The final project will be a 8-10 page essay on a topic of your choosing that I approved. The proposal is due by Tuesday April 16. The written essay is due by Friday May 10 (20% of final grade). You will submit a 5-10 minute video presentation of your work to the class through Blackboard by Monday May 13 (part of participation grade). Those completing the project will view the videos and write a 1-2 page reflection on that is due at the same time as the final exam. (5% of final grade).
The following are requirements for your final project, should you choose to complete one.
8-10 pages double spaced
Footnotes following Chicago Style
Topic presented and approved by me
Off-limit topics:
General overviews of famous political leaders, generals, people with 500-page diaries who are well-known, large events you cannot cover in 8 pages (Emancipation, Conscription, Gettysburg, Fort Pillow, Petersburg, Lincoln’s Assassination, Chasing Booth)
Effective topics: the war through the eyes of an individual, public opinion around a controversy, battle, singular moment in time, war in a particular places through a newspaper, a particular regiment through letters in a newspaper)
Requirements for Sources:
Each paper needs to be based on one the following:
One collection of published letters from someone who is not famous that covers at least two years of the war
A run of a single newspaper across the war period to consider a particular place from the perspective of an editor/political party
At least a dozen newspaper articles that document the response to a particular policy, event or conflict
A published collection of primary historical sources on a topic (ie. Berlin et al Freedom project
Each paper must use a combination of 5 of the following:
Scholarly articles published in historical journals in the past 30 years
Monographs published in the past 24 years