David Lauderback Professor of History

The Purpose

Walt Whitman referred to the United States as not one nation but a “teeming nation of nations.” With rare exception, everyone in America came from somewhere else, or their family did. Most came by choice; many did not. And while Americans love to celebrate Emma Lazarus's words -- “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” -- new arrivals rarely received a warm welcome. The dynamic and contentious interplay of new peoples engaging those who came before remains one of the mainstays of our history and a process that continues to define our identity as a people. Students will have the opportunity to delve into their own family history as they seek to understand the complex challenges that immigrants over time have faced and still face in the ever changing human landscape that is the United States of America.

The Research Project

To begin, students will choose a Respondent and conduct an Oral History. The Oral History will form the foundation of the research project. Using the information gained from the Respondent, students will determine the ethnic, racial, or religious group they wish to investigate and explain the focus of their research in a Topic Page. Then, students will assemble an Annotated Bibliography of primary and secondary readings for the project where they will describe the utility of each source. Next, students will prepare a detailed Outline of their final research paper that must conform to the specific guidelines on the Outline page. Finally, students will prepare a Final Draft of their research in a paper. All written work submitted for the Research Project must conform to the Format and Documentation Requirements listed below and be submitted by the deadlines listed in the Course Schedule.

The Research Project will require a sustained effort over the entire semester.  Be sure to consult regularly with your instructor for details on how to complete the Research Project.

The Research Project is required for those students who desire a grade of B or better.  If you do NOT complete a Final Draft of the Research Project the highest grade that you can receive is a C.  Additionally, completion of the Final Draft does NOT automatically guarantee a grade of B or better.  The Research Project is comprised of a: Respondent Choice, Topic Page (10 pts), Annotated Bibliography (15 pts), Outline (25 pts), and Final Draft (50 pts). Combined, the Research Project will equal the value of one exam grade (100 pts).

Please see the Course Schedule for the dates by which you must submit your:  Respondent, Recorded Interview & Topic Page, Annotated Bibliography, Outline, and Final Draft.

Selecting an Oral History Respondent

The oral history Respondent will be chosen in consultation with the instructor.  Respondents can be family members, neighbors, family friends, co-workers, classmates, or someone you have just met.  The respondent does NOT have to be a recent immigrant or come from a family that has only recently arrived in the United States. They must, however, have reached 18 years of age by 1965.  That is, they must have been born no later than 1948.  Students MUST confirm their choice with the instructor via e-mail.

• ONLY students who submit an "Acceptable" Respondent via e-mail by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will be permitted to submit a Final Draft.

Students will rely on the suggestions contained in the Interview Guide (See below) to direct the conversation with their respondent. Feel free to range beyond the categories and specific questions listed below, but be sure that you do cover each of the categories that you will need to write about in your final draft. To ensure that you can accurately depict the words and experiences of your respondent, students must record the interview. Use a recording device, e.g., tape recorder, answering machine, or iPOD.  Students will be expected to turn in their Recorded Interview with their Topic Page.  See Turning in the Recorded Interview below.

Interview Guide

Use the Sample Questions below as a starting point for your conversation.  Be sensitive to your respondent and do not hesitate to explore their experiences that do not appear in these questions. Remember, you will discuss issues and events that are very personal. Let your interviewee tell you their thoughts.  DO NOT JUDGE THEM. The purpose here is to gather a slice of life. They lived through very different times. Learn about those times through their experiences.

Sample Questions

A. Biographical Summary

Ask about your interviewee's life.  When and where were they born?  Where and how did they grow up?  Tell me about their family, childhood, hometown, and education.  Did they ever marry?  Have kids?  Tell me about their adult life.  What kind of jobs have they held?  Why?  Spend some time getting to know your respondent. 

Be sensitive to your respondent and do not hesitate to explore their experiences that do not appear in these questions. Remember, do not judge your respondent. Instead, respect their opinion and be sure you explore their views as thoroughly as you can.

B. The Immgrant Experience

Your respondent may be a recent immigrant or come from a family that only recently came to the United States. Or, your respondent may come from a family that has lived for many generations in the United States. Either way is fine! Concentrate on their experiences as an immigrant or their experiences with new arrivals. How did they view life in the US? How did they view newcomers? How did society treat new arrivals? How did they define their identity? How did they keep the old country alive in their new land? Focus on defining moments. What are some of the most memorable moments they recall as an immigrant or encountering immigrants?

Be sensitive to your respondent and do not hesitate to explore their experiences that do not appear in these questions. Remember, do not judge your respondent. Instead, respect their opinion and be sure you explore their views as thoroughly as you can.

