kim woods
Introduction & Concepts:
The very idea of the “modern world” is complex; in fact, it is impossible to describe and fully comprehend the multitude of people, ideas, and events that defined modern world history. But, by channeling this multitude into broad categories and identifying themes or issues that different people, ideas, and events shared in common, we can make sense of an otherwise chaotic mass of information.
One main idea that many people in the modern world embraced was “freedom.” However, different people defined “freedom” in different ways in various times and places. Our job as historians is to understand what freedom meant to people in the past and to describe the ways they sought to gain or keep their liberty—or the ways in which some people or groups restricted the freedom of others. To aid you in this effort, think about the following four types of freedom and how the material from HIS 11 might relate to each one:
Freedom of Action (to do what you want)
Freedom of Conscience (to say or think what you want)
Freedom of Association (to have the friends or allies you want)
Economic Freedom (to choose how you work and what you buy)
Project Assignment:
Your project this semester is to trace the way
one (1)
of these four types of freedom developed, changed, and affected the lives of people and/or the shapes of societies over the span of the modern era. During the semester, you will write a series of essays (one short Response Paper and the Midterm Exam), which will help you develop your ideas about freedom and relate them to different historical examples. The last essay will be a
4-6 page paper
due by 11:59 PM
on December 4 2016
. All essays except the Midterm should be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font, and turned in through SafeAssign on Blackboard.
Your semester project paper
must
contain the following elements:
A clear and concise thesis statement
Clearly identified sources of information (in footnotes or MLA citations)
Multiple historical examples that support your thesis
Your
thesis
will come from the following process:
Identify
one
of the four (4) types of freedom above that will be the theme of your project. (You will inform me of your choice in your first response paper.)
Choose three (3) major events, subjects, or historical figures covered in the course materials this semester that you think relate to your chosen type of freedom. Each historical example should come from a different one of the ten units listed on the syllabus. In other words,
each example should cover a different place and time
—
do not
draw all of your examples from a single historical period or location.
Select three (3) primary sources from the documents listed on the HIS 11 Syllabus—one related to
each
example you chose above.
Your
thesis
should then address the following questions:
Comparing and contrasting your historical examples and documents, do they show
change
or
continuity
in the .
kim woods Introduction & Concepts The very idea of the moder.docx
1. kim woods
Introduction & Concepts:
The very idea of the “modern world” is complex; in fact, it is
impossible to describe and fully comprehend the multitude of
people, ideas, and events that defined modern world history.
But, by channeling this multitude into broad categories and
identifying themes or issues that different people, ideas, and
events shared in common, we can make sense of an otherwise
chaotic mass of information.
One main idea that many people in the modern world embraced
was “freedom.” However, different people defined “freedom” in
different ways in various times and places. Our job as historians
is to understand what freedom meant to people in the past and
to describe the ways they sought to gain or keep their liberty—
or the ways in which some people or groups restricted the
freedom of others. To aid you in this effort, think about the
following four types of freedom and how the material from HIS
11 might relate to each one:
Freedom of Action (to do what you want)
Freedom of Conscience (to say or think what you want)
Freedom of Association (to have the friends or allies you want)
Economic Freedom (to choose how you work and what you buy)
Project Assignment:
Your project this semester is to trace the way
one (1)
of these four types of freedom developed, changed, and
affected the lives of people and/or the shapes of societies over
the span of the modern era. During the semester, you will write
a series of essays (one short Response Paper and the Midterm
Exam), which will help you develop your ideas about freedom
and relate them to different historical examples. The last essay
2. will be a
4-6 page paper
due by 11:59 PM
on December 4 2016
. All essays except the Midterm should be typed, double-spaced,
in 12-point Times New Roman font, and turned in through
SafeAssign on Blackboard.
Your semester project paper
must
contain the following elements:
A clear and concise thesis statement
Clearly identified sources of information (in footnotes or MLA
citations)
Multiple historical examples that support your thesis
Your
thesis
will come from the following process:
Identify
one
of the four (4) types of freedom above that will be the theme of
your project. (You will inform me of your choice in your first
response paper.)
