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The requirements for the course are as follows: (1) Reading Summary and Seminar Participation (25%); 2) one or more seminar discussion leadership (15%); (3) Rough Draft and Preliminary Components (20%); and (4) Final Paper (40%); (5) a self-evaluation (one-page, typed, single-spaced) assessing your performance in the course (not graded but required).
Each week you are expected to turn in a 2-3 page summary of the reading for that week. These must be in my mailbox in the department office (or emailed to me in RTF format) before class. Like a book review, these summaries should recapitulate the readings thesis, articulate the kind of evidence that the author draws on, and make some critical comment. These will, in all candor, drive you nuts, but they will hone your writing skills and prove invaluable when the time comes for your comprehensives. Seminar participation means lively and engaged discussion of the readings. You cannot hope to derive the most from the course if you sit on the sidelines and listen to the play-by-play.
Each class member (or team of two) will be responsible for leading at least one class discussion. The leader (or leaders) is responsible for initiating and maintaining the discussion. I will be on hand to facilitate the process, but the leader (or leaders) will be responsible for setting the agenda for the class.
It’s extremely important to get an early start on your paper and make continuous progress toward its completion by completing elements of the paper throughout the semester. This requirement is intended to keep you on track. This is especially important for those who have enrolled in the course as HIST 711. If you complete the assignments on time and good order, you receive full credit.
Your paper will be an analytical essay (1520 pages) discussing the literature on a particular topic in the history of business in America. Your paper should reflect the most recent scholarship and include a critical discussion of the central arguments. Those who are enrolling in the course as HIST 711 will be required to use primary sources as the basis for their paper. Be careful in selecting your topic to choose one that is feasible within the time constraints of the semester. I am flexible on choice of topic. For those enrolled in HIST 615, a corporate history is a good bet; for those in HIST 711, tackling a “big” question drawn from business history or writing a corporate history grounded in primary sources are promising opportunities. For example, there is a great deal of discussion about the profitability of slavery. While it would not be feasible to do a comprehensive study, it might be feasible to test the profitability of slavery on a single plantation. By the same token, it’s a good idea for the HIST 711 folks to choose a topic that does not require a great deal of additional secondary reading.
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In addition to the various electronic databases available through the George Mason Libraries, the following, especially the indices, represent some general and very useful sources that will get you started.
Kirkland, comp.
American Economic History since 1860 (1971)
Larson
Guide to Business History (1964)
Lovett
American Economic and Business History: A Guide to Information Sources (1971)
Orsagh
The Economic History of the United States Prior to 1860: An Annotated Bibliography (1975)
Porter, ed.
Encyclopedia of American Economic History (1980)
Hutchison
American Economic History; a Guide to Information Sources (1980)
Taylor
American Economic History Before 1860 (1969)
ABI/Inform
Barron's Index
Business Periodicals Index (Before 1958 BPI. was known as the Industrial Arts Index)
F&S Index of Corporations
InfoTrac--Business Index
Wall Street Journal Index
CNBC
CNNfn
America: History and Life
Journal of Economic Literature
Business and Economic History
Business History
Business History Review
Essays in Economic and Business History
Explorations in Economic History
Journal of Economic History
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