Fall 2025                                                                                                     Department of History

HIS 600:  Historiography and Methodologies

Meetings: Tuesday, 4:00 - 6:30 pm, LA 203

Instructor: Sanjay Joshi

 

Text Box: Office: LA 206, Phone: 523-6216, Email: Sanjay.Joshi@nau.edu and webpage http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6 Office Hours: Tu and Thu 11:00 am - 12:00 pm, and by appointment (send me an email in advance to schedule a Zoom meeting) CHECK THE COURSE WEB PAGE http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/HIS 600.htm FOR A COPY OF THIS SYLLABUS WITH CLICKABLE LINKS TO ELECTRONIC READINGS. DO LOOK AT NAU Policy Statements https://nau.edu/university-policy-library/syllabus-requirements/

 

Course Description

Despite Calvin’s profound opinions on our discipline, paying attention to questions about history changes what we know as history. This seminar introduces new graduate students to trends in modern historiography. While literally meaning, the writing of history, “historiography” also refers to theories of history. The course asks you to think about a range of questions related to our discipline: What is history? How have historians approached the study of the past? How and why have there been changes in the approach to the study of history? This seminar is designed to make students aware of the dynamic nature of scholarship within (and outside) the discipline. We will do so by examining some of the major shifts (or “turns”) and debates within the discipline over the last fifty years or so.

 

The course is divided into three parts. Part One consists of a series of introductions -- to the idea of historiography, to some recent changes in the approaches to the writing of history, and how historians have correlated these changes with those in the larger world. A central theme running through these introductions is the relationship between power and the writing of history. Part Two examines this relationship in more detail. We examine a variety of approaches that have shaped modern historiographical scholarship. The work of Marxist, Feminist, Foucauldian, and Postcolonial theorists, among others that we read in this part of the course, has brought to light different configurations of power shaping the way in which we write and understand history. Finally, in Part Three, we look at a few of the approaches and methodologies that appear to be changing the field.  No course of this nature can ever hope to be exhaustive in its coverage. I am well aware of many themes, approaches, and debates we do not discuss this semester. Undoubtedly, there other omissions of which I am not aware. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to some elements from vibrant and dynamic field of scholarship with the intention that their own interests will take them far beyond the confines of this syllabus.

 

Objectives

Students are expected to gain an appreciation of the broad philosophical background of historical schools and especially of the way in which all historical questions, research, writing, and judgments, are themselves the products of history. From the readings, they should acquire a basis for understanding (rather than resolving) persistent issues and debates in the discipline. Writing assignments ask students to critically analyze the readings and reflect upon how we “do” history.

 

Course Structure and Approach

The course is conducted in a seminar format in which students actively participate through the exchange of ideas in critical discussions of readings. Because all seminars are efforts at collaborative learning, attendance and participation in the seminars is of critical importance. Under normal circumstances, you are expected to be present for each class meeting, and absences, other than for University-accepted reasons, will be penalized.

 

Required Texts The following books are part of the required reading for this class.

1.     Carr, E. H. What Is History? Revised. Palgrave, 2001. ISBN: 978-0333977019  The Internet Archive has a copy

 

2. Munslow, Alun. Deconstructing History. 2nd Edition. Routledge, 2006. ISBN 9780415391443  Also available as EBook via Cline.  This is the direct link to the book.

 

3. Eley, Geoff. A Crooked Line: From Cultural History to the History of Society. University of Michigan Press, 2005. ISBN: 978-0472069040. Available as an EBOOK via Cline Library.  Here is the direct link to the book.

 

4. Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History.  Foreward by Hazel V. Carby. Beacon Press, 2015. ISBN: 978-080708053-5 There’s a link here

 

5. Said, Edward W. Orientalism. Vintage, 1979. ISBN: 978-0394740676

 

6. Foucault, Michel. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. 2nd ed. Vintage, 1995. ISBN: 978-0679752554

 

7. Conrad, Sebastian. What Is Global History? Princeton University Press, 2016. ISBN: 9780691155258

In addition, some REQUIRED scholarly articles are available electronically, usually via direct links embedded in the electronic version of this syllabus.

 

Recommended Texts

On certain weeks, I have recommended some articles that might help you make better sense of the themes and required readings for that week.

 

Assignments and Assessment

There are four different sorts of assignments (subject to modification) required of all students enrolled in this class.

