Applied History Project
Project Overview: In this class, we are learning about the not-so-distant past, specifically American History from 1932 to 2001. While learning about history is certainly exciting, we should not forget that the past is linked and, in many ways, shapes the present. As we work through each week, you might be introduced to people, events and policies that impact the world we live in today. And as you engage with the material, you will most like say to yourself, “oh, that is when that started,” and then hopefully use this knowledge to consider how the present is shaped by the past. In doing so, you are using the principles and engaging in the application of Applied History. What is Applied History and how do you do it? Applied History seeks to understand current challenges and choices by analyzing historical precedents and analogs. Applied historians begin with a current choice or predicament and analyze the historical record to provide perspective, stimulate imagination, find clues about what is likely to happen, suggest possible interventions, and assess probable consequences. In this course, students will have the opportunity to complete their own Applied History Project which seeks to trains students to apply insights grounded in the past to contemporary policy challenges.
Project Objective: Students will serve as interns to the newly established Office of Historical Advisors (just to be clear, this is a hypothetical situation). In this role, students will investigate a current policy challenge (or domestic or international issue) and through historical research recommend policy solutions by drafting an Historical Policy Brief. Students will find a list of policy challenges to choose from or they can select their own with instructor approval.
Project Requirements: The Applied History Project will consist of four stages that will conclude with students submitting a Historical Policy Brief. The project consists of four graded parts:
Topic and Proposal (10 points towards Final Grade) – Due Week 2: Select a topic from the Current Policy Challenges list posted under Week 2. From there, students will conduct preliminary research on their topic and then submit a 200-word proposal that includes a summary of their policy, the challenge(s) associated with their policy and a working bibliography of 6 academic sources. You will find additional details for this assignment under the assignment folder in Week 2 under Content.
Annotated Bibliography (15 points towards Final Grade) – Due Week 4: For this assignment, students will conduct research on their topic and compose a properly formatted, detailed annotated bibliography consisting of six academic sources to be used in their final submission. The sources must consist of three scholarly secondary sources and three primary sources. You will find additional details for this assignment under the assignment folder in Week 4 under Content.
Preliminary Draft – Historical Policy Brief (10 points towards Final Grade) – Due Week 6: For this assignment, students will write and submit a preliminary draft of their Historical Policy Brief. You will find additional details for this assignment under the assignment folder in Week 6 under Content.
Final Draft Historical Policy Brief (25 points towards Final Grade) – Due Week 8: For this assignment, students will use their research from the last seven weeks to write and submit the final draft of their Historical Policy Brief. You will find additional details for this assignment under the assignment folder in Week 8 under Content.
Additional Requirements:
Title Page: When you submit each assignment, please include a cover sheet that includes the following information:
- Student Name
- Project Title/Topic
- Your class and section number
- Date
Citation Format: And finally, you should note that the preferred style for this class is Chicago Humanities Style (not the author/date variant). While UMGC does encourage using APA, Historians typically use Chicago/Turabian Style to format their citations and bibliographies. As such, the History Program (unless otherwise specified by your instructor) expects students to use Chicago/Turabian Style to format their citations and bibliographies. If you are unfamiliar with this style, do not worry! The Effective Writing Center created a short overview on using Chicago Humanities Style called “Brief Guide to Citing Sources in Chicago.” To find a copy of this guide, please: click on the Content tab -> Course Resources ->Writing Resources -> “Brief Guide to Citing Sources in Chicago.” From there, scroll through the document to see a list of sources formatted in this style. The examples labeled N=footnote/endnote format and those labeled B=bibliographic entry. Chicago/Turabian Style can take some getting used to, so please do not hesitate to reach out to your instructor for extra clarification or additional help.
Expert Answer: Applied History Project Overview
