classroom fieldwork
simulations.
the days class gets loud on purpose.
the desk
26 / 27the case file
hidden history· semester capstonePick an approved claim, investigate it, and defend your verdict in front of the class. Confirmed, debunked, misleading, or unproven—the point is how you got there.
how it works +how it works −
- ·You draw from the approved claim list — each one has real sources to find and a trap built in.
- ·Every claim breaks into sub-claims. You run each one to ground separately, with a source log.
- ·Your verdict must be earned: reliable documents, corroboration, and an honest account of what you couldn’t confirm.
- ·Presentations run in verdict order: confirmed first, debunked second, unproven last.
- ·An honest "unproven" backed by good research beats a confident answer backed by nothing. House rule.
the fine print +the fine print −
- ·Any factual claim in your presentation can be challenged from the floor.
- ·We attack claims, never people. Discovering your own belief doesn’t survive the evidence counts as a win.
the surveillance debate
hidden history· unit 5COINTELPRO is documented. So is the Church Committee that exposed it. Now the class argues the line: how much watching is too much — and who watches the watchers?
how it works +how it works −
- ·Structured format: opening cases, cross-examination, and closing arguments, with assigned sides.
- ·Every factual claim needs a source you can produce on demand — including the teacher’s.
- ·You argue the side you draw, not the side you like. Knowing the other side’s best case is the point.
- ·The audience scores arguments on evidence, not volume.
the mkultra hearing
hidden history· unit 4A 2026 congressional hearing, fifty years late: witnesses, counsel, and committee members re-open the MKUltra file. Everything in the packet is real — that's what makes the hearing work.
how it works +how it works −
- ·Roles are drawn: committee members, witnesses, counsel, and the press gallery.
- ·Every question and answer must trace to a document in the source packet.
- ·The destroyed-files problem is part of the exercise: what can you still prove, and what is honestly unprovable?
- ·The committee issues findings using the four verdicts — on the record.
the michigan capstone
beyond the scoreboard· end of semesterA team research project on a sports story from Michigan’s backyard — Joe Louis, Hank Greenberg, the Malice at the Palace, Claressa Shields, or one you pitch yourself. Real sources, real stakes, local ground.
how it works +how it works −
- ·Teams pick a Michigan sports story and trace it through all four course threads: business, media, law, and who gets to play.
- ·Primary sources required — newspapers of the day, broadcast footage, court records, the stuff historians actually use.
- ·The deliverable: a documented case for what your story says about America, presented to the class.
- ·Pitching your own story is encouraged. Michigan has more of them than the syllabus can hold.
socratic seminars
both classes· every unitA discussion where the evidence sits in the middle of the room and everyone comes armed with a prep ticket. The quietest well-sourced argument beats the loudest unsourced one.
the rules +the rules −
- ·Entry requires a completed seminar ticket — your claims, your sources, your questions.
- ·Build on, push back, or redirect — but address the argument, not the person who made it.
- ·"What’s your source?" is always in bounds. For everyone. Including the teacher.
- ·Use the unit’s vocabulary when it actually helps the argument.