Attendance/Participation (20%)
Students are expected to actively participate and take turn leading class discussion.
Short Essays (30%)
Two short review essays (about 1,500 words each) on two different weeks of readings. Due two weeks after the class meeting in question (through Turnitin).
For each essay, you should:
- Place the week’s reading(s) in their historiographical contexts.
- Reflect on the sources and methodology used.
- Identify and explain (some of) the strengths and weaknesses of the work(s) in question.
Review Essay (50%)
Write a state-of-the-field essay suitable for publication in a top-tier journal in your field (e.g., the Journal of Chinese History. About 5,000 words). Due on December 21 (through Turnitin).
For this review essay, you should:
- Identify a suitably-scoped academic field that fits your interests.
- Select four to six publications (mostly books) that in your view best exemplify the accomplishments/directions of this field.
- Compare and contrast the works selected as well as critically place them (perhaps alongside some of the readings for this seminar) in their historiographical contexts.