hist

Hist. 110B

Sect. 28 (TuTh 2:30 pm)

Cal. State Fullerton

Dr. Jennifer B. Thompson

Fall 2018

DOCUMENTS PAPER: 1850s to PRESENT

Overview :.

For this second assignment, as with the first, we will be working with written sources, called primary documents. They pertain to a host of varied topics. The ones for the truly modern world will include such items as modern colonialism, global wars, and much more.

Assignment goals : This assignment, weighted as 35% of your course grade, has the following objectives in mind:

· To unearth lifestyles and worldviews of people from the past, as seen in primary sources.

· To gain skills that can help us to explore documents for history courses.

· To see how a study of the past can help us to better understand ourselves today.

Please note the extra credit option on p. 3 of this prompt.

Instructions : The documents that you will be writing about must come from a physical copy or Kindle/Nook version (if available) of Elizabeth Pollard and Clifford Rosenberg (hereafter, “Pollard and Rosenberg”), editors, Worlds Together Worlds Apart. A Companion Reader, Second Edition, Volume 2. ( You will receive no credit for the assignment if you rely on documents or general information from World History in Brief or from documents in Volume 1 of the Pollard primary documents book. Document selections from the first paper are also not available for this assignment.) It’s also vital to use the second edition because earlier editions will not include the documents you will need for this term. Because the documents in each chapter are NOT always organized into a unifying theme (as they might seem to be at first glance), I’m allowing you more latitude in selecting documents.

Pick any two documents (readings) from chapters 17-21 or any of the pieces in the casebook: “Rubber and the World Economy” from Pollard and Rosenberg, vol. 2. You may select items of the same kind or completely different types of history.

It’s important to distinguish between the actual document and supporting content. Preceding each document will be the document title, followed by an introduction that previews the source. The same convention is in place throughout this volume.

To get the most out of a document, you should do a few minutes of preparation. Read the introduction, then the first sentence of each paragraph in that document, and then the questions that follow the document. It’s vital to do this form of pre-reading so you will have spotted the key points contained in that document. After this, of course, read the document carefully.

Paper organization: You have two choices for structuring your paper. One way is the following: general paper introduction, summation and analysis of the first document, summation and analysis of the second document, and personal reactions and assessment. This works best if you choose documents that appear to have little in common (for example: one document is military and the other is cultural). The second way to organize your paper is as follows: general paper introduction, summation of the first document, summation of the second document, analysis of both documents, and personal reactions and assessment. This works well for documents that belong to the same category of history (social and social, economic and economic, etc.), in which you can compare and contrast features in the documents. Whatever organizing strategy you adopt, make sure your paper begins with a general introduction that sets the tone, then identifies the source book (Pollard and Rosenberg), and hints at content you will cover in the body (core) of your paper.

Summarizing content: You will identify each document by document author (if known) and the title of that document. In the summations section, select a few points (ideally three per document) you noticed that you will summarize (reporting of facts) for each document. I will not expect you to discuss EVERY important item in a document. (That would make the paper much too long or very superficial.) In going through the material, look for what you believe to be the key points of each document. What type of content did each document cover: political, diplomatic, military, trade, technology, agriculture, gender, social classes, ethnicity, creative, religious, environment? For what purpose was each document written: to inform, instruct, persuade, intimidate, inspire, entertain, or something else? What points do you think each author emphasized? (Putting it another way: which details/aspects really jumped out at you?) All of this constitutes summarizing content.

Analyzing content:

Next, be sure to furnish some form of analysis of each document. Here is a short (not inclusive) list of aspects that could be analyzed:

· Ways (different/similar) people respond to circumstances.

· Mentalities (perceptions of the “other”; motives for action).

· Devices/technology

· Strategy/tactics (military and civilians apps)

· Degrees of overall clarity of a primary source

· Terminology (neutral or charged/biased language; archaic or contemporary terms)

· Any inquiry that asks for an explanation of why or how something took place (causation).

