REMEMBER TO POST YOUR ESSAY A MS WORD OR PDF DOCUMENT!
Create a thread for your 1000-word short essay. The theme is: “Ambiguity in History: Challenging Perspectives.” You will need to find a topic that we have covered in class up to this point (a person, an era, a war, a battle, etc.) and then investigate that topic analyzing the “ambiguity” and “perspective” in sources/information.
To phrase this assignment another way: find a topic, find two opposing viewpoints (at least two sources) on the topic and talk about how your chosen topic can be ambiguous (as in, how facts can be “inconclusive” or even contradictory, or how perspectives on history are shaped by culture.) An example from another class (Western Civ I), which you obviously cannot use, would be explaining how the Mongols expanded and ran their empire. Many historical sources claim the Mongol Empire was vicious, killing millions in a very short amount of time. However, recently found primary accounts of the Mongols paint them almost as “liberators,” not “conquerors” or “slaughterers.” Where does the truth lie? Why are there different accounts of this event/these people?
Regarding the sources: they have to be the same type of historical account: either all the sources have to be primary/eye-witness accounts, or they have to be secondary accounts/perspectives of your chosen topic.
I would construct your essay like this: Summarize the two opposing viewpoints you have found within your two chosen sources. After summarizing each opposing viewpoint/source and explaining how they’re similar and different, you will analyze and explain how your topic can be distorted or clouded with regards to history. Conclude your essay stating which viewpoint you believe is more accurate, and then discuss if you believe that your own perspectives and culture have influenced your research and opinions on the sources.
The essay needs to be college standard: 12-pt Font, Times New Roman, and double-spaced. Use Turabian/Chicago format for your essay; this means using the link provided below to help format the citations for your two sources in a Works Cited/Bibliography page AND footnotes.
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/turabian/turabian-notes-and-bibliography-citation-quick-guide.html
Grade Breakdown:
20 points – Grammar, Punctuation, and Format/Citations
80 points – Content
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