Academic Program for HIST 730

The requirements of the reading seminar are straightforward. The main ones are two.

Main Requirement #1: Read the core texts and post comments about them to the list, the Coyote Commons.

Text	Current Paperback You Can Buy	Detailed Study Guide
The first core text you are to read for the seminar is that foundational classic in the historical literature of the plains, The Great Plains, by Walter P. Webb. First published in 1931, never since out of print.	University of Nebraska Press ISBN 0803297025	Not currently available
The second core text you are to read for the seminar is a novel, I think the greatest work of fiction ever written about life on the plains, My Antonia, by Willa Cather. (For those of you hard-core historians who wonder about reading a novel in a History seminar—it's a text of life in the region, full of important historical distinctions. Read it as a document.)	University of Nebraska Press ISBN 0803263724	Not currently available
The third core text you are to read for the seminar is the memoir-history-novella, Wolf Willow, by Wallace Stegner—a wonderfully complex work.	Viking Penguin ISBN 0140134395	Not currently available
The fourth and final core text is M. Scott Momaday’s lyric work of memory, The Way to Rainy Mountain.	University of New Mexico Press ISBN 0826304362	Not currently available

Your first significant task in the course of study, then, is to read and comment on the four core texts. The goal here is not necessarily to go deep into the critical literature and master the standard interpretations. Instead, read these three texts on your own, marking your own marginalia and thinking your own thoughts about them.

Then, as you finish each, compose a short, informal (but stylistically correct) essay (about 500 words) of comments about it, and post this to the weblog. Give the post a title so that we can see these are your comments on one of the core texts—make it "My Comments on Webb," "My Comments on Cather," "My Comments on Stegner," Or “My Comments on Momaday.” If you're wondering just what you should say about each text, then keep on wondering—it's up to you. Do include the following elements in your comments, however.

1. The author's purpose and thesis. Why was the book written? What does it set out to prove or accomplish?

2. What is the author's method? How is the book put together?

3. How does this book fit into or expand your knowledge of life on the plains? What do you know after reading it that you did not before?

4. Pose at least one question to your colleagues on the list—something you would like them to talk about in relation to the book.

So, having read the four core texts, you also will have posted four little essays to the list. Others should respond to your postings, and you can reply to them. Now and then Prof. Isern will get in on the discussion himself, but if things are going the way they are supposed to, he will be doing so because of personal interest, not because his comments are needed.

What is accomplished by this reading and commentary on core texts? There are three purposes.

1. These are great books, worth reading and talking about for their own sake. Get into them!

2. This is an exercise in reading reflectively and talking about books not just as collections of facts, but rather as literature, historical literature.

3. The exercise is preparation for the more extended assignment of a review essay comprising a number of additional books.

Main Requirement #2: Pursue readings on a topic in regional history of particular interest to you and report back to the list in a review essay.

This assignment is an opportunity for you to pursue a concentration of readings on a topic of particular interest to you in the history of the Great Plains. You choose the topic; discuss it by email with Prof. Isern; select, in consultation, a list of books to read (commonly five); and after you have read them, report back with a review essay, written to the specifications for the seminar. Once the review essay is posted, then it is open season for questions from your colleagues about your topic and your work, all such discussion conducted via the weblog.

What topic should you choose? Likely there is something of particular interest to you already, but if you'd like some suggestions, correspond with Prof. Isern.

How will you select the books? Prof. Isern's Bibliography of the North American Plains, from his HIST 431 course, may be a useful reference. You also already may know titles you would like to suggest. Prof. Isern often can suggest titles around a given subject. Finally, you may have to do some bibliographic work on your own to fill out the list. A starting point might be the online catalog of NDSU and allied libraries.

Once you have decided on the books for the review essay, it will be your responsibility to get them. For this you will have to rely on your local library and inter-library loan, or make working contact with NDSU Libraries—so get started early! Get your list of books together and get the loan orders out in good time.

As you prepare for and write the review essay, please observe these specifications for the review essay.

Two Additional Course Requirements

1. Read the work of your colleagues and participate in discussions via the list.

2. Offer occasional reports to the list on some texts other than books that tell the story of life on the Great Plains. Here are some ideas for texts other than books.

Determining Grades and Assessing Learning

The evaluation of work done in the seminar is qualitative, but structured. Each student receives three letter grades for the course, and the three are averaged to arrive at a final grade. The table below summarizes the basis for the letter grades.

Reading and Discussing the Core Texts	1. Read each core text and reflect on it. 2. Submit a review of each core text to the list, and engage in follow-up discussion with colleagues on the work. 3. Write in a way that is reflective enough to show engagement with the work and interesting enough to stimulate colleagues. 4. Write clean prose that communicates well.
Independent Readings and Review Essay	1. Read additional books on a chosen topic in regional history. 2. Write a review essay discussing the works, and engage in follow-up discussion with colleagues. 3. Meet the requirements given in the specifications for the review essay.
Participation in the Weblog	1. Stay current and engaged with discussions going on at the Coffee Klatch. 2. Show interest and involvement with the work of colleagues by submitting comments and questions. 3. Enrich the seminar experience for all of us through comments on texts other than books.

Assessment means checking up on the progress of learning in a course, with an eye to improvement of the learning situation. Suggestions for improvement of content, methods, or operations in general are always welcome. Feel free at any time to send suggestions to Prof. Isern. At times, too, he may post a question to the list asking how best to handle some matter pertaining to the seminar, and he appreciates your help in that regard.

When you conclude your work in the seminar, he asks that you complete a summative assessment in the form of an email. In your message, please address the following.

· Please comment on your experience with the core texts (Webb, Cather, Stegner, Momaday) of the seminar. Were these engaging, worthwhile readings for you? Did you benefit from discussing them?

· Please comment on the independent readings and review essay component of the seminar. Were expectations clear and reasonable? Did you benefit from this assignment?

· Please comment on the general participation and discussion that took place via the weblog. Did this provide a good seminar framework for you? Do you have suggestions for its improvement?

· Please comment on the logistics of the course--the technologies and methods for its operation. Did you have any problems that could be corrected for the benefit of those following? Have you any suggestions for improvements?

· Any other comments?

HIST 730