Our work this semester will focus on cities, especially (but not exclusively) American cities, and the lives lived within them as they develop over time and from place to place from the 18th to the 21st centuries. We will examine a variety of historical approaches, methods, topics/questions, and the uses of different sources, including visual evidence and films. Keep in mind, that although cities provide the places and spaces for our studies, this is not a course in urban history. Students may choose non-local and non-American research topics, provided that relevant sources are available, accessible, and sufficient for a serious study.

Among the course's specific objectives is practice in:

• writing historical essays of a variety of kinds and lengths, including analysis, criticism, and comparison
• exploring a range of historical approaches, methods, and sources (including film and electronic materials)
• planning and conducting sustained, in-depth historical research of a substantial subject or question(s) that depends on both secondary and primary sources
• locating and evaluating sources, showing their relevance to the project as proposed, and discovering the method(s) to use those sources to probe the subject and answer the questions stated
formulating historical questions, learning how to answer them satisfactorily in the actual practice of historical research: matters of locating information and evidence; testing their accuracy, usefulness, and relevance; linking up evidence from different sources; learning what historical understanding requires in practice; placing conclusions or interpretations in relationship to existing historiography

Required Books (ordered by bookstores)
Ludmilla Jordanova, History in Practice (Arnold, 2000)
Richard Marius, A Short Guide to Writing About History, 4th ed. (Longman, 2002)
Raymond Mohl, ed., The Making of Urban America (Scholarly Resources, 1997)

Optional Books
*Peter Burke, ed., New Perspectives on Historical Writing, 2nd ed. (Penn State Press, 2001)
Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations, any recent edition.

Library Reserve
*Kathleen Conzen, "Community Studies, Urban History, and American Local History," in The Past Before Us, ed. Michael Kammen (Cornell, 1980), 270-291
*Charles Tilly, "Introduction" to An Urban World (Little, Brown, 1973), 1-35
*Sharon Zukin, "The Hollow Center: U.S. Cities in the Global Era," in America at Century's End, ed. Alan Wolfe (California, 1991), 245-261, 526-528
*Joan Dideon, "New York: Sentimental Journeys," New York Review, 17 Jan. 1991, 45-56
[* indicates items on Library Reserve]

For Research on San Antonio History
Urban Texas: Politics and Development, ed. Char Miller and Heywood Sanders (Texas A & M University Press, 1990:

• Char Miller and David R. Johnson, "The Rise of Urban Texas," pp. 3-29, 174-177,
• David R. Johnson, "Frugal and Sparing: Interest Groups, Politics, and City Building in San Antonio, 1870-85," pp. 33-57, 177-181,
• Char Miller and Heywood T. Sanders, "Olmos Park and the Creation of a Suburban Bastion, 1927-39," pp. 113-127, 196-198,
• Heywood T. Sanders, "Building a New Urban Infrastructure: The Creation of Postwar San Antonio," pp. 154-173, 203-204

In-class activities-oral report on essays in Burke, New Perspectives; exercises, quizzes, group activities, writing projects, discussion, projects, films.

Based on required reading, films, and presentations, this work may include reading quizzes, discussions, writing exercises. Some will relate to analyzing, critiquing, comparing, and contrasting readings, and different ways of asking and answering questions. We will use essays in Mohl, ed., The Making of Urban America; other reading; and films ("The City," "Metropolis," "Mission Hill and the Miracle of Boston" or perhaps "Style Wars"). This will include the work of fellow students in learning groups.

a)  analytical critique of one article in Mohl (2-3 pages)
b)  analytical, comparative review of two articles in Mohl (4 pgs)

Oral and written reports on studies of selected topics or questions in urban history that draw, at least in part, on primary sources. These may include San Antonio, other American, or comparative questions or topics. Final papers should be approximately 20 double-spaced pages (plus notes, tables or figures, illustrations, etc.).

The subjects of the articles in Mohl, ed., The Making of Urban America offer useful suggestions and examples for research subjects and questions, as well as strategies for conducting research. Examining their footnotes, which you should be doing regularly at this stage in your program, as well as their general approach in actively dealing with their subjects and problems that arise, can pay off. We will discuss possible topics and different modes of research together and individually throughout the semester.

1. Define the research's topic, generate questions, approaches, likely sources, etc.
2. Plan the overall work, divide it into specific tasks, and allocate your time and labor
3. Identify primary and secondary sources for research
4. Conduct library, archival, field research
5. Study the evidence gathered in relationship to your questions, conception and plan of the research, and expectations about what you are likely to discover (and why)
6. Make conclusions on the basis of the research in light of the questions and problems with which you begin, and as they change as you conduct the research

Use topics, methods, and approaches in essays in Mohl, ed., Making of Urban America, to help orient research projects including San Antonio research topics.

