General Information:

(1)  Course title:    Genealogy and History
(2)  Semester:  First
(3)  Professor:  L. J. Andrew Villalon  (Dr. V; Professor V; Mr. V)
(4)  Course number:  350L (40270)
(5)  Course Section:  Only one
(6)  Days/Time of meeting:  M 3-6 p. m.
(7)  Classroom:  GAR 2.108
(8)  Campus Office:  GAR 4.120
(9)  History Departmental Office, First Floor of GAR (To the right of the Main Entrance)
(10)  Office Phone:  (512) 475-8004
(11)  Departmental Phone:  (512) 71-3261
(12)  Office Hours:  M: After class.  W: 3-5; F: 3-5.  (5-6 by appointment; limited access to the 4th floor at this time requires phoning the professor's office upon arrival).  
(13)  Email Address:  avillalon@austin.rr.com
(14)  Webpage URL for this course: 
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9507/c-SpanHist-index.html
(15)  Website on which this material appears:  Wire Paladin
Current URL:  http://www.geocities.com/wirepaladin/geo
Former URL:  http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9507 

(If you do not have available the URL to my website, you can always find it easily by typing into Google "Andrew Villalon Wire Paladin."  The website should come up as the first entry on the list.  You can then click through to it.)

Course Description:

Genealogy is that part of history that traces family relationships over time.  Most people are interested in finding out where they have come from, who their ancestors were, and what those ancestors did.  In the past, such a search often required extensive effort, including widespread travel or considerable expense or both.  The most readily available sources of information were those in possession of the family itself, including such things as letters, diaries, diplomas, birth and death certificates, inscribed family bibles, old photographs or home movies, newspaper clippings, and, of course, word of mouth.  Other sources such as court records, social security information, police reports, city registries, passenger manifests, and records of military service were housed in libraries, archives or government repositories, many of them far removed from the locale in which the researcher was working.  At the very least, this necessitated  time-consuming correspondence by snail mail.  Often it was necessary to travel far and wide or alternatively to hire genealogical consultants.  Today, thanks primarily to the web and email, it has become far easier to conduct a genealogical search into the history of one’s family.  This course will teach students who have an interest in learning about their families the principles of genealogical research in the twenty-first century.  Each student will apply those principles to researching his or her own family history and where possible, placing family members into a larger historical context.

Contacting the Professor:

There are three very reliable ways to contact this professor:

(1)  Speak with him after class.   If the subject requires a lengthier conversation, an appointment can be made to meet during office hours or communicate by  means of email.

(2)  Come tohis office during office hours (see above).

No appointment is needed; I am almost always available in my office (or very nearby) during office hours.   If you do not at first find me, try down the hall in the departmental office, especially around the photocopying machines.  If,  for whatever reason, I have to miss the office hours, something that does not happen often, then  I shall try to leave a note on the door.  If that occurs, let me apologize in advance.  

(3)  Contact him through email.

I  check and respond to my email regularly and I will try to reply to your message as soon as I get it.  The home address email is the one given above.  It is here that you should send your emails.

Other means of getting in contact are much less certain.  I have purposely omitted my home telephone number from this syllabus for the simple reason that I do not wish to receive student phone calls at home.   Email serves the same purpose, more reliably and less obtrusively.


Course Goals:

(1)  To provide students with an adequate understanding of  how genealogical research (a branch of historical research) is conducted.
(2)  To provide an understanding of the various types of evidence available to scholars when they  undertakes reconstruct a family's past.
(3)  (Hopefully) To inspire in the student a further interest in the study of genealogy, which becomes for some a lifelong obsession.
 

Course Webpage:

A webpage for Genealogy and History appears on the teaching section of my website, Wire Paladin (see above for the URL).  Like the rest of my teaching materials, it can be reached by accessing the site's main index (type into Google Andrew Villalon Wire Paladin), then clicking on the chess knight entitled University of  Texas Courses taught by Dr. Villalon.  

Throughout the term, the webpage will undergo updating. You are responsible for periodically consulting the website to see if anything new has been posted.  If you are reading this syllabus, you are already aware that it is also posted on the webpage.  Your first assignment is to READ THIS SYLLABUS CAREFULLY.

Required Course Materials:

A.  To Purchase: 

1.    Matthew Helm, et al., Genealogy Online for Dummies.

Despite its very "un-academic" title, this is an excellent, inexpensive, and easily available book that will serve as the required text in this course.   As the title indicates, it centers around how to do genealogy on the web, which is where all students will start.