C. Attitudes

Here you need to explore your respondent's ideals and values through their personal experiences and opinions.  How did issues of family, ideology, patriotism, anti-Communism, and racism shape their thinking about privacy and their own lives?  Did certain events help define their views on citizenship? Do they have the same feelings now?  How have they changed?  If so, when and why?

Be sensitive to your respondent and do not hesitate to explore their experiences that do not appear in these questions. Remember, do not judge your respondent. Instead, respect their opinion and be sure you explore their views as thoroughly as you can.

D. Legacy

This is the most important part of your interview.  Find out how the immigrant experience shaped your respondent's life.  What were their dreams/hopes/ambitions?  How did the events during their lives change their plans?  How has their view of the America changed of the years?  How has life in American changed? 

Be sensitive to your respondent and do not hesitate to explore their experiences that do not appear in these questions. Remember, do not judge your respondent. Instead, respect their opinion and be sure you explore their views as thoroughly as you can.

You must turn in the Recorded Interview when you submit the Topic Page.  The Interview can be either on tape or you can submit the recording on a disc/CD or via e-mail as a file that can played on Windows Media Player or on an interactive weblink or webpage like Google or Audacity.  Students and are strongly encouraged to make sure that the instructor can retrieve any and all electronic files prior to any and all deadlines.  It is the student's responsibility -- and not the instructor's -- to ensure the accurate and timely submission of all course materials.  Do it early!

• ONLY students who submit the Recorded Interview when they submit the Topic Page in class by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will be permitted to submit a Final Draft.

Students will conduct the Oral History in search of a Topic for the Final Draft.  For the purposes of the Research Project the Topic must be very specific so that students can investigate and usefully explain their findings in one semester.  Focus on the interview:  what did you learn?  What intrigued you the most?  What was the most significant event/fact/theme/subject etc. about immigration in your respondent's life?  To help disinter the evidence from the primary sources, students will then examine that aspect of immigrant history.  Students will determine their Topic in consultation with the instructor.

Submitting a Topic Page (10 pts)

The Topic Page will start with a title, centered at the top, that tells the reader the focus of the Research Project.  Below the Topic students will provide one paragraph that explains what they learned from the Respondent and explains why they want to pursue the subject they have chosen.  Tell me a bit about your respondent, hit some key moments in their life, and provide examples -- quotes -- that illustrate the theme or issue or event that you feel matters most. Then, use the very last sentence of the paragraph to tell yrou reader your purpose and why you feel your subject matters. The Topic paragraph will have a length of 13-17 lines.  The Topic Page will conform to the Format and Documentation Requirements specified below.  Students must submit the Topic Page in class by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule.

• ONLY students who submit an "Acceptable" Topic Page in class by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will be permitted to submit a Final Draft.

Students are expected to provide appropriate historical context for the themes they explore in the Final Draft.  To help the reader understand the time and place of the respondent's life, the Final Draft must use at least FOUR PRIMARY sources and FOUR SECONDARY sources.  [The Oral History is a primary source and counts as one of the FOUR primary sources that must be used in the Final Draft; the textbook Experience History: Interpreting America's Past may count as one of the FOUR secondary sources.]

Generally, a primary source is something written by an individual who lived at the time and took part in the event that he or she is describing.  Primary sources usually take the form of letters, diaries, journals, newspapers, government documents, and autobiographies.  For this assignment, students are encouraged to explore alternative sources of information in popular culture, such as:  oral history; music; television programming; movies; literature; poetry; and advertising -- radio, print, and/or TV. Use memorabila from your respondent if they oblige and take digital images of photos and documents and keepskes and the like. See what you can learn from their keepsakes.

Secondary sources are books and articles written at a later time, usually by historians who were not participants in the event.  Students must use scholarly works that investigate the immigrant group they have selected and/or some aspect of the issues and events surrounding their group, its antecedents, experiences, and the consequences of the choice to live in the United States. Encyclopedias and general information web sites, e.g., The History Channel, Wikipedia, History.com, etc., are not considered scholarly works and will not be accepted as secondary sources.

Students can find secondary literature through the following web sites:

A-Z List of Resources

Start with Academic Search Complete to look for journal articles.

And, of course, the search engine at the ACC Library

Submitting an Annotated Bibliography (15 pts)

Students will list each of their projected primary and secondary sources in bibliographic form and then annotate each citation.  The purpose of annotating your bibliography is to explain not only the contents of the source but also its value to you in preparing the paper.  Be specific and provide at least three sentences in each description.  Use quotes from the sources in each annotation to demonstrate the author's ideas. The Annotated Bibliography must conform to the Format and Documentation Requirements specified below.  Students must submit an Annotated Bibliography by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule.

• ONLY students who submit an "Acceptable" Annotated Bibliography in class by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will be permitted to submit a Final Draft.

