Activity / Assignment for July 4 / 5

The activity portion of the following assignment will compensate for the week of class we miss due to the July 4 holiday. The resulting written portion will serve as your Research Paper or Oral History Project. The written portion is due when we meet the week of July 11/12. You will also make a 5-10 minute presentation of your work during our final class session on July 18/19. Your presentation may be pre-recorded and posted to your blog in a format that can be viewed in class over the internet.


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Please complete  ONE of the following assignments. (Just one.)

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EITHER

Oral History / Research Project

Conduct an Oral History interview of a person who lived through a significant historical event, era or situation. Develop some questions prior to your interview. What do you want to know? What can you find out before you meet for the interview? What can you find out only by experiencing the person’s face-to-face presence? During the interview, attempt to find answers to those questions. Write a paper that attempts to answer one of your questions using the transcript of your interview as a primary source. 4-8 pages


OR

Field Trip / Research Project

Plan a trip to a museum, exhibit, historical place, etc. Examples of appropriate places to visit are noted below. Develop some questions prior to your visit. What do you want to know? What can you find out before you get there? What can you only find out by experiencing the visit in person? During your visit, attempt to find answers to those questions. Do additional research as needed afterward to clarify your results. Write a paper that analyzes the topic from the perspective of one of your questions. 4-8 pages.

• Angel Island Immigration Station
• Chumash Painted Caves & Natural History Museum exhibit, Santa Barbara
• Hearst Museum, Berkeley (Ishi / Native California Cultures exhibit)
• Rosicrucian Museum, San Jose
• Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (choose specific exhibit)