Making the News: a behind-the-scenes look at the making of History

3 credits · Undergraduate

Over the 19th and 20th centuries, newspapers moved from being government and commercial bulletins to serving as a central method of social communication. The owners, editors, and journalists were major actors in the political and business worlds of their time. By the mid-20th century, newspapers could claim to be key makers of cultural common sense. Today, the print editions of papers are significantly less central to culture and politics than they once were. But for historians, increasingly able to access two centuries' worth of newspapers online, the newspaper has recently regained importance as a research source, for cultural and social history as much as for political history. Complementing lectures in newspaper history and research methods, weekly guided research exercises in class will give students hands-on experience in using newspapers as a research source. FORMATS: Lecture