Problem
Write at least 4 pages
Choose one of the following overarching themes:
i. Democracy and diversity: How democratic is our democracy?
ii. Identity: What does it mean to be an American?
iii. Culture: How has culture unified or divided Americans?
iv. 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:
i. 1865-1890
ii. 1890-1920
iii. 1920-1945
iv. 1945-1968
v. 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 (you'll work on annotating two of your sources for your Final Project Part I: Topic, Working Thesis, and Format, but for your final turn-in your bibliography doesn't need to be annotated.)
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.
Finally, 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.
I. Did this freedom feel liberating, or was it overwhelming?
II. What did you learn about your topic?
III. What did you learn about yourself and your process? What questions did you want to explore but didn't?
IV. How do you feel it represents your learning in the course overall?