ONE PAPER OPTION
10-12 pages not including endnotes, bibliography, appendices, etc.
Due before 11:59 pm EST on Monday, April 25
This assignment is a thesis-driven research paper (i.e., a paper that presents a proposition in the
introduction that is supported/proven by argument in subsequent pages) on a topic of your
choice.
All students are required to consult with the professor on their topic prior to submitting the
paper.
As Professor Ben Zajicek of Towson University notes, ?A ?thesis? is a statement of what you will
prove in the paper. Every thesis statement should be the ?solution? to a problem, the ?answer? to
a question. A useful tactic is to include the word ?because? in your thesis statement. This forces
you to lay out your basic reasoning: x happened because of y.? Thus, the goal in the body of the
paper is to convince the reader that the paper?s thesis statement is plausibly supported by the
evidence you present.
Option 1:
You may approach this assignment in one of two ways:
1. Examine a historical event/issue/person/etc.
2. Trace the ?path to the present? of a particular issue in the history of the Pacific World –
i.e., examine how the topic arrived at its present situation (how the past was the ?path
to the present?)
All research papers not only must examine what happened (or did not happen), they also need
to address why this was the case as well as the consequences (?so what?).
Additionally, your paper must make use of secondary sources (those produced after the fact
that interpret and analyze primary sources) and primary sources (broadly defined as documents
produced during the time under examination, including official records, interviews, speeches,
diaries, manuscripts, letters, film footage, autobiographies, as well as articles found in
newspapers, magazines, and journals).
Option 2:
Select one of the following prompts to serve as the basis of a paper:
? ?…we can argue that the much maligned oral narratives are as reliable or unreliable,
biased or unbiased, as written documents for sourcing history. We do know that all
sources are contestable; otherwise history is complete and closed, which is nonsense.?
Epeli Hau?ofa. ?Pasts to Remember.? We Are the Ocean: Selected Works, University of
Hawaii Press, 2008, p. 63
? Orally transmitted ?…historical narratives are essentially unhistorical. They cannot be
used to reconstruct the past since they are fabricated in order to give an historical
dimension to and validate contemporary social relationships.? Jan Jansen. The Griot?s
Craft: An Essay on Oral Tradition and Diplomacy, LIT Verlag (2000), p.9
? ?…any given representation [or image of the ?other?] is not only the reflection or
product of social relations but that it is itself a social relation, linked to the group
understandings, status, hierarchies, resistances and conflicts that exist in other spheres
of the culture in which it circulates.? Stephen Greenblatt, Marvelous Possessions: The
Wonder of the New World. University of Chicago Press (1992) quoted in Martin
Orkin with Alexa Alice Joubin. Race. Routledge (2019), p. 35
? ?Trying to plan for the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut
flowers.? Daniel Boorstin, Former Librarian of Congress
? ?The exchange and spread of…information, items, and inconveniences, and human
responses to them, is what shapes history. What drives history is the human ambition
to alter one?s condition to match one?s hopes.? McNeill & McNeill, The Human Web: A
Bird’s-Eye View of World History. W. W. Norton & Company (2003), p. 3-4
? ?[Covetousness] is a sin directly against one?s neighbor, since one man cannot over-
abound in external riches, without another man lacking them, for temporal goods
cannot be possessed by many at the same time.? Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologiæ
? ?From its first day to this, sheer greed was the driving spirit of civilization; wealth and
again wealth and once more wealth, wealth, not of society, but of the single scurvy
individual?here was its one and final aim.? Frederick Engels, Origins of the Family,
Private Property, and the State (1884)
? ?When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses.? Shirley Chisholm
Unbought and Unbossed. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (1970), p. 124
? ?The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion…but
rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this
fact; non-Westerners never do.? Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and
the Remaking of World Order (1996), p. 51
How to formulate a thesis:
https://writingcenter.mcdaniel.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Thesis-and-
conclusions.pdf
https://clas.uiowa.edu/history/teaching-and-writing-center/guides/argumentation
How to write a thesis-driven research paper:
https://blogs.umass.edu/honors291g-cdg/how-to-write-a-thesis-driven-research-paper/
https://www2.bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/materials/inter/Fall03/DaughtersOfEve/Wr
itingThesisDrivenPaper.htm
The Pacific World
History 107
Spring 2022
Guidelines for Written Assignments
?What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.?
Christopher Hitchens
Two short (5-6 pages) papers or one long paper (10-12 pages). Late papers will not be accepted. Short papers each are worth 15% of the final grade; the long paper is 30%.
All students are strongly encouraged to consult with the professor about their papers and have their topics/approaches approved prior to submission.
