These are capstone courses, to be taken in sequence, designed to help majors pursue an individual research project under the supervision of a faculty of the History Department. The purpose of course meetings is to give the students a chance to learn the mechanics and methods of senior research and to share with classmates the work process and experience, excitement and frustration in historical writing and research. The courses, which aim to enhance the seniors’ critical thinking, oral skills and capability of examining and interpreting historic events, will explore the methods of collecting, sorting, and analyzing source materials and collectively deal with common problems rising from research. The end result of their research will be a 25-50-page essay based on primary sources and presented to the public. The seniors in the class will also need to prepare a Portfolio that summarizes their college experience as a History Major.

CILO-1: Identify and describe the contours and stakes of conversations among historians within defined historiographical fields. CILO-2: Acquire the basic historical research skills, including the effective use of libraries, archives, and databases. CILO-3: Apply historical mechanics and methods to evaluate critically the record of the past and how historians and others have interpreted it. CILO-4: Organize and express ideas clearly and coherently both in writing and orally. CILO-5: Execute a significant piece of original research.