Lincoln

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

In 2009, the United States commemorated the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, who remains the most written-about figure in U.S. history. In this class, we will explore why that is, and ask what if anything remains left to say. In the first half of the semester, we will read some classic and some recent important books in order to establish the existing state of the historiographical conversation surrounding Lincoln: what questions have captured historians’ attention, what have the most recent answers to those questions been, and how and why have both questions and answers changed over time? Each student will also give particular thought to identifying questions that have remained unexplored or have not been answered to his or her own satisfaction, in order to prepare for the second half of the semester in which we turn to primary sources and original research. Each student will pose a manageable but significant research question about some aspect of Lincoln or his era, and then delve into the Lincoln Papers and other primary sources to draft, give a presentation on, and revise a research paper. This class is heavy in both reading and writing, and assumes significant prior knowledge of nineteenth century United States history; in return, it will provide students with the opportunity to engage in the work of a historian.