HST 401: Senior Seminar: Trials in U.S. History
M 9:30 am-12:15 pm
Mr. Schmeller
This is a research and writing course in which students will be expected to produce a 20 to 25 page paper on a notable court trial in American history. During the first six weeks of the course, we will read and discuss several books and articles on the development of trial courts and procedures, juries, the legal profession, and popular interest in trials from the colonial era to the present. Students will also learn how to find, read, and make use of trial reports and other relevant research materials. For the remainder of the course, students will focus on their own chosen research topic, working toward a final paper through a series of outlines, short writing assignments, bibliographic essays, and rough drafts.
Browsing Books by Call Number
Although some older books are perhaps classified in the Dewey Decimal Classification System, most Syracuse University Libraries print resources are classified in and physically arranged according to the alpha-numeric Library of Congress (LC) Classification System.
The LC system has allocated Classes E- F to American History. Class K addresses Law, with the Law of the United States covered by Subclass KF.
“E” and "F" call numbers are assigned to the American History holdings that are shelved in the Reference Collection on the 2nd floor of Bird Library and in the general and oversize stacks on the 3rd floor of Bird Library.
“K” call numbers are assigned to Law holdings that are shelved both in the Reference Collection on the 2nd floor of Bird Library and in the general and oversize stacks on the 4th floor of Bird Library.
(Note: Less frequently used library materials are kept at The Facility, a high-density storage space at 1556 Jamesville Avenue, but can be requested for next-business day delivery to a library on campus.)
To see an outline of the entire "E-F" Class and/or an outline of the "K" Class, open the document(s) below. Then click on any Subclasses of interest for outlines of their classification schemes.
There are 3 ways to obtain journal articles:
o ON-LINE – accessing articles directly from full-text databases or from on-line journals to which the Library subscribes.
o IN PRINT – for articles published in journals to which the Library has subscriptions for print only; or for articles in journals for which the Library’s on-line access does not go backward or forward enough in time.
o VIA INTERLIBRARY LOAN (ILL) – for articles in journals for which the Library has neither print nor on-line coverage. To obtain material from a journal to which the SU Library lacks direct access, submit an Interlibrary Loan request via the ILLiad system.
If the SU Library does not hold an item that you need for your research, we will try to borrow it for you from another library. Free interlibrary loan (ILL) service is provided through ILLiad, an automated system. Some publications (e.g. journal articles) may be e-mailed directly to you as PDF files. Books must be picked up at Bird Library.
If you haven't used ILLiad before, you will be prompted to fill out a registration form and you may want to take a look at information provided for "First Time Users."