Monday, April 4, before 11:59 pm EST before 11:59 pm EST: All students must submit a copy of the image to be used in the second short paper or, for those writing one long paper, a tentative outline/thesis statement/bibliography.
OPTION 1:
Two short papers
5-6 pages not including cover page, endnotes, bibliography, appendices, etc.
Due no later than February 16 and April 25
Paper #1 ? Analytical/Critical Review (due Wednesday, February 16 before 11:59 pm EST)
For this assignment you may use any one of the readings available on Canvas (or, with the instructor?s permission, a different article).
Note that an analytical/critical review essay is intended to be an in-depth analysis of a secondary text, not a summary of the work?s content.
Keep in mind that a critique consists of thoughts, responses, and reactions. It is not necessarily negative (i.e., ?critical? does not mean negative; skeptical does not mean cynical). If you believe the work is well written and presents an original thesis supported by convincing evidence, say so. A good analytical review does not have to be negative; it does have to be fair and analytical. Regardless of the position you take, you must justify and support your position.
In the broadest sense, writing such an essay allows you an opportunity to express your thoughts on what the author said (e. g., with what do you agree and/or disagree); to explain why you feel this way (make sure to consider possible counterpoints to your view); and, in your conclusion, to address the ?so what? factor ? i.e., the consequences/significance of your opinion(s).
The why section should constitute the majority of paper?s text. Simply stating the author was right/wrong, for example, is insufficient. As noted, you must provide an in-depth, reasoned, and substantiated explanation for the position you take in the paper. To this end, the paper?s introduction must include a concise, explicit thesis (a focused statement of position your paper will take).
There are a variety of ways you may approach this assignment. For example, the essay can address the author?s work as a whole (its style or its content) or focus on a particular point or two raised in it; you might link it to material covered in the class or draw parallels to similar situations in the past or recent headlines. Regardless, the primary focus of the assignment is your analysis/assessment of the reading, not reiterating its contents. As such, devote minimal (if any) space to summarizing the work (or the part of it on which you are focusing).
Please note, though there is some room in the essay for examining what the author might/should have done in the work, nonetheless the vast majority of the paper must address what actually was presented in the reading.
The ultimate goal of your essay is to persuade the reader to agree with your view. As such, it is imperative that you draw on secondary scholarship to substantiate/lend credibility to the assertions you make in the paper.
Finally, your finished product should be original and well-argued, and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the reading. It also should be well-organized, clearly written, and grammatical. In grading, analytical and critical thinking skills are as important as mastery of facts and content.
A useful guide to writing this style of paper can be found at:
https://www.trentu.ca/academicskills/documents/Reflectivewriting.pdf
Paper #2 ? Image Analysis Paper (due before 11:59 pm EST on Monday, April 25)
The political cartoon is a unique medium. It tends to juxtapose social figures against whimsical or silly situations, dumbing down complex socio-political issues into bite-sized comics, imposing the author?s commentary, and inviting others to view the problem in a similar light.
Christopher Wade, Georgetown Class of 2024
Select a cartoon/image (depicting two or more peoples/cultures/nations) that deals with any aspect of the Pacific World and analyze it as though it was a written text.
?Note, for the purpose of addressing the questions below, you are strongly encouraged to select an image for which a specific date of publication/release is available. Additionally, the ideal image you choose was created for a specific reason or in response to a specific event.
?This paper requires the use of scholarly sources and must include a bibliography.
?The paper must include the image (located on its own page, not included in your 5-6 page text).
In your paper, you must address these questions (each should take up about half of the paper; you may present them in the order that best suits your purpose):
1.What point/view/opinion/attitude is being expressed in the image?
2.What was the context at the time of its publication (basically, why was this specific image published at this specific time)?
As such your paper needs to present two theses ? something along the lines of:
1.This paper will argue that the artist?s/image?s opinion/point is?
2.This paper also will argue that this image was produced at this time because?
Useful databases for this assignment include:
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/
https://chineseposters.net/
https://visualizingcultures.mit.edu/home/index.html
http://editorialcartoonists.com/
http://www.cartoonistgroup.com/subject/The-International???Comics-and-Cartoons.php
ONE PAPER OPTION
10-12 pages not including endnotes, bibliography, appendices, etc.
Due before 11:59 pm EST on Monday, April 25
This assignment is a thesis-driven research paper (i.e., a paper that presents a proposition in the introduction that is supported/proven by argument in subsequent pages) on a topic of your choice.
All students are required to consult with the professor on their topic prior to submitting the paper.
