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Have you taken HIST 231 Introduction to History and Historiography?

Did taking this course during your first semester at Truman facilitate your completion of the major?

Given your experience, would you recommend the continuation of HIST 231 as an Extended Truman Week course?

What skills or knowledge have you gained from HIST 231 which helped you in subsequent History classes and in completing the major?

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• it helped my bibliography knowledge, understanding of historiography, and skills as a writer

• The writing skills and background were extremely beneficial to all classes at Truman.

• The ability to write a historiographical essay with confidence and a deeper understanding of proper citation were my biggest gains from 231.

• Hist 231 helped me understand historical writing better, and gave me more experience with writing and research techniques.

• I learned how to use the resources provided to write papers and do research. I thought it was helpful because it gave me a chance to learn the basics of what would be expected of me in future classes.

• Yes, although they did not help me with the class itself since I had no experience writing non-historiographical papers in history classes at the college level.

• I was better able to decipher what was expected of me in writing upper level history papers. I found it much easier to analyze data and information after taking this class.

• The most important knowledge I gained from this course was an understanding of historiography as a whole. I had not been exposed to it at all prior to this point, and as it is an integral part of the study of history, an understanding of it and how to write it has been invaluable. It was also an excellent first history class to take at Truman. I learned what was expected in Truman history courses, without large amounts of reading and writing. I also felt better prepared when I began taking upper level classes the next semester.

• I learned how to write in the Turabian style. I learned various historiographical contexts and was able to write a concise paper.

• HIST 231 taught me how to properly write, research, and cite a history paper. The class also brushed up on my grammar skills.

• An understanding of what historiography is and its benefits in writing history papers, and a thorough understanding of Turabian style. Also, I am more adept at writing papers because it was good practice for writing and revising.

• familiarity with the microfilm machines; more experience judging/evaluating sources

• it puts you in a history writing frame of mind. It introduces you to the type of writing and skills that you need to be a successful history major at truman(i.e. turabian, use of quotation, etc..). It overall just opens the door for people to see if a history degree is what they really want to pursue.

• I learned about Chicago style writing and how to do foot notes.

• I took this class 2nd semester sophomore year; after I had already taken one upper level course. There was a lot of confusion with the expectations and writing level and I wish I could have taken 231 as an extended truman week class.

• Helped with my writing skills and reasearching.

• I learned the fundamentals of writing in history and what history papers are all about. I learned how to compare and contrast different historians' arguements and how to find history books/articles in the library.

• What kind of excrutiating work is needed of a history major.

• Learning how to do footnotes and or endnotes. I also learned how to gather different information that included both sides of an issue to prove my thesis.

• Until I take another history course, only time will more or less tell on how much it will help. I would imagine it will help a lot, as the research skills will undoubtedly prove useful. Knowing historiography in and of itself is also pivotal for history majors, and I believe it's a necessary part to any history major.

• Well, so far that class has been the only history class I've been able to take at Truman. I have not yet recieved an oppurtunity to see what skills I have gained.

• I learned how to write an historiogrphic paper, which I could convievably have learned elsewhere, and I gained a tremendous amount of practice with Turabian.

• I learned efficient ways to research historiographical papers and, furthermore, efficient ways to tie the information together in actually writing the paper. the class also helped me in learning how to do and practicing academic presentations.

• writing good historical papers public speaking in a historical forum setting general knowledge of chinese history historical research

• I think this history class really helped me to learn the citation (Turabian) for future history classes.

• HIST 231 forced me to do independent research, which I think was a real eye-opener and a positive skill. It also allowed me to explore an historical aspect from many different angles, which I do believe helped me when writing subsequent history papers- it forced me to analyze all of the views and look at the potential agendas of the authors.

• how to use Turabian, to critically evaluate historical documents, and to write a Historiographic essay, and to defend my arguments

• mostly just a basic understanding of what kind of expectations professors would have for history classes.

• - Responsible reading, i.e. setting a proper pace for keeping up in all classes, particularly history. - Good notetaking - Proper citation procedure for source material

• It has assisted in furthering my skills when writing historical research papers.

• learning how to site other books and how to write a better paper

• i learned how to take both sides of an argument and evaluate them to make the best possible answer as to what actually happened. it is a course that causes one to think critically.

• Turabian

• It teaches you how to write a historiographic paper.

• Knowing how to go about writing history papers, Turabian style of citing sources.

• My writing style was greatly improved.

• I was quickly exposed to all the research requirements of the history major. I was glad to have HIST 231 as my first history experience because I felt better prepared for subsequent history courses, especially being familiar with historiography itself.

• Anytime you are asked to write a paper such as that one your writing skills are increased.