  1. You will have to write two review essays. Look at professional journals in your area of interest to look at best practices for review essays. Reading academic journals in your areas of interest is an integral part of your graduate education in History

 

1.     In around five to eight to ten double-spaced pages, analyze the readings from the Part One of the course. As a guide, you may use the following question(s): Is History simply a recounting of the past? What do you make of the ways in which historiography changed from Carr’s time to Eley’s? What does Trouillot add to the dimensions of historiography discussed by Carr and Eley? DUE end of day on OCTOBER 14, on CANVAS. 15 points (there is no class meeting on this date to allow to you time to focus on your writing).

 

2.     In about ten to fifteen double-spaced pages show how might you use the entire set of course readings to analyze a specific historical subject or an area of professional interest. I leave the choice of subject to you. However, I must emphasize that the objective of this assignment is to demonstrate to me your understanding of the material from this course. I happen to believe the best way of doing that is to “apply” theoretical knowledge to a specific case study. I encourage you to use the readings from the entire course, but in any case, a substantial part of the course readings should be referenced in this final essay. DUE by end of the day on DECEMBER 6 on Canvas.  20 points  

 

  1. Regular response papers to the week’s readings. You need to submit response papers to at least EIGHT of the eleven weeks where we have assigned readings. I ask you to write at least two responses from Part I of the course, at least three from Part II, and at least one from Part III.  If you do more than eight response papers, I will take the best eight reviews into account for the grade.

 

Your response papers should start with the THESIS of the reading(s) for the week (or what ties them together). You should provide a short summary of the work(s) you read, as well as your own reflections on the ideas you encounter in the readings. I encourage you to raise questions based on your review, and include them as part of your review. I expect the response papers to be between two and four DOUBLE SPACED pages (one-inch margins), and submitted to me on the day of the class meeting.

 

That you can skip writing response papers some weeks does NOT mean you can come to class without having done the week’s assigned readings. You are responsible for completing ALL the required readings for this course.  Each response paper will count for 5 points, and together these will comprise 40 points.

 

C.    Starting Week Six, one student will be responsible for LEADING CLASS DISCUSSION once during the rest of the course. Other than administrative stuff, and some interventions from me, the running of that class will be in the hands of that student for that week. Of course, you have to work within the confines of the syllabus and assigned readings. I will take down student preferences, starting Week One. Weeks for leading discussion are assigned on a first-come-first-served basis. Everyone in the course should have signed up for leading class discussion by Week Three, at the latest. 10 points

 

You will be evaluated on your own understanding of the material for that week, and how well you are able to communicate that to your peers. I strongly recommend that you meet with me the Thursday before you are to lead the class discussion. By noon on the day before you are leading the discussion, please submit to me (via email if necessary) a WRITTEN outline of your plan for leading discussion, the questions you will pose, and any supplementary material. 10 points

 

  1. Regular Attendance and Participation. This is a seminar, where we learn not through passive osmosis, but by participating in meaningful conversations with each other. Attendance and participation over the ENTIRE semester, including days when you have chosen not to write reviews of the reading, is crucial. Participation means just that. Your physical presence in the class is mandatory, of course (unless there is a real emergency that prevents you from attending, please let me know of any absence in advance, if possible). However, mere presence does not constitute full participation. Nor does simply talking in the classroom equal participation. I want you to come to the classroom, having completed the assigned readings, and ready to engage thoughtfully with the readings, and move our discussion in new directions. Attendance and participation, evaluated at my discretion, will count for 15 points.

 

Evaluation

TOTAL 2 Review Essays                                         35 points

TOTAL 8 Response Papers                                     40 points

Leading Discussion                                                   10 points

Attendance and Participation                                 15 points

TOTAL for course                                                    100 points

 

Grading Scale: 90-100 = A; 80-89 = B; 70-79 = C; 60-69= D; below 60 = F

 

PLEASE NOTE: I do not give extensions or incompletes except in the most extreme cases. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will result in failing the course. Please consult the NAU Student Handbook's sections on academic dishonesty if you are not certain of the meaning of this term. IT IS THE STUDENTS' RESPONSIBILITY TO FAMILIARIZE HERSELF/HIMSELF WITH THESE MATTERS AS DEFINED BY THE UNIVERSITY.

 

Provisional Course Schedule: Subject to Modification

PART I. Introductions

Week One August 26                          Course Introduction

Agenda

Who are we? What is this course about?

A discussion of Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon and history.

(You should already have seen this film before coming to class. It’s available to stream on the free platform Plex, and through the link on the Canvas page for this course).

