Delving into the Past: County Court Records and the Pursuit of History.

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Loren L. Schweninger, Emeritus Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: In his famous autobiography, historian and scholar Henry Adams recounted his teaching experiences at Harvard University during the 1870s. Dissatisfied with the lecture method, Adams experimented with different ways to teach. One technique that he adopted was an experiment with primary sources. "Since no textbooks existed, the professor refused to profess," Adams explained, "knowing no more than his students, and the students read what they pleased and compared their results." Each student was to read a primary source-contemporary letters, tracts, decrees, court cases outline the content, bring the outline to class, and share his findings. From the disparate parts, an organic whole would emerge. In typical Adams fashion, he denigrated the experiment and pronounced his seven years as an instructor at Harvard a failure (Adams 1918, 302-3).

Additional Information

Publication
The Social Studies 89 (November/December 1998): 260-62
Language: English
Date: 1998
Keywords
Henry Adams, Harvard University, Primary sources

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