HIS

Your Choices (Choose one, A-E):

A. The Cold War was at least partly “fought” in the realm of ideas, expressed in the careful choice of words (and, implicitly, the rejection of other alternative words). How did some people who commented on current events during the Cold War use words in an effort shape their audience’s attitudes and/or responses to those events? Include examples and quotes from at least three distinct primary sources.

Historical thinking skills especially suited for this topic: critical thinking, contextualizing, interpreting

SOURCES to USE for this topic

· PDF file of “The Cold War and the Third World,” from Reilly, Worlds of History, Chapter 26, found in the “Readings” folder in Blackboard’s “Content” area.

· Relevant contextual information from the course textbook, Wiesner-Hanks, History of World Societies.

B. First, outline the general causes of the Great Depression, as a global phenomenon. Then outline what the most general negative effects were around the world. Then compare and contrast how two distinct world societies tried to address these problems in order to recover from the depression. (NOTE: remember to include, among other things, the significance of militarization and warfare as one of the responses to depression! That is a very important part of the larger context)

For this paper, you are required to compare and contrast:

i. Either Great Britain OR the United States, with

ii. Either Germany OR Japan (don’t ignore the role of militarization and warfare)

iii. As long as you include good information on your choice of the above societies, you may also include other world societies in your analysis.

Historical thinking skills especially suited for this topic: contextualizing, corroborating, assessing

SOURCES to USE for this topic:

· PDF file of “The Industrial Crisis and the Centralization of Government, 1924-1939”), from Wiesner, Discovering the Global Past, Chapter 11, found in the “Readings” folder in Blackboard’s “Content” area.

· Relevant contextual information from the course textbook, Wiesner-Hanks, History of World Societies. If the primary sources do not include adequate information about the larger context, you will find it in the textbook. For the role of militarization and warfare in “solving” depressions, you may also need to use the first part of the chapter on World War II.

· The outline “About Depressions” could also be a helpful resource.[footnoteRef:1] [1: You may use it, of course, but don’t rely so heavily on it that you neglect historical context and evidence from the other sources. Reference it simply like this: “About Depressions,” Bennett, page number]

C. Describe, explain, and evaluate the behaviors of the activist students and Red Guards in Maoist China’s Cultural Revolution. Focus on the most intense phase, from about 1966 to 1970. What idealistic visions and goals seemed to motivate them? What (and who) were the targets of their condemnation and violence? In sum, how effective were their activities in achieving their goals, by about 1970?

Historical thinking skills especially suited for this topic: contextualizing, interpreting, assessing

SOURCES to USE for this topic:

· Relevant contextual information from the course textbook, Wiesner-Hanks, History of World Societies, especially Chapter 31, pages 833-840

· PDF file of “China’s Cultural Revolution Sources” found in the “Readings” folder in Blackboard’s “Content” area, containing:

· Selections from Chapter 8 in Edwin E. Moise, Modern China (2008). This is a very useful secondary source. Use insights and examples from it (referenced, of course).

· Selections of primary sources from the Cultural Revolution era

· (Ignore the last document about Lei Feng for this topic)

D. In what significant ways did Maoist thought and practice during the Cultural Revolution resemble religious thought and practice?

NOTE: This is a topic for students who have some good awareness about or experience with religion. Religions vary, of course; some have more in common with Maoism than others. It helps to be specific about which religious traditions you are referring to. Certainly there are general features shared by many religious traditions that have parallels in Maoism. For example (in no particular order):

· a promised “heaven;”

· holy scriptures and a body of doctrines;

· black-and-white notions of evil and good (i.e., a kind of “dualism”);

· suppression and punishment of heresies and heretics;

· sense of life-meaning and purpose;

· ideas of ritual rebirth;

· pilgrimages to holy sites;

· self-sacrifice in a holy cause;

· lifelong self-purification, self-denial, and simple living;

· prophet-like and saint-like figures;

· a missionary/evangelizing imperative (a drive to win converts);

· demonic opposition;

· Etc., etc.

Organizing your paragraphs around such themes, and demonstrating parallels expressed in Maoist history and sources, would be one effective way of writing this paper. If you are overwhelmed with too many examples for the space available, you may lay out a more limited, focused agenda in your introductory paragraph for your paper.

Historical thinking skills especially suited for this topic: interpreting, contextualizing

SOURCES to USE for this topic:

· Relevant contextual information from the course textbook, Wiesner-Hanks, History of World Societies, especially Chapter 31, pages 833-840

· PDF file of “China’s Cultural Revolution Sources” found in the “Readings” folder in Blackboard’s “Content” area, containing:

· Selections from Chapter 8 in Edwin E. Moise, Modern China (2008). This is a very useful secondary source. Use insights and examples from it (referenced, of course).

· Selections of primary sources from the Cultural Revolution era

· You could also quote and reference appropriate religious texts that you have in mind to illustrate your points, though this is not strictly necessary.