 

Week Two September 2                     The Historiographical Approach

Discuss Required Reading

Carr, What is History?

 

Text Box: ABOUT THE BOOK: First published in 1961, this is an old classic, in simple lucid prose, but raises questions about our discipline that remain alive even to this day. What is history? What are historical facts? How do we get them, and how do some facts become “historical” but not others? What is the relationship between facts and interpretation? Etc. Carr is arguing for history as a product of the time of its production. That perhaps is why in his celebration of progress, lack of attention to environmental history, feminism, sexuality, or the colonized world the book is a product of its own times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week Three September 9                   An Overview of Changes

Discuss Required Reading

Munslow, Deconstructing History.

 

Text Box: ABOUT THE BOOK: Published in 2006, the main purpose of this work in our course is to bring to our collective attention the ways in which thinking about history has changed since Carr’s time. It is somewhat “textbook-ish” in its approach, which is very helpful to some students, and others hate it. I’ll be interested to hear your opinions! One of the themes I would ask to focus on is the shift from social to cultural history. It also gives us a short introduction to many of the writers, Marx to Foucault, Feminism, Orientalism, Subaltern and Postcolonial historiography, that we will encounter in more substance later in the course. Keep this book as a reference for the later parts of the course.

 

 

RECOMMENDED

Alun Munslow Reviews E. H. Carr’s What is History

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week Four September 16                  A Historian’s Journey

Discuss Required Reading

Eley, Crooked Line.

 

Text Box: ABOUT THE BOOK: If Munslow is not to your liking, perhaps you’ll enjoy this “autobiography” of a historian, showing how and why he moved from social history to new cultural history, even while outlining his continuing concerns with the direction in which intellectual fashions in the field have moved, and his attempts to marry the old with the new.

RECOMMENDED

AHR forum on Geoff Eley’s Crooked Line  (JSTOR link)

 

Week Five September 23                   Power and the Past

Discuss Required Reading

Trouillot, Silencing the Past.

Text Box: ABOUT THE BOOK: A brilliant book – written by someone whose formal training was as an Anthropologist -- that brings together many of the ideas in the last three readings, adding a definite perspective from the marginalized histories of the world (former colonies) and the all important aspect of how central narratives are to histories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART II. Methodologies of Power

Week Six September 30                                 Class and history

The readings for this week consist of both primary and secondary readings.  They may seem like a lot, but, for most part, the readings are pretty short.

 

Discuss Required Reading

1.     Rius, Marx For Beginners. Extracts  http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/Middle Class Course/marx_for_beginners extracts.pdf  (a fun starting point) secondary source

2.     Walter L Adamson, “Marxism and Historical Thought” in Lloyd Kramer and Sarah Maza ed. A Companion to Western Historical Thought. (Oxford: Blackwell, 2002) pp. 205-222.

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~sj6/Adamson Marxism and Historical Thought.pdf secondary source

3.     Karl Marx, “Preface” to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy (1859) https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/preface.htm primary: theoretical outline of historical method (see paras 5-7)

4.     Karl Marx, “Chapter One: Bourgeois and Proletariat” Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848) https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch01.htm primary source: theoretical/polemic

5.     Karl Marx, “Chapter One” The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (1852) https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1852/18th-brumaire/ch01.htm primary source: example of how Marx applied his method

6.     Pierre Bourdieu, “The Forms of Capital,” trans. Richard Nice, chapter 9 in John G. Richardson (ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (Greenwood Press, Westport, CN, 1986). Secondary source, application of Marx’s method in a framework, connecting the material and cultural aspects of social analysis.

 

RECOMMENDED

1.     I found the following essay to be very useful guide while reading the 18th Brumaire http://isreview.org/issue/74/eighteenth-brumaire-louis-bonaparte If that is too much, you may consider using the Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eighteenth_Brumaire_of_Louis_Bonaparte

2.     What is Marxism: The Marxist Theory of History http://www.marxism.org.uk/pack/history.html

3.     Among secondary readings E. P. Thompson, “Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism.” Past & Present, No. 38 (Dec., 1967), pp. 56-97 provides a very historically grounded account of how an English proletariat was created via clock-time.

4.      T. J. Jackson Lears, “The Concept of Cultural Hegemony: Problems and Possibilities.”  The American Historical Review, Vol. 90, No. 3 (Jun., 1985), pp. 567-593 is a very readable application of Gramsci’s ideas of hegemony in the context of US history.

