David Campion







Epitaph of Athictus, underslave of Threptus, chief steward of Sallustia Lucana
Mid-to-late 1st Century CE, Cemetery near San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome
MAIN PAGE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES COURSE REQUIREMENTS BIBLIOGRAPHICAL CHECKLIST RESEARCH GUIDE

ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES


BIBLIOGRAPHIC EXERCISE
The purpose of this exercise is to familiarize you with the range of bibliographical aids available in the reference section of the library and online. Note that there are two reference sections: the non-circulating reference section on the main floor and the circulating "Z" section in the stacks.

This set of exercises is based on use of the Bibliographical Checklist and Watzek Library History Research Guide linked to the course website, though additional sources may be added. On Mondays I will assign each student two sources drawn from a list of twelve sources. You will find the sources either in the permanent or circulating reference sections or online. Locate the sources and then consult with the reference staff at Watzek Library about where the temporary shelving for our course is located. If the source is a book, place it there so that the other members of the class can consult it in the course of the bibliographical exercises. If the source is a multi-volume set place the first volume on the shelf.

(1) Study questions: From the sources you have been assigned you will submit two study questions. You will submit those study questions on Wednesday morning in an email attachment to the instructor. Each question is to be followed by the answer and a complete citation of the reference source in which you have found the material for the question and the page number or URL on which you found the answer. The instructor will assemble your questions (and perhaps some submitted by previous HIST 300 students) into a question set that will be ready by 10:00 pm on Wednesday and emailed to you.

(2) Annotations: Each Wednesday you will also submit, both electronically and as a hard copy, a Word doc in which you have developed a concise but descriptive bibliographical annotation for the twelve reference or library research items assigned on Monday of that same week. Give a full citation of the source as if it were to be listed in a bibliography using either the Humanities or the Scientific form assigned by the instructor. Follow that with your annotation. In the annotation pay attention to the prefatory material at the front of the reference source. Indicate for what purposes that source might be useful.

(3) Answers to study questions: Each Monday (after the first week of class) you will submit electronically the answers to ten of the twelve study questions sent to you the previous Wednesday (do not select your own question if it appears on the list). The answers are to be concise. Each answer is to be followed by an appropriate citation to the reference work in which you found the answer, including the page number. Use either the humanities or scientific reference form in citing your source. Note: when using the scientific format you will need to give the short reference and a bibliographic citation.



ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
As part of Historical Materials each student will conduct an oral history interview and present a written analysis of the historical topic discussed with the respondent (interviewee). Students may interview older relatives or friends or may contact outside organizations to be put in touch with someone to interview. Possible sources for respondents include the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, or local assisted living facilities or retirement communities.

The oral history project must focus on an event or development of historical significance (rather than merely family or personal history) in which the respondent was involved or witnessed. Keep in mind that an oral history interview must be centered on the historical topic itself rather than focusing specifically on the person being interviewed. The respondent is an historical resource and a means to researching your topic; the person is not the topic itself. A proper interview also requires that the historian have done some preliminary research on both the subject and the respondent in order to place that person's experience in context. inally, the respondent must be fully informed of and clearly consent to the purpose of the interview ahead of time.

Before the interview you should reread chapter 6 in Kyvig and Marty on oral history. The interview should last about 30 to 40 minutes. During the interview you should take detailed notes. You may also record the interview, but this should never be done without first obtaining the explicit permission of the respondent. The report of your interview should be 4-5 typed pages (double-spaced and numbered) in a 12-point font and with 1-inch margins. Your report need not cover everything you discussed in the interview but it should address the following points:

1. What specific historical topic did you examine in your interview?

2. Who was the respondent? Indicate age, gender, place of birth, relation to the topic of interest (e.g. civil rights worker, juror, soldier, immigrant, survivor, witness, refugee, etc.), and relationship to you the interviewer (if applicable).

3. How did your questions guide the interview? Summarize briefly what you chose to focus on and how you formulated your questions.

4. What information of historical significance did you learn about your topic from the respondent? Summarize briefly the responses to the questions (in addition to the verbal content of answers this may include emotion, facial expressions, tone of voice, change in mood or composure, etc.). What insights, if any, on your topic did you gain from the interview?

5. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your respondent as an historical resource? What are the strengths and limitations of oral history, more generally, compared to other types of research?

The oral history project is due on Monday, November 17. Class presentations of the oral history projects will take place in the twelfth and thirteenth weeks of the semester (see the syllabus).



FINAL EDITING PROJECT
Each student will select, in consultation with the instructor, a primary, historical source and prepare a rigorous annotation and edition of it. Your task will be to:

Write an introduction placing the selection in its historical context.
Write a statement of editorial methodology, explaining what decisions you have made about spelling, grammar, missing words, headings or subheadings, or other insertions of your work into the manuscript.
Provide appropriate maps and illustrations and enumerate these in a list of figures.
Prepare informational endnotes (or side notes) identifying obscure persons, events, and places, citing your sources for such information.
Write an analysis of the source you have edited, interpreting its content and historical value and significance, taking into account relevant published historical scholarship on this topic (this can be included in the introduction).
Compile a bibliography of the sources, cited correctly, that you have used in editing the primary document.

Your original document should be approximately 15-20 typed pages (double-spaced) in length. (It may be somewhat shorter if you are using certain kinds of sources, such as a document that you translate from a foreign language.)

The historical work for documentary editing should be non-fiction, historical material—for example, a diary, a series of letters, reminiscences, court or hearings testimony, an autobiography, or a first-person narrative describing an event or an experience.

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

The final editing project is due on Thursday, December 11.



Moses Maimonides (1135-1204), Halakhic Code, Mishneh Torah, Egypt, 13th century; The Schoyen Collection

Created by campion@lclark.edu | Updated December 2025