Paper Assignments/Schedule

HST 355

FA 11

Dr. Janet R. Bednarek

As noted in the syllabus, you will be required to write five short (3-4 pages) papers.  For the first three assignments, you will be given the choice of completing assignment (a) or assignment (b).  However, regardless of which assignment is chosen for these first three, you will be responsible for all the readings assigned in the class (those with papers assignments and those without).  The purpose of these papers is to prepare you for class discussions.  Reading the material completely and carefully is an important first step. Writing down some thoughts about the readings is a necessary and vital second step.  These papers will take you through the second step.  Also, many readings provide details that simply cannot be provided through lecture alone.

Each paper must begin with a thesis paragraph that outlines your thesis – not just a paragraph that ends with a one-sentence thesis statement.  The paragraph should focus almost exclusively on your main point(s) and the evidence you will present in support.  The paper must end with a concluding paragraph that states the most important conclusions you have reached about the subject.  Make sure your conclusion reflects your thesis – avoid introducing new ideas or information or going off on tangents.  Study carefully the “thesis paragraph examples” provided in the handout.

As this is a formal paper, avoid conversational language, slang, and jargon.  Make your language as clear and simple as possible.  Historians conventionally use the past tense.  Writing a history paper in the present tense often makes no sense.  In normal grammatically correct conversation we talk about events that have happened in the past tense.  The same approach is best for writing.  Also, do not quote when you can summarize.  If you must quote, clearly mark them with quotation marks, keep them brief, and cite the author and page number.  [i.e. “Quote.” (Lastname, pagenumber).

Assignments and Due Dates:

Short Paper One (a) is due Sep 7 and is based on Nash, pp. 1-146.  Pick one of the following cities:  Boston, New York, Philadelphia.  In whichever city you selected, trace and explain one major social, one major political, and one major economic development between the 1690s and the 1740s.

Short Paper One (b) is due Sep 12 and is based on Nash, pp. 147-247.  Pick one of the following cities:  Boston, New York, Philadelphia.  In whichever city you selected, trace and explain one major social, one major political, and one major economic development between the 1750s and the beginning of the American Revolution.

Short Paper Two (a) is due Sep 19 and is based on Johnson, pp. 3-78.  Describe the economic, social and political workings of Rochester, New York, in the 1820s and 1830s.  Which (economic, social or political) saw the most change?  Which saw the least?

Short Paper Two (b) is due Sep 21 and is based on Johnson, pp. 79-141.  Discuss how Rochester became deeply divided in the late 1820s, then explain how the Great Revival created a new sense of unity (in the elite, in families, between classes/races) within the city.

Short Paper Three (a) is due Oct 24 and is based on Barth, pp. 3-109.  Discuss the role(s) of parks, apartment buildings and metropolitan newspapers in the modern city.  Which provided the greatest unifying force?  Defend.

Short Paper Three (b) is due Oct 26 and is based on Barth, pp. 110-234.   Discuss the role(s) of the department store, baseball, and vaudeville in the modern city.  Which provided the greatest unifying force?  Defend.

Short Paper Four is due Nov 16 and is based on Nicolaides, pp. 1-182.  Write an essay in which you discuss the make-up and sense of community in Southgate in the 1920s and 1930s – i.e. who lived there (class, race, origin); did the different groups (i.e. working class residents, more middle class merchants) define community the same or differently; how well or how poorly did the working class residents and middle class merchants within the community interact (i.e. in the organizations they joined, their politics).

Short Paper Five (a) is due Nov 28 and is based on Nicolaides, pp. 185-332.  Write an essay in which you discuss the social context of Southgate in the 1940s and 1950s – i.e. how did the idea or definition of community change; what role did social class identity and/or racial identity play in how people saw and defined community in Southgate.

Overall Requirements:

All papers are due at the beginning of the class on the due date.  You must bring one hard-copy of the paper to class.  A second, electronic version of the paper must be submitted to Turn-it-in.  (See instruction sheet for Turn-it-in.)

Avoid plagiarism:  As noted in the syllabus, any academic dishonesty will result in a failure for the course.  Plagiarism is a frequent example of academic dishonesty.  If you do not understand what constitutes plagiarism, go to the following link: http://www.wadsworth.com/english_d/special_features/plagiarism/definition.html