Your semester-long research project will allow you to demonstrate your skills as a historian to generate a significant research question; develop a strategy to gather, sift, and interpret primary and secondary source evidence; engage with other historians; arguments; demonstrate an intersectional approach to the diversities of cultures and historical experiences in the Americas; craft a historical argument interpreting the past; and communicate your findings clearly and with style.
You will present your research in several ways, re-shaping your analysis as appropriate for different genres of historical communication. You’ll complete an annotated bibliography, create a new Wikipedia Article presenting an encyclopedic overview of some aspect of your topic, present your research to the class, and finally, write a formal research paper.
Approaching the Project:
We will break this project into multiple steps with chances for revision and refinement during the course of the semester. Much of the initial research and pre-writing will be shared on your blogs. A few initial dates:
- Topic ideas for your project posted to your blog by 8pm on Sunday, February 12
- Library Resources Presentation with Denise Monbarren on Monday, February 20
- Annotated Bibliography due by 4pm on Friday, March 3
- Final Wikipedia Article and Revisions memo due on Monday, April 10
- Technology Workshop on planning for your multi-media presentation on Friday, March 31
- Pecha Kucha Multi-media presentations starting in Week 11
- First draft of your essay due in class for peer review on Wednesday, April 26
- Final Research Paper & memo explaining your approach to revisions due by 4pm on Friday, May 5
Grading:
In evaluating this assignment, I will consider the strength of your historical analysis as well as your writing ability. Your project must be well organized, logically presented, and clearly written. I expect you to incorporate feedback from your initial drafts and Pecha Kucha presentation into your final project.
I encourage all of you to take advantage of the Writing Center’s excellent feedback at any stage in the writing process.
Research Paper Requirements:
- Your argument must be clear, precise, and persuasive.
- Your essay must have a historiography section in the introduction that engages with the arguments of at least three secondary sources.
- Your essay must demonstrate your skills of primary source analysis, using your interpretation of at least four primary sources as evidence.
- Your research paper must be 2500-3000 words, double spaced, in a 12pt standard font. (Footnotes are 10 pts)
- Your essay must be free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.
- Your revisions memo should summarize the suggestions for revision you received from your professor and peers. How did you incorporate these comments into your revisions? What strategies did you employ to improve your research paper’s structure, argument, use of evidence, and clarity?
- All citations must follow Chicago style.
Upload your final essay and revisions essay as separate pdf files to Moodle no later than 4pm on Friday, May 5. The research paper is worth 20% of your course grade.