What is history and how should we practice it?  This course looks at the ways scholars have theorized and practiced history from antiquity to the present.  Here, the focus will be on the most influential approaches to history writing (in the West and the world at large), including: Marxism, gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, urban history and digital history.  An important focus of the course will be on developing the ability to synthesize complex approaches, both orally and in writing. 

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.

Course Outcomes

At the end of the course, students should be able to achieve the following objectives:

1. Gain a solid training in the craftsmanship of academic presentation and historiographical writing;

2. Identify, understand, and critically analyze major schools of thoughts in historiography;

3. Demonstrate profound understanding and critical analysis of various historical methods, including data-driven digital history.

Introductory Reading 

Students looking for an introduction to historiography should refer to:

Wang, Q.E. & G.G. Iggers, eds., Turning Points in Historiography: A Cross-cultural Perspective (Rochester, N.Y.: University of Rochester Press, 2002) [2hr loan in UL]

20% Attendance and Active Participation in class.  Active participation entails making at least one and preferably two comments/asking questions per class. 

30% 6*1-page Response Papers (=300 words) on readings from weeks 2-8 that answer the question: “What is the key point of this week’s reading?” (each worth 5%).  Due via email to the Professor 1-hour (60mins!) before the lecture.  You may submit more, but only the best 6 grades will count. 

25% Digital Essay.  Produce one data-driven inquiry and present it in weeks 15 (5-10 mins).  It should total approximately 5 pages in pdf of text, images, screen shot, etc.  Topics to be covered will include, e.g. discussion of research problem, data, methodology, conclusions, problems encountered, areas for future research).    

25% Tutorial Case-Study Exercises (5% for pre-submitted sources and 1-page discussions of how methodology might be applied to it (due 1hr before tutorial via email to TA); 20% for participation in discussions).   

Room: LSK 203

Time: Thursday, 18:30-20:15

·Jan 31 (week 4):

Marx, Weber, social history and cultural history (compulsory)

·Feb 21 (week 7):

Geography (compulsory)

·Feb 28 (week 8):

Gender & sexuality (compulsory)

·Mar 7 (week 9):

Economic history (compulsory)

·Mar 14 (week 10):

consultation (optional)

·Mar 21 (week 11):

consultation (optional)

The first four tutorials will be case-study exercises. All students must bring one very short extract from historical sources (c. 250 words, or image, object, both in Chinese or English) of their choosing to class and discuss how they might apply one of the methodologies studied to them. In advance of the tutorial students should submit to the TA both the source and a 1-page outline of how one of the methodologies might be applied to it (due at least 1hr before tutorials via email). This will aid the subsequent discussion. The last two tutorials will be consultation on course content.

Tutorial accounts for 25% in total. (5% for pre-submitted sources and 1-page discussions of how methodology might be applied to it; 20% for participation in discussions). 

梁啟超：《中國歷史研究法》

嚴耕望：《治史經驗談》

黃進興：〈論方法及方法論－－以近代中國史學意識為系絡〉，載康樂、黃進興編：《歷史學與社會科學》

龐卓恆等：《史學概論》

許冠三：《史學與史學方法》（上、下）

龐卓恆等：《史學概論》

姚蒙：《法國當代史學主流》

徐浩、侯建新：《當代西方史學流派》

賴建誠譯著：《年鑑學派管窺》（上）

項觀奇編：《歷史比較研究法》

張玉法：《歷史學的新領域》

周樑楷：〈年鑑學派的史學傳統及其轉變〉，載周樑楷著：《近代歐洲史家及史學思想》

王淵明：〈美國公共史學〉，《史學理論》，3（1989）

〈婦女史與社會性別的啟示〉，《史學理論研究》，3（2004）

余英時：〈中國史的現階段：反省與展望〉，載氏著：《史學與傳統》

古偉瀛、王晴佳：《後現代與歷史學：中西比較》

楊念群等主編：《新史學》(下)

Elton, G. R., The Practice of History

Carr, E.H., What is History?

Barzun, J. & H.F. Graff, The Modern Researcher

Bloch, M., The Historian’s Craft

Burke, P., ed., New Perspectives on Historical Writing

Barraclough, G. Main, Trends of Research in the Social and Human Sciences: History

Himmelfarb, Gertrude, The New history and the Old: Critical Essays and Reappraisals

Berger, S., et al., eds., Writing History: Theory and Practice

Clark, Stuart, ed., The Annales School: Critical Assessments, Vol. 1.

Mahoney, J. & D. Rueschemeyer, eds., Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences

Kelley, R., Public History: Its Origins, Nature, and Prospects? The Public Historian, 1:1 (1978)

Thompson, P., The Voice of the Past: Oral History

Jorgensen, D.L., Participant Observation

Hunt, L., ed., The New Cultural History

Scott, J.W., “Introduction,” “Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis,” in J.W. Scott, ed., Feminismand History

Iggers, G.G., Historiography in the Twentieth Century: From Scientific Objectivity to the Postmodern Challenge

Introduction to Digital Humanities, http://dh101.humanities.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IntroductionToDigitalHumanities_Textbook.pdf

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.