Assignments

Notice:

All assignments prepared outside class must be typed (double-spaced) using 12 pt. Times New Roman font and uploaded to Google Docs. I will explain this procedure in class.

Topic Selection and Prospectus (5%)  Early in the semester, you will write a brief but thoughtful prospectus (about 150 words) that introduces the topic you plan to explore for your course project.  It should attempt to convey some sense how you will “frame” your topic for both your interpretive essay and your online exhibit.  The theme for our course project is “Blue Lake, Crooked River: Historical Explorations of Cleveland’s Relationship with Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River.”  The possibilities for project topics within this theme are limited only by available sources, which will vary widely across topics.  Your task is to choose a topic as a starting point and work quickly to determine if it is viable or needs to be contracted or expanded.  Your first action should be to check the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, which will include most of these topics and will give you a sense of them.  As in any museum, the availability of sufficient source material is crucial, and you are in effect the curator charged with making this decision.  Thus, some of these topics will NOT prove viable due to lack of source material.  See the list of potential topics.

Omeka Image Collection Poster (5%)  Your Omeka collection, to be prepared using the Poster feature in MyOmeka, must include 10 or more well-chosen images, at least 5 of which are new contributions that you scan, upload, and for which you supply metadata in Omeka.  The purpose of this assignment is twofold:  to build a collection of materials for your exhibit and to demonstrate your ability to analyze historical images.  This is a two-part assignment with two deadlines.  Following the first deadline, I will provide feedback, including directions for revisions.  For the second deadline, you will add to or revise your collection as needed.  After the second deadline, you will NOT be able to add to or change your collection, which is the basis for your exhibit.

Omeka Map Poster (5%)  Using the Poster feature in MyOmeka, upload, provide metadata for, and analyze the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map(s) that correspond to your topic location.   The use of historical maps is an important part of establishing change over time for your topic and will provide useful visual material in your exhibit.  In-class training will be provided.

Omeka Cartoon Poster (5%) Using the Poster feature in MyOmeka, upload, provide metadata for, and analyze at least one Bill Roberts editorial cartoon from the Cleveland Press Collection that corresponds to your topic.  Editorial cartoons offer a window into a moment in the past and are excellent sources for developing your exhibit.  In-class training will be provided.

1,000-word Synthetic Essay (10%)  For this assignment, you will write an essay that examines the scholarly secondary literature that frames your topic in a larger context, drawing upon the insights you find in at least two approved scholarly books.  A scholarly book is usually one published by a university press.  I will offer assistance in locating appropriate books.

1,000-word Primary Source Essay (10%)  For this assignment, you will write an essay that analyzes a body of appropriate primary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, city directories, census data, oral histories).  What kinds of information do the different types of sources convey?  What broad conclusions might be supported by the sources?  What specific things have you learned from these sources that might advance a compelling historically grounded narrative?

3,000-4,000–word Interpretive Essay (30%)  Along with the Omeka exhibit (below), this essay is the written culmination of your research project.  It should be analytical, relate a compelling story with broader implications for understanding Cleveland history and Cleveland’s place in the larger American story.  Each draft will be equally weighted in determining your grade for this portion of course requirements.

Omeka Exhibit (10%)  This is a virtual museum exhibit drawing from the items in your Omeka collection and bolstered by your research.  It must convey a historical narrative and offer some historical analysis using images and text.  You may also incorporate audio and video materials if appropriate.  Your presentation must be divided into between 3 and 5 sections, each of which must have between 2 and 4 pages.  You will be graded according to the rubric distributed in class.  You are responsible for adhering strictly to guidelines regarding copyright law.  If you build an exhibit with materials that we do not have the right to use, you will not receive credit!

Participation (20%)  Participation is an essential feature of any viable community, and our community (the class) is no exception.  To meet the ideal of all of us coming to each class meeting prepared to engage with the material for the day, I will assess your participation in the following ways: 1) You will make at least one comment to one of my blog entries per week about a reading assignment prior to the class period for which it is assigned; 2) On 5 occasions during the semester I will ask you to do some free writing about issues or ideas that emerge in your reading.  At the end of the semester, then, I will have a minimum of 15 blog comments and 5 short in-class essays from you at semester’s end.  Each of the 20 total blog comments and in-class essays will be equally weighted.

HIS 511 Assignments. Graduate students will complete the same assignments as above with the following differences. First, your synthetic essay must be at least 1,800 words and draw upon no fewer than 4 scholarly book.  Second, your primary source essay must be at least 1,800 words.  Third, you will write a more a deeply researched 5,000- to 6,000-word interpretive essay.