• My writing skills and history research skills have been greatly enhanced.

• I gained a better understanding of the necessity of examining multiple sources from different perspectives when researching. I also learned how to be more objective in my writing.

• HIST 231 was helpful in teaching both the writing style and paper format expected in 300 level courses, as well as introducing a different perspective on history that I did not have before the class. This helped me to bring a more open-minded mentality to future classes.

• Researching historical sources and writing a historiographic paper were very helpful in future courses.

• It made me take a closer look at my writing style to make the proper adjustments from high school to college.

• Research skills, better understanding of historiography in general, and improved writing skills.

• I've learned how to correctly do research and compile sources. I also learned about historiography and how to accurate write a historiographical paper.

• how to write a historiography and analyze authors

• It was the first upper level history class I took and I was glad, I learned so much from that class, I've used the skills I learned in that class in every paper I've written since, and history majors write alot of papers...

• Going along with the title of the class, I learned what a historiography paper was. Also in general it helped in my paper writing skills, but those skills grow by writing more papers as your college career continues.

• I learned a lot about HOW to research. I learned a more methodical approach to studying history. I learned HOW to analyze and study history and how to effectively communicate ideas about history. Overall, it was a very helpful general class.

• HIST 231 taught me how to research historians in a way that I never have been able to before, and it also taught me how to gather information from many historians and produce my own thoughts and opinions from the information presented to me. HIST 231 made me think for myself and made me come to my own opinions about certain events in history, which I think is very important for a historian to be able to do. I felt it was a great class, and should be continued as a Truman Week class.

• I am a much better writer, thinker, scholar, and historian because I took HIST 231. I am more confident in my abilities as a student and historian as well.

• The skill I learned in that class was one of the best skills I think one can learn. I learned how to write a REAL essay. In high school I was not really taught how to write a paper that was college worthy or worthy at all for that matter. I would have gotten a better grade on my high school paper than I did in college with half the effort. I really loved that class and I feel that it should be continued.

• Taking HST 231 helped introduce how historiographic papers are supposed to be written. Although some of the changes may seem subtle to basic essay writting, they are very important to the paper writting process.

• The extra practice with Turabian helped a little, but I wish we'd gone over that more specifically than we did. It seemed like my class was simply expected to know it, but I'd never used that format before. 2 years later, I still don't think I have such a grasp of it that I can do it without looking it up.

HIST 231 is designed to achieve three main outcomes: 1) understanding the technical ‘nuts and bolts’ of historical practice; 2) understanding historiography as a conversation among historians; and 3) understanding the basic components of historical research. On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being "very inadequate" to 5 being "very adequate" how well did HIST 231 prepare you for the major?

On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being “easy” and 5 being “nearly impossible,” how would you rate the difficulty of your experience in HIST 231?

Did your experience in HIST 231 change your understanding of the requirements for being a successful History major, and if so how?

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• yes, it showed me the importance of researching and writing papers and how that is applicable to learning and understanding history.

• Yes. Before 231 I didn't know that being a successful history major meant writing so many papers. Hist 231 taught me how to work on papers to be successful, and it has helped me for other non-history classes as well.

• Actually it did not at all. In my opinion it harmed me in a way for future classes. When only one professor, who teaches with his or her own writing style, directs the class, then a student only learns how to improve upon that style. I received a "B" on my final paper from my professor, however my advisor proofread the paper and told me that it was amazing. When one learns a certain way of writing historically, then that is the way that they will continue to write. However, if the class was taught with several professors, it may benefit the students more as they are able to receive a more rounded view of what historical writing should be.

• Yes - It gave me a sense of the amt of work and the ype of research i would be asked. But it did me a disservice by not allowing for my own interpretatino because i have yet to write annother historiagraphical paper.

• Yes, I realized it would take extensive and thorough research to be successful in History courses in order to prove your theories or others.

• I found the class as a good way to hone in on exactly what was expected of me from my professors. It changed the abstract into more concrete ideas in my head.

• Yes, I believe it taught me to bring an unbiased and critical mind to History classes, as mentioned above, and thus far it seems that the attitudes and teaching philosophies employed in 300 level classes were introduced and encouraged in HIST 231.

• It helped me understand that the writing of history is in the hands of everyday people like me...so its up to us future historians to the get the whole picture.

• It changed my understanding of the requirements for the better. I always have enjoyed history and talking about history, and with this course I was able to learn the nuts and bolts on how actual historians write history

• Yes, I realized there would be much more evaluating sources and such instead of just researching and writing factual papers.

• It really just showed me what would be expected for the rest of my time at Truman as a history major

• I realized that we don't get to write about history as much as we have to write about interpertations of history. This was very dissipointing.

