I found that having the enduring goals as the first item gave
the course real direction, and it reminded us each week of why
we were there. The goals I established are broad, and they do a
lot of things. Not all are centered on comprehension. Some work
on skill building, an important part of developing a professional.
We assume that students come to graduate school with these skills,
but that's not necessarily true.
Seminar goals (included in syllabus):
To have students approach the central question of “What is the place of the City in History?” from a number of disciplinary and theoretical perspectives.
To provide students with the tools and the (partial) knowledge to teach an introductory undergraduate course on world history or urban studies.
To allow students to explore the theory and practice of the comparative method of analysis.
To have students define the boundaries of their own graduate disciplines by answering the questions, “What is the relationship between history and sociology?” “What does it mean to think like a historian?” and “How is history relevant?”
To provide students with the tools and practice to write and analyze historical narratives.
To provide students with access to a wide body of literature on the theme of urban history that crosses national and continental lines, and ranges across many decades.