The purpose of the Outline is to give students an opportunity to organize their research in a useful manner and to provide the blueprint for the Final Draft.  See the directions on the Outline page to complete this stage of the Research Project.  The Outline must conform to the Format and Documentation Requirements specified below.  Students must submit an Outline by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule.

• ONLY students who submit an "Acceptable" Outline by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will be permitted to submit a Final Draft.

Writing the Final Draft (50 pts)

This is a term project that demonstrates a student's ability to write clearly, use good grammar and punctuation, analyze the material in a concise manner, and offer their thoughts on the primary and secondary sources.  The Research Project will require a sustained effort over the entire semester.  Be sure to consult regularly with your instructor for details on how to complete the Research Project.

Students are expected to accomplish five (5) tasks in the Final Draft:

• draw on the Topic Page to state your thesis
• use the Annotated Bibliography set the historical context;
• analyze the primary evidence in three paragraphs;
• compare the information you provide in your analysis of the primary sources with the secondary sources; and
• offer a thoughtful conclusion.

Remember:  ONLY students who submit the Respondent, Topic Page, Annotated Bibliography, and Outline, by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will be permitted to submit a Final Draft.

A typical Final Draft would be organized as follows.

I. Introduction

Here students will rely on the Topic Page to frame the research paper.  Students will draw on the words of the Respondent to illustrate the important themes that they will explore in the research paper.  Students will conclude the introduction with a dynamic thesis that explains the argument of the paper.

A. Historical Context

Here students will use the secondary sources from the Annotated Bibliography to place the research in historical context.  Students will focus on the themes stated in the introduction and show how the secondary sources treat with the same themes.  The purpose of this paragraph is to give the reader a sense of what was happening during the war and what other historians have said about the topic.

B. Evidence

In this paragraph, students will draw on primary sources to examine one of the themes discussed in the introduction concering immigrant expereinces in the United States.

C. Evidence

In this paragraph, students will draw on primary sources to examine one of the themes discussed in the introduction concering immigrant expereinces in the United States.

D. Evidence

In this paragraph, students will draw on primary sources to examine one of the themes discussed in the introduction concering immigrant expereinces in the United States.

E. Reaction

This is most important paragraph in the Final Draft.  Here, you will evaluate your evidence and compare that to the analysis provided by the secondary sources to answer the point raised in your thesis. Show how and why with specific examples from the secondary and primary sources.

In this paragraph you must summarize your paper.  Briefly restate your purpose, summarize your main points, and offer some final thoughts.

There are a few important things to consider when you write the Final Draft.  To begin with you must:

NEVER ASSUME.

When you write the Final Draft, DO NOT ASSUME that you can leave out critical information because you know that I am familiar with the subject.

Instead, you must tell me the:

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION

so that I will clearly understand your analysis of the primary and secondary sources.

DO NOT REWRITE THE SOURCES.

Your task in this assignment is to show that you can digest several different secondary sources, and then distill them down to a their essence, and then apply selected nuggets from a variety of primary sources into a coherent argument.  You simply do not have the space to repeat everything.  So, do not waste time and effort trying to rewrite the sources.

Begin your paragraph with a dynamic topic sentence that tells the reader what is coming in the paragraph and why it matters. When you tell your reader what you are going to talk about, you describe the 'what.' When you explain 'why' it matters, now you analyze. So be sure to start your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells your reader the 'what' and the 'why.'

Each paragraph should be at least thirteen (13), but NOT more than twenty (20), lines long -- NOT sentences, but lines on the page.  Each paragraph is a mini-paper.  Make the first sentence of each paragraph an introduction to that paragraph.  Tell your reader what to expect in the paragraph.  This is called the topic sentence.  Summarize your point at the end of the paragraph, like the conclusion of a paper.  In between, give lots of evidence to prove your point.

Make your sentences active.  Fill your Final Draft with verbs that move the reader along from point to point.  Writing that relies on the verb "to be" -- is, was, are, etc. -- quickly becomes repetitious and will NOT convince your reader.  I do not expect you to eliminate the verb "to be" entirely, but come very close.