Choose three (3) major events, subjects, or historical figures
covered in the course materials this semester that you think
relate to your chosen type of freedom. Each historical example
should come from a different one of the ten units listed on the
syllabus. In other words,
each example should cover a different place and time
—
do not
draw all of your examples from a single historical period or
3. location.
Select three (3) primary sources from the documents listed on
the HIS 11 Syllabus—one related to
each
example you chose above.
Your
thesis
should then address the following questions:
Comparing and contrasting your historical examples and
documents, do they show
change
or
continuity
in the nature of freedom over time? In other words, were they
similar or different? Why?
Lastly, you will include in the conclusion of your essay 2-3
sentences that compare and/or contrast your historical examples
with your
own
definition of freedom. This will be worth ten (10) points of the
Semester Project grade.
Guidelines:
When selecting your three historical examples and primary
sources use the following guidelines to help you:
1. Historical Examples:
Select an event, individual, or group that we covered in the
course this semester. Briefly describe your example (5 W’s) and
relate it to your thesis. For this summary, your sources of
information can include the textbook and an online source such
as Wikipedia, but a scholarly source, such as a book or article
from the BCC Library or one of its databases, is recommended.
Use the following questions to guide you as you relate your
chosen example to your thesis:
Why is your example considered a significant part of history
4. and still remembered today?
Did the participant(s) involved tend to support freedom or were
they critical of others’ calls for freedom—or both? What were
their views on freedom?
Did your examples make the world a better place? What effects
did participants’ actions have on other people? Were those
effects positive or negative?
2. Primary Sources:
Select one (1) primary source from the documents listed on the
HIS 11 Syllabus that is related to each example. (You
may
use one of the documents that you previously discussed in the
Response Paper, but you are
not required
to do so.) Analyze the document in relation to both your thesis
and your chosen example. Use the following questions to help
you:
How does the document relate to your historical example?
(Please note that this does
not
mean that a participant had to have written the document, or
even agree with it. It
does
mean that they are from the same historical period and/or dealt
with overlapping social, cultural, political, or economic
issues—so
be specific
!) What is the document’s historical context? (time, place,
recent relevant social, economic, or political events)
Does the document agree with the notion of freedom found in
your historical example? What kind of words did the author use
that showed his or her views?
5. Here is a
rubric
, with points designated for each major aspect of the paper (90
points):
Introduction & Thesis (20 points)
Introduction clearly relates to the main topic and offers an
arguable thesis statement. (18-20 points)
Introduction relates to the main topic and offers a thesis
statement. (15-17 points)
Introduction somewhat relates to the main topic and offers a
vague thesis statement. (12-14 points)
Introduction does not relate to the main topic and lacks a thesis
statement.
(0-11 points)
Body: Organization & Evidence
(55 points)
Information clearly relates to the main topic, including several
examples with supporting details. It is very organized with
well-constructed paragraphs.
(50-55 points)
Information relates to the main topic, including 2-3 examples
with supporting details. It is organized with well-constructed
paragraphs.
(45-49 points)
Information sometimes relates to the main topic, including 1-2
examples with some supporting details. It is organized into
paragraphs.
(40-44 points)
Information does not relate to the main topic and lacks
examples with supporting details. It is disorganized without
well-constructed paragraphs.
(0-39 points)
Grammar & Style
(5 points)
No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.
6. (5 points)
Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.
(4 points)
A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors.
(3 points)
Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.
(1-2 points)
Conclusion
(10 points)
Conclusion clearly restates the main topic and thesis, and
summarizes examples.
(9-10 points)
Conclusion restates the main topic and thesis, and summarizes
some examples.
(8 points)
Conclusion restates the main topic and thesis.
(6-7 points)
Conclusion does not restate the main topic or thesis.
(0-5 points)