History 450 - JYW Seminar in History
Fall
2019
01
4.00
Kathryn Schwartz
M W 10:10AM 11:25AM
UMass Amherst
28612
Bartlett Hall room 121
kaschwartz@umass.edu
This seminar trains students in historical research techniques and the writing of history, and fulfills the University's Junior Writing requirement. See the History Department course description guide for various sectional sub-titles and descriptions.
Open to Seniors and Juniors in History, Middle East and Judaic majors only. Travel Writing: Explorations into the History of the Middle East
In this Junior Writing Seminar, we will explore major milestones in the history and historiography of the modern Middle East through travel writing, construed broadly as texts composed by authors on the move. We will use the vantage points of men and women from the region and beyond to examine Middle Eastern political and social history from circa 1800 to the present day. General topics include: the origins of the modern era, the rise of Western imperialism, new conceptions of political belonging, the formation of nation states, and the road to revolution. A priority of this course is to improve the quality of your writing through papers based on our study of these topics, and through regular and fun grammar drills. Towards this end, you will write several short papers and one term paper, and will workshop your drafts in class with me and with your classmates. Strengthen your ability to communicate effectively to readers, while learning about key moments in modern Middle East history and how they have been experienced by those who lived through them.
In this Junior Writing Seminar, we will explore major milestones in the history and historiography of the modern Middle East through travel writing, construed broadly as texts composed by authors on the move. We will use the vantage points of men and women from the region and beyond to examine Middle Eastern political and social history from circa 1800 to the present day. General topics include: the origins of the modern era, the rise of Western imperialism, new conceptions of political belonging, the formation of nation states, and the road to revolution. A priority of this course is to improve the quality of your writing through papers based on our study of these topics, and through regular and fun grammar drills. Towards this end, you will write several short papers and one term paper, and will workshop your drafts in class with me and with your classmates. Strengthen your ability to communicate effectively to readers, while learning about key moments in modern Middle East history and how they have been experienced by those who lived through them.