Put today’s news in historical perspective! Learn the practical
skills needed to conduct historical research. Each semester the
instructor will choose three or four issues which have made
headline news in the past year and lead students on a quest to
determine the historical roots of each issue.
Athena Title
History Behind the Headlines
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in HIST 3777H
Prerequisite
Any HIST course or ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1101E or ENGL 1101S or ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1102S or POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101H or POLS 1101S
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about how history shapes our perception of current events by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays about selected topics of contemporary significance. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of current events shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward a wide variety of topics, including ethnicity, race, gender, politics, ethics, and morality, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and their reading of secondary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
Major Issues in the World Today
Journalism and History
Identifying the Historical Parameters of a Contemporary Issue
Library Research Tutorial
Visit to the Russell Special Collections Building
Visit to the DigiLab
Issue #1: Finding and Evaluating Secondary Sources
Issue #1: Finding and Evaluating Primary Sources
Issue #1: Connecting the Historical Record to the World Today
Issue #1: Symposium
Issue #1: Oral Presentations (Pitching a Newspaper Article)
Issue #2: Finding and Evaluating Secondary Sources
Issue #2: Finding and Evaluating Primary Sources
Issue #2: Connecting the Historical Record to the World Today
Issue #2: Symposium
Issue #2: Oral Presentations (Pitching a Documentary Film)
Issue #3: Finding and Evaluating Secondary Sources
Issue #3: Finding and Evaluating Primary Sources
Issue #3: Connecting the Historical Record to the World Today
Issue #3: Conference
Issue #3: Oral Presentations (Pitching a Podcast)
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Communication
The ability to effectively develop, express, and exchange ideas in written, oral, interpersonal, or visual form.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
Social Awareness & Responsibility
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
