History 97 introduces students to the way historians recreate the past and various genres of (and approaches to) historical writing, such as narrative, biography, social history, cultural history, and intellectual history. Students will gain insight into the nature of historical writing through discussion of exemplary works of history and through bi-weekly writing exercises in different genres. Students will meet in sections with the faculty teaching the course on a tri-weekly basis to discuss a complete work of history (e.g., a full length biography). On the alternate weeks, they will rely on a prepared packet of sources to compose a short piece of history in the relevant genre (e.g., a biographical essay). The writing assignments become more challenging as the term progresses and students are introduced to problems such as: what constitutes historical evidence? How does one assess its reliability? How do historians shape different kinds of documents into narratives, descriptions, and analyses? What assumptions govern the different kinds of historical writing in use today? The course also provides students with an analytical vocabulary to carry on to more advanced work in history.

History 97 is the cornerstone of History’s tutorial program. It is a semester-long half-course and is letter-graded. It is required of all History concentrators and is normally taken during the first semester in the concentration. In some exceptional circumstances, it may be taken in the second term of the junior year. Under no circumstances can it be waived. Students are expected to attend all tutorial meetings, arrive punctually, take part in the discussions, and to complete all written assignments
on time.

In History 97, students belong to two tutorial groups—a seminar of 15-20 led by a faculty member, and a smaller tutorial of 3-6 students led by a graduate student tutor. The smaller tutorial will be a subset of your faculty taught section. The sections and tutorials to which you have been assigned will be posted outside the tutorial office at the beginning of the academic year. Switching between sections will be permitted only in very exceptional circumstances.

The faculty instructors in History 97 for Fall 2007 are Mark Kishlansky, Lisa McGirr, and Laurel Ulrich.

The Fall 2007 tutor for History 97 is:
Sarah Carter