HIST 4030: INTENSIVE RESEARCH SEMINAR IN HISTORICAL BIOGRAPHY
Fall Semester 2025
*Note: This is a preliminary web course description only. The department reserves the right to change without notice any information in this description. The final, binding course outline will be distributed in the first class of the semester.
Format: In-person discussion; independent research; individual meeting with professor
This course will examine the changing attitude of historians to the biographical project itself, and will consider the reasons why biography as a genre has come in and out of favour over the generations. Students will learn to identify historiographical schools of thought related to biography as a genre, and will gain more practice identifying ideological biases in their sources. This course is also intended to showcase the senior student’s abilities as a historian. Students will select a subject for your biography, compile an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources, write a persuasive essay, and then present the work to student-colleagues at the end of the semester.
COURSE OUTCOMES:
1) Improved skills: research, persuasive writing, critical analysis and oral communication.
2) Achieved further insight into the discipline of history and its methodology.
3) Able to discuss the complex issues involved in writing a historical biography.
4) Gained familiarity with the experiences and significance of a specific person’s life
ALLOCATION OF GRADES:
Description of topic and initial annotated bibliography 10 %
Journal article worksheet responses 5 %
First Draft of 8-10 pages 10 %
Peer Edit #1 and 2 10 %
In-class presentation; participation and preparedness 10 %
Final Research Paper 55 %