5.     I found the following sites to be very useful for relating Marx and Gramsci and outlining some of the major Gramscian interventions http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr-gram.htm (particularly 1-4), AND http://postcolonialstudies.emory.edu/hegemony-in-gramsci/

 

Week Seven October 7                       Histories and the Other

Discuss Required Reading

Said, Orientalism.

 

RECOMMENDED

1.     Edward Said’s Video Interview “On Orientalism”

2.     Amardeep Singh’s useful blog post on Said and Orientalism

 

Week Eight October 14                       No Class Meeting

ASSIGNMENT: Review Essay ONE Due by end of day

 

Week Nine October 21                       Feminist Historiography

Discuss Required Reading

1.     Introduction to AHR Forum Revisiting “Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis,” The American Historical Review, 113, 5 (Dec., 2008), pp. 1344-1345.

2.     Joan W. Scott, “Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis.” The American Historical Review, Vol. 91, No. 5 (Dec., 1986), 1053-1075.

3.     Chandra Talpade Mohanty, “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses” Feminist Review, No. 30 (Autumn, 1988), 61-88.

4.      Saba Mahmood, “Feminist Theory, Embodiment, and the Docile Agent: Some Reflections on the Egyptian Islamic Revival.” Cultural Anthropology, Vol. 16, No.2 (May 2001), 202-236.

5.      Mrinalini Sinha “A Global Perspective on Gender: What's South Asia Got to Do with It?” in South Asian Feminisms. Ania Loomba and Ritty Lukose eds. (Durham: Duke University Press, 2012), 356-74.

 

Week Ten October 28             Histories of the Present?

Discuss Required Reading

Foucault, Discipline & Punish.

 

Week Eleven November 4                  Radical History to Subaltern Pasts

Discuss Required Reading

1.     Ranajit Guha, “Preface” and “On Some Aspects of the Historiography of Colonial India.” Selected Subaltern Studies. Ranajit Guha and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak eds. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), 35-44.

2.     Dipesh Chakrabarty, “Postcoloniality and the Artifice of History: Who Speaks for "Indian" Pasts?” Representations, No. 37, Special Issue: Imperial Fantasies and Postcolonial Histories (Winter, 1992), 1-26.

3.     Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “Can the Subaltern Speak.” Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. Cary Nelson and Lawrence Grossberg eds. (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1988), 271-313.

4.     Leon De Kock, “Interview With Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak: New Nation Writers Conference in South Africa.” ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature, 23:3 (July 1992).  I very STRONGLY suggest you read this BEFORE reading the Spivak essay above.  That essay is pretty dense, and reading this interview will help you better understand the point of the above essay.

 

RECOMMENDED

Priya Satia, Time’s Monster: How History Makes History (link to the book)

 

PART III. Newer Questions in the Discipline

Week Twelve November 11                Worlding History

Discuss Required Reading

            Sebastian Conrad, What Is Global History?

 

RECOMMENDED

Do look at the map at http://www.transpacificproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/SouthUpMapr.jpg

  1. Heather Streets-Salter, “Becoming a World Historian: The State of Graduate Training in World History and Placement in the Academic World” 45-62
  2. Leslie Witz, “Meetings of World History and Public History” (Access both via BBLearn)

 

Week Thirteen November 18            

Archives and Narratives

Discuss Required Reading

1.     Carolyn Steedman, “After the Archive.” Comparative Critical Studies 8.2–3 (2011): pp. 321–340.

2.     Ann Laura Stoler, “Colonial Archives and the Arts of Governance.” Archival Science, 2 (2002): pp. 87–109.

3.     Anjali Arondekar, “Without a Trace: Sexuality and the Colonial Archive.” Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 14, No. 1/2, Special Issue: Studying the History of Sexuality: Theory, Methods, Praxis (Jan. - Apr., 2005), pp. 10-27.

4.     Saidiya Hartman, “Venus in Two Acts” Small Axe, Number 26, Volume 12, Number 2, (June 2008): pp. 1-14.

5.     Jean Allman. “The Disappearing of Hannah Kudjoe: Nationalism, Feminism, and the Tyrannies of History.” Journal of Women’s History, Vol. 21 No. 3, (2009): pp. 13–35.

 

Week Fourteen November 25            No Class Work on your Review Paper     

 

Week Fifteen: December 2                Learnings and Progress?

No Readings,

We will meet to discuss learning outcomes of the course and progress on the review paper.

 

Final papers are DUE DECEMBER 6 by the end of day over Canvas.