E. If you wish, you may suggest your own paper topic based on other primary source material that has been assigned during this semester. Clear it with me first in a course message before you invest much time in it, because I may not approve your suggestion.

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GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Include a title page with the following information:

A. Title

B. Your Name

C. Class Information [World Civilizations to 1600, Spring 2020, SUNY Schenectady County Community College]

D. Professor’s Name: Dr. Dean Bennett

E. Date

F. A copy of the original question/prompt you are responding to from above (just the bold part)

2. Insert page numbers.

3. Your paper should be 1300-1600 words (that’s about 4-5 pages), and double-spaced (11 or 12-point font, double-spaced). Start your main text at the very TOP of the page after the title page.

A. Please include a Word Count at the end of your paper. The total words are from the body of your paper, not including the title page and footnotes.

4. Include a relatively brief (about half a page usually works) introductory paragraph in which you do the following:

A. Establish the necessary basic information for the paper that follows. This includes the historical context (times and places under consideration and other vital contextual information).

B. Introduce the problem. This is where you lay out the basic issues that the rest of the paper is going to resolve or explain. If your reader has no idea what the issues under consideration are, it is hard to judge whether the paper is accomplishing anything.

C. At the end of your introduction, provide a clear thesis statement (this is your answer to the questions or problem—your argument).

i. Caution: a thesis statement is NOT simply an announcement of the topic or restatement of the question to be addressed. So what is it?....

ii. A thesis statement outlines your answer to the question or problem that has been raised. It contains new information not provided in the question, and typically gives some hint of the subsequent organization of your essay. It is a statement that should be proven with the evidence that you provide in the body of your paper.[footnoteRef:2] [2: Some overzealous students make the mistake of including a long catalog of detailed specific points of evidence in a very long introductory paragraph. This is a waste of space, and not necessary. The detailed evidence can and should be saved for the body of your paper.]

5. You should begin each paragraph in the body of the paper with a topic sentence that indicates the relationship of that paragraph to the thesis of your paper. Lazy (efficient?) readers rely on topic sentences to signal the importance and relevance of any part of your paper.

6. Transitions: Try to arrange smooth transitions from the end of your previous paragraph into the topic sentence of the next one. It is often helpful to include a linking word or concept in the last sentence of the paragraph that reappears in the next topic sentence.

7. Throughout the body of your paper, illustrate and support your general statements with specific, concrete examples and appropriate contextual details. This includes accurate places, names, and events (any event that happened at a specific time should have a date, even if it is just an approximate range), etc.

8. SOURCES

A. The sources listed in the topic prompts above (A PDF file plus the course textbook) should be enough. You do not need to do additional outside research for this essay (in fact, I discourage it).

B. IF you nevertheless do choose to do outside research for this essay (even though I discourage it), then

i. You risk not giving enough weight to the primary source material, and I will have to figure out how to penalize you. If, on the other hand, your outside research is clearly supplemental, and not the dominant part of your paper, that’s perfectly fine.

ii. Any other sources—if you use them—should be high quality published scholarly books and/or articles (in print or online; you can find good articles in JSTOR, for example).

9. REFERENCING: DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! When you use any published material in any part of your paper—including course material and internet resources—whether you directly quote from a source or simply paraphrase it, you must

i. If you don’t already know how to use footnotes, look at “How to Make and Use Footnotes,” posted in the “Readings” folder in our class Blackboard sites “Content” area.

ii. To reference material from one of the PDF files for the different topics, follow this pattern: Document Author’s Name, “Document Title,” in Book Author’s Name, Book Name, page number. For example:

1. (Sources for Topic A) Lumumba said, “The Soviet Union was the only Great Power whose stand conformed to our people’s will and desire.”[footnoteRef:3] [3: Patrice Lumumba, “Interview with Russian News Agency TASS,” in Reilly, Worlds of History, page 916.]

2. (Sources for topic B) “It is quite natural that Japan should rush upon the last remaining door.”[footnoteRef:4] [4: Hashimoto Kingoro, “Address to Young Men,” in Discovering the Global Past, page 342.]

3. (Sources for Topics C and D) “You say we are too arrogant? ‘Arrogant’ is just what we want to be!”[footnoteRef:5] [5: “Long Live the Revolutionary Rebel Spirit of the Proletariat!,” page 8.]

iii. To reference the Wiesner-Hanks textbook, simply give author, book title, and page number. If you are using anything other than the 11th edition, give the edition number, too.[footnoteRef:6] [6: Wiesner-Hanks, A History of World Societies, page 1141.]

B. If (and only if) you do outside research (see above, under “sources,” you must provide a bibliography or works cited page at the end of your essay indicating your additional source(s). Chicago is the normal style for History, but MLA or other referencing styles are acceptable. I don’t care what referencing style you use, as long as you are clear and consistent.

