HIS3071 Special Topics: Personal History

As defined in this course Personal History is a student undertaken by students, using the tools and methods of historians, with the goal of exploring a topic of historical as well as personal significance to the researcher/writer. Examples of personal history considered will include common course readings that embody their authors’ search for knowledge and understanding about people and events that lie beyond their own individual lives yet are powerfully connected to both family experiences and a sense of identity. Using an online genealogy research program, students will construct a family tree and then investigate the historical background of their own lives and of their ancestors. Through this process, students will explore ancestry in relation to such issues as race, ethnicity, religion, and social class. A final research paper will focus on providing historical context for a pivotal moment in the family history, or for a specific ancestor. Beyond the specific projects related to personal and family history, students should emerge from this course with enhanced skills in research and source-based writing.Students must have completed WRT1012 and HIS at 1000 level OR one 2000-level Humanities (HIS, HUM, PHI, REL) course, either with a grade of C or higher. Credits: 3.000

WRT 1012 Lecture Min Credits: 3.00