Research essay

[1,250 to 1,500 word-count]

The customized assignment can be imagined as a proposal for a research paper. The student will have considerable freedom to identify a Cold War geographic, chronologic, or thematic hot spot, do some preliminary research, sketch its parameters and discuss its relevance to the themes of the course. This assignment will be as much about the process as the end-result. The student will choose and share their topic with the class. They will also discuss with the class the steps taken to identify sources. As the student progresses to writing, they will submit an annotated bibliography of their topic to the class (as a resource for everyone else), an outline to the instructor for preliminary feedback and a rough draft to the instructor for a more detailed critique before finishing. Along with the finished written project, students will prepare a brief powerpoint summary of the entire assignment to share with the class.