LHIS 2080 Black People Fight against Slavery and Abolition of Slavery

LHIS 2080 The American Origins Myth: The Revolution in American History & Culture Final Paper Handout Due Date: Before class on December 18th (topic due by November 20) Length: 1,800-2,000 words Formatting: Times New Roman, 12 pt, 1” margins all around, double-spaced INSTRUCTIONS: You have a number of options for the final paper. You may choose to: • focus on one of our week’s specific topics/events/eras o For example, you might choose to write your paper on the memory of the American Revolution during the Civil War or during the Cold War o Alternatively, you might select one of the topics from the latter, contemporary part of the course, e.g., the debate over whether the Revolution was conservative or radical or the debate over Thomas Jefferson and slavery o You might also decide to focus on a specific primary source from our readings or discussions. • synthesize part of the course or the course as a whole making an argument about how/why the memory of the Revolution changed over time o For example, you might write your paper about the memory of the Revolution in the nineteenth century or the twentieth century or today. • “Un-Essay” Option: I am leaving the option open for you to choose to do an “unessay.” This often involves doing some kind of creative project (i.e., some kind of work of art, a video, a podcast, a website, etc…). It can be almost anything with the only caveat that your unessay project must engage directly with the topic of the course and offer some kind of analysis, interpretation, and/or insight into the course material, much as you would in a regular essay. If you think you might be interested in trying the unessay option, please speak with me so we can discuss your ideas and how to best implement them. FINAL ESSAY STRUCTURE: All Final Papers should follow the standard essay outline I presented to you when talking about how to write your Short Paper. In fact, you can very much think of the Final Paper as an extended form of the Short Paper in that you are expected to make an argument and provide the background necessary to contextualize and support your argument. The structure of your Final Paper should follow the general outline below: I. Introduction A. State your argument clearly in your first paragraph II. Background/Context A. What period(s) are you covering? What about the politics and culture of that period is necessary for the reader to understand and appreciate your argument? III. Body A. Choose 2-3 documents to make/support your argument and dedicate a paragraph to each. Each paragraph should introduce the source (who wrote it? When? Why?), say why it is significant, and how it relates to your argument about the memory of the Revolution IV. Conclusion A. Summarize and re-state your argument TOPICS DUE BY NOVEMBER 20: All students must submit their choice of topic to me, preferably through a message in Canvas, by November 20 (though sooner is better). Before then, you should have at least one viable topic in mind (if not an alternative topic as well). I am then happy to talk with you in person or via email to help you flesh out your topic and argument. I cannot read drafts of papers but I am happy to look at the outline for your paper before you begin to write it to help you focus your argument and choose sources and background information.