Laurie Bernstein
ATG
354, x. 2716
lbernste@camden.rutgers.edu http://crab.rutgers.edu/~lbernste
Office
hours
Tu
8:30-10 am, W 10-11:30 am, & by appointment
This course is designed
to teach history majors how historians go about their craft. In this section of Perspectives, the first
part of the semester will be devoted to learning historical methodology through
the analysis of primary sources and the dissection of secondary literature
relevant to the Russian revolutions of 1917 and newspaper coverage in
general. In the second part of the
semester, students will pursue individual research papers on The New York Times’ coverage of Russia between March 8, 1917, when protests began that
led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, and January 21, 1924, the day of the
Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin’s death. Requirements
include two quizzes, three paragraph-long summaries, two short papers, an oral
presentation of a newspaper article, a written research question and
bibliography, and first and final versions of individual research papers.
Available at bookstore:
Jules R. Benjamin, A Student’s Guide to History, 9th
edition (Boston, MA and New York:
Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2004);
John M. Thompson, Revolutionary Russia, 1917, 2nd
edition (Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1989).
Available on Sakai Resources:
Laurel Leff, “When the Facts Didn’t Speak for Themselves: The Holocaust in the New York Times, 1939-1945,” in Press/Politics v. 5, no. 2 (2000): 52-72;
Ronald Grigor Suny,
“Toward a social history of the October Revolution,” in American Historical Review v. 88, no.1 (February 1983): 31-53;
Richard Pipes, “Did the Russian
Revolution have to happen?” in American Scholar v. 63, no. 2 (Spring 1994):
215-239.
Requirements:
Attendance and participation (10% of final
grade)
Students are expected to attend each and every scheduled
class session, to arrive on time, and to participate in class discussions. Each student begins with 100 points for
attendance; 15 points will be deducted for every absence. Lateness, classroom conduct, and level of class participation
will also affect this grade.
Quiz
on Thompson (10% of final grade)
Summaries
of the arguments by Suny and Pipes on the nature of the October Revolution
(each worth 5% of final grade)
Students
will write two one-paragraph summaries of the overall argument in,
respectively, the assigned essays by historians Richard Pipes and Ronald Suny
Analysis
of assigned primary source (10% of final grade)
Two-to-three-page
double-spaced paper analyzing any one of the newspaper articles assigned for
class of September 24th.
Oral presentation of one newspaper article (10% of final
grade)
Students will be responsible for choosing a newspaper
article, posting it on Sakai for their fellow students, and guiding the class
through the article at the assigned date and time.
Written research question for final paper (5% of final
grade)
Students need to formulate a research question and attach a
complete, correctly compiled annotated bibliography. No final paper will be
accepted without my approval of a student’s question and bibliography.
Submission
of peer-reviewed historical monograph for approval
Summary
of your argument (5% of final grade)
Students
will write one paragraph that summarizes the (anticipated) overall argument of
their research paper.
First version of final paper (15% of final grade)
Students will write a polished
version of their final research paper that conforms to all the guidelines in
Benjamin, and turn it in for my comments and recommendations.
Final version of paper based on original research (25% of
final grade)
Students will write a 12-15-page paper based on original
research that makes a historical argument based on no fewer than ten related
articles on Russia or the Soviet Union in The
New York Times that were published between March 8, 1917 and January 21,
1924. At least one peer-reviewed monograph that I have approved must be used to
substantiate the historical analysis.
Tuesday,
September 1
Introduction
to the course and its requirements
Read
Thompson, pp. xi-xvii, 1-129
No class today
(Rutgers is following a Monday schedule)
Read Thompson, pp. 130-189
*Quiz on Thompson
Read and be
ready to discuss The New York Times
articles from March 16, 1917 posted on Sakai Resources
Read and be ready to
discuss Pipes, “Did the Russian Revolution have to happen?”
*One-paragraph summary
of Pipes’s argument due in class
Read and be ready to
discuss Suny, “Toward a social history of the October Revolution”
*One-paragraph summary
of Suny’s argument due in class
Thursday,
September 24
Read and be ready to
discuss assigned articles on the death of Lenin posted on Sakai Resources
Read and be ready to
discuss Leff, “When the Facts Didn’t Speak for Themselves: The
Holocaust in the New York Times, 1939-1945”
How to write a research paper based on primary
sources
*Analysis of primary source from September 24th
due in class
Thursday, October 1
Oral presentations on
newspaper articles. Students must post the article they have chosen on Sakai no
later than 9 p.m. on the night before their scheduled presentation.
Tuesday, October 6
Oral presentations on newspaper
articles. Students must post the article they have chosen on Sakai no later
than 9 p.m. on the night before their scheduled presentation.
Thursday, October 8
Oral presentations on newspaper
articles. Students must post the article they have chosen on Sakai no later
than 9 p.m. on the night before their
scheduled presentation.
Tuesday, October 13
Thursday, October 15
No scheduled class.
Students are expected to spend class time in the library
Tuesday, October 20
*Preliminary version of
research question due in class. Attached bibliography must conform precisely to
standards set forth in Benjamin
Scheduling of individual
consultations on research questions and bibliographies
No scheduled class
Individual consultations
per our schedule. Students are expected to spend class time in the library
Tuesday, October 27
No scheduled class
Individual consultations
per our schedule. Students are expected to spend class time in the library
No scheduled class
Individual consultations
per our schedule. Students are expected to spend class time in the library
Tuesday, November 3
Class discussion of
research progress
*Final version of
research question and bibliography due in class
Thursday, November 5
Return of research
questions/bibliographies and optional discussion of research progress
Students will bring to
class a copy of their main secondary source, a peer-reviewed historical
monograph, for my approval
No scheduled class
I will be in Boston at
the annual convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic
Studies
Discussion of research
progress
*Paragraph-long summary
of each student’s final paper’s (anticipated) argument due in class
Thursday,
November 19
No scheduled class.
Students should be finishing up the first versions of their papers
I
will be in my office for optional consultations
Tuesday, November 24
*First versions of final papers due in class
Scheduling of individual consultations on first
versions of research papers
Thursday, November 26
No scheduled class. Thanksgiving
holiday
Tuesday, December 1
*Papers should be picked up from me between 7:30 and 10:30
a.m.
No scheduled class
Individual consultations
per our schedule
No scheduled class
Individual consultations per our schedule
Tuesday, December 8
No scheduled class
Individual consultations
per our schedule
Thursday, December 10
Final meeting and discussion of research findings
*******************
Thursday, December 17
*Final papers due
Between 2:00 and 5:00
p.m., I will be in my office to collect your final papers. I will not accept
papers from students who did not turn in a first version, and I will not be
able to accept papers that arrive later than 5:00 p.m.
Students may hand in
their final paper before 2:00 p.m., but they need to follow up and check with
me to make sure that their papers were received.