H U.S.HISTORY FROM 1877 TO PRESENT

HISTORY 131: U.S.HISTORY FROM 1877 TO PRESENT

THIELMAN | FALL 2020 Historical Thinking Essay #1: Digital History Project Proposal An essential concept of this course is learning to use critical analysis to explore how different people, events, organizations, groups, and even technological advances, to name a few, have impacted life in the United States. Citizens and non-citizens alike have worked to make this nation a better place, yet others have done much to oppress certain groups. The period from Reconstruction (1877) to the present day provides an excellent historical case to examine American society. For this course, your culminating assignment will be a Digital History Project in which you will combine writing with media (pictures, videos, social media) to produce a digital history project. Keeping that in mind, the proposal that is due this week has the following aims:

• To state the topic or theme of your digital history project. • State your thesis (argument). Will you argue in support of or against something? • To explain why you are choosing the topic that you have chosen. • Where will you gather your primary evidence?

Details • Your DHP proposal should be 1 – 2 pages (approximately 250-500 words). • You must use Times New Roman, 12 pt Font, double spaced • You must use at least five (5) primary source documents as evidence. • HT Essay #1 is due to CC by 11:59 PM) on Sunday, Oct 18.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A SOLID PROPOSAL • Think Historically. Employ the strategies you’ve learned with respect to

sourcing, contextualizing, close reading, using background knowledge, reading the sources, and corroborating.

• Think for yourself. Conduct the writing with your own brainpower, in your own

words. QUOTING OR PARAPHRASING MUST BE CITED.

• Assert your thesis, or main idea. You are required to introduce the main argument of your response in the first paragraph and then provide evidence to substantiate your assertions in the body of the essay. Last, your thesis statement must be highlighted and underlined!

• Use evidence in your analysis. Provide ample evidence to support your argument(s) by citing concrete examples and illustrations from your reading of the source documents. Identify relevant people, places, events, and use quotes and page numbers.

• Avoid referring to yourself. Do voice your perspective (after all, this

is your analysis of the documents and proposal) but do not use personal sentiments such as “I feel that…” or “I believe that…” Your essay should make a historical argument based on evidence in the primary source documents you find—not based on your opinion or your own story. As such, refrain from the use of writing in the first person. Historical work is NEVER written in the first person. Doing so will result in a loss of points.

• Cite your work! Historians use the Chicago Style, however, for this proposal, students can use either APA or MLA formats. (For more info, see CC Shell)