WAYS TO FIND A HISTORY TOPIC:

Here is what we said in class:

--heard about  topic of interest in history class...want to know more.

--family history

--interests…care about

--writing is productive

Here is from a UNC website:
Procedures

If you are enrolled in a class that requires a research paper or an essay, you may complete this exercise by working on that assignment (make sure you have your professor’s permission).  Otherwise, you are free to chose a topic about which you would like to know more.

1. Begin by listing all the possible topics that occur to you. Put down anything, from topics you would personally like to know more about to topics you think you should know more about.2. Group your potential topics (put similar topics together, making perhaps a single topic that includes others); then rank them in order of importance; your preferred topic should be first.
3. Think about your preferred topic: List everything that you already know about it and the questions about it that you would like to have answered.  Consulting a standard reference work (not Wikipedia) is advisable.
4. Using both your knowledge and your questions, write a rough draft of your topic statement. Explain your subject clearly (including information regarding people, places, time frame, etc.) and list the questions (see Rampolla on historical questions, pp. 3-4) you want answered. Also explain why the topic is worth researching.
5. Go to the library or other resources (including the Internet) and find out if primary and secondary materials are available to get you started. You should find at least four or five items, including at least two primary sources and one article in a scholarly journal.  These items will make up your Preliminary Bibliography.
6. If adequate materials are available locally, then write a version of your topic statement and preliminary bibliography following the required format and turn it in to your instructor.
7. Using the suggestions from your instructor, prepare a revised Statement of Topic and an Annotated Bibliography at at least 10 items (see the handout on the Annotated Bibliography for complete instructions) following the required format and turn it in on the due date.

http://www2.uncp.edu/home/rwb/hst300t1.htm

DAILY WORK IN HISTORY 300...

Day Three History 300

SECRET LIFE WRITING:

You are from a wealthy merchant family living in a modern, well-developed, non-U.S. city around 1840.

You write for a local newspaper in your country and are tasked to write a short article about life in the United States. At the end of your piece, you must either recommend that your readers travel to the U.S. or warn them away.

You have requested information from a local adventurer, a man called Hans. The guide presents you with a packet of information to help you understand what the Americans were like at this time.

You must justify your decision one way or another with at least three specific references to evidence in the document you read. 

Prospectus Assignment: (10%)

DUE TO TURNITIN.COM BY MIDNIGHT OF OCTOBER 7TH

In essence, the prospectus is designed to persuade your reader that your project is worthwhile. The prospectus should contain a preliminary list of sources that you have surveyed, and a description of the key works in the field. As such, your prospectus will begin to place your topic within its historiographical context. This explanatory essay informs your reader that you are indeed working toward the research paper. This prospectus should be about 2-3 pages(typed, double-spaced) in length and should consider what at least three scholars have already found on the topic. As such, even in the historiography you will consider a basic level of historiography.

The proposal should consist of three numbered parts:

1) The description should be written in clear prose and headed by a working title. It should begin by setting up and clearly stating the paper’s main historical question (focus your topic as narrowly as possible). Then, you should briefly explain the historical context (background) of your topic, provide a preliminary answer (or thesis) to the question, and then list the main points you will discuss to support your thesis. You should also explain the significance of your topic (why anyone should care), placing it within the context of the current scholarship, that is, discussing the historiography on the topic. Which historians' explanations do you agree with and which do you not? This part of the proposal should be at least one full page (double-spaced), but no more than two pages.

2) The preliminary bibliography including a list of sources in Chicago Manual of Style format.

3) The justification for this project may be written in a less formal tone and will inform your reader why you are choosing this topic and how the topic will add to the historical narrative. It should reveal some level of excitement with your topic, and should provide justification for choosing the topic (first person is allowed).

Research Paper Assignment:

Research Paper Assignment:

DUE TO TURNITIN.COM BY MIDNIGHT OF NOVEMBER 24TH

8-10 pages (Times 12, double-spaced, one-inch margins) of your own original work completed this quarter. Papers must include a bibliography, and a minimum of ten sources. For your sources, you should consider using a good mix of primary and secondary sources.

The topic for this paper is entirely up to you, but I strongly recommend that you discuss the topic with me. Your essay will be argumentative, proving a case for something historical. Your investigation may start with something general, like “World War One,” but as you begin to read about it, you will want to narrow that drastically, “The Role of Sikhs in World War One.” From your reading, you will begin to make assertions that help you create an argument. What was the role of Sikhs? What does their experience prove about difference in war, total war, combat, or life?

DAILY SCHEDULE WITH DUE DATES

9/16  Tue         Intro to Course/Summer Historical Thinking/Assign Walls and Fences

 

9/18  Thu         Talmudic Write Around/Assign Prospectus and Prelim. Bibliog.

 

9/23  Tue         CHRIS LIVINGSTON CLASS VISIT, 10:15/Secret Life Writing:

 

9/25  Thu         Walls and Fences Due/Assign Film and History Paper

 

9/30  Tue         Writing about Historical Murder: Judd Gray/Ruth Snyder

 

10/2  Thu         Multi-Genre Writing

 

10/7  Tue         Prospectus and Preliminary Bibliography for Research Paper Due

 

10/9  Thu         Modeling the Film and History Paper

 

10/14  Tue       Writing Jourdon Anderson

 

10/16  Thu       The Question of Hu Due

 

10/21  Tue       History in a Grain of Sand

 

10/23  Thu       Film and History Paper Due

 

10/28  Tue       Revision Exercise

 

10/30  Thu       Writing in Color

 

11/4  Tue         Rough Draft of Research Paper Due in Class (pass/no pass)

 

11/6  Thu         Assessment Essay written in class

 

11/11  Tue       VETERANS DAY…CAMPUS CLOSED

 

11/13  Thu       HISTORY 300 CONFERENCE

 

11/18  Tue       HISTORY 300 CONFERENCE

 

11/20  Thu       HISTORY 300 CONFERENCE (last day of class)

 

11/24  Mon      RESEARCH PAPER DUE TO TURNITIN.COM