essay
H ALKUBRA
finalexaminstructions.docxI’m asking that you write a 700-1000 word essay in response to the following:
The Oxford English Dictionary defines modernity as “An intellectual tendency or social perspective characterized by departure from or repudiation of traditional ideas, doctrines, and cultural values in favour of contemporary or radical values and beliefs.”[1] Historians look at the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution as the “Dual Revolution,” the moment the modern came into existence and when tradition began to be challenged in many ways. New notions of government, liberty, nationhood, cities, empire, social class, economics, and war took center stage in public and political discussions. In the exam, please answer the following: Describe how the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the creation of the modern nation state led to significant ideological, political and social developments in the Modern West. You should consider the roles of different groups and people, such as social activists, urban planners, political scientists, politicians, imperialists, etc. In answering this question consider the reactions represented by different ideologies: Romanticism, Socialism, Nationalism, Liberalism, etc. Make sure you make clear to which aspects of modernity different writers are reacting.
Primary sources you must consider, discuss and use direct evidence from in your essay exam:
Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Secondary Sources you must consider and use as background in your exam:
B. A. Pavlac’s Supremacies and Diversities
Don’t use other sources except these
essay should have an introduction that helps your reader (me) identify your response to the essay prompt. Think of the introduction as a roadmap—it will tell me exactly what you plan to talk about in your exam. Make sure you have a main thesis statement—one sentence that describes what your essay will argue about how people reacted to and experienced modernity in the nineteenth century. Did they react well? Badly? In different ways? Make that clear in your thesis.
Each part of your answer should follow in supporting paragraphs. Each of these must have an easily identifiable topic sentence that describes how the paragraph supports your main point. Each paragraph should also provide evidence. Evidence must be drawn from the primary sources listed above. For this exam you must provide primary source evidence in the form of paraphrasing AND direct quotations from Frankenstein, and Communist Manifesto. Supporting, or secondary, evidence must come from your textbook and lectures, (and from library resources if you need them). That is how you’ll fill in the chronology and background information.
Every time you use a piece of evidence, either in the form of paraphrasing, summary, or direct quotation, you need to provide me with a citation—a reference that indicates where you got the information, who wrote that information, etc. A guide to proper citations for history papers is available on Moodle. You must use this guide as your write your exam. If you do not cite your sources properly, you will receive no credit for that portion of the exam.
Finally, your essay should have a conclusion. The point of a conclusion is to summarize your main argument. It reminds the reader of what your main point was and how you demonstrated the correctness or viability of your argument. Just as the introduction tells a reader where you’ll be going in the exam, the conclusion should tell the reader where they’ve just been. It can feel repetitive, but it is important for you as a writer to reflect on what you’ve just accomplished, and it is important for the reader to have a nice wrap-up of your argument.
