HIS 100-02 - Introduction to Historical Inquiry

4 credits (Fall)

Essays and the Writing of History. This course provides an introduction to issues of historical causation, argumentation, and evidence, by exploring the role of essays, and the craft of essay-writing, in diverse fields of history. Aldous Huxlexy defined the essay (from the French, essayer, “to try”) as that “literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything.” After an introductory unit on historical methods, the course will examine the essay as a form of historical writing in a variety of topics, periods, and geographies, exploring how rigorous historical research can be presented elegantly, incisively, and creatively through the format of the essay, long and short.

Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Almohsen