Building on the work of the Fall seminar, we devote the Spring semester to individual research papers.  The instructor will guide the students through the process of finding a topic, developing a research question, and finding sources in the first month of the course.  Students go to archives and libraries in the middle of the semester for independent research while meeting with the professor and blogging about the process and their reflections.  They will conduct research on an ongoing basis, working an average of 5 – 10 hours/week.  They will learn story-specific research skills, including: mining primary sources in archives, finding secondary sources in circulating libraries, and developing historiographic reviews of relevant literature.  In addition to group discussions about each other’s work, the students will meet at least twice over the semester with the instructor for one-on-one advising on their projects (2/14 and 4/4).  Students are also encouraged to work with an additional specialist in this history department or, if appropriate, another discipline. We will spend the last third of the semester writing and sharing our work.

Learning Objectives: By the end of the semester, students will be able to: a.) research primary sources in historical archives and find secondary sources in circulating libraries from which they develop a historical argument b.) write an original piece of historical research and c.) speak with confidence in a public forum about their own research and

Readings: Most of your reading this semester will be focused on researching your original research paper. In addition, I recommend consulting a good research guide book. In particular we will use:  The Craft of Research, Fourth Edition, by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb.

Public Research Dissemination Students will first present their projects to the public at Loyola’s Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium on April 21, 2018.  The course then ends with the final Ramonat symposium, where students present their material at a celebratory scholarly gathering, Saturday April 28, 2018 in Piper Hall, 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

Blog Assignment  Students will create a WordPress site and write 5 blog posts over the course of the semester. These will be roughly 500-750 words, posted roughly every two weeks. Students will reflect on the research process on their blog and become accustomed to working on long-form digital media. Students will receive feedback on their blogs from Dr. Karamanski and Marie each week. The blogs will be part of the participation grade for the semester, equivalent to 15% of the overall semester grade.

Second Semesters Course Schedule:

Wednesday, Jan 18: Welcome Back

▪Marie Pellisser Introduction to Zotero and other research organization sites.

▪ Moving from Research Topics to Investigative Questions.

Wednesday, Jan 24: Research Questions.

▪ Decide on a specific topic.   Professor Kyle Roberts will discuss spending your research funds.

• How to develop research questions.

▪ Write down 5 questions that you want to answer about that topic. Group 1 Blog Post: Introduce readers to your topic, the five questions that you would like to ask of it, and where you are looking to find sources for your topic.

▪Gather a preliminary bibliography of at least 15 items that seem relevant. Some must be articles (try Article Quick-Search on the library web page); some must be primary sources. Recall books on loan to someone else. (On the left-hand side of the library web page [http://libraries.luc.edu/] click  “Request Forms”; then click “Recall/Hold.”)  Immediately order articles etc. that Cudahy Library does not have through Inter-library Loan. (On the left-hand side of the library web page, click “Interlibrary Loan.”)

▪Start reading some of the works Cudahy does have. Explore the possibilities in Chicago for archival work.

***Bibliographies (divided into 2 parts: primary and secondary sources), should be submitted by Monday, January 29^th.

Tuesday, January 30: Professor Andreas Motsch Lecture on Jesuit Missionary to the Iroquois, Cuneo 116, 4:00 PM.

Wednesday, Jan 31: Bibliography Week

▪Be prepared to discuss your topic with the class explaining how you moved from your interest in the broad subject to the specific topic. following the scheme in Booth, p. 34: I’m working on X because I want to find out Y, so that I (and you) can better understand Z.

▪Working with sources discussed.

▪Group 2 Blog Post.  Introduce readers to your topic, the five questions that you would like to ask of it, and where you are looking to find sources for your topic.

Monday, February 5. Professor Tracy Lavelle lecture on using digital humanties tools to study Catholic Indian missions, time 4:00 PM, location TBA. Dinner afterward for select students.

Wednesday, Feb 7:   Reading Primary Sources

▪Submit a copy of one page of the notes you have already taken. Do not write “special notes” for this task.  Make enough copies for all in class.  We will discuss note-taking techniques.

▪ If you were supposed to consult a specialist in the History department on your topic, be ready to report on the results.

▪Bring in a very short primary source sample, one that you are working with.  Make enough copies for all in class.  We will discuss how to read primary sources (see How to read primary sources in this syllabus).  (Don’t be miffed if we don’t get to your primary source.)

▪Be prepared to discuss your progress on your paper.

▪ Sign-up sheet for individual meetings with instructor on 2/14. Group 1 Blog Post.

Blogpost 2: Share some of the primary sources that you’ve found and how you go about reading them. (Due 8 pm, 2/14).

