{"id":5367,"date":"2017-05-31T12:33:03","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T16:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/?p=5367"},"modified":"2017-05-31T12:33:03","modified_gmt":"2017-05-31T16:33:03","slug":"archives-honors-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/2017\/05\/31\/archives-honors-course\/","title":{"rendered":"More Than a Research Paper: ASC Provides Learning Lab for Writing & Research Honors Course"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The book, \u201cMore Than a Memory: Exploring Purdue University\u2019s History Through Objects,” was printed in Spring 2017 and was recognized with a Purdue Honors College-sponsored book launch event in late April.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The research paper is a fact of life in college. If you have completed a college-level class, it\u2019s almost guaranteed you have received a syllabus that instructed you to format a paper according to a particular academic style and directed you to turn in a double-digit-page composition citing at least three-to-five (or more) sources. While many college students get hung up on the number of pages required, it\u2019s likely there are just as many who lament how many sources\u2014and about their type: primary or secondary\u2014they will have to read and consult to meet the minimum source-number requirements for the assignment.<\/p>\n

But for students in the Spring 2016 Purdue University Honors College<\/a> course \u201cInterdisciplinary Approaches to Writing\u201d 199 (section 03), co-taught by Kristina Bross<\/a>, associate professor in the English dept.<\/a>, and Neal Harmeyer<\/a>, an archivist in Purdue Archives and Special Collections<\/a> (ASC), the oft-dreaded assignment resulted in getting their work published by the Purdue University Press<\/a>\u2014an unexpected perk for the inevitable undergrad research paper assignment. According to Harmeyer, the book, \u201cMore Than a Memory: Exploring Purdue University\u2019s History Through Objects\u201d (which is also available as an e-book<\/a> via e-Pubs, Purdue Libraries’ open access repository) was printed this spring and was recognized with a Purdue Honors College-sponsored book launch event in late April.<\/p>\n

In the 2016 course, the students, through honing their writing, sought to understand the history of Purdue University and to recover the student experience at the turn of the 20th century. Harmeyer added the course also provided students with a way to learn about primary-source research and gain hands-on experience working with the collections and artifacts stored in the ASC.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Students<\/a>
Students in the Spring 2016 Purdue University Honors College course \u201cInterdisciplinary Approaches to Writing\u201d 199 (section 03), co-taught by Kristina Bross (far right, seated), associate professor in the English dept., and Neal Harmeyer (left, next to Bross in foreground of photo), an archivist in the Purdue Archives and Special Collections, a division of Purdue University Libraries.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\"Neal<\/a>
Neal Harmeyer, Purdue Archives and Special Collections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOver the course of the semester, we asked the students to go through the collections, pick an object\u2014a photo, a personal memento of some sort, or a document, perhaps\u2014and then ask and answer three questions: 1. What is in front of you? 2. What do you think about what you\u2019re seeing? and 3. What could this mean? We used this approach as a scaffolded step of deliberation and archival research methodology to help inform their writing,\u201d Harmeyer explained. \u201cFrom the class, 10 of the 13 students agreed to have their works published. The book, \u2018More Than a Memory,\u2019 provides a snapshot of the sources they found and the final outcomes of their individual research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each student who agreed to have their work published received a few copies of the book to keep and to share. Their individual compositions included the image (a scan or photo) of the object they each chose, a little bit of background about themselves, and about 900 words or so about their research, their insights, and the object itself.<\/p>\n

