Homework Assignment 1: Inventing an Elephant, Presenting History

Step One:  Inventing an Elephant

Read Sarah Sherman's "Inventing an Elephant: History as Composition."  Write a one-to two-page response in which you do the following:

• summarize Sherman's major arguments about history and the writing of history
• comment on how Sherman's article complements or challenges your view of history and the writing of history, and
• pose two questions about the article.

Step Two:  Presenting History

Read Clark and Palattella’s “American History.”  In the margins of the text, make notes to guide your discussion of the following questions: 

• What is consensus history?
• What changes have occurred in the study of history over the past 40 years?
• How do different approaches to history illustrate Sherman’s discussion of perspective and Benjamin’s description of methods and philosophies of historical research?

Thinking about Sherman's description of perspective and Clark and Palattella’s discussion of approaches to history, read the opening pages from U.S. history texts.  Also read Polenberg's preface and skim his table of contents.  Make notes on the following questions to guide your discussion of Polenberg and of the text assigned to your group:

• According to Polenberg and your assigned text, what is History?  Who and what is it about?
• According to Polenberg and your assigned text, what counts as evidence in History?
• What approach to history is Polenberg taking?  The author of your assigned textbook page?
• When do you think your assigned text was written?
• What is your evidence for your answers to these questions?