David Campion




Sebastian Munster, London oder Lunden die Haupestatt in Engellande, 1598

MAIN PAGE COURSE REQUIREMENTS SCHEDULE OF CLASSES COURSE BLOG BRITAIN ONLINE BRITAIN IN FILM

ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES


BLOG POSTS
Throughout the semester, students and the instructor will each be responsible for two entries in the program blog (500 words minimum, each). Blog entries should be a reflection on some aspect of London’s history or culture that students observe as they experience life in the city. Photos may be uploaded to the blog as well. Due dates for the entries will be assigned so that regular entries are made onto the blog every few days. The blog is a good way for family and friends to keep apprised of our progress throughout the semester and for us to reflect on our experiences and observations. The faculty program leader is responsible for the blog and maintains editorial control in consultation with students.



NEIGHBORHOOD WALKING TOUR & MAP EXERCISE
Each student will create a historical walking tour of a London neighborhood using Story Maps, an ArcGIS computer program. The tour will survey the ways in which that neighborhood has changed over the centuries and the most important historical events that took place there.

To begin the exercise, log in to Story Maps. Use the account you created during the information session in Watzek Library that was part of our program orientation last spring (or create a new account if you cannot access the old one). Click on "My Stories" followed by "Create Story" and then use the "Map Journal" function. Using Map Journal, you can begin to create your story map. Your narrative should explain the origins of your neighborhood’s name, describe the most important historical events that occurred there, list the most noteworthy residents and when they lived, trace the major demographic changes, and describe the most significant structural and environmental transformations that have characterized the area over time.

Your story map should be developed as a walking tour (i.e. along an actual route with specific beginning and end points). Your map should include at least five images, two excerpts from primary sources, and five narrative entries in your own writing (100-200 words each). Images may include old maps, illustrations, and photos—including your own. Excerpts from primary sources may include—but are not limited to—letters, diaries, passages from literature, government reports, Blitz accounts, newspapers, and magazines. All images and written sources must be properly cited.

In addition to historical mapping of the neighborhood in Story Maps, students must visit the various locations to plot out the route, survey the physical remnants of the local history, take photos, and identify the notable points along the way. You must select your neighborhood in consultation with the instructor (each student must choose a different area). See below for a list of some of London’s more distinctive neighborhoods.

The neighborhood walking tour and map exercise is due on November 19. The completed maps will be posted online.

Battersea: Victorian industrial area, landmark power plant
Bloomsbury: Early 20th-century literary and intellectual hub
Brixton: Afro-Caribbean and African immigrant area
Camden Town: Victorian industrial area, London’s canal system, alternative music scene
Chelsea: Bohemian center, hub of 1960s fashion, art, and music
City of London: Roman settlement, medieval London, modern financial center
Covent Garden: Music, theatre, books and printing; Neoclassical architecture
Docklands: shipbuilding and repair, postwar urban redevelopment
Ealing: British film industry
Greenwich: Naval and maritime history
Kensington: Diplomatic and royal residences, Victorian public buildings
Kew: Botanical gardens and national archives
Kilburn: Irish and Afro-Caribbean immigrant area
Knightsbridge: Luxury retail and hotel zone, foreign real estate investment
Lambeth: Medieval residential and commercial area, industrial center, war damage
Mayfair: Wealthy residential area and retail shops, foreign real estate investment
Mile End: Your local neighborhood!
Notting Hill: Afro-Caribbean immigrant area (famous carnival)
Paddington: Industrial rail development, historic hospital
Shepherd's Bush: Eastern European immigrant area
Soho: Social center; arts, leisure, music, theatre, and fashion
Southwark: Roman and medieval settlement, Shakespeare and Marlowe's London
St. Giles: Site of an infamous Victorian "rookery" (slum) chronicled by Dickens
The Strand: Riverfront area on the Thames between the City and Westminster
Westminster: Historic center of government, medieval abbey
Whitechapel: Working-class Victorian neighborhood, historic Jewish community, 1888 Ripper murders


The abovementioned neighborhoods are only a partial selection of potential sites for this assignment. Other possibilities include Bayswater, Belgravia, Chalk Farm, Clapham, Clerkenwell, Earl's Court, Finsbury Park, Fitzrovia, Fulham, Golders Green, Hackney, Islington, Marylebone, Muswell Hill, Hammersmith, Hampstead, Holland Park, Primrose Hill, Putney, Regent’s Park, Shoreditch, Wapping, Walthamstow, and White City.



RESEARCH PROJECT
This is the major assignment of the class. You will select a specific topic related to the general subject of the history of London and write an essay based on primary and secondary source research.


1. Preparing an Annotated Bibliography

The first step in the research project is to select a topic and begin to locate relevant sources. By the middle of the semester you should have chosen your topic and identified the primary sources and most of the secondary sources that you will use. Having done this, you will submit a 1-2 page annotated bibliography listing the sources you have collected that you plan to use for your research paper. This assignment will not be graded. It is intended to help the instructor track your progress and, if necessary, assist you with any problems in identifying and obtaining sources or research materials.

In your annotated bibliography state the specific topic of your paper, along with the main historical question or questions that you want to ask as part of your argument. Then list separately the primary sources you plan to use followed by secondary books and articles, each with a brief, one-line description of its contents and usefulness to your research.

The annotated bibliography is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, October 24.


