Undergraduate Studies
Like l00-level classes, 200-level classes provide survey coverage, but their subjects are more specific in their geographical, chronological, or thematic coverage. They are usually limited to at least two of these dimensions (e.g., Premodern Japanese History, or Science in Western Civilization). 200-level courses should expose students to historical scholarship of a more specific nature than is presented in textbooks. With some exceptions, these classes consist of large lectures. Besides acquiring familiarity with the particular topic of a course, students should develop competency in the craft of writing historical papers; they should learn to interpret texts and marshal evidence in support of a historical argument. Suitable for general education listing, these courses should have no prerequisites and should be accessible to non-majors as well as to majors. Because 200-level courses often draw large enrollments, they can employ graders, whose primary duty is to evaluate student work but who can do more than simply mark papers.
READING: Most instructors of 200-level courses combine textbooks (if suitable ones are available) with supplemental primary, and secondary readings. As on the 100 level, about 100 pages are typically assigned weekly.
WRITING: Typically 8-15 pages (standard font, double-spaced, with references), excluding exams. Because the department often employs graduate student graders in large 200-level courses, writing assignments should be spread out and spaced with exams in such a way as to avoid burdening graders with workloads that make it difficult for them to pursue their own studies.
EXAMS: Typically a midterm and final exam
PARTICIPATION: These are usually large courses without discussion sections; therefore, there is little opportunity for discussion by students. Should the course be structured to allow for student participation, it should make up part of the grade.