Simson HIST 1111 Assignment

There are a few students requesting help finding primary documents for Dr. Simson's World History to 1500 class. This assignment is similar to the one for Modern World History in that students will be required to interview their families to learn where the family roots are. Then students will look for primary sources related to that area of the world from before 1500. It's harder for such early time periods, especially since Dr. Simson wants the sources to be writing (in any language) or maps.

Dr. Simson explained the assignment in class. The project proposal is due next week. The following snips from a rubric evaluating the project will give some idea of the research required.

Please remember that you can get some help from the HIST111 LibGuide.  I've also had some luck doing pre-research in Discover GALILEO on "indigenous people" (country name) history, then using the names of tribes or individuals I discovered to search in other databases or repositories.  Dr. Simson wants the students to experience the challenges and rewards of historical research!

Simson History 1112 Assignment

Dr. Simson has an assignment in his Modern World History class asking students to link events in their own families to events in world history, along the lines of several themes.  For the assignment, students need at least 2 primary sources, a reference in their textbooks, an additional book, and a related article.  The primary documents can be interviews, personal photographs, letters, etc.  In other words, students may look in the family attic or memorabilia for primary sources, as well as finding published primary sources from the era related to their family's story.

It has been a challenge for students who come from outside the U.S. to find primary sources.  There are some books with eye witness accounts from other countries, but our collection is not deep in that area. Beth had good luck using Discover GALILEO with the country name as subject, then limiting type to primary source documents.  You may also have some luck using LexisNexis to find news articles from the country of origin at the time family lived there.

A scan of the assignment appears below.  Part 2 will be a 5-6 page essay on the intersection between family and world history.

Simson History Assignments

Just a quick reminder that there is a folder in the box  that contains assignments.  The one for Dr. Simson's HIST2111 class has just been added.

For this assignment, the students are divided into groups to explore several topics in U. S. History prior to 1700:
Indian Wars
Religion in the Colonies
Virigina
Labor Supply
Settlement Patterns

They need to find both primary and secondary sources. The best places for primary are Annals of America or the digital libraries listed in the right column of the research guide at: guides.gpc.edu/HIST2111Simson .

If you need more support on the, please talk with Angiah or Pat.