Test #2 Results November 6, 2009
Posted by jdresner in administrative, grading, hist 102 (Fall 2009), study terms.add a comment
The top terms were:
- Abraham Lincoln
- Industrial Revolution
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Isaac Newton
- Declaration of Independence
- Charles Darwin
As with the pop quizzes, I scored each answer on a 4-point scale, then added up the results. The high score in the class was 42 out of a possible 48 (before extra credit) again, which I used as the 100% mark (which again raised everyone’s grades a lot). The median score was between B and B-. Here’s how the grade scale worked out:
| Grade | minimum points | distribution |
| A+ | 42 | |
| A | 39.8 | 20% |
| A- | 37.8 | |
| B+ | 34.8 | |
| B | 30.3 | 40% |
| B- | 27.3 | |
| C+ | 24.3 | |
| C | 19.8 | 30% |
| C- | 16.8 | |
| D+ | 13.8 | |
| D | 9.3 | 10% |
| D- | 6.3 | |
| F | 0 |
If you compare it to the last quiz, you can see some movement from B to A and some movement from D to C. But not much.
New WWI Photographs Discovered, Restored November 4, 2009
Posted by jdresner in doing history, military, not homework.add a comment
Hundreds of glass-plate pictures of British WWI soldiers have been discovered in France and published. The full collection can be seen here, perhaps the first time I’ve ever seen a LiveJournal account used for historical sources!
Book Context due Monday* November 4, 2009
Posted by jdresner in Schedule Change, doing history, hist 102 (Fall 2009), homework.add a comment
Under the category of “Context” the book review assignment says:
Context: What is the background of the author? Is their personal background relevant to the subject of the book? What is the historical context, the time period discussed by the book? What other books discuss the same kinds of things, and how does this book compare? Note that your textbook is an invaluable resource for comparisons and context.
Obviously, there are several different issues going on here, but they basically fall into two categories: Historical context and Historiographical context.
Historical context is about how the material in your book fits with the rest of what’s going on in the world at the time: if you’re writing about Japanese 19th century industrialization, for example (nobody is, unfortunately), you’d want to note that Japan was a late industrializer compared to other major industrial nations, that it was the age of unequal treaties, and that industrialization happened at the same time as the rise of nationalism, parliamentarianism, and imperialism.
Historiographical context, on the other hand, is about how the book fits with the rest of the books written on the same topic: what are the normal interpretations of this event and how does this book change that; who is this book arguing with, and why?
In both cases, your textbook is a good starting place, because it does look at the broader context, and because it represents a kind of “current consensus” on most issues. Sometimes the book itself will describe the context for you; sometimes you have to work at it a bit.
* Yes, the context assignment was supposed to be due Friday the 6th, but I forgot to mention it in class, so I’m pushing it back to Monday the 9th.
Historians Explain Murder? November 3, 2009
Posted by jdresner in current events, doing history, historiography, not homework.add a comment
How have historians dealt with questions of crime and punishment? Jill Lepore looks at new books on murder, with a special emphasis on explaining why the US looks different than economically and politically similar societies.
Technology and Culture October 30, 2009
Posted by jdresner in art, not homework.add a comment
Music historian Elijah Wald describes the relationship between technology, music and social interaction over the 20th century. It’s all the Beatles’ fault, apparently.
Study Terms for Chapters 21 through 26 October 30, 2009
Posted by jdresner in hist 102 (Fall 2009), homework, study terms.add a comment
| Chapter 21
African Association |
Chapter 22
caudillos |
| Chapter 23
Alexander Herzen |
Chapter 24
Bal Gangadhar Tilak |
| Chapter 25
Abraham Lincoln |
Chapter 26
Asante Kingdom |
The history of electric outlets October 29, 2009
Posted by jdresner in Uncategorized.add a comment
Why are there over a dozen different types of electrical appliance plugs in the world? History, of course.
