History: A Manual. Cambridge, Mass.: Published by the Harvard University Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute: Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2000.

Cohen, Daniel J. and Rosenzweig, Roy. Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006.

* Cannadire, D. What Is History Now? New York: Palgrave, 2002.

* Carr, E.H. What Is History? London: Macmillan, 1962.

The Chicago Manual of Style Online. (Electronic Resources). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006-.

* Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide. 17th edition

https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html

Collingwood, R.G. The Idea of History. London: Oxford University Press, 1961.

* Shafer, Robert Jones. A Guide to Historical Method. Homewood, Illinois: The Dorsey Press, 1974.

* Danto, Elizabeth Ann. Historical Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Robert C. W. The Historian’s Toolbox: A Student’s Guide to the Theory and Craft of History. Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, 2012.

* Bates, Denise. Historical Research Using British Newspapers. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England: Pen & Sword History, 2016.

* Brügger, Niels and Schroeder, Ralph, eds. The web as History: Using Web Archives to Understand the Past and the Present. London: UCL Press, 2017.

Brundage, Anthony. Going to the Sources: A Guide to Historical Research and Writing. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated 2017.

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at here.

With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

• In the case of group projects, all members of the group should be asked to sign the declaration, each of whom is responsible and liable to disciplinary actions, irrespective of whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the problematic
• For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment. 
• Students are fully aware that their work may be investigated by AI content detection software to determine originality.
• Students are fully aware of the AI approach(es) adopted in the course. In the case where some AI tools are allowed, students have made proper acknowledgment and citations as instructed by the course teacher.

Assignments without the properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers.

Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.

The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose (e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submissions. It is common and acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.

The copyright of the teaching materials, including lecture notes, assignments and examination questions etc., produced by staff members/ teachers of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) belongs to CUHK. Students may download the teaching materials produced by the staff members/ teachers from the Learning Management Systems, e.g. Blackboard adopted by CUHK for their own educational use, but shall not distribute/ share/ copy the materials to a third-party without seeking prior permission from the staff members/ teachers concerned.