Provides background information on the "Atlantic World" and discusses how the author created a course on this topic. Describes two course units used, the assignments, and the student response. Includes a bibliography of course materials. (CMK)

Provides background information for a local history project about the 1793 Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) yellow fever outbreak. Offers potential project topics to help students learn about local history and understand life in the eighteenth century United States. (CMK)

Explores the use of classroom exercises in a course on historical methods. Describes each of the exercises in detail: (1) focuses on facts and includes a processing activity; and (2) emphasizes points of view and includes a processing activity. (CMK)

Explains that students can study local events within a larger context that clarifies larger events or issues. Focuses on the 1861 case of Sara Lucy Bagby (Cleveland, Ohio), an escaped slave, to illuminate aspects of gender, racial relations, politics, and the origins of the U.S. Civil War. (CMK)

Describes a course for first-year college students that focuses on the Silk Road. Discusses the problems that occurs in such a course, types of resources used, basic strategies and tactics taken, and the focus on mapmaking in the beginning of the course. Includes an annotated bibliography. (CMK)

Provides a definition of what is meant by Eastern Europe and includes statements on important persons or events in East Europe that had impact outside the region. Addresses the reasons why it is difficult to teach about Eastern Europe and offers some tips on teaching about Eastern Europe. (CMK)

Focuses on the importance of teaching critical thinking in history at the college level. Discusses how the author promoted historical thinking in his survey courses through the use of assignments based on a series of paperback books called the Bedford Series in History and Culture. Includes exercises in the appendix. (CMK)

Describes an assignment for an undergraduate U. S. history class that combined role playing and research. The class was directed to use depression-era materials (newspapers, magazine articles, pamphlets, cookbooks) and plan a menu to feed a family of five on $2.50 a week (the amount provided by relief agencies). (MJP)

Profiles an undergraduate course that combined historical research on U.S. foreign relations with writing assignments designed to develop and improve writing skills. Students begin with short papers summarizing key points of instruction and move on to more detailed analyses of academic articles, films, and memoirs. (MJP)

Describes an introductory undergraduate survey course on European history that incorporates three interrelated sections: constitutional government in Europe, the American revolution, and the French Revolution. The instruction emphasizes the interconnectedness among the events and includes repetition of key ideas and information. Discusses the…

Explores the native artwork of the Benin people and discusses how it can be used to document an African perspective to the "Age of Discovery." Portugal established trade with Benin (a small country on the west coast of Africa) in 1486. Includes illustrations and suggested student activities. (MJP)

Argues that the fragmentary nature of mass media has made students suspicious of the traditional lecture format. Recommends that history teachers incorporate questions concerning source material and knowledge (e.g. How do I know this?) into their presentations. Suggests a number of activities and texts that can be used to involve students in…

Provides some useful guidelines, activities, and a few warnings concerning using documentary movies in a U. S. history course. Although documentaries can pique student interest, they need to be previewed first and presented in historical context with supporting materials. Includes an overview of a course content and accompanying films. (MJP)

Provides an overview of the structure and topics included in undergraduate course on Indian and Chinese history. Briefly reviews such topics as Land and People, Emergence and Evolution of Traditions, Expansion of Islam in Asia, European Imperialism, Nationalism and Independence, and Democracy and Development. (MJP)

Defends the use and placement of footnotes as being central to the considerations of proof and evidential claims that are essential for historical writing. Notes the differences between history and other social studies that preclude or limit the use of in-text attribution. Answers many standard objections to footnotes. (MJP)