· Any inquiry that seeks an explanation of historical impact (consequences)

· Any inquiry that asks for an explanation of the pre-conditions.

· Social aspects (gender; ethnicity; class; immigration; activism)

· Political aspects (government structure; positions; elections; treaties)

· Economic aspects (agricultural; financial; commerce; manufacturing; job conditions)

· Cultural aspects (religious; artistic; sports/entertainment)

· Environmental aspects (weather/climate; terrain; ecosystems; species)

· Military aspects (planning; uniforms; weaponry; equipment; communications)

Alternatively, you could base some of your analysis on one or more of the “Questions” that appear after the primary document. I will leave it up to you to decide on your approach to analysis. But if you decide to write on some of the “Questions,” do NOT write the questions in your paper, just your answers to them.

In the analysis section, you will want to briefly show any ways the two or three documents had points in common or differed substantially. If, for example, the documents discussed military equipment, in which ways was the equipment of one army similar to that of another? Or was the equipment of each of the armies quite different from one another?

Personal reflections and analysis: The last part of your paper will be “personal reflections and analysis. Here, you are strongly encouraged to include some of the ways you reacted to the material. What content in each reading moved you (angered, saddened, surprised, thrilled, inspired, or raised your curiosity?)

Technical aspects: Here are the technical requirements for this assignment. For most submissions, your paper should be (ideally) about five pages long of text (your general introduction; core content of summarization and analysis; personal reflections and analysis). This should be followed by a list of all your sources (including any that are not in the Pollard book), double-spaced, with twelve-point font and one-inch margins. Extra credit work will lengthen the paper about 1 ½ pages. Be sure to paginate (number each page) and write both the class designation and the section number on the front page (History 110B, section 28). An optional title page will not be included in the total number of pages. (A five-page paper is not a title page and four pages of content, for instance.) The bibliography should be the last page of the paper, conforming to the pagination of the rest of the paper. (Example: if the main part of your paper is numbered 1-5, the bibliography should be on page 6.) To indicate a new section (“Summations,” “Analysis,” or “Personal Reflections and Analysis”), the title of a section should appear above the beginning of that section. Avoid large amounts of blank space between sections, as this is bad formatting! I am somewhat flexible as to the exact page count. But avoid extremes. A paper that is less than four long pages will be too brief, but one of thirteen or more pages will need to be trimmed. Please contact me before the very last minute if you face any problems regarding this assignment.

Extra credit : You may add a third document from chapters 17-21 of Pollard and Rosenberg, vol. 2 or from the Casebook, “Rubber and the World Economy.” Your paper will be structured in one of two ways. You may do this: general introduction, summation and analysis of first document, summation and analysis of second document, summation and analysis of third document, personal reflections and overall analysis. The second way to structure your work would be the following: general paper introduction, summation of first document, summation of second document, summation of third document, combined analysis for all three documents, personal reflections and overall analysis. If you do this (by writing about an extra 1 ½ pages), your grade for this assignment will be boosted by 2/3 letter grade.

Acknowledgements: For this semester, the mandatory form of acknowledging source material (to avoid plagiarism) will be your bibliography. For the proper format, be sure to consult The Chicago Manuel of Style Online Guide, 17th edition. If you want to include, endnotes, too, email me or visit me in my office, and I will show you what to do. But the use of endnotes for any assignment this term is completely optional. It would be great if you listed each source separately on the bibliography. But it will be fine if you simply write the full listing for the Pollard and Rosenberg book in your bibliography. If you consulted any other works, do so briefly, and make sure they are included in the bibliography.

Due date : Please turn in your second documents paper NO LATER THAN 6 pm. on Thursday, November 15. After this due date, a late penalty will apply. For an emergency (car trouble, very ill, etc.), you may email the work. However, to avoid receiving a late penalty in such instances, it’s ESSENTIAL that you email your paper that day, then turn in a hard copy during the next class session. Try your very best to avoid turning in work by email on or after November 15. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee the return of graded work by the last day of instruction. In such a case, work will be returned during the final exam.

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