Pre-research Paper about Boston Common History Essay

Write a 500-word pre-research paper about Boston Common (including how the statues and monuments at Boston Common can show the idea of American pride) and share with your groupmates prior to the fieldwork. Cite your sources. Please check the the attached doc for details.

     In our group’s project, we plan on observing specifically how American pride is demonstrated in Boston. Group members will meet sometime in early March and will travel to the Boston Common together, where fieldwork will take place. The group’s objective in attending the Boston Common is to determine how exactly the Boston Common physically and symbolically embodies the idea of pride. We will study American pride in the Boston Common by analyzing its statues and monuments. The group’s plan of fieldwork is to view the monuments and statues, such as the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, and take note of specific characteristics that may possibly reflect a sense of American pride. We will do so by studying the specific details of each statue, such as the facial expressions, poses, surroundings, and writing, in order to evaluate how much American pride is portrayed through the statues. In order to prove the idea that American pride is portrayed through these statues, we will strictly critique the statues and how the pre-fieldwork research, the history and the current state of the Boston Common, can be applied to our stance.  Group members will also evaluate whether or not the idea of American pride has changed or remained relatively the same over time. The team’s project seems manageable for one-time onsite research.

     Prior to the fieldwork, you, as historian, are required to do the pre-research about the history and current state of the chosen place. Historian can conduct his/her research based on historical documents or relevant theories. Historian will share the research paper (500 words) with team members before the fieldwork. It should not be too broad, but be related to the theme of a group project. If Historian uses secondary sources from books or websites, it should be clearly noted in a bibliography section -- CITE THE SOURCE!