The scrapbook you create this semester is your opportunity to pull together in one place all the various work that you will be doing during the course of the semester. You must hand it in three times:

 

March 1

April 5

May 1

 

Step 1

Between the first and second classes of the semester you will email me a list of three scientific ideas, concepts, inventions, or products derived from such an idea, invention, or concept (for example: instant messaging, Botox). When I have collected everyone's choices, I will (a) tell you which of your choices you will work on all semester and (b) which group you will be assigned to work with all semester long. The groups will be constructed based upon the choices you end up with.

 

Step 2

Many of the things you do during the course of the semester will be organized around the choice you end up with. For example, you will need to collect primary sources as the semester goes along and these sources should, in some way, be tied to the choice you end up with. It's up to you to make this connection obvious in your scrapbook. For instance, if your choice was the anti-acne cream Clearasil, you might collect sources on ideas of beauty in ancient Greece, information about Roman cosmetics, a medieval tract describing facial outbreaks as a sign of demonic possession, a nineteenth century French advertisement about corsets, and a Nazi paper on Eugenics.

 

Step 3

Decide on a format for your scrapbook. This is entirely up to you. Your scrapbook could look like a traditional family scrapbook, it could be a digital creation, or anything in between. All that matters is that I can access it, read it, and grade it. The more the form supports the function the better, but aesthetics will only be a plus, not a minus. What matters is the content.

 

Step 4

Start building your scrapbook.

 

Here's what the scrapbook must contain:

 

1. At least 10 primary sources, at least two of which must be derived from/connected to each of the five segments of the course;
1. No more than six of the minimum ten sources can be of any one type (text, image, object, etc.). Beyond the ten sources you can have as many or as few of different types as you like; 

2. At least one of these sources cannot be found on campus or online;
3. Every source you include must include a brief commentary (100-500 words);
4. The volume of sources is not the key to your grade. In other words, having 50 sources does not automatically increase your grade. What matters is the quality of the sources and the ways that you have linked them to your overall effort;
1. Essays of at least 500 but no more than 750 words on each of the four books we are reading this semester. More on these essays will be said as the semester goes along;
2. A “personal history” essay of no more than 750 words (due in the March 1 version). This essay must be drawn from an interview that you conduct with a member of your family from a previous generation (parent, grandparent, etc.) and must contain at least two primary sources that relate to the events described in the interview). More will be said on this in class;
3. The Final Essay drawn from the Jack the Ripper case. We'll spend a lot of time working on this in class and in English 201;
4. A reflection of 500-1,000 words on the visit to the Holocaust Museum;
5. A reflection of under 500 words on the performance you attended at the Center for the Arts;
6. Your blog postings.
7. A reflection on the contents of your scrapbook each time you turn it in. In this reflection you need to highlight what you think are particularly noteworthy

 

 

Evaluation of the scrapbook

 

Your scrapbook will be evaluated each time according to the following criteria, with a different emphasis depending upon the nature of the content.

 

Comprehension: Did you understand what the author of the source or the book was saying or meant? Does your annotation, blog posting, or essay accurately reconstruct the literal meaning of what you read and is it free of misconceptions of authors' meanings.

 

Questions and Thesis: Are you asking good historical questions, which are then answered (in your essays or blog postings). If the answer is in an essay, does it take the form of a thesis that makes a significant claim that can be supported by evidence.

 

Analysis—Connecting: Did you understand how what you read fits into a bigger picture?  Does your work connect information from various sources and how well does it compare, contrast, corroborate, or observe interesting links.

 

Analysis—Causality: Does your work demonstrate an understanding of notable change over time? Is attentive to multiple causation and does it avoid simplistic explanations?

 

Analysis—Sourcing: Does your work demonstrate that you know what the sources you've collected are good for and does it identify sources, contextualize and assess documents for bias, reliability, point of view?

 

Multiple Perspectives: Does your work demonstrate an understanding of how others might plausibly interpret this evidence differently? Does it consider more than one point of view and rebut or concede possible objections to your thesis (in essays)?

 

Humility: Does your work demonstrate an understanding of what you do not know that you need to know? Is it appropriately self-critical; does it admit contrary evidence; qualify arguments; recognize limits to your historical knowledge?

 

Research: Does your work use relevant sources found on your own and demonstrate creativity in the finding of those sources?

 

Prose Style: Does your work use correct grammar and punctuation and is it written in clear, compelling prose?

 

Self-Reflective: Does your reflection on your work accurately summarize the strengths and weaknesses of your own learning? Does it display an awareness of what you know, don't know, and should know?