As I said on the first day of class, a historian is a detective. The pictures that you see here are clues that we use to learn about the past. So your task is to tell me what you, as a detective, learn from these clues. In particular, you should do two things:
1. You should tell me what you learn about the specific era or time period from the picture. If it is a picture from the Vietnam War, for example, you should find at least FOUR good observations to make about the Vietnam War, the 1960s, etc. based on the picture. Please keep that last part in mind. If your entire discussion is simply a list of facts that you know about the Vietnam War, and has little or nothing to do with analyzing the specific content of the picture, you will not do well.
2. You should describe at least TWO ways that the picture fits into the "big picture" of American history. That is to say, what larger themes/trends is the picture or passage a part of? Make sure to give additional "data points" that illustrate your larger theme--at least three or four.
As you work to do BOTH of these things for your chosen picture, I encourage you to pay attention to details. Sometimes small details are the most important ones.
You should also make certain to be thoughtful and creative. There really isn't such a thing as a wrong answer. If the picture puts an idea into your head, go with it. Just explain what it is about the picture that gave you that idea.
This is a 1987 ad for the Air Jordan II basketball shoe.