Extending Student Writing and Research<\/h2>\n

According to Bross, when she was first approached about teaching the class, she knew she wanted to have students research issues\/topics that would matter to them, that would feel \u201creal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving students dive into special collections is a sure way to give them that experience,\u201d Bross said. \u201cI\u2019ve asked students to do archival searches for years, so I know they respond well to such assignments, and I think it\u2019s especially important for students to know something about the history of Purdue,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\"Kristina<\/a>
Kristina Bross, associate professor of English at Purdue University and director of the Purdue College of Liberal Arts Honors program.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The collaboration between Bross and Harmeyer that went into the spring 2016 course \u201cInterdisciplinary Approaches to Writing\u201d 199 and the book, \u201cMore Than a Memory,\u201d was not the first time they worked together to instruct students in this particular Honors course. In 2013, they co-taught the course with the same title, and through their students\u2019 research, they published \u201cLittle Else Than a Memory: Purdue Students Search for the Class of 1904,\u201d also printed by Purdue University Press.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been somewhat involved in the course in 2013, but when one of our archivists took a position at another institution about halfway through the semester, I took over her role as co-instructor,\u201d Harmeyer said. \u201cWhile students in that class implemented a similar project, for the 2016 version of the course, Professor Bross and I planned to focus more on teaching students about archival research and primary-source research. One of our objectives was to get them more accustomed and familiar with the various research avenues they may need to undertake, for whatever their disciplines were, as we had majors enrolled from across the various disciplines in the 2016 version,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Bross noted the ASC provided a fruitful learning laboratory to accomplish the goals of the course.<\/p>\n

\"For<\/a>
For Purdue University students who were enrolled in the Spring 2016 Purdue University Honors College course \u201cInterdisciplinary Approaches to Writing\u201d 199, he oft-dreaded research paper assignment resulted in getting their work published by the Purdue University Press\u2014an unexpected perk.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe Purdue Libraries\u2019 Archives and Special Collections Division is ideal for undergraduate research, not only because it\u2019s local, but also because its faculty and staff are so knowledgeable about Purdue\u2019s history and our collections. In addition, they know how to introduce archival research to undergrads and help them understand the stakes involved in the work they are doing. Having a co-teacher from the ASC makes this course possible\u2014and Neal is simply terrific in that role,\u201d Bross said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe interdisciplinary part of the course title is represented by the Archives and the primary sources, and the writing part is Professor Bross helping the students hone their writing,\u201d Harmeyer added. \u201cOver the course, she assigned the students primary sources, dating back centuries, such as diaries and first-person accounts, along with secondary source materials, and she asked them to write about and respond to those. So the two things met in the middle\u2014our idea was they would learn about writing along the way, they would learn about research along the way, and at the end, they would have a research paper.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of the research and writing process, the students also contributed to a blog (see http:\/\/ascblogs.lib.purdue.edu\/spring2016-honors19903\/<\/a>), \u201ca site devoted to the sharing of undergraduate archival research and scholarship.\u201d The blog was a fundamental component of the course; during the semester, the students composed three responses to their findings, which in turn were posted on the site, Harmeyer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis blog allowed us to see their work in progress. Through it, too\u2014because we encouraged comments on the site\u2014they were able to communicate with one another and experience feedback from the larger community, as well. This site also enabled students to get their research out and think more critically as they were writing,\u201d Harmeyer explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe blog posts were just as\u2014perhaps more important than\u2014their final publications,\u201d Bross added. \u201cNeal was absolutely central to making the website excellent. It was interesting asking them to write about their individual processes, as well as to represent their findings. If we get the chance to teach this class or another like it, I want to think some more about the best way to use in-process digital media to publish their work.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Harmeyer, ASC personnel are committed to keeping the blog site available for future research purposes.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only do the final essays showcase the students\u2019 work, but the research they compiled and shared on in their papers and through their blog posts, also serve as secondary sources. Later, students may be able to build and use their research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harmeyer noted he thinks the course will be offered again, with the Purdue Archives and Special Collections again serving as a laboratory for Purdue students who enroll in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many of them, it was only their second semester in college, and I could see the light-bulb moments expressed in their faces and in their words: \u2018Wow, this is hard\u2026 but interesting.\u2019 Overall, I think most of them had that feeling and were extremely rewarded by it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Download the full text of \u201cMore Than a Memory\u201d at http:\/\/docs.lib.purdue.edu\/sps_ebooks\/9\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The research paper is a fact of life in college. If you have completed a college-level class, it\u2019s almost guaranteed you have received a syllabus that instructed you to format a paper according to a particular academic style and directed you to turn in a double-digit-page composition citing at least three-to-five (or more) sources. While […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4828,13,64],"tags":[54,3863,4866,115,4838,6949],"class_list":["post-5367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faculty_staff","category-general","category-spec","tag-archives","tag-archives-and-special-collections","tag-open-access","tag-purdue-press","tag-purdue-university-libraries","tag-students"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pT6ms-1oz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5367"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5398,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5367\/revisions\/5398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}