• in some ways, because I did not know how to write a critical history paper

• I got a better understanding of how history works, how it is not just what happened but how we percieve what happened and the many different ways people can percieve things, I also realized what would be expected of me in my future history classes.

• not really

• Yes, it just provided me with a clearer picture of what I was going to be doing as a history major.

• A bit, although it took another history class to hammer in what work must be done.

• It put into perspective what degree of research will be required of us, as well as giving us a "practice run" before upper-level classes (which, I assume, will treat us as experienced researchers) make research central to the class.

• Nope, not really.

• Slightly. I think that I may have underestimated the amount of work that enters into a successful research paper, but 231 set me straight.

• The class convinced me even more that it is not the amount of dates and information that I know, but rather it is the ability to tie the information together into explanations and descriptions that is more important. Going into the class I had this general notion, but the class discussions deepened the idea.

• Yes, I learned exactly the format for which I will need in the future to be a history major. This is basically a crash course for students, something you have to get through to be successful. It either breaks you or makes you stronger in your history skills.

• Yes, it gave me the foundation to build on, it also helped me to know what was expected of me, and how to use the appropriate documentation style for History majors.

• It helped me learn to see the many ways a single issue can be viewed and/or see an "agenda" in almost any "neutral" publication.

• It did not in any major way. The biggest change was again the papers.

• It helped me more clearly understand what is required when writing a historiographic essay.

• It taught me how to view historical events from different perspectives. I came to understand that writing history papers is less about reporting events and more about presenting an argument based on those events.

• My experience in 231 did not impact me in this way, probably because I was unable to register for the class until the second semester of my sophomore year, after I had already taken a writing enhanced 300 level course which had been far more challenging.

• No, I thought it would be a lot of writing and research, and I still think it will be.

• Yes. I didn't realize the amount of work that would be required. I also was intrigued by historiography itself. I had no exposure to this "ongoing historical conversation" and now find it to be one of the most interesting parts of the pursuit of historical knowledge. Understanding how the work of an individual student fits into the current research was beneficial.

• Yes, but only in the type of writing I would be doing. College history work isn't your high-school research paper!

• It nearly soured me on the major. Because the class was so centered on the purely historiographical aspects of history writing, it led me to believe that was the only thing history majors did, and that was not what I wanted to do.

• It didn't change my understanding but it did further my understanding of the difficulties and rewards of being a history major.

• As I mentioned, it exposed me to historiography, and changed my view of the entire discipline of history. It exposed it as an ongoing conversation between scholars, and I discovered that I could participate in that conversation - not only could I participate, I knew I would be required to participate in order to be a successful History major.

• No

• It made me realize the importance of thorough research in historical writing, and provided me with a basic understanding of how to conduct research independently.

• Yes. HIST 231 allowed me to see that there was more then one way to look at a subject. I now question that answers given to me by historians, and look for my own answers.

• Yes, it helped me to gain an understanding of the type and amount of research that is required for history.

• My HIST 231 class simplified the techniques in a way that was not helpful for future history courses i.e. writing papers. It did not provide enough guidance in choosing strong research tools.

• Yes, it made me understand that history is made up of different arguments.

• I knew that I would have to work hard to be a successful history major at Truman State University, but HIST 231 showed me just how hard I would have to work in order to really be successful at TSU.

• I became more aware of what it means to be a historian and how to go about doing research and presenting it in a way that others will be able to understand so they can learn from it.

• No, it didn't.

• yes, just better understanding of historical study

• My HIST 231 experience did force me to learn independent researching and a more analytical eye for studying history.

• No it did not. Research is meant to be done in a history major, and the course served a purpose in teaching the proper methods and tactics to use when performing research for classes and in real life for journals and such.

• yes, i had to actually try to be able to succeed

• I realized the immense time and effort that goes into research. I learned that writing a 20+ page paper is not as impossible as it seems to a high school senior. The most valuable lesson I learned was that the more time a researcher spends on his research, the less time he will need to spend writing his paper.

• It did not.

If you did not take HIST 231 as an Extended Truman Week Course, do you think you could have benefited from doing so?

Other comments?

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• I don't think it matters if the course is an ETW course or not. I don't feel how an extra 2 classes can really benefit students. I also can't see a freshman progressing that much more with their major than others that take it in later semesters when it is difficult for an underclassmen to get into other history courses after 231.The only advantage I would see in having it as an ETW Course is then it would be only freshman in the class and some students may feel more comfortable in that setting.

• I think there should be more effort to get all history majors through this class in their freshman year because I know for many people it is stressful not being able to move forward in your major because you haven't had what is supposed to be the introduction course.

