Attendance/Participation (20%)
Students are expected to attend and participate actively in our weekly sessions. But please see Support if you have to miss a class.
Research Journal (10%)
Min. 8 weekly entries (min. 350 words each) over the course of the term (to be submitted through the Discussion section in Canvas). Each entry (due by the end [11:59 pm] of Tuesdays) should provide, whenever applicable, a considered response to the upcoming readings or, in cases when there are no assigned readings, a thoughtful reflection on one’s research progress.
Research Statement (10%)
About 1,250 words (excluding bibliography). Due by the end of September 27 (to be submitted through Canvas; 4/100 points per day late). For this assignment, students are expected to:
- Identify their primary research question(s). This is not an easy task, but start by articulating as clearly as you can what it is that you are (really) puzzled by or curious about.
- Explain the significance of the said question(s). There are many ways to go about this. You may start by providing a well-chosen quotation from a recent work of scholarship or by tracing your question(s) to a particular primary source.
- If it isn’t already clear from the above, specify the geographic, temporal, and related parameters for the project. This is important as you would, I suspect, like to graduate in time.
- Identify and discuss some (3?) potential primary sources. You may not be ready, but it is never too early to think about the kinds of sources you would like to access.
Source Analysis (20%)
[Updated 15 October 2026]
About 1,750 words. Due by the end of October 25 October 28 (to be submitted through Canvas; 4/100 points per day late). Choose a specific primary source (or a set of primary sources) you are likely to use for your thesis and provide an in-depth analysis. For this assignment, students are expected to:
- Explain as clearly as reasonable the background of the source in question. Since students will be dealing with different kinds of materials, it would be difficult to generalize what is “reasonable.” Here, try your best to identify the basics: who, when, where, how, and why. Before we even begin to analyze a source, we need to know as much as we can how it came into being.
- Explain the contents of the source. Here, you will be dealing with the “what” part, and you will be explaining what the source is about, especially as it is related to your research project.
- Explain the significance/relevance of the source. You may explain the general significance of the source, but it is especially important that you explain (and justify) how the source could help answer your primary research question. It may be too early, but try to be as concrete as you can.
- Identify the limitations of your source. Among other dimensions, pay attention to whose voice(s) you are hearing from the source and how such voices might affect how you would approach your project.
Further Instructions
Choose one specific primary source you are likely to use for your thesis and provide an in-depth analysis of it. A source may be a single document or item, or one tightly defined set of material that you treat as a single source (for example, a diary, a single issue of a periodical, a correspondence between two people, a photograph album, or an exhibit). If you are unsure whether your choice counts, please check with me. The goal is depth, not breadth.
For this assignment, students are expected to address the four elements below. Clear, well-organized writing counts within each of them.
- Background (25%). Explain as clearly as reasonable the background of the source in question. Since students will be dealing with different kinds of materials, it would be difficult to generalize what is “reasonable.” Here, try your best to identify the basics: who, when, where, how, and why, including how the source came to be held where you found it. If your source is a set, also explain how the set was assembled or selected (for example, by its creator, an archivist, a collector, or you). Before we even begin to analyze a source, we need to know as much as we can how it came into being. Where you do not yet know an answer, say so and explain how you will find out.
- Contents (25%). Explain the contents of the source. Here, you will be dealing with the “what” part: what the source says or shows, especially as it is related to your research project. Be accurate and selective rather than summarizing everything, and keep description distinct from interpretation.
- Significance (30%). Explain the significance/relevance of the source. You may explain its general significance, but it is especially important that you explain (and justify) how the source could help answer your primary research question. To be concrete, analyze a specific example from the source (a quotation, passage, entry, image, or detail) and show how it speaks to your question. This is where I would like to see you work most closely with the source itself. The A range for this element requires such an analysis. The example may be introduced under Contents, but the analysis belongs here.
- Limitations and Voices (20%). Identify the limitations of your source. Among other dimensions, pay attention to whose voice(s) you are hearing from the source, whose are absent, and how this might affect how you would approach your project (for example, which questions to ask or which other sources to pair with it). If you do not yet know the archive well, reason from what the source itself shows and say what you still need to find out.
Presentations (Oct. 21). You will present your source analysis in small groups. Identify the source, explain its significance for your thesis project, and reflect on its potential as well as its limitations.
Format. Include a concise statement of how generative AI was used in the research, drafting, and/or preparation of the paper, or a statement that it was not used. Cite your sources in Chicago style (see the Support page for guides).
Thesis Prospectus (40%)
About 3,500 words. Due by the end of December 16 (to be submitted through Canvas; 4/100 points per day late). For this final assignment for the term, your task is to draw on/bring together the work you have done so far to produce a blueprint for your thesis. Since you are likely to be at different stages in your research, the “blueprint” in question would look differently for different students. Still, here are some key elements I would like you to incorporate:
- The Problem(s). Explain what you are puzzled by or what you would like to explore, preferably in the form of a question (or questions). And explain how your queries are inspired by or connected to a particular body of historical scholarship. Be specific about your “point of departure.”
- The Scope. Specify and justify the parameters (temporal, geographic, thematic, etc.) of your study. Persuade your reader that the scope is appropriate for both intellectual and practical reasons.
- The Sources. Identify the main source(s) for the project and explain, with concrete examples, how they could help answer your primary research question(s).
- The Plan. Explain how you will proceed with your project. This might take various forms depending on the state of your research. Students who are still in the early stages are encouraged to identify some concrete next steps along with a realistic timeline; students who are further along are encouraged to include a thesis outline or a summary of progress to date.