Final Project

This final project is due at 11am in Robinson 121 between 2-5PM at the start of a special final exam review session.

Assignment:

Final Paper 2006

Write a 6-8 page paper interpreting an existing monument, historic house, marker, exhibit, artifact, or ceremony that commemorates an aspect of seventeenth or eighteenth-century New England history considered in this course. Your paper should describe the memorialization and assess its value as history and as memory. You should pay close attention to its current condition. What does it tell you about the uses (or misuses) of history? In what ways did it engage and inform you?

There is no need for library research, by you should support your interpretation with specific citations from course materials , including those available on the course website and readings. In addition you will need to visit a museum or historic site, take a tour, observe a celebration or re-enactment, or watch a film that you wish to interpret. You have complete freedom to choose your own topic as long as it relates to New England and to the historical periods and themes introduced in the course and meets with the approval of your TF.

There are many ways to complete this assignment. You might use materials on the Indian College part of the Inventing Harvard website to reconsider Harvard's interpretation of its racial history. You might draw upon the Changing Courses, Washington Elm, or Old-Time Farm-House sites for additional ideas, or build from your experience in completing the scavenger hunt. Be inventive. If you don't like museums and monuments, do something different. Attend an event. View an old movie. Analyze the names of streets or buildings.

Whatever your topic, you should address both its history and its later memorialization. You should footnote all sources, given full citations. Your paper should be well-organized, clearly written, and engaging.

Here is the schedule for this final paper.

1. Start thinking NOW.

2. By May 1 email your TF a paragraph identifying your topic, your major sources, and the themes you wish to pursue.

3. Turn in your paper to Robinson Hall 121 between 2-5PM on May 11

Your paper should be double-spaced and in 12pt Times New Roman font. Papers should be well-developed, with a strong argument (thesis), clear organization (introduction, body, and conclusion) and should contain specific examples such as properly footnoted quotations or evidence from the text. Please do not forget to title your paper and number your pages. For more tips on how to write a good history paper, you can download additional guidelines in pdf format.