Write an essay of no more than 1000 words on the evolution of a basic human activity during American history. Explore the following subquestions:
How was this activity accomplished when the course began? How did that change?
Where (in physical location) was this activity accomplished? How did that change?
How did people adopt that change? What was their cost of accomplishing the activity early, middle, and later in history?
What caused the change? Was it innovation? Why was that innovation adopted? What infrastructure was necessary to adopt it?
How has broader society changed because of the evolution of this human activity?
Try to show this activity changing during as many at least 3 Modules.
Use historical evidence. A guide for sources will be discussed in class.
You may choose any of the following options:
Acquiring food, preserving, and preparing food
Defecating (where, means of disposal, relationship to water, urban and rural)
Living (home size, type, accouterments, place)
Medicine & Health (medical providers, medicines, disease issues and outbreaks, cost and quality)
Sleep and Sight (darkness, sleep and wake times, light type and illumination, reading)
Travel (means and destinations, to work, social interactions, holiday travel)
Work (types, dangers, hours)
Sources for Option #1: You may use the following sources
James Berquist, Daily Life in Immigrant America 1820-1870
Daniel Sutherland, The Expansion of Everyday Life, 1860-1876
David Kyvig, Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1939
Thomas Schlereth, Victorian America: transformations in everyday life, 1876-1915
Jack Larkin, The Reshaping of Everyday Life 1790-1840
Louis B. Wright, Everyday Life in Colonial America
You may use other scholarly sources including articles from academic journals.
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|