HIST 400: Senior Thesis Seminar (HC) 2023-24

The Blackwell Companion volumes usually focus on a time period or cultural movement. Authors contribute essays on important aspects of the broader topic. They generally provide a more sophisticated level of analysis and contextualization than you might find in a textbook or introductory study.  The authors are chosen for their research in specific areas and deliver authoritative essays.  Historiography often plays a large role in the author's analysis.
You can search for Blackwell Companion* in Tripod and add another keyword.
Ex.: blackwell companion AND histor* AND russia*

This journal publishes literature reviews exclusively. Literature reviews are a particularly useful kind of journal article when doing research. They address the issues involved in a specific question and the debates among scholars. They map out the intellectual terrain succinctly and give you the major landmarks in terms of key authors and significant titles for greater understanding.
Recent examples:
Michael L. Conniff
"A Historiography of Populism and Neopopulism in Latin America"
July 2020
Abstract: For over a half-century, Latin American and other scholars have written reams and held innumerable conferences about the populist style of politics in the region. Historians quickly joined in with their theories, methods, and perspectives. Most literature focused on the classic period from the 1930s to 1970s, when populism dominated many nations' governments. In the 1980s and 1990s, as the region rebounded from military dictatorship, new leaders using populist methods won office and instituted economic policies in line with neoliberalism. This reappearance, called neopopulism, sparked new interest in the subject. Finally, after 2000, numerous left-leaning politicians gave rise to a radical phase of neopopulism that lasted over a decade. This essay follows historians' and social scientists' work documenting and analyzing these phenomena."

Sarah Fieldston
"Making Sense of the Ruins: The Historiography of Deindustrialisation and its Continued Relevance in Neoliberal Times"
July 2020
Abstract: The political upheavals of recent years, including Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, have increased scholarly and public interest in the impact of deindustrialisation on working‐class communities. Building upon earlier literature reviews, this historiographical study examines the continued flowering of this interdisciplinary, transnational field of research. After briefly recounting the emergence of the field in response to the structural transformations of the 1970s and 80s, and its subsequent ‘cultural turn’, this review focuses on identifying the most promising strands of contemporary English‐language research. It notes the particularly innovative attempts to identify the ‘moral economy’ of deindustrialising societies, the growing study of the long‐term cultural legacies or ‘half‐life’ of deindustrialisation, and the renewed focus on the politics of memory and heritage preservation. Finally, it considers how scholars can constructively respond to the increasing public interest in deindustrialisation, challenge racialised and exclusionary definitions of the working‐class, and unpick the historical relationship between deindustrialisation and the social and political transformations of recent times."

Twice a month publication with substantial articles reviewing books along with some coverage of films and exhibits.

Scan descriptions of new books by subject and listen to author interviews. The focus is on academic scholarship.