Since Genealogy Online for Dummies is updated virtually every year,  the book has gone through a number of editions, many of which are still available on the web.  While no specific edition is being assigned, try to get as recent an edition as your pocketbook will allow. 

A word to the wise:  If you are particularly interested in the exciting new procedure of genealogical DNA testing, the 2009 edition of Genealogy Online for Dummies is the first one to devote a chapter to the subject.

2.    Recent version of a major genealogical program such as Family Tree Maker.  A very useful instruction book and access to several critical genealogical sites comes with the package.   

3.   A subscription to Ancestry.com. 

This is the major commercial genealogical site on the web.  It supplies fairly easy access to a list of web sources that is growing every day.  Students who take this course almost always rank it as the most valuable site that they use.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an institutional membership; consequently, you will not be able to get it through the University of Texas libraries.  You will have to purchase a membership (or, if you know someone who has already done so, arrange to use theirs.)  Memberships can be purchased for various time periods; for example, by the month.  I would recommend for students taking a semester course a 3-month subscription.  Perhaps several of you can make arrangements to "double-up."

B.   Assorted FREE web sources on genealogy either posted directly on the professor’s website or freely accessible on the web  

For required (but free) web texts, access URL:  http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9507/c-Genealogy-Readings.html
 

Important Genealogical Web Sources

To aid students in their search, a  web sources page has been placed in this course website.

See:  http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9507/c-Genealogy-Websources.html

Criteria for Grading:

See the section of the website entitled Paper and Portfolio.

In addition to the written requirements listed in that section, participation will be of considerable importance in this class.  This can take the form of contributing relevant information, asking good questions, helping your fellow students find their family information, discussing in office hours, etc.   This course will be what all scholarship should be--cooperative rather than competitive.

Retaining Copies of Work and Work handed back:

It is a good practice in any course to keep copies of everything that you have handed in.  It is also a good practice to retain any work that is handed back  until you have received your (correct) final grade in the course.  Mistakes happen, and even though they are more frequent in a large class, they happen in small classes as well.   Items get lost and errors are made in recording grades.  In such instances, the student cannot merely claim to have done the work.  He/she must be able to produce it.

This is almost certainly the result of a failure to complete some part of the course work.  The student should contact the professor as soon as possible and arrange a meeting in order to determine what can be done about the problem.   In most cases, something can be done.

Concerning the Finality of Grades:

In most cases, final grades are indeed final.  The obvious exception:  if  I have made a mistake in computing your grade, in which case you should contact me immediately.  In rare instances, usually where a student's grade is borderline, I may let that individual something to improve the grade.  

Attendance:

Attendance is required!!!

Attendance in any course is important, but it is particularly important when that course is based heavily upon in-class lectures and discussion and where participation plays an important role.  Failure to attend will be taken into consideration in assigning the final grade; and the professor reserves the right to deny a student a passing grade if the attendance is poor enough.  Remember, we meet only once a week; therefore, missing a single class is tantamount to missing an entire week's work.

Consequently, students who wish to have their attendance correctly recorded have two responsibilities.
(1)  They must sign the attendance sheet for the class.
(2)  If the professor forgets to circulate an attendance sheet (as sometimes happens), students should raise their hand and remind him.  (Such an interruption will always be most welcome.)

Students should never skip a class simply because they feel unprepared.  After all, you might miss something interesting or useful!  Besides, there are no unannounced quizes and I never seek to embarrass unprepared students. 

Cheating or Plagiarism:
 
Everybody knows what cheating is, so there is no need for a definition. 

On the other hand, some of you may not be familiar with the word plagiarism.  It refers to any attempt to pass off as your own work something done by somebody else.  Even when only part of a paper is copied from the work of another person, this is still plagiarism.  While it is perfectly acceptable to quote from another person’s work, such passages must be carefully footnoted.

Both the university and I regard cheating and plagiarism as extremely serious; as a result, I would recommend that you avoid them like the plague throughout your college career and, for that matter, afterwards.  Although I shall treat both cheating and plagiarism on a case-by-case basis, the offender should not expect leniency.  A substantial lowering of the final grade or even expulsion from the course are the normal penalties for such offenses.

