Overview

Semester: Fall 2000

Instructor: John T. Harwood and Robert D. Hume

Offices: 227H Computer Building and 13B Burrowes

Office Hours: for Harwood, please contact Jane Houlihan or 865.8210 for an appointment; for Hume, Mon 8:30-10, Wed 9-10 & 1:30-2:30; and by appointment

Phone: Office (Harwood) 865.4764 (Hume) 863.2344 // Home (Harwood) 235.1198 (Hume) 234-2355

This course is designed for students who want to think seriously about a potential thesis topic or work on drafting an actual thesis proposal. We will systematically address both theoretical and practical matters, e.g., concerning the nature of "problems" that can be tackled in humanities research of various kinds, and the sorts of "proof" that can be offered in scholarly or critical answers; the rhetoric of scholarly argument; and the use of the electronic tools that have become increasingly fundamental to humanistic research. 

While this course is not a seminar in technology, we are convinced that students who have demonstrated expertise with the tools of e-scholarship will have a definite advantage in the professional marketplace. Students will be required to have sufficient web skills to publish their materials on the Web, to use simple databases to manage information, and to use specialized tools (e.g., concordances) appropriate to their research. We will ensure that you know about the extraordinary resources available at the Center for Academic Computing and the University Libraries.

Each student will be responsible for a bibliographic essay, some short exercises, and multiple drafts of a "mock thesis proposal" to be mounted on a website of his or her own construction. No prior knowledge of either technology or research is assumed.

We are happy to work with you on a project in any chronological or geographical realm and we make no restrictions in methodology. You will be free to work in any subject of interest to you.

Please note that sessions requiring a technology classroom will be held in Sparks 9; those labelled "432 Shadow Lane" will be held at Rob Hume's house (maps available).

Projects in any area of humanistic scholarship are welcome: there are no geographic or chronological restrictions. We are happy to work with you on medieval philology or contemporary Chicano/a fiction. The objectives of this course are methodological and technological. If you have an actual or potential thesis supervisor we assume that you will actively involve him or her in the process of drafting your mock thesis proposal.

We realize that many of the things covered in this course are unfamiliar and therefore likely to be intimidating. But anyone who is going to get a Ph.D. and flourish in the university world of the 21st century needs to know these things, and the sooner the better. We are here to help. We expect you to work closely with us on an individual basis. 

For help with web site matters in particular, contact John Harwood, who will arrange for special workshops as early in the semester as possible.

Note: for design of this Website, we are grateful to Daryl Branford.