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.

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.

Aim of the course:

The main aim of the Methodology classes (i.e. Procedures and Methods of Historical Research as well as Methodology of Historical Science) is to get practical knowledge on how to create and formulate the research topic, how to formulate the goals, hypothesis and objectives of the research, and how to find, process, and interpret relevant sources (secondary literature, printed sources, archive sources, etc.).

In other words, the main aim of the course is to create a strong and solid methodological frame for the future student’s research, especially within the master thesis, as well as to improve the student's writing and research skills.

Besides improving practical academic skills students are expected to answer the following theoretical questions: Is the total reconstruction of a historical event possible? Can the historian be objective? How could we interpret the history?

Teaching methods:

The course consists of seminars, discussions, and theoretical lectures. Throughout the seminar students have to present and discuss their current assignments (research topics, secondary literature critique, primary sources critique, etc.).

Syllabus Methodology of Historical Science:

1. Introduction into Methodology.

2. A history of history: 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.

 

The theoretic lectures are followed by seminars (discussions).

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.).

3.     Secondary sources critique.

The aim of the assignment is to process and analyze relevant secondary sources (relevant secondary literature). The assignment should contain a short analysis (or review) of several secondary sources which are relevant for the topic. The following questions should be asked: What is the author’s opinion or/and approach to the related problem/topic? When was the research (book, study, or article) published? Could that time period influence the author and her/his opinion (for example the Cold War period, socialist, communist or other political regime and ideology, emancipation or social movements, revolutions, etc.). Is the author biased in her/his opinion? Why? Do you agree with the author? As well as other related questions.

Each source’s review in the assignment should be at least 200-220 words long. Students have to find and process at least 5-6 secondary sources. The secondary sources in the assignment have to be analyzed in a chronological order (from the oldest to the latest).

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.).

Course completion requirements:

Students have to attend the classes regularly (only two absences without leave are allowed) and to prepare assignments throughout and in time. Students are expected to take an active part in discussions during the classes.

Evaluation Method:

Grades will be based on attendance (20%), active participation in discussions (10%), and regular study assessments (70%).

Literature:

Recommended literature:

Carr, E. H., What is History? Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1990.

Black, J., MacRaild, D. M., Studying history, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Donnelly, M., Norton, C., Doing history, Hoboken: Taylor & amp; Francis, 2012.

Elton, G. R., The practice of history, Oxford – Malden - Mass.: Blackwell, 2002.

Howell, M. C., Prevenier, W., From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods, Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2001.

Mabbett, I. W., Writing history essays, Basingstoke – Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

McCulloch, G., Documentary research in education, history, and the social sciences, London - New York: Routledge Falmer, 2004.

Munslow, A., Deconstructing history, New York: Routledge, 2006.

Renier, G. J., History: its purpose and method, London - New York: Routledge, 2016.

Topolski, J., Methodology of History, New York: Springer, 2013.

Topolski, J., Narration and explanation: contributions to the methodology of the historical research, Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1990.

Social, economic, cultural history, memory studies:

Green, A., Cultural history, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Landes, D. S., Tilly, Ch., (eds), History as social science, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1971.

Tilly, Ch., As sociology meets history, New York: Academic Press, 1981.

Tuma, E. H., Economic history and the social sciences: problems of methodology, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1971.

Radstone, S., Memory and methodology, London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016.

Online sources:

Munslow, A., The new history [online], London: Routledge, 2014. Access from: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/natl-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4692552

Munslow, A. (ed.), Experiments in rethinking history [online], New York, NY: Routledge, 2004. Access from: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/natl-ebooks/detail.action?docID=200221.

Recommended literature (in other languages):  

Cornelißen, Ch. (ed.), Geschichtswissenschaften. Eine Einführung, Frankfurt a. M., 2000.

Eibach, J., Lottes, G. (eds.), Kompass der Geschichtswissenschaft: ein Handbuch, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2002. 

Lorenz, Ch., Konstruktion der Vergangenheit. Eine Einführung in die Geschichtstheorie, Köln: Böhlau, 1997.

Topolski, J., Jak się pisze i rozumie historię. Tajemnice narracji historycznej, Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 2008.

Topolski, J., Metodologia historii, Warszawa: Państw. Wydaw. Nauk, 1984.

Topolski, J., Teoria wiedzy historycznej, Poznaň: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 1983.

Topolski, J., Wprowadzenie do historii, Poznań: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, 2009.

Procedures and Methods of Historical Research (Summer Semester)