MH501/601/701/801: Methods of Historical Research (4 units)

David Bundy

Fall 2005 Pasadena

 

 

DESCRIPTION:

Scholarly study in many fields requires historical research. To do this effectively requires that the researcher know the theories, methods, and resources that are available. This course introduces students to historiography as it relates to mission studies. It provides opportunity for the student to a practicum in historical research related to an area of the student’s interest.

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

· Knowledge of leading theories and approaches to historical research and writing;

· Familiarity with types of resources appropriate to the kind of research the student intends to pursue as a part of an academic program;

· Initial survey of materials relevant to student’s program;

· Experience in the practice of historical research and writing.

 

COURSE FORMAT:

This course will be offered as a seminar which meets once a week for four hours. Most of each session will be spent in discussion of recommended readings (or pertinent issues) and student presentations. Each student is expected to participate actively. Students will read a range of materials, submit brief reports on reading, and carry out a research project.

 

REQUIRED READING:

Bebbington, D. W., Patterns in History. IVP/Baker, 1990.
Berger, S., et alia, Writing History in Theory and Practice. Hodder Arnold, 2003.
Burke, P. (ed.) New Perspectives on Historical Writing. Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, 2001.
Bradley, J. E. & Muller, R. A., Church History: An Introduction to Research, Reference Works, and Methods. Eerdmans, 1995.
Hughes-Warrington, Marnie, Fifty Key Thinkers on History. Routledge, 2000.
Munslow, A. & Rosenstone, R. A. (eds) Experiments in Rethinking History. Routledge, 2004.
Shenk, W. R. (ed.), Enlarging the Story. Orbis Books, 2002.

 

RECOMMENDED READING:

Amin, Samir, Eurocentrism. Monthly Review Press, 1989.
Barzun, J. & Graff, H. F., The Modern Researcher. Harcourt, 1992.
Boris, Eileen and Chaudhuri, Nupur, Voices of Women Historians. Indiana, 1999.
Domańska, Ewa, Encounters: Philosophy of History after Postmodernism. Univ. Press of Virginia, 1998.
Evans, R. J., In Defense of History. W. W. Norton, 1999.
Himmelfarb, Gertrude, The New History and the Old, rev. ed. Harvard, 2004.
Hunt, Lynn, The New Cultural History. California, 1989.
Iggers, G. G. & Parker, H. T., International Handbook of Historical Studies Greenwood, 1979.
Iggers, G. G. Historiography in the Twentieth Century. From Scientific Objectivity to the Postmodern Challenge. Wesleyan University Press, 1997.
Koselleck, R. The Practice of Conceptual History. Stanford, 2002.
Vansina, J., Oral Tradition as History. Univ. of Wisconsin, 1985.
Walls, A. F., The Missionary Movement in Christian History. Orbis Books, 1996.
Wengert, T. J. & Brockwell (Jr.), C. W., Telling the Churches’ Stories. Eerdmans, 1995.

 

ASSIGNMENTS:

· Read a total of 1,500 pages from the Required and Recommended Reading lists. The student will write weekly a 1 page (250 words) summary of each book or article read, and present this in class.
· Write a 5 page (1,250 words) comparative analysis of two books or essays from the Required and Recommended Reading lists, or as negotiated with the instructor, and present the essay in class.
· Actively participate in the seminar sessions.
· Research and write a 20-page (5,000 words per page) paper on a topic negotiated with the instructor, and revise as needed.

 

PREREQUISITES: Each student must be enrolled in either a M.A., Th.M., D.Miss., or Ph.D. program.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective.

FINAL EXAM: None.

Last Date Edited: June 20, 2005