Withdrawal from the Course:

As far as I am concerned, a student wishing to withdraw from the course for whatever reason will be allowed to do so without penalty, even if he/she is failing the course at the time of the withdrawal.  It has always been my belief that losing time and tuition is enough of a penalty to pay for doing poorly in a course.

However, I would strongly recommend to all students that once they have decided to withdraw, they should do so as soon as possible.  It is always best to get this unpleasant task out of the way. 

First of all, it is better to drop a “loser” and concentrate one’s energies where they will they will do the most good, i.e. in courses where one is doing well.

Secondly, in putting off the inevitable, some students wait too long and pass withdrawal dates mandated by the university, after which withdrawing may become far more complicated, if not impossible.  While I am always willing to approve a withdrawal, after a certain point in time, the university may not accept it.

Grading Procedures and Student Complaints:
 
Within any academic discipline, a teacher tries to design a course which will present a body of knowledge, while developing critical thinking and skills in research and writing.  He or she then evaluates carefully each student's performance in order to arrive at a grade, which will count toward college credit.  Factors which a professor may take into consideration when defining student performance include such things as exams (either in-class or take-home), other written work (papers, book reviews, journals), and various forms of classroom participation (discussion, oral presentations, answering questions).  Each individual teacher will determine which of these factors to employ in arriving at a grade, as well as their relative importance.  The student should also be aware that classroom deportment may be taken into consideration; in other words, anyone who habitually acts in a manner which tends to disrupt the learning process may well find that fact reflected in his or her grade.

In any class worth the name, a grade is earned by the student, for demonstrating the required knowledge and ability and performing the work within the deadlines set by the instructor.  Failure on the part of a student to demonstrate adequate knowledge and/or to meet reasonable academic guidelines (as defined by the instructor) may result in a failing grade and the withholding of academic credit for the course.  Again, let me emphasize:  grades are earned, not given or negotiated!!

On the other hand, for students who believe that they have been unfairly evaluated, the University of Texas  has established grievance procedures.  Grade appeals must be made in accordance with that procedure, which mandates as its first step an attempt by the student and professor to resolve the grievance without any outside interference.  At this point in the procedure, intervention by third parties such as parents, boyfriends, attorneys, department heads, administrators or other faculty members is inappropriate.  If, after consultation with the faculty member, the student wishes to pursue the grievance, he or she should contact the department head. [For further information concerning the grievance procedure, see the university handbook which should be available at every college office.] 

Brief Biography of this Professor:

L. J. Andrew Villalon received his Ph.D. in history from Yale University in 1984.  After many years at the University of Cincinnati, where he retired as a full professor, he is currently a senior lecturer, teaching at the University of Texas. Although Villalon specializes in late medieval and early modern European history, he has also done work dealing with the twentieth century.  He has delivered numerous conference papers on such topics as Pedro “the Cruel”, Don Carlos, San Diego de Alcalá, Machiavelli, Sir Hugh Calveley, royal favorites, saint-making, landholding, and academic editing. His articles have appeared in collections and in various journals including The Catholic Historical Review, Sixteenth Century Journal, Mediterranean Studies, and the Proceedings of the Ohio Academy of History.  Villalon is currently working on two book length studies, one on the canonization of San Diego (after whom the city is named, the other on the life of Sir Hugh Calveley (an English knight and mercenary in the Hundred Years War).  He has also co-edited with Donald J. Kagay five collections of medieval essays—The Final Argument:  The Imprint of Violence on Society in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (The Boydell Press, 1998); The Circle of War in the Middle Ages:  Essays on Medieval Military and Naval History (The Boydell Press, 1999); Crusaders, Condottieri, and Cannon : Medieval Warfare in Societies around the Mediterranean (Brill, 2002); The Hundred Years War: A Wider Focus (Brill, 2005), and The Hundred Years War: (Part II):  Different Vistas (Brill, 2008). Currently, the pair are gathering essays for a sixth collection (also dealing with the Hundred Years War) and doing research for a joint monograph concerning the War of the Two Pedros (1356-1366) and the battle of Najera (1367). In addition to work in his major field, Villalon has published on automotive history and the history of World War I.  He has held several grants for study in Spain, including a Fulbright; received two awards from the American Association of University Professors for defending academic freedom; and in 2001, was presented the Professional-Scholarly Activity Award for the University College at the University of Cincinnati.  (A complete c.v. is available on the website.)