(LO 1) Final Project Part II – Due11:59 PM Purpose: Choose one of the larger the

(LO 1) Final Project Part II – Due11:59 PM
Purpose: Choose one of the larger themes below and develop a creative project or work around it, using what you have learned this semester. Narrow one of these themes into a more specific thesis, question, or contestable claim. Use one of the following mediums to explore your topic:
Researched essay of 1000+ words (or at least 4 full pages in 12 pt. font) exploring the topic pulling from primary sources of all/any types. See Starting Your History Essay for reference.
Narrated Presentation OR Video (your narrated audio must be between 5-8 minutes long) You can think of this as a curated online museum exhibit/photo essay, or a mini-historical documentary. See Women’s Suffrage Sample Presentation or the short introductory storytelling videos at the beginning of each chapter for reference and examples. See the Starting Your Presentation page and accompanying links for reference.
10-15 minute Podcast/Radio show – this is a chance to interview a person or persons and let them tell their interesting stories along a relevant topic, which you can then put into context and frame historically by editing your narrated audio along with theirs. See the podcasts and radio show clips throughout the course for examples. See the Starting Your Podcast and/or Oral History Interview(s) page and accompanying links for reference.
History Through the Lens of Music – create a playlist/album of at least 10 songs for your topic and curate it by briefly explaining how each song speaks to your chosen theme and thesis. You can either do this via slides with embedded videos with text for each one, or you can record separate audio files, narrating your commentary before each song, and upload them in a playlist style. See the Unit 7 discussion pages for ideas, examples, and how to use music as a source, as well as the Starting Your Curated Playlist page and accompanying links.
Another Medium of Your Choice – you can propose another type of project (maybe you’d rather create a map website, an interactive timeline, or perform research via survey), but you need to get your instructor’s approval, preferably before your Final Project: Topic, Working Thesis, and Format check-in. Make sure your topic is both narrow enough to address in brief format, and worthy of a deep dive.
Task:
Choose one of the following overarching themes:
Democracy and diversity: How democratic is our democracy?
Identity: What does it mean to be an American?
Culture: How has culture unified or divided Americans?
Politics and Citizenship: What does it mean to be an American citizen? What is the role of the government?
Choose a medium and narrow your topic. One may be somewhat determined by the other – if you know what you want your specific topic to be, that may inform which medium you choose, or vice versa. For instance, if you definitely want to curate a playlist, you may choose a topic such as “Rock and Roll and Race” under the “Culture” theme. Or, if you want to explore a theme around American identity and immigrants or Native Americans or the poor, you might choose a presentation or video where you can use some powerful photographs and other visuals.
You may want to focus on the evolving timeline of a certain topic (see the Timeline Activity in Unit 2 to refresh your memory on this) or you may choose to narrow your topic by limiting it to a certain time period – here are some suggestions:
1865-1890
1890-1920
1920-1945
1945-1968
1968-present
Think about the the claim or argument you want to make or the question you want to answer, and how best you can present your research to achieve that goal. Make that question or argument clear in the title of your project, and remember that you will need to provide analysis for your sources, and not merely summarize facts or events.
You’ll have some help developing your ideas through the Final Project Brainstorm Discussion, and your instructor will “sign off” on your final chosen topic and modality via the Final Project: Topic, Working Thesis, and Format check-in assignment.
Then, prepare your interview questions and/or collect your sources, documentation, quotes, photos, songs, etc., citing them appropriately in your bibliography or Works Cited slide. For each entry, briefly summarize the source, note its credibility or bias, and state how you plan to use it in your project. This will help you shape the project as you collect evidence. Refer back to the pages on working with sources and the questions in the assessments throughout the course to help you frame the project.
After you’ve completed your project, write a 1 page (2-3 paragraph) reflection on how this process went for you – what came easy, what was frustrating, how you feel about your results. This will likely be a project that will push you out of your comfort zone, precisely because you have so much freedom. Did this freedom feel liberating, or was it overwhelming? What did you learn about your topic? What did you learn about yourself and your process? What questions did you want to explore but didn’t? How do you feel it represents your learning in the course overall?
Finally, leave time to submit your work to Tutor.com for feedback/review, specifically to ensure that Turnitin doesn’t find any evidence of plagiarism.
File submissions: Please submit your file as a DOC.X or PDF file if an essay or presentation, an MP4 file if a video, and interviews/podcasts in MP3 format. Your playlist may either be audio or presentation style. Contact your instructor beforehand if you’re unsure or have questions.
Criteria on which you will be graded:
Clarity/logic of your argument/claim or question
How well your project supports that argument/claim or answers that question through analysis of your sources
Medium fulfills the above time/page/song requirements
Primary sources are used and correctly cited
Your correctly formatted annotated bibliography summarizes, evaluates and communicates how each of your sources will be used (if creating a playlist, just a works cited slide or page will suffice)
Originality and creativity of your work (don’t go find someone else’s compilation or photo essay and copy it – create your own!)
Inclusion of a written reflection on your work
This activity may use a different grading rubric than what was used in past activities. Be sure to check the grading rubric before starting.