History 122 “The Past in the Present” Paper
At the beginning of class on THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, you must submit a five page paper in which you analyze a contemporary topic in terms of its historical relevance and answer the question “What is the relationship between the present and the past?” For the purpose of this paper, “the past” is defined as between 1865 and 1985 (yes, you make pick a particular era within this time span to focus your analysis) and “the present” is defined as the past five years. Possible topics include:
- The size and scope of the federal government. How have the size and scope of the federal government changed over time? What accounts for these changes? How have Americans responded to these changes? Which of these changes has had the most profound effect on our system of government today?
- Responses to immigration. How have Americans addressed the problems and possibilities of immigration? How have American attitudes toward immigration changed or remained the same over time?
- The status of women. How have Americans regarded the status of women? How has the status of women in American society changed or remained the same over time?
- Race relations. How have race relations changed or remained the same over time? What accounts for these changes, or lack thereof? Which of these is most important and why?
- The role of the United States as the “world police force”
How has the role of the United States in world affairs changed over time? What accounts for these changes? How have Americans responded to these changes? Which of these changes has had the most profound effect in shaping U.S. involvement on the global stage?
In your paper, you must put forward a thesis, or argument, that is supported with well-chosen evidence from both primary and secondary sources. Your paper must draw on a MINUMUM of:
- 1 primary source from the past (between1865 and 1985)
- 1 primary source from the present (within the past 5 years)
- 3 secondary sources (journal articles or books) by historians.
Primary sources are original records created at the time historical events occurred or well after events in the form of memoirs and oral histories. Primary sources may include newspaper articles, political cartoons, letters, diaries and memoirs, speeches, songs, photographs, and works of art. The documents assigned for quizzes in our class, for example, are primary sources.
Questions to ask when analyzing primary sources are:
- When and where was the source produced?
- Who was the author? What do we know about him/her/them?
- To what events does the source respond?
- Who is the intended audience?
- What biases might there be in the source?
- What is the main message of the document?
- What does it reveal to historians about the past?
Secondary sources are materials written by an author who is not an eyewitness or a participant in the historical event. Our textbook, for example, is a secondary source. Secondary sources are prepared based on the information contained in primary sources, and often explain or comment on the primary source material. Textbooks, scholarly articles, and specialized evaluations (monographs) are examples of secondary sources.
No internet sites are allowed, unless you are using digitized collections of primary and secondary sources available through the CNU library website. For an overview of relevant and permissible history collections, see Trible Library’s LibGuide for our class.
Recommended databases that can be accessed through the CNU library website include:
America: History and Life (a collection of primary sources from the “present” as well as
secondary sources)
HeinOnline (contains “past” primary sources pertaining to presidents, Congress, and federal
records)
Historical Abstracts (abstracts of articles available through Trible Library and Interlibrary Loan;
most abstracts refer to primary sources from the “present” as well as secondary sources)
History Cooperative (most useful for secondary source articles, or book reviews of secondary
source books that you can then obtain at Trible Library or through Interlibrary Loan)
Milestone Documents (contains “past” primary sources)
JSTOR (contains secondary source articles; I would advise limiting your search to history
journals)
New York Times Historical Database (includes “past” primary sources; the regular New York
Times database contains great “present” primary sources)
There are numerous primary and secondary sources available in Trible Library. Many others are available through interlibrary loan. Please feel free to contact me regarding any questions you might have. For assistance navigating the catalog and interlibrary loan possibilities, I also recommend making an appointment with a reference librarian. See https://cnu.libguides.com/researchassistance to ask a question or schedule an appointment.
Papers must be five pages in length. They must be written in 12-point Times New Roman font and be double-spaced on the page. Page margins should not exceed 1”. All work must be type-written.
Please be prepared to hand in your paper at the beginning of class as well as via Blackboard Scholar’s SafeAssign. You will not get credit for the assignment unless you complete both of these requirements. Computer or printer problems do not qualify as a valid excuse. Be sure to plan ahead. Assignments turned in after the designated deadline will be penalized five points if submitted later that day. Otherwise, they will be penalized ten points for each day they are late. No assignments will be accepted more than one week late.
All passages that are quoted or paraphrased must be cited properly. Feel free to use the citation format (Chicago, MLA, APA, etc.) with which you are most familiar, but be sure to use it consistently and correctly. Please be aware that failing to cite sources constitutes plagiarism. As stated and enforced by CNU, plagiarism occurs when a student, with intent to deceive or with reckless disregard for proper scholarly procedures, presents any information, ideas or phrasing of another as if they were his or her own and does not give appropriate credit to the original source. All cases of academic dishonesty will result in a zero for the assignment and will be reported to the Academic Hearing Board. Plagiarism is a serious offence that can result in suspension or expulsion from the university. If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, or how to quote and paraphrase properly, please contact me for clarification.
For more detailed guidelines, please see the evaluation worksheet.