Draw on Mohl, films, other course materials to help plan and conduct study.

Use course materials to suggest topics, questions, approaches or methods, sources, connections, or comparisons.

Each paper should have an introduction and a conclusion; endnotes as necessary; bibliography of sources; tables or illustrations if needed or useful.

A handful of articles about San Antonio history is on Library Reserve for your use in this project. They are listed above.

Oral presentations during final 2-3 weeks of semester; final papers due by the last day of classes.

Roles of Learning Groups
Groups will discuss reading and assignments; generate questions for class discussion; brainstorm on projects; help to plan research; share sources and other "finds"; read and critique drafts of papers

Conduct of Class Sessions
During regular class meetings, we will take up a variety of activities and projects. These may include taking quizzes, participating in exercises, screening films, exploring different perspectives and skills, discussing assignments or assigned readings, listening to guest speakers, presenting individual or group work, and related activities. Come to class on time, prepared for the session by completing any assigned work or other preparation; bringing paper, pens, pencils, and other items announced in preceding meetings or the syllabus.

Turning in Assignments
All work that is turned in for evaluation or grading should be typed, usually double-spaced, with margins of 1-1 ½ inches on all sides; printed in 11 or 12 point font, in a legible type face. Be sure that your printer ribbon or toner allows you to produce clear copies. Follow page or word limits and meet deadlines. Follow any specific assignment requirements (formatting or endnotes or bibliography, for example). Your writing should be gender neutral as well as clear and to the point. If you have a problem, see me, if at all possible, in advance of due dates. Unacceptable work will be returned, ungraded, to you. There will be penalties for work submitted late without excuse.

Grades
Final grades are based on each student's performance on all required activities listed above. Significant improvement in students' work over the course of the semester will be rewarded. Group work is a part of the course and its grade. Students will have an opportunity to evaluate the contribution of all the members of their group.

Attendance, Missed activities, and Late Assignments
Attendance is essential for successful participation in this course. Each student is responsible for all material presented, discussions, and group activities. I will note absences. More than two or three unexcused absences may lead to deductions from your grade. If you have an emergency or are ill, contact me as soon as possible. There will be no make-up quizzes. Under very special circumstances, a student may be excused from a quiz. This includes cases of illness or emergencies. Contact me as early as possible, preferably before the time of the quiz. Late assignments will be penalized five points for each day late. Please discuss with me as soon as possible any problems you have with the course.

Civility
Mutual respect and cooperation, during the time we spend together each week and the time you work on group assignments, are the basis for successful conduct of this course. The class is a learning community that depends on respect, cooperation, and communication among all of us. This includes coming to class on time, prepared for each day's work: reading and assignments complete, focusing on primary classroom activity, and participating. It also includes polite and respectful expression of agreement or disagreement-with support for your point of view and arguments--with other students and with the professor. It does not include arriving late or leaving early, or behavior or talking that distracts other students. Please turn off all telephones, beepers, CD or MP3 players. Please remove ear- or headphones.

Academic Honesty
Scholastic honesty is expected and required. It is a major part of university life, and contributes to the value of your university degree. All work submitted for this class must be your own. Copying or representing the work of anyone else (in print or from another student) is plagiarism and cheating. This is unacceptable in this class and also prohibited by the University. Information on scholastic dishonesty, including plagiarism, is provided in the Student Code of Conduct, Section 203 "Scholastic Dishonesty." When in doubt, consult the instructor.

Disabilities
To receive support services, students with disabilities must register with the Office of Disability Services (MS 2.03.18; 458-4157-voice; 458-4981-TTY)

1. defining the research problem or subject;



2. discussing briefly the intellectual context of the subject or background to the research proposed--often in the form of a "literature search" and/or a comment on previous studies and approaches to the subject;



3. explaining your own distinctive approach or research strategy, with specific attention to your assumptions and use of specific theoretical or critical approaches, your questions and/or hypothesis(es), the ways in which your research can be distinguished from that of other researchers;



4. locating and using primary and secondary sources relevant to your project and accessible to you, as well as how you deal with any problems that the sources may present to you. You need to demonstrate their usefulness for understanding the subject and answering the questions you propose to ask;



5. explaining the methods you employ to probe those sources; and



6. stating results or outcome, and briefly exploring their implications (say, on the one hand, what you learned and the contribution you have made, and, on the other hand, how it fits into our understanding of the subject-confirming it or challenging it, etc.).