BOOK DISSECTION

Book dissection
Faulkner UniversityHY 4301 History of Medieval EuropeBook Dissection ExerciseINTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVESScientists perform much of their research in laboratories. The library is the historians laboratory, and books are often the tools of their research. Part of succeeding in an upper-division history course is learning how historians work. The single most basic skill for any historian is knowing how to read a historical monograph critically and thoroughly. That means knowing the parts of a book, grasping the arguments of its author, and understanding other historians criticisms and analyses of that book. It also means that historians must be able to explain to others efficiently where they found the information or interpretations they use in their own work. Since historians are entrusted with the past, they carry a lot of responsibility for getting it right. They must check their sources for bias, confirm their information from as many sources as possible, try as hard as they can to be objective in their own work, and make sure someone else has checked their work before they publish it. This exercise is designed to help students develop some of those skills. Everyone is a historian to some extent. Its important to be a good one.CHOOSING A BOOKChoose a book from the bibliography at the end of each chapter of the textbook. The original edition of the book you choose must have been published since 1985, and it must be a monograph. What is a monograph? It is a book written on a specific subject by a single author. It is not a collection of essays edited by an author, not a memoir by someone who took part in the events, not a collection of documents (primary sources) edited by an author, and not a general study of American Government in any given period. Choose your book carefully, and clear it with the professor before you start reading it! The book you choose also must have numbered footnotes or endnotes and it must concern a subject associated with American Government.Once you have tentatively chosen your book, you must locate one scholarly review of that book before you begin reading it. Your review must be complete, and it must be at least three paragraphs in length. Good sources for reviews of books are the American Historical Review, the Journal of American History, the New York Times Book Review and the New York Review of Books. Many book reviews are conveniently indexed in “America: History and Life” (available on-line or in CD-ROM or in paper form at most college libraries. Ask the librarian at the reference desk.) The reviews in CHOICE come out first but are too short (150 words) to be useful for this assignment. If you find an abstract that looks interesting, order the entire book review on interlibrary loan! DO NOT BEGIN READING A BOOK UNLESS YOU HAVE A REVIEW OF IT IN HAND AND HAVE CLEARED IT WITH THE PROFESSOR. The book is not yours until you can show the professor a photocopied review of it. The first person to show him a review gets the book. Also, Do NOT hoard books and please, DO NOT MARK IN LIBRARY BOOKS. There is a special place in hell reserved for people who mark up library books, right beside those who steal them.
THE EXERCISEThe exercise is divided into three parts:1. Citation and Acknowledgment,2. Arguments, and3. Critique.You will receive a separate letter grade for each section. Since, however, the second section will be longer and more involved than the other two, it will be worth as much as the other two put together. There will also be a separate writing grade that will evaluate grammar and spelling. All these grades will be combined to create a mini-grade point, and that will be the grade for the assignment as a whole. The professor will explain this rather complex system further in class.PART ONE: CITATION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis portion of the assignment allows you to describe certain physical parts of the book and cite it properly. Answer the following questions and perform the following:1. Type out a bibliographical citation (not a footnote or endnote citation) for your book using the form outlined in Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers, available in the library. The form must be precisely correct.2. What is the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) of your book? (look at the back cover or the back of the title page.)3. Does it have an index? Is the index slightly or extensively cross-referenced or is it not cross-referenced at all?4. Is there a bibliography? Does it include secondary sources (other scholarly books and articles)? Does it annotate or comment on them?5. Since your chosen book must have footnotes or endnotes, approximately what percentage of the sources the author cites in the notes is primary? What percentage is secondary? (Sample 30 notes taken on random pages ending in the page number xx5.) Did your author consult archives or depend entirely on printed works in a library?6. Who read all or part of the book prior to its publication to check it for mistakes? What organization if any supported the author with money to do the research and/or writing of the book?PART TWO: ARGUMENTSThis part is the most involved. It requires a thorough reading of the book. It demands that you comprehend your