Extra Credit Opportunities: Shakespeare and Philosophy October 22, 2009
Posted by jdresner in extra credit (F09).add a comment
The PSU production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be at Memorial Auditorium Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8pm. Students with PSU ID can pick up tickets free at the PSU Ticket Office in the Student Center.
The PSU Philosophical Society Annual Speaker Series· Friday, November 13, 2009 4:00 pm· Grubbs Hall Room 107· “Liberalism and Religious Equality”· Speaker Dr. Jon MahoneyThe PSU Philosophical Society will proudly present a talk given by Dr. Jon Mahoney entitled, “Liberalism and Religious Equality”. The talk will take place on Friday, November 13, 2009 in Grubbs Hall Room 107 at 4:00 pm. Dr. Mahoney is currently an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Kansas State University. He earned his PhD from State University of New York Binghamton. He specializes in social and political philosophy, ethics, and philosophy of law. He has published in numerous journals such as Law and Philosophy, Social Philosophy Today, and The Journal of Value Inquiry. His work has also appeared in numerous collections such as The Legacy of John Rawls (Continuum, 2005), Law and Peace in Kant’s Philosophy (de Gruyter, 2008), and Pragmatic Politics and Pragmatist Culture (Cambridge, 2009). Please contact James McBain (jmcbain-@pittstate.edu or 235-6039) for further information.The PSU Philosophical Society Annual Speaker Series· Tuesday, November 17, 2009 3:30 pm· Russ Hall Room 409· “The Surprising Simple Secular Source of Morality”· Speaker Dr. Scott ForschlerThe PSU Philosophical Society will proudly present a talk given by Dr. Scott Forschler entitled “The Surprisingly Simple Secular Source of Morality” on Tuesday, November 17, 2009. The talk will take place in Russ Hall 409 at 3:30 pm. Dr. Forschler specializes in ethical theory. He earned his PhD in philosophy from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and also earned MA in philosophy from Minnesota Twin Cities, a MA in history from Butler University, a MLS from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and a MA in English from Pittsburg State. He has published articles in Utilitas and The Journal of Value Inquiry; and his book, The Logic of Morality, is forthcoming from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Please contact James McBain (jmcbain-@pittstate.edu or 235-6039) for further information.
A few announcements October 21, 2009
Posted by jdresner in administrative, doing history, hist 102 (Fall 2009), homework, not homework.add a comment
Reminder: No class for either section on Friday the 23rd, due to the Presidential inauguration. Students are encouraged to attend — and see your instructors in academic regalia! — at the front of Russ Hall (or in Weede, if the weather is poor) at 2.
While I didn’t require resubmission of thesis statements that missed the mark this time, I’m adding an element to the next book review assignment, the discussion of the argument and evidence of the book: you must include a clearly marked, one sentence statement indicating what you think the thesis of the work is. This is quite important for the argument and evidence discussion: if you don’t know what the author is trying to prove, you can’t evaluate the effectiveness of the argument they make or the quality of the evidence they present.
As you try to summarize and discuss your chosen books, be careful of how you use the book and any related sources you may find. Obviously, using the actual words of a source — textbook, internet or otherwise — without quotation marks or other acknowledgement is clearly and blatantly plagiarism. Weak paraphrasing can constitute plagiarism: if you don’t thoroughly alter the language of your source, it is a form of intellectual theft. Even something fully paraphrased in your own words can be considered plagiarism if you don’t acknowledge your source(s) — this is what footnotes, endnotes and parenthetical citations with works cited pages are for. Plagiarism is academic dishonesty, theft of intellectual property, and a violation of University policy, and will not be tolerated in this course.
Finally, a little 19th century union history — the struggle between wage-earning workers and capitalist owners — in early baseball.
Food History: requires testing! October 18, 2009
Posted by jdresner in doing history, historiography, not homework.add a comment
Chris Bray passes on word of two experiences with early American food: Gingerbread cookies from Colonial Williamsburg and a pound cake taste test, pitting a modern recipe against a two-century old version which required an hour of hand-beating. See if you can figure out how “Pound Cake” got its name…
In other news, historical sea logs help climatologists.
