AMH 4935: The Fifties

PRIMARY SOURCE ASSIGNMENT

 

Overview of Assignment:

 

During the first four weeks, as we read each 245-page section of David Halberstam’s The Fifties, you will be required to find primary sources pertaining to a topic covered in that section of the book.  For example, if that section covers the civil rights movement, you can bring in a document pertaining to the civil rights movement.  But I will interpret this rule broadly, so, for example, if Halberstam writes about the CIA, you can bring in anything pertaining to the CIA’s activities during the 1950s.   

 

In fulfilling this assignment, the following rules apply:

 

1)  Range of Sources:   You must bring at least one source per week.  Over the course of the three weeks, you must bring in a total of four sources, including at least one primary source from each of the following categories:

 

  1. “Classified” Source:  A government document that was once classified (e.g. confidential, secret, top secret).

 

  1. Unclassified Government Source: (May be a political speech, letter, or diary exert from a political figure; or official government document of some kind, including congressional records, reports of special commissions, government-sponsored study, etc.)

 

  1. Clipping from a popular periodical or newspaper.  (May be an advertisement, editorial, feature, news article, etc.)

 

  1. Misc. non-governmental source.  (speech, memoir, oral history, interview, film clip, work of fiction, poem, audio recording, diary, letter, etc.)


[Note:  For additional ideas of types of sources you can seek, see A Pocket Guide to Writing in History.]

 

2)  Copies to classmates:  During one of our three class meetings devoted to discussing Halberstam and primary sources, you will be assigned to share your source with your classmates.  On the week you are assigned to do so, please photocopy at least one page from the document to share with your classmates.  Bring this copy to class to pass out. Your copy must include a full citation, as described below.

 

3)  Citation:  Each week, you must include with your document a stylistically correct citation.  Somewhere on the document, or on a piece of paper attached to the document, you must include a stylistically correct citation for the source.  You should the citation in two formats: (1) in the appropriate style for footnotes/endnotes; (2) in the appropriate style for bibliographies.  Consult A Pocket Guide to Writing in History for guidance on the appropriate style of citation for each.  Please note, this is worth half of your grade for this assignment.

 

When it is your week to share your document with the class, please be sure that you distribute a copy of the document that includes the citations!

 

4) Internet sources:  At least one, but no more than two, sources should come from the Internet.  (I’m sorry, but you are going to have to go to the library!)

 

(5) No late work will be accepted for this.  So plan ahead.

 

(6) Super-Dooper Prize.  A prize will be awarded for the best – most interesting, funny, or provocative -- primary source found.  Any week you think you have a contender, bring in photocopies to share with the class (whether it is your week to share or not).

 

 

A Few Hints:

 

 

Possible places to check for classified documents include the volumes of the series: U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States.  These documents are published and are readily available in bound volumes in the Government Documents collection of the FAU Library (Boca campus).  Some recently published volumes are also available online; other older volumes have been digitized and are available here; and a complete listing of all published volumes is here. 

 

You can also check the Freedom of Information Act (or “FOIA”) pages of the websites of major government agencies, such as the CIA, Department of Defense, or Department of State.  From there, you can search through documents released. 

 

Other sources for both governmental and non-governmental sources include the National Archives and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, which periodically post documents from their archives.

 

An outstanding page of links to sources is here.  This very useful web site will also provide ideas for possible research topics.

 

 

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