C. Failure to reference your work could result in a ZERO on the assignment!

D. Suggestion: while you prepare your notes for the paper, remember to jot down the page numbers so you don’t have to go back and find them later.

10. You are required to use include abundant relevant QUOTES from the primary source documents for this course. Such quotes are a very effective way to provide supporting evidence for your general statements.

A. Be careful to incorporate your quotes smoothly into your own sentences. For example, suppose you are trying to establish that a man was hungry, so you want to quote a sentence of his that reads, “I want to eat cake.”

i. Wrong: The man seemed hungry. “I want to eat cake.”

ii. Also wrong: The man seemed hungry because “I want to eat cake.”

iii. Right: The man seemed hungry because he said he wanted “to eat cake.”

iv. Also right: The man seemed hungry because he said, “I want to eat cake.”

v. Also right: The man seemed hungry because of what he said: “I want to eat cake.” [A colon is inserted when the preceding material is a complete and finished sentence. Use this sparingly, if at all]

B. When including quotes, a footnote is usually not enough. You should make sure your reader has a good idea of where the quotes come from (in other words, some basic “sourcing”). There is a right way and a wrong way to do this:

i. Wrong: When I was reading the book, Perry, Sources of the Western Tradition, Chapter 10, section 1, the document “A Catholic Critic of the Church” expressed very harsh attitudes about the clergy. “They are so blessed by their selflove as to be fully persuaded that they themselves dwell in the third heaven.” (Perry, 327).

ii. Right: In a satirical work entitled Praise of Folly (1509), Erasmus of Rotterdam—a famous Dutch humanist critic of the Church—disapprovingly observed that the clergy “are so blessed by their selflove as to be fully persuaded that they themselves dwell in the third heaven.”[footnoteRef:7] [7: Erasmus of Rotterdam, “A Catholic Critic of the Church,” in Perry, Sources of the Western Tradition, 423.]

C. It’s best to avoid very long quotes. If you do include one, it might seem like you are “dumping” useless quotes simply to fill up paper space. The way to avoid giving this impression is to spend at least as much space analyzing said quote in your own words. Any quote that extends over three lines should be presented in “block” format (indented and single-spaced):

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

D. When you use any other part of the Perry sourcebook or course textbook (besides the text of the primary documents themselves), it’s usually best to PARAPHRASE. Keep direct quotes from these and any other secondary sources to a minimum. Note that the introductory material before each document in Perry is NOT primary source material.

11. Avoid needless repetition. Don’t be redundant. (But remember, there is nothing wrong with frequently reminding your reader how your discussion answers the question and relates to the thesis statement).

12. In a good essay, you should acknowledge and deal with evidence that may complicate or challenge your own conclusions. If the complicating evidence is so problematic that it seriously challenges your thesis statement, and you can’t explain it away, you may need to revise your thesis statement to accommodate it.

13. End with a strong conclusion that convinces your reader that you have carefully considered many sides of the question and that your thesis statement is still thoroughly justified.

14. Writing style and tone matter. Choose words carefully for best effect. Maintain a detached, scholarly attitude.[footnoteRef:8] [8: A “detached” scholarly attitude means that you take your own emotional responses out of the picture. The paper is not about how the sources make you feel. It is not appropriate to issue moral judgements about historical people and events. Particularly bad is an attitude of uncomprehending disgust or disbelief: “I just can’t imagine why they would do that!” or “These people are just so evil!” Saying that might make you look like a virtuous person, but it also shows that you have not learned the historical context or understood how historical figures were thinking. To name an obvious example: if you want to avoid another Holocaust, it is not helpful to dismiss the Nazis as simply evil and fail to understand the contexts and thought-processes that led to those events.]

15. Use standard English grammar and punctuation. It’s a good idea to read your drafts out loud to make sure everything sounds right and makes sense. Here are some especially common trouble areas:

A. Commas

i. Wrong: Because I wanted to eat my mother made me some stew.

1. See? This reads like you wanted to eat your mother.[footnoteRef:9] [9: While grading, I have sometimes seriously misunderstood a student’s intention and meaning because of a missing comma. I’ll spend like five minutes trying to give feedback about why the statement is flawed before realizing, “Oh…there’s a missing comma! What you really meant was…”]

ii. Right: Because I wanted to eat, my mother made me some stew.

B. Sentence Fragments/Incomplete Sentences [lacking a main subject or main verb, or both]

i. Wrong: On the other side of river, where boats had been docking to release the prisoners.

ii. Right: On the other side of the river, where boats had been docking to release the prisoners, the villagers heard a loud explosion.[footnoteRef:10] [10: There generally needs to be a main subject and a main verb.]

C. Capitalization

i. Wrong: I instinctively capitalize random Important Words.

ii. Right: I do not capitalize random important words.

D. Tense: The usual practice in history-writing is to use the past-tense (unlike in writing about literature, which often uses the present-tense).

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