Description: This seminar will provide an opportunity for students to master and apply the techniques of historical research and writing through an exploration of the history of Emory University from its founding as Emory College in 1836 to the present. Questions we will consider will include: What challenges has Emory faced in its transformation from a small southern college into a major American university? How has the university been shaped by its religious roots? What impact has the university had—both intellectually and institutionally—on the City of Atlanta, the nation, and the world? How have major benefactors and international figures like former president Jimmy Carter influenced Emory’s development? How has the university responded to the issue of academic freedom? What has been the experience of various minority groups at Emory and how have students, faculty and administrators confronted issues of difference and diversity? How have students and student organizations (including fraternities and sororities) both reflected and challenged prevailing social patterns on campus and in the wider world?

Particulars: In the first half of the course, students will gain a framework for exploring these issues through the reading of secondary sources and a number of original historical documents from the Emory Archives. Students are expected to prepare answers to the questions listed with each week's readings and will be called on for their answers. In addition, they are to choose one week in which they will answer the questions more fully in a 4-5 page essay. There will also be a document-based assignment in which students will craft a paper of at least 5 pages with an original thesis based on a packet of original documents. During the second half of the course, students will complete major research papers (15-20 pages) on topics of their choice that are related to the theme of the course. Students will have to turn in bibliographies, outlines, drafts, and other components of their final papers at various points during the writing and research process, and there will be opportunities for sharing and peer-review work during class sessions. The grade on the research paper will not only take into consideration the final product, but also how the student performed the various steps along the way. Final course grades will be composed of the following:

-- Attendance and participation: 20%
-- Short assignments: 30%
-- Final paper: 50%

This course fulfills General Education Requirement I.C (Advanced Seminar). It also fulfills the Emory College Post-Freshman Writing Requirement.

Texts: Readings will consist mainly of book chapters and articles placed on on-line reserve, as well as copies of original historical documents provided by the instructor.

Class Schedule:

Jan. 23:
Introduction

Jan. 30
What's Interesting About Emory: Asking the Right Questions
Examine the following three institutional histories at Emory, which you can find either on reserve or in the stacks at various Emory libraries.

Questions: What interests each of these authors about the university and its history? What questions do they ask? What questions don't they ask? How are the books different from one another? How might you approach the topic differently?

Readings:
Henry M. Bullock, A History of Emory University (1936)
Thomas Hopkins English, Emory University, 1915-1965: A Semicentennial History (1987)
Gary S. Hauk, A Legacy of Heart and Mind : Emory Since 1836 (1999)

Second Hour: Topic workshop

Feb. 6
Emory: From Southern College to National University
Questions: What were the major turning points in the growth and development of Emory University since its founding as Emory College in 1836? How did each turning point change the character of the intistitution?

Readings:
Excerpt from A History of the Class of Eighty
English, Emory University, 1915-1965, 10-62
"The Advance of Emory University Since World War II" History of Higher Education      Annual (1999): 149-83.
Leonard Ray Teel, "Emory University Decides How to Allot $100,000,000"

Second Hour: Library Tour, Emory Archivist Ginger Cain

Feb. 13
The Changing Meaning of Higher Education
Questions: How did fundamental assumptions about the meaning of higher education change during this period? Are there any continuities? Give concrete examples from the various documents.

Readings:
Except from Report of the Lower Division Curriculum Committee (1954)
Current General Education Requirements

Feb. 20
Document Assignment:
Write a paper of no less lan 5 pages based on one of the two the packet of documents distributed in class. Make sure you develop a thesis and use the evidence in the documents (as well as any properly footnoted outside sources) to prove it.

Feb. 27
Diversity and Difference on Campus
Questions: How and where do issues of diversity and difference arise in the life of a university? How has the university responded to these issues and what do the responses reveal about Emory's particular history and culture? How have these issues pushed the university to reshape its overall mission and worldview?

Readings:
Excerpt from Benjamin Epstein and Arnold Forster, "Some of My Best Friends..."
Excerpt from Delores P. Aldridge, A Decade of Struggle (1981)
Ginger Cain, "Women at Emory in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries"

Also take a look at the current web pages for Emory's Department of African American Studies and the Office of Multicultural Programs and Services. How have issues of difference and diversity changed at Emory since the 1960s and 1980s?

Due: Bibliography of five secondary and three primary sources due - Bring in one or two primary sources to share with the class.

Mar. 6
Beyond the Classroom: Campus Life
Questions: What are the different types of students Horowitz identifies? Do you agree with her typology and do you recongize these types of students on the Emory campus today?

Readings:
Excerpts from Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, Campus Life (Please download three separatae PDF files: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3)

Due: Thesis statements and 2-page introduction. Bring three copies to class, one to hand in and two for an in-class workshop.

Mar. 20
Special Guest - Emory's President Emeritus James T. Laney
We will prepare appropriate interview questions for President Laney in advance.

Mar. 27
Due: Paper outlines. The outlines should map out your argument and the evidence you will use to support it. Bring three copies to class, one to hand in and two for an in-class workshop.

May 1
In-class presentations, continued

May 4
ALL FINAL PAPERS ARE DUE