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Improving the research paper in theatre history.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

This paper describes a seven-step process designed by Davida Bloom for the research paper assignment in her History of Theatre classes. The carefully structured assignment is helpful for teachers of non-composition classes whose students have not yet acquired the skills needed to write high quality research papers. The steps highlight topic selection, gathering resources, developing a thesis statement, organizing evidence, and peer review. This process enhances the research and writing skills of students and helps combat plagiarism.

Introduction

In a recent edition of Academic Exchange Quarterly Maryann Byrne notes that the students in her history classes often ask "Why do I have to know this stuff?" Byrne realized "it was easy to make history lessons entertaining, but if they held no relevance for students' lives, they would not retain the crucial concepts" (75). Like Byrne, I manage to make my history lessons entertaining, breaking up the lectures with video clips and amusing stories borrowed from former professors and my own readings. However, the ten-page research paper assignment is one that my students have traditionally viewed as sheer drudgery.

Ray Scrubber's article "Dramatic History or Historical Drama?" provided me with a way to challenge my students to embrace the research paper assignment and their role as historians. Scubber echoes Byrne noting, "virtually all historians have encountered undergraduate students who consider the study of history both boring and irrelevant to their lives" (134). He finds this somewhat ironic, given the wealth of historical drama available and widely enjoyed both in a live theatre setting and in motion pictures. "Films about everything from medieval Scotland to early twentieth century Atlantic travel attract vast audiences and win numerous awards" (134). Scrubber warns, "this process is one that historians cannot afford to leave entirely in the hands of dramatists who do not share their sense of values" (137). He urges historians to try their hand at the dramatic arts by "writing historical dramas as a way to educate students and, hopefully, the wider public about historical figures" (135). Borrowing from Scrubber (and My Fair Lady's Henry Higgins) instead of asking "Why can't an historian be more like a dramatist?" I ask "Why can't a dramatist be more like an historian?" I remind my students that many of the great roles they hope to perform on stage are based on historical characters, adding that their ability to effectively and efficiently do research on their character will be vastly improved through their efforts on their research papers. Those who strive to be directors, designers, or technicians will likewise be required to research the historical periods in which the...

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