As Professor Ben Zajicek of Towson University notes, ?A ?thesis? is a statement of what you will prove in the paper. Every thesis statement should be the ?solution? to a problem, the ?answer? to a question. A useful tactic is to include the word ?because? in your thesis statement. This forces you to lay out your basic reasoning: x happened because of y.? Thus, the goal in the body of the paper is to convince the reader that the paper?s thesis statement is plausibly supported by the evidence you present.
Option 1:
You may approach this assignment in one of two ways:
1.Examine a historical event/issue/person/etc.
2.Trace the ?path to the present? of a particular issue in the history of the Pacific World – i.e., examine how the topic arrived at its present situation (how the past was the ?path to the present?)
All research papers not only must examine what happened (or did not happen), they also need to address why this was the case as well as the consequences (?so what?).
Additionally, your paper must make use of secondary sources (those produced after the fact that interpret and analyze primary sources) and primary sources (broadly defined as documents produced during the time under examination, including official records, interviews, speeches, diaries, manuscripts, letters, film footage, autobiographies, as well as articles found in newspapers, magazines, and journals).
Option 2:
Select one of the following prompts to serve as the basis of a paper:
???we can argue that the much maligned oral narratives are as reliable or unreliable, biased or unbiased, as written documents for sourcing history. We do know that all sources are contestable; otherwise history is complete and closed, which is nonsense.? Epeli Hau?ofa. ?Pasts to Remember.? We Are the Ocean: Selected Works, University of Hawaii Press, 2008, p. 63
?Orally transmitted ??historical narratives are essentially unhistorical. They cannot be used to reconstruct the past since they are fabricated in order to give an historical dimension to and validate contemporary social relationships.? Jan Jansen. The Griot?s Craft: An Essay on Oral Tradition and Diplomacy, LIT Verlag (2000), p.9
???any given representation [or image of the ?other?] is not only the reflection or product of social relations but that it is itself a social relation, linked to the group understandings, status, hierarchies, resistances and conflicts that exist in other spheres of the culture in which it circulates.? Stephen Greenblatt, Marvelous Possessions: The Wonder of the New World. University of Chicago Press (1992) quoted in Martin Orkin with Alexa Alice Joubin. Race. Routledge (2019), p. 35
??Trying to plan for the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut flowers.? Daniel Boorstin, Former Librarian of Congress
??The exchange and spread of?information, items, and inconveniences, and human responses to them, is what shapes history. What drives history is the human ambition to alter one?s condition to match one?s hopes.? McNeill & McNeill, The Human Web: A Bird’s-Eye View of World History. W. W. Norton & Company (2003), p. 3-4
??[Covetousness] is a sin directly against one?s neighbor, since one man cannot over-abound in external riches, without another man lacking them, for temporal goods cannot be possessed by many at the same time.? Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologiæ
??From its first day to this, sheer greed was the driving spirit of civilization; wealth and again wealth and once more wealth, wealth, not of society, but of the single scurvy individual?here was its one and final aim.? Frederick Engels, Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State (1884)
??When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses.? Shirley Chisholm Unbought and Unbossed. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (1970), p. 124
??The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion?but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.? Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (1996), p. 51
How to formulate a thesis:
https://writingcenter.mcdaniel.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Thesis-and-conclusions.pdf
https://clas.uiowa.edu/history/teaching-and-writing-center/guides/argumentation
How to write a thesis-driven research paper:
https://blogs.umass.edu/honors291g-cdg/how-to-write-a-thesis-driven-research-paper/
https://www2.bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/materials/inter/Fall03/DaughtersOfEve/WritingThesisDrivenPaper.htm
Standard Paper Format
?All papers must include an explicit and bolded the thesis statement
?Double spaced
?Standard size and style font (i.e., Times New Roman 12)
?Standard margins (margins of 1 inch [top and bottom] and 1 or 1.25 inches on the sides)
?Numbered pages
?Avoid unnecessary jargon, informal expressions (slang), and use of the first person Keep quotations short and to the point; indent and single space if long citation
?Citing sources – all quotations, as well as ideas, interpretations, conclusions, etc., that are not the original work of the student, must be properly cited. An exception can be made for facts in common knowledge (narrowly defined ? e.g., the date of the events taking place at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon)
?Citations ? you may use in-text citations, footnotes, or endnotes and they need to formatted using an accepted academic style (e.g., MLA, Chicago, APA)
?Proofread the paper carefully before submitting it
Secondary Sources
The following generally are acceptable secondary sources:
?Scholarly peer-reviewed periodicals
?Scholarly peer-reviewed books
?Reputable translations of foreign works
?Student theses/dissertations
?Internet periodicals by reputable organizations
?Reputable news media (e.g., New York Times, Washington Post)
?Serious popular magazines (New Yorker, National Geographic)
?Government publications (research or technical publications)
?Internet versions of these sources
Assessing the reliability and appropriateness of sources can be a challenge. If you have any concerns, make sure to ask before incorporating information from such sources in your papers.