2. The Perils of the Internet:

The enormous volume of information now on the Internet has been both a blessing and a curse to those doing historical research. Many websites, especially official sites of libraries and archives and those that reproduce historical documents, are excellent. However, since just about anyone can create his or her own website, there is little quality control over information placed on the Internet. Unlike most books and articles, websites can present information and views that are usually able to bypass the judgment of discerning publishers, editors, and peer reviewers. Consequently, many historical sites are amateurish, polemical, and factually unreliable. As you do your research, keep a healthy skepticism about information that comes from the web.


3. Sources and Citations:

Since this is an essay based on historical research, you must use footnotes. Do not use endnotes or parenthetic citations. You must also include a full bibliography at the end of the essay with primary and secondary sources listed separately. In your footnotes you should provide a full citation when you first refer to a source and then an abbreviated citation for every subsequent reference to that source. There are several different styles of footnoting and you may choose whichever one you want, but be consistent. You must account for all your sources, even quotations from one author embedded in the writing of another. If you have any questions about proper citation practices please speak with the instructor or consult the College's Academic Integrity Policy and The Chicago Manual of Style (17th Edition) for further guidance.

In addition to books, academic journals often contain the most recent research and developments within specialized fields of study. JSTOR and other electronic journal databases will prove useful in identifying scholarly articles relevant to your topic. Current and recent volumes of the following journals are maintained on the shelves in the QMUL Library and may also prove useful in your research for this project:

British Journal for the History of Science
Contemporary British History
Economic History Review
English History Review
Historical Research
Journal of British Studies
Journal of Ecclesiastical History
Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History
Journal of Medieval History
Journal of Roman Studies
Journal of Urban History
The London Journal: A Review of Metropolitan Society
Past & Present
Shakespeare Quarterly
Sixteenth Century Journal
Twentieth-century British History

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2003), which contains detailed entries for over 56,000 figures in British, Irish and imperial history, is also an excellent resource.

The London metropolitan area contains numerous libraries, museums, archives, and private collections that can serve as resources in your research. Your project must make use of material in at least one such resource. The following is a partial list of some the main research venues in London.

Black Cultural Archives (African and Caribbean cultures in Britain)
British Library (rare books, manuscripts, maps)
Imperial War Museums (British and imperial military history)
Lambeth Palace Library (records of the Church of England)
London Metropolitan Archives (records of the City of London)
London Transport Museum (records and artifacts of transportation)
Museum of London (history of London)
National Archives (records of the United Kingdom and colonial goverments)
National Maritime Museum (British naval and maritime records)
Royal Archives (records of the Monarchy, located in Windsor Castle)
Shakespeare's Globe, Library & Archives (London performing arts)
Wellcome Library (history of medicine and public health)


4. The Essay:

Your essay should be 10-12 pages of text and it must have a title. All pages must be doubled-spaced, numbered, and must use standard fonts and margins. The narrative of your essay (the presentation of facts or historical chronology) should be structured around an argument or thesis. It is not enough merely to relate facts that are already known or retell a familiar historical tale. The most important objective of your essay is to present an original argument, theory, or analysis that is supported by a critical approach to your sources. Keep in mind that you are writing this essay mainly for yourself rather than for your instructor. Pick a topic in which you are truly interested and that you think is important for your own understanding of the History of London and that will enhance your experience living in this city.

Research for the essay should center on a few primary sources (original documents from the period that have not been interpreted or edited by other scholars) as well as drawing upon a variety of secondary sources (books or articles written about your subject). While the primary sources should be the focus of your argument, the secondary sources will help you get a sense of how your argument compares to those of other scholars. Your essay must conform to the following specifications:

All pages of text must be double-spaced using a standard font (the most common is Times New Roman, 12-point font size). Images and the bibliography do not count toward these page limits.
Pages must be numbered. If you include a separate title page (optional) this page should not be numbered. Page 1 is the first page of text.
Margins should be 1" at top and bottom and can be either 1" or 1.25" at left and right (the former will give you more space for text).
The bibliography should list primary and secondary sources separately. As you know, this distinction is not always clear so this may involve some judgment calls on your part.
Bibliography entries should be single-spaced and all lines after the first line of an entry must be indented 0.5"
Quotations longer than 3 lines or 30 words (whichever is longer) should be inserted as block quotations. The entire block quotation is single spaced and set in from the left margin 0.5" (the same as the indentation of a new paragraph). Block quotations do not need quotation marks.
All citations must be footnoted. All footnotes must be single-spaced and may be between 11- and 12-point font size. The first mention of a source requires a full citation while mention of that same source in subsequent footnotes should be given an abbreviated citation.
Section headings within the body of the essay, if these are used, should be in bold or italics so that they stand out from the text.

In writing and revising your essay you should consult the History Department Writing Guidelines and Grading Standards. Additionally, you might find the following two books helpful:


The Chicago Manual of Style (17th Edition)
Strunk & White, The Elements of Style
Wilson Follett, Modern American Usage: A Guide

Finally, be sure to edit and proofread your essay thoroughly before submitting it. Poor syntax or structure and excessive errors in spelling, punctuation, or grammar will lower your grade.

The research essay is due at the beginning of class on Friday, December 7.



Hampton Court Palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Built in 1514 as a residence for Thomas Cardinal Wolsey and confiscated by Henry VIII in 1529.

Created by campion@lclark.edu | Updated January 2019