authors “arguments.” Historians use that word to mean the authors interpretation, the case that is being made about the subject. When historians confront evidence, whether its a large number of printed sources or archival records, they must try to make sense of those sources. The “sense” they make is their interpretation. The purpose of their monographs is to present their evidence and “argue” their interpretation of that evidence. Your purpose in this section is to summarize the arguments of the author of your book and indicate some of the evidence used to support those interpretations. Write three sentences—and only three—on each chapter of the book. Begin all of your sentences as follows:1. For the first sentence on each chapter, begin with the words “The main subject of this chapter is” but do not include any words from the chapter title in your description.2. For the second sentence of each chapter, begin with the words “The author argues in this chapter that.”3. For the third sentence of each chapter, begin with the words “A specific piece of evidence that the author uses to support his/her case is.” Only list ONE piece of relevant evidence.After you have written a trio of sentences for each chapter, write at the end of this entire section of your paper one five-sentence paragraph summarizing the authors argument as a whole about the subject of the book.ANALYSIS AND CRITIQUEIn this section, you have two things to do. First, analyze the argument from the standpoint of the course. What did this book teach you about American Government that you did not already know? Was the argument convincing? Well supported? Second, analyze the review of the book. Did the reviewer mostly summarize the book or did he/she evaluate it critically? Did he/she agree with the authors interpretation? Why or why not? Did he/she have criticisms? What were they? Do you find the reviewers criticisms, if any, germane to the authors arguments or peripheral? Do you agree with the reviewers assessment? Why or why not?Be sure to include with your final draft of the exercise, the attached check sheet, a marked-up first draft, the photocopied review, and the book itself, so the professor can double-check your work and make sure you did not render a first draft. Good luck!Check Sheet for Choosing a Monograph______1. Does the book concern a specific subject in American history since 1865?_____ 2. Is the original publication date (in any language) 1965 or after?_____ 3. Does it have numbered footnotes or endnotes? (A bibliography or bibliographical essay at the end is nice, but does not count as footnotes or endnotes. Neither do a few asterisked notes. They must be numbered.)_____ 4. Is it a monograph?_____ 5. Can you locate a good review of it?Your book is NOT a monograph if:1. It is a collection of separate essays by one or more authors.2. It is a textbook or general study of American Government over a period of time.3. It is a “popular” book for a general audience (most coffee-table and picture books fall into this category).4. It is a primary source: a collection of letters, a memoir by someone who lived at the time, or a set of documents about a subject.5. It does not involve research into a specifically defined topic to answer some specifically stated question.Check Sheet: Book Dissection Exercise____1. I have attached one book review, an older draft of this paper, this check sheet, and the book itself (renewed).____2. The right margin of my paper is not straight like the left.____3. I have proofread and proofread and proofread the final draft to remove every single spelling error I humanly can.____4. I have purged my writing of sentence fragments and comma splices.____5. I have typed this exercise on a computer and have used a computer spell-checker.____6. I have not committed any of the four mortal sins (“I like(d),” “I do (did) not like,” “the people,” and “etc.”).____7. I have not marked up my book or mistreated it in any way, keeping it clean for the next person to use.I pledge, on my word of honor and in full cognizance of the possible penalties, including an “F” in the course and suspension from the university, that this review is my own work written by me and by no one else, and that I have not resorted to plagiarism; that I have read the whole book thoroughly and have written the best paper I can.__________________________________ Student Signature
Check Sheet for Choosing a Monograph_____ 1. Does the book concern a specific subject in American history since 1865?_____ 2. Is the original publication date (in any language) 1965 or after?_____ 3. Does it have numbered footnotes or endnotes? (A bibliography or bibliographical essay at the end is nice, but does not count as footnotes or endnotes. Neither do a few asterisked notes. They must be numbered.)_____ 4. Is it a monograph?_____ 5. Can you locate a good review of it?Your book is NOT a monograph if:1. It is a collection of separate essays by one or more authors.2. It is a textbook or general study of American Government over a period of time.3. It is a “popular” book for a general audience (most coffee-table and picture books fall into this category).4. It is a primary source: a collection of letters, a memoir by someone who lived at the time, or a set of documents about a subject.

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