Useful Databases (available on the Lauinger Library website):
?Academic Search Premier
?Bibliography of Asian Studies
?JSTOR
Searching for sources on Hoyasearch
Your best approach is to search databases available through the Lauinger Library website (https://www.library.georgetown.edu/news/hoyasearch-is-here).
I have found doing an advanced search to be quite fruitful (https://wrlc-gu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01WRLC_GUNIV:01WRLC_GUNIV&mode=advanced).
Once your initial results are loaded, you can set search parameters (see list of options on the left side of the page). The most important is accessing sources that are ?Available Online,? which is located under ?Availability.?
Other databases also are available via the Lauinger site (https://guides.library.georgetown.edu/az.php?a=b). As noted in the Guidelines, the following may prove particularly useful for our course:
?Academic Search Premier -? to limit search to online sources, under ?Limit to? select ?Full Text.?
?Bibliography of Asian Studies ? to limit search to online sources, click on ?Linked Full Text.?
?JSTOR ? to limit search to online sources, under ?Select an access type,? select ?Content I can access.?
It seems that you are able to choose to see results that are available online only after the initial results of your search appear.
The Elements of Good Expository Writing
1)All essays should present a clear argument (thesis). A thesis is what you have to say about the topic, the angle (interpretation) from which you think the topic should be viewed, your attitude toward it, your opinion, and/or your evaluation.
2)All paragraphs should contain one and only one main idea, accompanied by supporting ideas, evidence, and facts. The main idea is often expressed in a topic sentence that makes an assertion the rest of the paragraph provides support for. All paragraphs must have unity, development, coherence, and completeness.
3)All assertions must be supported with evidence. Evidence is ?the something that makes another thing evident.? It is the incontrovertible fact, the acceptable interpretation, or the logical statement that your reader will accept without further proof. Facts, figures, statistics, authorities, experts, illustrations, examples, common knowledge, personal observation, logic, reasoning, and quotations all can serve as evidence in expository writing. For the topics assigned here, the best evidence is information and ideas derived from the assigned class readings, the lectures, and discussion.
4)All evidence derived from the work or statements of others must be acknowledged using the proper forms of citation.
How To Approach This Assignment*
This essay assignment is an opportunity for you to intellectually venture beyond the material presented in class and the assigned course readings. Each topic asks you to reflect critically on the information you have received, to think about its implications, and to use this information creatively in order to answer the question that has been posed. To successfully complete the assignment, you need to proceed through a number of steps. First, start at the beginning and ask yourself about the meaning and purpose of each topic: ?What does the essay question really say? What kinds of issues is it asking me to address? What assumptions lie behind the question itself?? Second, ask yourself what initial ideas you have about the topic, framed as an open-ended hypothesis or question: ?What do I think about the issues raised in each question?? Third, ask yourself what you will to do to address these issues: ?What are the most useful sources of information on which I can draw in order to address the question? What kinds of evidence will best support my argument?? If you have done the reading and listened attentively in lectures and discussions, you have (or will have) enough information to address each topic. This information needs to be organized and culled, however, not just piled on fact after fact, or date after date. Fourth, review the evidence you have collected from the lectures and the readings and assess whether or not it supports your hypothesis. If it does, recast your hypothesis as a thesis statement. If not, reformulate your hypothesis such that it becomes an argument that the evidence does support. Fifth, organize your thoughts and sketch out what form the essay might take. Outlines are useful for this process. Sixth, write the first draft. Seventh, eighth, ninth, and so on, reread and revise the paper. Having someone else read the paper sometimes helps point out weaknesses and logical gaps. Finally, be sure to proofread your papers to clean up any typographical errors.
Academic Integrity
Anyone found by the Georgetown Honor Council to have plagiarized any portion of this paper, to have submitted work that is not their own, or to have submitted work done for another class (without prior approval by both professors), will receive a failure (F=0.00) for this assignment. Egregious acts of plagiarism (those resulting in a suspension or dismissal by the Honor Council) may result in an ?F? for the course as well. Plagiarism is defined as ?the act of passing off as one?s own the ideas or writings of another.? You are expected to avoid the possibility of even unintentional plagiarism by acknowledging all sources of your work. Follow the guidelines outlined in A Writer’s Responsibilities (publication of the GU Honor Council) and/or the handout provided in class. If you have any questions about what constitutes proper attribution, please do not hesitate to ask me.
Any student found to be in violation of the university?s Honor Code will receive a failing grade for the course.