Wednesday, Feb, 14: Happy Valentine’s Day! Individual Meetings

▪Meet Prof Karamanski or Ms. Pellissier .

▪During this week, ­start organizing your materials, writing up one or more tentative outlines. Group 2 Blog Post.

Wednesday Feb 21: Library Week – no class

▪Read, write, outline!

▪Start writing parts of your paper as they coalesce in your head. Outlines are due by 10 pm on Monday, 2/26. Group 1 Blog Post.

Wednesday, February 28, Writing

▪Critique of outlines

▪Report on progress of your papers. Group 2 Blog Post.

Wednesday, March 7: Spring Break – no class (take advantage of the time to write).

Wednesday, March 14:  Library Week – no class (meet instructors as needed)

▪Write the first draft of your paper.  Reread this draft several times and revise it: smooth out the grammar and organization, correct all typos.

Friday, March 16: Registration deadline for Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium.

****First Draft papers are due by Monday, March 19.******

Wednesday, March 21: Library Week – no class

Blog Post: Write about the process of creating the first draft of your paper. What was satisfying about the experience? What was frustrating? Where do you think you need to do more work? Blogs are due Tuesday, 3/20 by 10 pm.

▪Take a breather! Writing and re-writing are just around the corner…

Friday, March 23. Loyola Engaged Learning Assessment. Two pages, double-spaced.

Loyola University Chicago Mission Statement: “We are Chicago’s Jesuit, Catholic university – a diverse community seeking God in all things and working to expand knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith.”

We ask all students enrolled in an Engaged Learning class to complete this reflection.

Holding in mind the University’s mission statement, please compose a written reflection of at least two double-spaced pages that explains:

• How did you connect your in-class and out-of-class Engaged Learning experiences?
• How did your Engaged Learning experience help you connect to the University’s mission?
• How did the Engaged Learning experience in this course affect your personal, intellectual, civic, and/or professional development?

Students in an Engaged Learning class have the opportunity to earn their Loyola Experience Engagement Key. For students to receive an Engagement Key, they must complete the Engagement Key reflection (otherwise known as the Engaged Learning reflection) during or after their Engaged Learning course that asks them to critically reflect and connect Loyola’s Jesuit mission to the Engaged Learning experience through the use of their learning portfolio. The Center for Experiential Learning Portfolio Program coordinates the distribution of the Engagement Key and evaluation of the reflections each fall and spring semester. Spring semester Engagement Key reflection submissions are due Sunday, March 25, 2018. Students are presented with their Engagement Key during the Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium Awards Ceremony on Saturday, April 21. For more information on the Engagement Key program and submission process, please see or refer students to our website.

Monday, March 26: Film: Mission, Information Commons 111, 5 pm.

Wednesday, March 28:  Revising – Grammar and Composition

▪Discussion of papers in general. Suggestions for revision; discuss the mechanics of doing a poster session.

▪Sign-up sheet for individual meetings with Professor Karamanski and Ms. Pellissier.

Wednesday, April 4:  Individual meetings

Blog Post:  Write about your experience of receiving feedback on your first draft and your plan and process for revising. Due Tuesday 4/2 by 10 pm. 

Wednesday April 11: Oral Presentations.

Saturday April 14 Writing History Workshop with Marie Pellissier. Location TBD. 10 am to 4 pm.

▪Revise your papers.

Wednesday, April 18: Library Week – no class

▪Practice oral presentations Write (and be prepared to read aloud to the class, a 3-page paper summarizing your topic, your sources, and your conclusions; Time yourself: the papers should be 8 minutes long, no longer). Polished draft of your paper for final prize judging due Saturday, April 21.

Blog Post: Post a 250-word abstract of your paper. Due Tuesday, 4/17 by 10 pm. 

Saturday, April 21: Undergraduate Research and Engaged Learning Symposium.

Wednesday, April 25: Discuss What Your Learned from Giving Your Oral Presentation

▪Write (and be prepared to read aloud to the class) a 3-page paper summarizing your topic, your sources, and your conclusions. (Time yourself: the papers should be 8 minutes long, no longer.)

▪More revisions, polishing, rewriting.

Blog Post: What was your experience giving your oral presentation? Reflect on your experience with the class as a whole. Due Monday, April 30, 10 pm. 

Friday, April 27. Final Papers Due.

Saturday, April 28:  Romonat Research Colloquium – 2-5 pm, Piper Hall

▪Members of the History Dept., administrators in the College of Arts and Sciences, and other faculty will be invited. Please invite your family and friends. There will be refreshments.