HIST 400G-001Topics in Latin American and Caribbean History: Digital Humanities, Memory, and Visual Culture Instructor: Jessica L Nelson (nelso878@uwm.edu) Meets: MW 10am-11:15am In the early 20th century, the American Geographical Society (AGS) spent over half a million dollars to create a detailed map of the entirety of Latin America. The project, spanning over two decades, produced 107 maps. But why did the members of the AGS feel entitled to create maps of Latin America, a region that had cartographers and geographers of its own? Whose goals have typically been served by maps and map-making? And how have developments that require maps – like the creation of the Panama Canal or the construction of the Pan-American Highway – affected the history and culture of countries in Latin America?
This class will offer hands-on, meaningful, and practical opportunities to develop your research and presentation skills as we consider these questions. This course also serves as an introduction to public history work from start to finish, including archival research (reading handwritten letters from AGS members, for example!), development of an argument, and the creation of a publicly accessible website to disseminate what we've learned. Graduate students may also work on an article-length paper that could be submitted for publication.
HIST 595G-201The Quantitative Analysis of Historical Data Instructor: Lex Renda (renlex@uwm.edu) Meets: No Meeting Pattern This is a “how to” course. It teaches you how to use (and not use) statistics to answer questions, and it provides you with a solid introduction to the application of quantitative methods to history. I do not assume that you have knowledge of statistics or any math beyond basic algebra, and your calculator will perform all of the computations. Your job will be learning how to interpret the results of those computations. While the questions, data, and applications we shall examine will usually be drawn from the disciplines of history and other social sciences, you will be able to use the skills you learn to analyze all types of quantitative questions. These skills will be important to you if you pursue graduate training in history or other social sciences, and they will be equally useful if you pursue a career in business, government, or teaching. I also use several “everyday” examples of statistical inference that will enable you to understand the use and abuse of statistics, regardless of your chosen career. This course is being taught online, asynchronously.
HIST 701-101Graduate Internship in Public History Instructor: Arijit H Sen (sena@uwm.edu) Meets: No Meeting Pattern An internship is a highly effective way for students to gain in-depth practical experience in public history. Many former students have highlighted their HIST 701 internships as one of the most valuable parts of their graduate education. To earn graduate-level credit, students must individually arrange their internships at professional institutions of their choosing. Recent internship locations for UWM Public History students include Historical Societies in Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Sheboygan; the Milwaukee Public Museum; Milwaukee Public Library; the American Geographical Society Library; America’s Black Holocaust Museum; the Milwaukee Art Museum Archive; the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Archive; the Field Museum; the Wisconsin Maritime Museum; Old World Wisconsin; and many others.
Enrollment in History 701 requires completion of History 700 or History 715, along with the approval of the Public History Director in the UWM History Department.
To earn 3 credits in HIST 701, students are expected to complete 150 hours of internship at their chosen institution, typically over the course of one semester while enrolled as a graduate student.
Students will acquire practical experience in professional work that aligns with their career goals. Through the experiential learning offered by a real-world internship, they will also benefit from mentoring and professional networking.
Another significant outcome is gaining insight into one’s career plans. Some students may have their career aspirations confirmed, while others might discover the need to adjust their plans after discerning which aspects of the profession are rewarding and which are less appealing. Many internships lead to both confirming aspirations and prompting recalibrations, both of which are invaluable learning experiences.
HIST 715-001Research Methods in Local History Instructor: Arijit H Sen (sena@uwm.edu) Meets: W 4pm-6:40pm HIST 715: "Research Methods in Local History" is a graduate seminar designed as a core requirement for students pursuing their MA or PhD in public history. The course welcomes participants from a variety of academic disciplines, including library and information studies, museum studies, cultural landscape and heritage studies, and folklore studies.
This semester, our exploration will center around the theme of foodways. Students will have the opportunity to investigate various topics, such as the role and impact of community gardens, delve into familial culinary traditions, gather oral histories from local food entrepreneurs, scrutinize the evolution of food and nutrition policies, or capture recollections related to culinary experiences.
Our approach will be hands-on as we delve into various methodologies for data gathering and analysis. We'll develop skills in reading, documenting, and interpreting everyday phenomena. Practical skills to be honed include conducting ethnographic research, searching for individuals in manuscript census records, pinpointing locations using Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, analyzing material culture, organizing history harvests, participating in heritage walks, navigating through organizational or municipal archives, and designing exhibitions.
A significant focus will be on the nuances of voice and representation in historical writing. By engaging directly with community members, we'll tackle the challenges of crafting democratic and inclusive historical narratives, discussing and debating best practices throughout the course.
HIST 716-001Professional and Pedagogical Issues in History Instructor: Amanda I Seligman (seligman@uwm.edu) Meets: R 4pm-6:40pm Thank you for considering enrolling in History 716, Professional and Pedagogical Issues in History. This course focuses on helping you plan your future, aiming for what I call “Best Fit Careers.” We will read broadly about career pathways for history graduate students inside and outside the academy and complete several projects aimed at developing your professional portfolio.Please see the attached welcome letter for more detail.
HIST 900-001Seminar on U.S. History: Race in the United States Instructor: Gregory T Carter (cartergt@uwm.edu) Meets: M 4pm-6:40pm Mixed race is one tool for understanding how reconfigurations of race go hand in hand with the creation and dissolution of racial terms. I follow Michael Omi and Howard Winant in defining race as “a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human bodies.” This definition resists pinpointing what those signifiers and symbols are, but it does acknowledge that real people are the objects of signification. Their assertion that race is “a social construction which alters over the course of time due to historical and social pressures” expresses how the meanings of race change, depending on the time and place, and these endless possibilities affirm the vagary about exactly what race is.
Because it is often at the fluctuating intersection of race, gender, and class, mixed race is the starting point for this Seminar on United States History. The required readings address racial mixture in different ways, demonstrating the interplay of analytic lenses that this theme accompanies. However, the readings serve the ultimate aim of the class: to design, research, and write a piece of scholarly work FOCUSING ON YOUR OWN INTERESTS. Through reading reflection papers, source analysis papers, revision exercises, and peer workshops, this class will help you prepare a twenty-page manuscript ready for submission to peer review publications.
HIST 950-201Seminar on European History: The Holocaust: History and Visual Culture Instructor: Lisa D Silverman (silverld@uwm.edu) Meets: No Meeting Pattern The Holocaust is considered paradigmatic in describing and representing other major catastrophes in history. This colloquium examines some of the most significant and provocative works of Holocaust representation in visual culture, focusing on how these have shaped and reflected our understanding of the Holocaust as a historical event. We will analyze critical debates on various attempts to depict, record and remember the Holocaust mainly in films, but also in television programs, memorials, art, and video games. How have government regimes used Holocaust representation to recast their countries’ histories in a more favorable light? How has visual representation of the Holocaust influenced the study of other historical events?