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History
210 / Anthropology 275
Autumn 2013
Autumn 2013
Midterm Essay
The midterm assignment in all of my classes (usually scheduled for the week after autumn break) is pivotal
in several senses of the term. Of course, the first thing students
realize is that it is important—pivotal. A solid chunk of the grade
turns (pivots) on it. The next sense is even more significant, though.
The midterm assignment is designed to encourage students to consider all
of the work they have done in the first half of the course and to put
it together in a midterm assignment that helps them to pivot to
the second half of the course. The results of this assignment are
especially enjoyable for me to read, since students have started the process of integrating a wide variety of primary (and, increasingly, secondary) sources from the first half of the course. This is the assignment that brings it all together.
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| [b] 2008 RF |
Read the two "handouts" I have made available to you on "Dropbox" (a short history of China and an "adventure-history" book for young people), then watch the Opening Ceremony from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. These three "texts" will be the foundation for a review essay that you will write, and you will use the skills you have developed from regular reading of the New York Review of Books. Your essay will be strongest if you have really thought about how to engage materials you are reviewing in a "New York Review"-style. You are "in charge," and the best reviews have a strong and confident authorial voice. Think about the following "prompts" as an initial way to approach the assignment. You'll do all three in a single review.
*Imagine that you are being asked to provide feedback for a proposed "40th
Anniversary Issue" of Charles Hucker's China to 1850: A Short History.
*Imagine that you are being asked to provide feedback (in the same review)
for a new book, pitched to children, explaining themes in Chinese history.
*Imagine that you are being asked to provide feedback for a new edition of
the Olympic Opening Ceremony. What "works?" What might need better
explanation by the NBC commentators?
You will then put all three of these "texts" (and your opinions/interpretations) together into one review essay. The texts will not "speak for themselves." You have to interpret them. Have an opinion (or three), and state it (or them) forcefully.
*Imagine that you are being asked to provide feedback for a proposed "40th
Anniversary Issue" of Charles Hucker's China to 1850: A Short History.
*Imagine that you are being asked to provide feedback (in the same review)
for a new book, pitched to children, explaining themes in Chinese history.
*Imagine that you are being asked to provide feedback for a new edition of
the Olympic Opening Ceremony. What "works?" What might need better
explanation by the NBC commentators?
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| [c] Speaking RF |
You will then put all three of these "texts" (and your opinions/interpretations) together into one review essay. The texts will not "speak for themselves." You have to interpret them. Have an opinion (or three), and state it (or them) forcefully.
After going through these texts, you should read through your
syllabus, looking for themes that connect with the materials you have
just read. This is one of reasons why I
have constructed the syllabus the way you see it—it should call to mind the
individual sources (and, now that we are reading whole books, chapters) that
might give you new perspectives on the themes in the three texts (the books and your notes on the Opening Ceremony) you are studying
for this midterm assignment.
Spend about four or five hours (the rough equivalent of
the preparation time for the Tuesday, October 22 course
session), and then watch the extravaganza from Beijing during class. Take careful notes, particularly about the way that the NBC announcers characterized China, on the one hand, and how Zhang Yimou (the director) framed the presentation of Chinese history and culture. Look through your notes and think about
strategies for a medium-sized review essay.
Come to class on Thursday, October 24, and we will discuss
writing strategies. I strongly recommend
that you begin writing your review essay (see below) before our Thursday class.
*** ***
You will write an essay of at least 3,000 words (about
ten pages) commenting upon some of the many themes found in these "documents," as well as those you have already encountered in the source readings and class
discussion. You don’t need to “cover”
all of the material in either the course or the texts (think of the hand motion
of “too much” into “too little” that I make in class). Choose a strategy for discussing the review materials in the context of the course as a whole. There are many ways to approach
this, and we will discuss possibilities on Thursday, October 24. You know how to write an essay already,
though, and are fully capable of getting a solid start on the assignment before
we meet. DO NOT go into our Thursday
10/24 meeting without having done any preparation; at the VERY LEAST you need
to have read the texts, watched the Opening Ceremony, AND made a rough outline for your essay.
This assignment asks you to explicate the texts at hand in a review essay format. Your skills in spotting themes in the Ebrey and Mair
sourcebooks will pay off a great deal in this assignment, as will the general
historical and cultural knowledge you have gained from your other sources and
from class. You have all of Week 9 to
pursue this project, and you should use it to review all of the readings,
quizzes, and class discussions (not to mention themes) that we have studied
thus far in the semester. This
assignment is the “pivot,” as I explained in class, and it will play a
significant role in your success the rest of the term.
Use the word count feature of your software and put the
word total at the bottom of the essay, e.g. “3,262 words."
Due by 10:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 27.
(Put a hard copy in my office door folder).
REMINDERS
* We will WILL meet on Tuesday, October 22
(read the texts, take notes, and prepare to
watch the Opening Ceremony from the 2008 Beijing Olympics).
watch the Opening Ceremony from the 2008 Beijing Olympics).
* We WILL meet in class to discuss the assignment on Thursday, October 24.
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| [f] Birdnest RF |
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