My goal for these assignments is for you to produce a thorough written assessment of several assigned scholarly articles on American History to 1865. This assignment develops analytical and critical thinking skills, and it directly promotes an understanding of the historical process. I advise you to consult the sample Article Analyses Essay found at the end of the syllabus and under the “Content” button on Blazeview. You should read and consult the Benjamin, A Student’s Guide to History when you write each Article Analyses Essay.
Instructions:
The student should use the essays listed below and follow the guidelines posted below the list. The articles listed in the “Article Analyses Essay Assignment #3” can be found through Odum Library’s online search engine on the Valdosta State University webpage or on Blazeview. Use the name of the journal (i.e. William and Mary Quarterly), search for the article, and then find the year of publication on the corresponding list found when the correct journal list is found. https://www.valdosta.edu/academics/library/
Directions for Accessing the Assigned Journal Articles:
Go to the Odum Library homepage on the VSU website. Highlight “Books and Journals” in the search box. Type in the name of the journal the article you are trying to find into the search box. For example, type in William and Mary Quarterly or Georgia Historical Quarterly. Do not type in the title of the article. Then click “Find”. Then click the “Online” option for the journal in the list you get. You should then get a list of decades. Click on the appropriate decade based on the year the article you are trying to find. You should get a list of years corresponding to that decade. Then click on the year of publication, and then search by page numbers, article title, or author.
1) Johnson, Whittington B. “Free African-American Women in Savannah, 1800-1860: Affluence and Autonomy Amid Adversity,” Georgia Historical Quarterly 76 (2) (Summer 1992): 260-283.
2) Alice Fahs, “The Feminized Civil War: Gender, Northern Popular Literature, and the Memory of the War, 1861-1900,” Journal of American History 85 (March 1999): 1461-1494.
3) Hershberger, Mary. “Mobilizing Women, Anticipating Abolition: The Struggle Against Indian Removal in the 1830s,” Journal of American History86 (June 1999): 15-40.
4) Wright, Mary C. “Economic Development and Native American Women in the Early Nineteenth Century,” American Quarterly 33 (5) (Winter 1981): 525-536.
Your Article Analyses Essay must include a discussion of each articles’ thesis, methodology, organization, historiography, sources, and important terminology used. Your essay should also include your assessment of all the works in question, and it should not be a regurgitation of the content. You should have a single, organizing thesis found in an introduction and restated in a conclusion that ties the assessment of the assigned articles together in your Article Analyses Essay. Do not write a separate essay for each assigned article. You must discuss all the articles in one, large, inclusive essay. The final paper must be between a minimum of four (4) and a maximum of six (6) pages (1,200-1,800 words) with a separate title page and a separate endnotes page. I have included a sample in the Content section of our course. I will not begin grading until after the deadline. You may submit your assignment more than once before the deadline, but each submission replaces and erases the previous submission. Your Article Analyses Essays will not be accepted after the posted deadlines. Failure to submit any Article Analyses Essay will result in a “0” for the grade. I will not grade your assignment until after the deadline. Each Article Analyses Essay will be 10% of the final grade. Follow the steps above to ensure you submit your assignment correctly.
Rubric:
Your grade will be based on your ability to answer the following six questions for each article assigned for each review in a single, organized essay that includes a clear, concise, yet comprehensive, introduction and a conclusion that organizes each essay with a coherent argument. Your grade will also be impacted by your ability to follow directions as laid out in the syllabus and in the directions for each assignment. Grammar only matters in that the assignment must be readable and understandable.
- What is the thesis?
- What is the historiography?
- What type of history is the source? (i.e. economic, military, political, social, cultural, diplomatic, environmental)
- What is the organization or how is it structured?
- What types of sources (primary and secondary) are cited within it?
- What are the most important terms or terminology for proving the thesis and explaining the history covered by the publication?
Basic Points
1) Coherent and legible essay at the minimum length that uses all the assigned sources – up to 60 points.
2) Accurate citation of sources and use of Chicago Manual of Style for endnotes – up to 10 points.
3) Solid analysis and assessment of all assigned articles/essays tied together with a definitive and clear introduction and conclusion – up to 10 points.
4) Clear and concise discussion of each assigned article’s/essay’s thesis, type of history (methodology), and organization – up to 10 points.
5) Clear and concise discussion of each assigned article’s/essay’s primary (document/firsthand) sources and important terminology and how each connects with and proves or disproves the article’s/essay’s thesis and type of history – 10 points.
Bonus points (Total points for the assignment cannot exceed 100 points)
1) Ability to discuss the historiographic (secondary sources) debate covered in each article/essay and each assigned article’s/essay’s thesis fits in the historiography of its topic/field – up to 10 points.
