Introduction to the Study of History

Objectives:

• Students will become familiar with the foundations of historical scholarship;
• They will develop the ability to critically use various types of publications of historical sources and literature;
• Through discussions and independent work, students' critical thinking will be encouraged, especially in their initial approach to historical sources and literature;
• Students will be introduced to the methodological frameworks of historiography and the basic conventions of academic writing;
• They will be encouraged to reflect on the contemporary role of history in society.

Competences:

• the ability to think critically;
• Understanding of the basic methodology and key concepts of historical scholarship;
• Awareness of the importance of critically using published historical sources and academic literature;
• Proper use of scholarly apparatus (citations, references);.
• Ability to apply historical knowledge in contemporary social contexts;
• Competence in writing seminar papers and academic texts in general.

No prerequisites are required.

As part of this course, students will explore the fundamental characteristics of history as a scholarly discipline, including its development and methodological foundations. They will examine various types of historical sources—written, material, oral, and digital—and learn to distinguish between primary and secondary sources, as well as between first-hand and second-hand historical sources
Special attention will be given to the relationship between history and related disciplines such as archaeology, sociology, economics, geography, law, ethnology, anthropology, literary history, art history, and biology, as interdisciplinary approaches represent a key feature of modern historiography.
Students will be introduced to the main divisions of historical content—political, cultural, economic, social, ideological, religious, etc.—and gain a basic understanding of auxiliary historical sciences, including chronology, paleography, diplomatics, heraldry, and numismatics.
The methodological part of the course will focus on the historian’s approach to research: from formulating historical questions to the analysis of sources and interpretative strategies. Emphasis will be placed on the fundamentals of academic historical writing, including how to structure a research paper and properly cite sources using the Chicago Manual of Style.
A section of the course will address the ethical dimension of historical scholarship, with particular emphasis on the critical and responsible use of digital tools and artificial intelligence in historical research and writing.
Students will examine the practical relevance of history in contemporary professional contexts, including archives, museums, tourism, education, media, and digital humanities. They will become acquainted with key Slovenian and international research and academic institutions active in the field of history.
The course will also train students in evaluating the credibility of historical works, helping them distinguish between scholarly, popular, and ideologically biased interpretations of the past. Finally, students will gain insight into the role of archival documentation, current processes of digitizing historical sources, and the use of modern digital tools in historical research. As part of their fieldwork, they will visit historical, heritage, and cultural institutions in the Goriška region (Slovenia and Italy).

Knowledge and understanding:

• Students will understand history as an academic discipline and become familiar with its key research approaches;;
• They will be able to identify quality publications of sources and literature;
• They will master the basic forms of academic writing and accurate citation practices;.
• They will recognize the relevance of history for contemporary society and for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Usage:

The knowledge and competences developed in the course are an important basis for further study and professional work.

Exam (50%)
Seminar work (50%)

Dr. Matjaž Klemenčič (1955) is a retired Professor of History at the Department of History of the Faculty of Arts in Maribor, where he taught Non-European, European, Economic and Slovenian history, Introduction to the study of History and the History of migrations. He teaches Basic historical sciences at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Nova Gorica. He taught migration history also at Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana and Faculty of Humanities in Koper and on Colorado State University. He is a scientific councilor of the Institute for Ethnic Studies in Ljubljana, where he was also president of its Scientific Council from 2001 to 2009. From the mid-eighties of the 20th century until 1991 and in 1999, he was the head of the History department at the Faculty of Education or Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor. He teaches the history of the USA in the doctoral program American studies at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Maribor and in American Studies Program at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana and is a mentor to many doctoral students. He is still a member of the program group Minority and ethnic studies and the Slovenian national question at the Institute for National Issues.
He was the supervisor of nine completed doctorates and eight MA and over one hundred BA. He is the author of four and co-author of eight scientific monographs and more than a hundred scientific articles in which he discusses the History of the Germanization, History of the disintegration of the SFRY and the creation of the independent Slovenian state and History of Slovene immigrants in the USA. He has published many articles and books in indexed publications in many European countries and the USA. He is a Zois awardee. As a guest lecturer, he lectured at many universities in Europe, the USA and Canada.
Selected bibliography:
1. KLEMENČIČ, Matjaž, ŽAGAR, Mitja. The former Yugoslavia's diverse peoples : a reference sourcebook. Santa Barbara, Ca.: ABC-CLIO, 2004. XX, 426 pp, ilustr. Ethnic diversity within nations.

1. KLEMENČIČ, Matjaž, KLEMENČIČ, Vladimir. Die Kärntner Slowenen und die Zweite Republik : zwischen Assimilierungsdruck und dem Einsatz für die Umsetzung der Minderheitenrechte. Celovec; Ljubljana; Dunaj: Mohorjeva; = Klagenfurt; Laibach; Wien: Hermagoras. 2010. 666 pp., ilustr.,

2. KLEMENČIČ, Matjaž, MRĐENOVIĆ, Milan, ŠERUGA, Tadej. Politična participacija slovenskih etničnih skupnosti v ZDA : študija primerov Clevelanda, Ohio, in Elyja, Minnesota. Maribor: Univerzitetna založba Univerze, 2020. 486 pp., ilustr. Mednarodna knjižna zbirka Zora,

3. KLEMENČIČ, Matjaž, MAVER, Aleš. Izbrana poglavja iz zgodovine selitev od začetkov do danes. Maribor: Univerzitetna založba Univerze, 2017. 274 pp., ilustr. Mednarodna knjižna zbirka Zora,
4. MRĐENOVIĆ, Milan, KLEMENČIČ, Matjaž. Kongresnik John Blatnik v boju za državljanske pravice v ZDA. Dve domovini : razprave o izseljenstvu.. 2024, [Nr.] 60, pp. 139-159.
5. ĆUDIĆ, Bojan, Matjaž KLEMENČIČ, David HAZEMALI in Jernej Zupančič. “From Bosnia and Herzegovina to China in the 21st Century: A Case Study of Personal Migration Histories.” Journal of Balkan & Near Eastern Studies, vol. 25, no. 4, 2023, pp. 700– 17, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19448953.2023.2167168?src=.
6. HERLE, Dominik, KLEMENČIČ, Matjaž. Umeščanje Katoliške cerkve v ameriško družbo od ustanovitve apostolske prefekture Baltimore leta 1784 do prve svetovne vojne = Relation of the American Catholic Church to the institutions of American society from the establishment of the Apostolic Prefecture of Baltimore in 1784 to the First World War. Edinost in dialog : revija za ekumensko teologijo in medreligijski dialog. . 2022, vol. 77, nr. 2, pp. 183-211.
7. KLEMENČIČ, Matjaž, HAZEMALI, David, HRŽENJAK, Matevž. Slovenska župnija presvetega Srca Jezusovega v Barbertonu, Ohio, skozi zgodovino = The history of the Slovene parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Barberton, Ohio. Bogoslovni vestnik : glasilo Teološke fakultete v Ljubljani. [Tiskana izd.]. 2019, vol 79, nr. 2, pp. 505-520.
8. KLEMENČIČ, Matjaž. American Slovenes and the leftist movements in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century. Journal of American Ethnic History. 1996, vol. 15, number 3, str. 20-43.
9. KLEMENČIČ, Matjaž. Structures nationales des groupes ethniques et des minorités nationales dans l'Eurorégion Alpe-Adria. V: Langues regionales et relations transfrontalieres en Europe. Paris: L'Harmattan, 1995. pp. 173-187. "Geographie et Cultures".