Quotes help spice up a paper by giving the reader the flavor of the book.  So, include quotations where appropriate to illustrate your points.  Using quotes helps to establish your understanding of the key themes, events, person, etc., in your paper.  Hence, the use of quotes constitutes a substantial portion of your Final Draft grade.  Remember to cite your quotes following the directions in the Documentation section below.  And, if you use information that comes from a source, you must cite that information whether you use a quote or not.  Again, follow the directions in the Documentation section below

Format Requirements 

ALL ASSIGNMENTS -- TOPIC PAGE, ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, OUTLINE, AND FINAL DRAFT -- MUST CONFORM TO THE FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS BELOW.  ANY TOPIC PAGE, ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, OUTLINE, OR FINAL DRAFT THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS BELOW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The format requirements for the completed Topic Page, Annotated Bibliography, Outline, and Final Draft are:

• Staple -- upper left corner;
• Page numbers -- top right;
• Title -- Top, center, page 1;
• Name -- Center; below title with appropriate spacing (see below);
• Text -- Begins right below the name on page 1, with appropriate spacing (see below):
• Spacing -- TRIPLE spaced, typed or from a printer;
• Margins -- one (1) inch from the edge of the page on the:  top, left, right, and bottom;
• Pitch -- 12;
• Font --  Times Roman preferred;
• Length -- 7 pp;  [There is no length requirement for the Topic Page, Annotated Bibliography, Outline,; the Final Draft must be 7 pp., no more and no less.]
• End notes -- place at the end of your document;  [Not counted in the length.  See Documentation below.]
• Bibliography -- on a separate page.  [Not counted in the length.  See Documentation below.]

DO NOT BOLDFACE; or
DO NOT ITALICIZE; or
DO    NOT         JUSTIFY

The above particulars are designed to ensure that all students complete works of similar length.

Please:

Do NOT use folders or other such binders; and
You do NOT need a cover sheet.

Documentation

ALL ASSIGNMENTS -- TOPIC PAGE, ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, OUTLINE, AND FINAL DRAFT -- MUST CONFORM TO THE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS BELOW.  ANY TOPIC PAGE, ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, OUTLINE, OR FINAL DRAFT THAT DOES NOT CONFORM TO THE DOCUMENTATION SPECIFICATIONS BELOW WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The documentation requirements for the completed Topic Page, Annotated Bibliography, Outline, and Final Draft are:

• endnotes; and
• bibliography

To ensure that you give credit where credit is due, please refer to the source from which you extracted information.  Please use end notes to document your sources using the appropriate formatting (see above).  For the correct style, see the ACC Library has a link to Turabian. Here is another Turabian link that shows how to cite an interview. And this Turabian link whill show you how to do court cases and other documents. You can also see John Grossman, ed., The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005). You can also use an abbreviated version by Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). Both guides can be found at the ACC Library.  Include a Bibliography on a separate page (with no page number), at the end of your your Topic Page, Outline, and Final Draft. .  Here you provide a complete citation for each work cited.  Please use the appropriate formatting (see above).  And, please, do NOT ask if you can use MLA.  Use the Chicago Manual of Style or Turabian.

Grading Policy

The Topic Page will receive a maximum of 10 points. Recognize that a Topic Page rife with misspellings and grammatical errors will NOT be considered acceptable.  Any Topic Page that does NOT conform to the Format and Documentation specifications above will NOT be accepted.  If you submit your Topic Page before the deadline date in the Course Schedule and it is graded "NOT ACCEPTED" you may revise it and resubmit it prior to the deadline date.  Any Topic Page that is NOT submitted by the deadline listed in the Course Schedule will NOT be accepted.

• If the Topic Page receives a final grade of "NOT ACCEPTED" then the student will NOT be permitted to submit the Final Draft.

• If the Annotated Bibliography receives a final grade of "NOT ACCEPTED" then the student will NOT be permitted to submit the Final Draft.

• If the Outline receives a final grade of "NOT ACCEPTED" then the student will NOT be permitted to submit the Final Draft.

Deadlines

ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE NO LATER THAN THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE;

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SELECT A RESPONDENT BY THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT;

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SUBMIT A TOPIC PAGE BY THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT;

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SUBMIT A RECORDED INTERVIEW WITH THE TOPIC PAGE BY THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT;

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SUBMIT AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY BY THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT;

and

STUDENTS WHO DO NOT SUBMIT AN OUTLINE BY THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO SUBMIT A FINAL DRAFT;

and

ANY FINAL DRAFT THAT IS NOT SUBMITTED BY THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

REMEMBER:  ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE NO LATER THAN THE BEGINNING OF CLASS ON THE DEADLINE LISTED IN THE COURSE SCHEDULE.

and

YOU MAY SUBMIT ANY OR ALL OF THE PARTS OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT ELECTRONICALLY VIA EMAIL AS A WORD OR PDF FILE.

but

ALL ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS MUST MEET THE FORMAT REQUIREMENTS ABOVE SANS STAPLE.

and

IF THE ATTACHED FILE CANNOT BE VIEWED BY THE INSTRUCTOR THEN THE ASSIGNEMENT WILL BE MARKED “NOT ACCEPTED.”

The Research Project has several components.   Please see the Course Schedule for the dates by which you must submit your:  Respondent, Recorded Interview, Topic Page, Annotated Bibliography, Outline, and Final Draft.

© David Marcus Lauderback, 2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED