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History Research

category: History Department, 

 

It is important to realize what is involved in deciding to become a History Major in advance. Contrary to what most students have been exposed to K-12, Studying History is more than just memorizing names and dates. Although that information is an important aspect of understanding how the narrative fits together, University History Studies tend to focus more on understanding the professional process of History Research. This research demands a lot of reading from the student. Research for a paper in an upper-division course can require hundreds of pages of reading to be thorough in producing a twelve to fifteen page paper. It becomes more intense at the graduate level, requiring more sources, a deeper critical understanding, and sometimes the ability to work with material in another language. It can seem daunting at first, but as you progress through a History program, you will develop these skills naturally over time.

Particular emphasis is placed on teaching the student to work with and understand the importance of primary sources that can be used to understand the narrative of an event (a letter written by the subject of a biography, or a survey from an archeological project, for example). It is necessary for the student of History to learn how to recognize the unique biases of each source and understand how and why it tells a different story than another piece of evidence would tell. For example, a letter written by a Confederate private to his family would paint a different picture of the American Civil War than official correspondence between two Union generals. Learning to recognize both the biases within the sources and your own bias is a vital part of being a History Major.

This becomes an increasingly important aspect of History Research as the student moves into upper-division courses at WOU, though it is an element of introductory classes, as well. It is a principal focus of the Senior Thesis 499 project at the end of the undergraduate History program, when the student chooses a topic of interest to study in depth to produce a twenty to thirty page paper. Primary source analysis and secondary sources (books, journal articles, etc. written by other historians) are the central element of this project.

As you move on into a Graduate program, primary and secondary source analysis becomes even more important. As a professional historian, you will be working with these sources and forming your own theories from your History Research. Although the step toward original research and developing your own theories about events seems like a huge, terrifying leap from Studying History at the undergraduate level, by the time you begin working in a graduate program, it is actually a natural step. As you become more accustomed to reading and writing at the graduate level, it becomes easier to form your own interpretations of source material and bring a unique perspective to the topic.

It is also worth mentioning that it is important to plan the coursework you will study with your Advisor in the Western Oregon History Department. History Research becomes significantly more enjoyable if you can plan to take courses that interest you. You will want to carefully consider the different Fields of Study offered by Western's faculty.


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