HIST1000B History for Today

This course teaches the art and science of historical research. Its objective is threefold: to bring historical insights to students’ lived experience, to train students to become informed and critical citizens who contribute to our globalized twenty-first century, and to teach how to write, read, and communicate effectively as a historian. After introducing some key aspects of historical philosophy, the course explains a selection of the recent historical trends, historical methods, and primary sources based on the instructor’s research and teaching expertise. The course also includes two workshops that guide students through historical essay writing.  

1. Introduction: History in Three Keys
2. Historical Trend (1): Empires
3. Historical Trend (2): Maritime History
4. Historical Trend (3): Frontiers and Borderlands
5. Historical Trend (4): Race and Ethnicity
6. Historical Method (1): The Art of Storytelling
7. Historical Method (2): Quantitative Studies
8. Historical Method (3): Field Research
9. Term Paper Workshop (1): The Art of Historical Essay Writing
10. Term Paper Workshop (2): Literature Review and Footnotes
11. Historical Source (1): Official Archives
12. Historical Source (2): Periodicals and Memoirs
13. Historical Source (3): Maps

(tentative)

• Tutorial (40%)
• Term paper (60%)

See the course outline.

See the course outline.

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

• In the case of group projects, all members of the group should be asked to sign the declaration, each of whom is responsible and liable to disciplinary actions, irrespective of whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the problematic contents.
• For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment.

Assignments without the properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers.

Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.

The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose (e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submissions. It is common and acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.