Unit 1 Discussion: Interpreting the Past

INSTRUCTIONS There are two parts to this assignment:1. For Part 1, read the article Reading Primary Sources and choose 3 key themes from the document that you find most interesting. Spend one paragraph discussing each theme (for a total of 3 paragraphs). In each paragraph, you should clearly identify the theme you have chosen in the first sentence, spend several sentences explaining the theme and providing examples from the article to illustrate your theme, and conclude with 1-2 sentences discussing why you think that particular theme is significant for understanding history. Each paragraph should thus be at least 6-7 sentences in length.

2. For Part 2, you will become a historian by applying what you have learned. Choose any historical image relevant to our time frame (1500-1865) that you think is interesting, significant, hilarious – choose whatever you’d like as long as it is an image dealing with our class. It can be an image of a historical person, an event, a document – whatever you can find that interests you and conveys some sense of history. The only limitation is to make sure that the image is in good taste – nothing too crude or with profanity. But you can include graphic images from wars, social conflict, etc. -- these images are not crude but rather a sad reflection on the human experience. Once you have chosen this image, spend one paragraph (at least 6-7 sentences) interpreting it for the class by explaining what the image conveys and why it is significant. Please include both Part 1 and Part 2 in the same posting (do not create separate postings for each). You can create a Word document for the assignment and upload it to the discussion board as an attachment, or you can just post both parts directly onto the discussion board by clicking on “Start a New Thread” and typing in the box. Please make sure that you carefully proof your answer for any typos and other writing issues. 

Once you have posted your assignment, I want you to look at the postings of other students to see the kinds of topics that are of interest to the class and how they have interpreted their images. Respond to at least two of your classmates. 

Please complete the assignment by the date indicated on the calendar. The postings of other students will remain hidden until you make your initial posting. Once you have made your posting, you will be able to see the postings of other students.