Syllabus
Syllabus Methodology of Historical Science, winter semester:
1. Introduction into Methodology.
2. A history of histories: transformation of narratives, methods and methodology.
3. Formulation of a research problem/topic and its main requirements. Hypothesis, goals and objectives. Research questions. Time frame.
4. Seminar. Assignment: Choosing the research topic. Students’ presentations and evaluation. Discussion.
5. Master’s thesis and its structure.
6. Formal requirements of academic essays: citations and references, etc. Plagiarism, autoplagiarism, etc.
7. Tertiary sources (dictionary, encyclopedia, etc.). Why do we need tertiary sources?
8. Seminar. Assignment: Tertiary sources processing. Students’ presentations and evaluation. Discussion.
9. Secondary sources (monographs, articles, etc.). Secondary source critique.
10. Scientific literature review: structure, questions and outline.
11. Seminar. Assignment: Secondary sources critique. Students’ presentations and evaluation. Discussion.
12. Conclusions. The final discussion. During the winter semester (i.e. course Methodology of Historcal Science) students have to prepare the following assignments:
1. Formulation of the research project, its hypothesis, goals and objectives. Choosing the research topic. Students have to formulate and elaborate the topic of the potential research project. The research project which student have to prepare for Methodology should not necessarily be used as the final master thesis (it could be a topic for future academic research, research proposal for applications for a fellowships or scholarships, but it could also be the master thesis etc.). The project has to be related to history or a related (interdisciplinary) field (i.e. historical sociology, historical anthropology etc.). The main aim is to improve students’ ability to create a viable, coherent and well-formulated project proposal with clear objectives, methodological frame, and clear data (and/or sources) collection strategy. The topic’s proposal has to contain research questions, objectives, time and location frame. The main rule for choosing a time frame is the possibility to process the topic properly and adequately within the master thesis. Therefore, it is not recommended to choose a large time and location frame (such as one hundred and more years) to avoid shallowness and the often eclectic character of master theses related to such large time frame. The time frame of the project shouldn't be after 1989 (i.e. the latest time period the project is researching). The main aim of the assignment is to create an original proposal with a high innovative potential. Therefore, students have to avoid possible repetitions and plagiarism (i.e. re-writing and repeating existed research proposals, etc.)
2. Tertiary sources processing. Once the research topic has been formulated students have to process tertiary sources. Students have to select key words from the research project and to find the related entries (or articles) in tertiary sources (i.e. encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.). Students have to write down related entries (full text or just short version). The entries (articles) in the assignment have to be written in chronological order (from the oldest to the latest). A short analysis of the entries is required. For example, does the same key word have the same definition and description in different sources? What is the difference? What is the reason for different interpretations of the same key word in the different sources? Students have to process at least 5 tertiary sources. The using of e-sources such as Wikipedia and such are not allowed because of anonymous editors and authors, unreliable information, etc. Each assignment must contain exact references, and state all sources (title, page, etc.) and a bibliography. Use footnotes as references. All assignments must meet with standard formal requirements of an academic paper (i.e. name and surname of student, title, pagination, references, list of literature, etc.).
Annotation
The main goal of the course is to improve students' research and writing skills. The course introduces students to the historian's craft and acquaints them with the key principles of historical research. The main focus of the classes will be on the critique of sources (i.e. how should we read and interpret written primary and secondary sources, printed sources, literature etc.). We will study different theoretical and methodological approaches in history. Yet the attention will be focused on interrelated theoretical questions of historical research such as What is the relation between political power and history? How not to be fooled by propaganda? How reliable are dates and facts in history? Is a total historical reconstruction possible? Does an „objective historical truth“ exist? Can history and the historian be objective?
The Methodology class is a creative lab where students will try to create and improve their own research project (such as a master thesis, future academic research, research proposal for a fellowships or scholarships etc.).
Therefore, the main aim of the course is to improve students' ability to create a viable, coherent and well-formulated project proposal with clear objectives, methodological frame, and clear data (and/or sources) collection strategy.