Unit 4: Scholarly Argument, Storytelling and Polish

by Dr. H - November 23rd, 2016

Happy Thanksgiving Native American National Day of Mourning, all!

Those who came to class on the Monday before the holiday re-negotiated the rest of the syllabus, so here’s how things will go in our last two weeks –

Mon 11/28 – Bring to class, and be prepared to discuss, the rest of Kerstetter’s book. Also please bring your laptop, as we will spend some time dropping in on the Dakota Pipeline protest as an unfolding case of cross-cultural encounters in the American West, and perhaps even as a “4th case study” in Kerstetter’s argument (?)

You can catch up on the protests with a quick Google search, or by following the #NoDAPL hashtag on Twitter. The confrontation has ramped up this week with use of water cannons and with one protector being seriously injured.

Also due Monday 11/28 – a revised version of your CV / Resume, emailed to me as a Word doc or PDF.

Wed 11/30 – Final Polishing. Bring laptops again, so you can work in class on your essay. I’ll be drawing on the advice in the remaining writing chapters of Turabian, so reviewing the basics there will be helpful in advance.

Fri 12/2 – Please write and post Journal #7. Share some insights / experiences with your own writing process during this semester. What has worked? Where have been your bottlenecks? What advice would you give me about how to teach writing better and help support students’ good writing practices? What advice would you have given to yourself at the beginning of the term, given what you know now? What have you learned about yourself as a writer? What techniques, strategies, or processes will you keep from this semester?

Mon 12/5 – REVISED DRAFT IS DUE, submitted electronically as an emailed Word doc. We’ll use class time to draft and revise your abstracts. No reading; bring laptops to class.

Take the Research Self-Assessment Survey

Wed 12/7 – Course Wrap-Up. Reading packet.

Links for today:
Chimayo sanctuary & El Posito
Roswell MacDonald’s, Walmart, street lights, newspaper, and crash site shrine

Fri 12/9Journal #8 due posted to your WordPress. Prompt: Reflect back on the course and what you’ve learned (both in terms of content and in terms of historical method and scholarly process). Address the four course student learning outcomes (syllabus p. 5); how well did you meet them?

Fri 12/16 – No meeting in person, but e-portfolios should be complete and ready for assessment. Your portfolio will be scored for the presence or absence and overall quality of these required elements:

30 points

Shell built on time by Sept 9 3
At least one example of prior work in history to this course included (can be from Historian’s Craft or any other history class, even if not taken at Worcester State) 3
Your revised, polished HI 460 research paper (PDF) 3
All 8 journal posts 3
Curriculum vitae (PDF) 3
Personal Learning Statement/ Portfolio Intro – approx 500-700 words 5
Capstone Paper Abstract (~200 words) 5
Up to 5 points for distinction, professionalism & excellence 5
Total 30

Please Note– If you need to take an incomplete for this class for any reason, you need to contact me by Dec 16th. This is not automatic on my part, it needs to be a formal request initiated on your part.