• I really didn't like the class. I was confused about what my teacher wanted. Even after I did what she recommended to improve my second paper my grade was the same. I hope my future history classes are very differnt.

• I think taking HIST 231 as an Extended Truman Week Course would have helped me get to know more history majors right off the bat - helped me feel more a part of a community in regard to history.

• Where else are historiographic writings required in the History department?

• Although I don't know how useful it would be as an Extended Truman Week Course, I would imagine a week of getting used to historiography couldn't be anything but beneficial. If nothing else, it's an extra week with which to get accustomed to the class.

• From what I've gathered, a student's view of 231 is directly dependent upon the professor. I think that, either all of the professors need to be more on the same page, or it should be taught by fewer professors for consistency's sake.

• I think that the HIST 231 course could be somewhat more difficult if it were given more objectives, but be sure to be cautious when doing so. I feel that the three objectives mentioned above can be accomplished with a good deal of ease in a full semester setting, and perhaps one more objective (if you deem one necessary) could be added without making the class overly difficult. More than one additional objective, though, might take away from the necessary time to practice the skills, i.e. time needed to properly write the two papers.

• I honestly don't think that taking this class, especially during Truman Week prepared me for the major. This class is extremely difficult and I think the sheer shock of it intensity is something that many freshman students shouldn't be subjected to.

• I think that HIST 231 was a very benefical course, especially when it started as an Extended Truman Week course. The material covered in the course helps to explain what history is and the process of writing about history. It also gives History majors the chance to become familiar with Turabian with the guidance of a professor, in a class that is designed to teach History majors about their primary source of documentation.

• none

• I think more instruction on how to use the library for research would have been helpful. I think that the nuts and bolts plus the research components should have been given more time than historiography.

• Offering 231 as an ETW course to ALL incoming history majors would be highly beneficial in helping them decide whether it is the major for them. For those of us who have had this introductory course almost halfway into our college career it was more of a hoop to jump through in completing the major than a boon in preparing us for upper level writing courses. If this is going to remain a required class it needs to be more accessable to students during their first two semesters at Truman.

• What is an Extended Truman Week Course? I've never heard the term before...but then, I did miss Truman week, and had to take a half-semester course in the spring, because I didn't start until the spring semester.

• The only reason I see for offering it as an ETW course would be to give students the extra time to be able to switch out of the class if they really, really aren't cut out to be a history major. The amount of time in the regular semester was more than enough.

• If I hadn't been able to take 231 during Freshman week, I would either have taken an upper level course my first semester or I would have been a semester behind in my sequence of history courses. I would not have been as well prepared for an upper level course prior to taking 231, though it would have been possible to do, and likely that is the course I would have chosen.

• I felt that HIST 231 was more challenging than was reasonable for a Truman Week Course. It was a pretty stressful course which only added to the stress of entering a new environment and trying to settle into Truman.

• Taking 231 as a Truman Week class was very helpful to me as a student of history. I feel the course helps prepare students for upper division history courses, so taking it as a first year student is important.

• Having history 231 the first semester of my freshman year would have overwhelmed me a little. Having not written a paper on the college level and then taking HIST 231, which I found to be a very difficult class, would have been a shock. I'm very glad that I had taken a 100 level history course before I took HIST 231.

• Although I have not taken Hist. 231 yet (although enrolled for this fall) I feel that it would be a huge benefit to take it as an extended Truman week course. Since this class is usually for history majors, it will give the freshman to get to know a faculty member within their major better. Also, I feel that in any writing enhanced course it's good to know your professors and I know in my Truman week course, i got to know that professor really well vs. my others that semester. I hope these comments help. Thanks for caring about this matter!

• I hadn't picked a major yet when I came to Truman and my Extended class was in history, after completing much of the LSP I figured out that I had enjoyed my extended class the most and decided to major in that.

• I think that it was helpful to take HIST 231 as an Extended Truman Week Course because it provided me with contact with other history majors so I could begin making connections which have and will help me.

• I don't feel like my instructor did a good job describing what the assignments detailed, which made it hard on me to complete the assignment. Other students in the class were also confused on some points of historiography and thought things could have been explained better.

• I think that studying historiography might have been more successful with me if I had written several smaller papers instead of one small one and one long one. I say this because it honestly was not until after I wrote the second paper that I felt that I really grasped what historiography was- I and many of my classmates kept trying to make the paper a typical history, or "story-telling" paper. I think that writing several papers would not only have helped us more fully understand what historiography is, but it also would have given us fuller exposure to several different areas of the study of history.

• HIST 231 does not need to be a class. You can teach the students how to write a paper in a Truman Week Course.