This course introduces students to the wide variety of resources and analytical methods that historians and others engaged in historical inquiry use in their work. Throughout the semester students will acquaint themselves with the full range of bibliographical resources and will practice the art of historical interpretation, relying on different types of materials including—but not limited to—oral interviews, photographs, documentary film, maps, newspapers and periodicals, government records, manuscripts, art and architecture, and physical artifacts. Through in-class exercises and individual editing projects students will gain skills in library research, editing, writing, analysis of sources, and historical judgment. The course will also introduce students to basic historiographical trends to help them understand how different methodologies have been developed in response to particular historical contexts. Students will not only be asked to master the techniques and skills of historical inquiry, but also to critically analyze the ways in which different methods lead to specific forms of knowledge production—especially in regard to our thematic focus—alternative histories of Portland.
- Teacher: Elliott Young