We are closing up shop. You have several things to do.
1. Write your 5-7 page explainer essay (details below).
2. Create a 5-minute talk describing your explainer essay. Time yourself to ensure your talk will not exceed 5 minutes. Talks will be given on May 2nd (our last class session).
You should use either:
a. Canva Template -- use either a Timeline template or a Storyboard template or Infographic template- or:
b. Google Sites or StoryMap JS visually interesting.
3. Do "clean up" on your Research Journal, accept changes, remove any "notes" or extraneous stuff. Then, hyperlink your final Explainer Essay within its Title and a 1-2 sentence description of its subject.
Consider the Research Journal as a whole a portfolio of your work in War and Remembrance. The digital histories / Explainer Essays that you have done could also be included in your Digital Portfolio
Independent History Explainer Essay:
- In 2,500-3,500 words (5-7 pages), and in proper Chicago Style, write up a history explainer essay on your chosen subject we have worked out together -- some variation on memory / representation and the human experience of war (defined broadly to include social conflict or culture war). Your aim is twofold: to provide the essential "facts of the case" to establish context, for a closer analysis of your primary source or primary interest. For instance, my Essay needs to provide the essential historical background on "jazz in occupied Czechoslovakia between 1910-1971" in order to provide context for my close reading and analysis of my primary source -- Josef Skvorecky's memoir in the Bass Saxophone.
- Your essay will engage scholarly writing on the subject (books or articles). Thus, your essay will include 5-10 footnoted citations from scholarly works-- several should be direct quotations and several should be paraphrases in your own words. When you quote directly, you should introduce the quote in your own words and comment on it (typically after the quotation). When discussing the work of authors, you may use last names after the first mention like:
In his work, Moscow Blues, Josef Škvorecky writes: “...the totalitarian ideologists loath art, the product of a yearning for life, because that too evades their control-if controlled and legislated, it perishes.” Drawing from his own experience of Nazi and Soviet occupation, Škvorecky describes....x, y, and z.
- Your bibliography should include a minimum of two scholarly books and two scholarly articles. Online/web sources should come from credible sites (reputable news articles, opinion pieces, organizations doing policy analysis, etc.) and should be used sparingly-- typically in the introduction and conclusion to show the contemporary relevance of your subject. You are not required to use any online/web sources.
- You are encouraged to but are not required to include multimedia links within the body of your text.
First Draft Due: 4.30 by 11:59pm
Presentations in class on 5.2-- 5 minutes allotted. Please prepare and time yourself.
