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Writing history essays
In this unit we take the view that history is the historian's attempt to reconstruct the past. As historians cannot know everything, they have to be selective in their use of available source material and in their handling of accepted facts. Thus history largely becomes the historian's interpretation of what happened in the past and why it happened, and it can never be completely objective or unbiased. As far as we are concerned there is no such thing in practice as historical truth, although in theory it is our ultimate goal.
History is unavoidably subjective and personal. The historians themselves, like other individuals, are 'both the product and the conscious or unconscious spokesmen of the society to which they belong'. This is not to admit, however, that history is no better than propaganda or opinion. Such criticisms, of course, may be validly made of bad history. Good historians will strive to establish historical truth by basing their interpretation as honestly and as objectively as possible on all the evidence available to them and according to recognised principles of scholarship. By its very nature, Imperial history is apt to inspire an emotive response and frequently fierce partisanship. Many of the books you will encounter, especially those written contemporaneously with the events described, will be one-eyed and one-sided. Resist the temptation to be similarly myopic and uncritical. Such concepts as 'exploitation', 'imperialism', 'subversion', are labelling words that in present day usage are highly pejorative, but in their context were relatively more respectable. We should always strive to judge the past as much by the standards of the past itself as by the moral standards of the present. In essence we want you both to comprehend and to criticise the material you will encounter.
India from the regal view of Lord Curzon in Government House is going to be a different India as seen by Jawaharlal Nehru from the restricted view of a local jail. Nevertheless, both Indias existed. In preparing for exercises the following general points should be kept in mind: 1. Isolate the problem(s) posed in the exercise, answer the specific question posed and avoid irrelevance. 2. Read a wide variety of sources - narrow reading completely negates the basic aims of the course. 3. Be critical of your sources, primary and secondary. Is the evidence fairly selected? Is the argument logical? What is the particular frame of reference (bias) of the source? 4. Present your own points in logical order. Create a tight logical framework for your argument 5. Ensure that each major point has evidence to support it. 6. Be sure that this evidence is accurately documented and that this documentation is in the conventional form (see new current style sheet). 7. Avoid excessive direct quotation - in fact, avoid all secondary quotation except where you want to discuss or analyse the opinion expressed. Remember the opinion of an 'expert' is not evidence. 8. Plagiarism, in whatever form, whether blatant copying from a secondary source or the more devious 'scissors-and-paste' method of copying from a number of sources, is unacceptable. Remember, a history essay is a work of interpretation, your interpretation, not someone else's. 'Plagiarised' work will receive no mark. 9. It may be helpful, when attempting to process your information, which at times may appear quite unmanageable, to start from the premise that history is the historian's interpretation of the past. Your essays should be treated no differently. For our purposes there is no such thing as the definitive view of a problem. Essay topics will be set in such a way that a variety of approaches and responses will be possible. You will frequently be confronted with conflicting evidence and asked to reconcile often contradictory conclusions. 10. In this setting imagine that you are in the position of lawyers, shall we say, who have to present a brief for a certain hypothesis. Their object, as yours should be, is to persuade the jury/reader that your hypothesis is the correct and valid one. The method adopted is first an exposition of the hypothesis and then an unravelling, step by step, of the evidence supporting it. Difficult evidence cannot simply be ignored. It must be answered and refuted. The desired end is to convince the reader that your interpretation rests on sound evidence and sound logical argument Footnoting does require care and effort but an essay inadequately and incorrectly documented will be treated as incomplete and will be marked as such. The basic principles are the same for both primary and secondary sources. You identify who is responsible, what it is, where the original is to be found and where you used it. This is a scholarly courtesy and, in serious scholarship, a plain necessity. Observe the rules of documentation not only in an effort to avoid being accused of plagiarism, but because this is the lingua franca of the academic world. Documentation also reinforces your interpretative argument. Footnotes should be placed at the foot of the page on which the reference is made and numbered consecutively. They should contain enough bibliographical detail to allow easy identification of the work to which reference is being made. Items in the footnotes must be set out in the style and order shown below: J.L. Esposito, Islam: the straight path (New York, Oxford University Press, 1991), p.55. Full reference to the source should be given in the first footnote (as above). After the first reference students should use the traditional conventions, and where appropriate a short title to distinguish between different works by the same author. When other references intervene the reference should be: Esposito, op.cit., p.79. (unless you prefer to use short titles). Citations from periodicals should appear as follows: Sadiq J. Al-Azm, 'Islamic Fundamentalism Reconsidered: A Critical Outline of Problems, Ideas and Approaches', Part I, South Asia Bulletin, Vol. XIII, nos. 1 & 2 (1993), pp.93-121. Bibliography Graphs, maps, and tables are welcomed where they are appropriate and helpful. In all cases care should be taken to present clear and neat illustrative material. Quotations should be set in the text. Such quotations should appear within single inverted commas. Longer quotations, about four lines of print, should be indented, single-spaced within the text, without inverted commas. Students should check their quotations for absolute accuracy. Original errors in quotation can be indicated by [sic], and omissions shown thus [...]. Abbreviations should not be used in the text. Initials can be used for well-known institutions after the full tide has been given. [e.g. United Nations Organisation (thereafter UNO)]. In the text, numbers under one hundred, and round numbers (e.g. one thousand) should be spelt out. The words 'per cent' are spelt out (not % in text). Spelt out fractions are hyphenated. Figures can be used in monetary sums. Dates should appear in the normal style: 1 January 1993. (in footnotes 1 Jan.1993). Where 'Old Style' dating is required it should be written thus: 17 March 1662/63. Italics should be used for titles of books and periodicals and for technical terms, or phrases in languages other than English. If printing in italics is not available on the machine on which the essay is prepared, underlining may be used. Careful attention should be given to the correct and consistent spelling of proper names. Names of parties, reports, committees, associations, institutions, acts, buildings, should be reproduced faithfully and in their complete form, at least at first mention (with an English translation in brackets if necessary). Caveat In this course you should follow the preferred style. Associate Professor Howard Brasted |
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