1.  

So first you need to read chapter 5, and then answer the following 3 questions:

1. Besides the objects themselves, what are some of the sources of information that can be used to help us understand material culture?
2. How did the changes to buildings, discussed at a number of points in the chapter, reflect social and cultural changes that the US was going through in the late 18th and early 19th centuries?
3. How is the idea of a “consumer revolution” as described on page 13 (last page) reflected in the differences between the two major paintings Quilting Frolic (pg. 5) and the parlor engraving (pg.11)?

Each answer should be a few paragraphs long and fully answer all parts of the question.  Once you are done with your answers the file can be uploaded to me.

2.  

This week we begin our most significant writing, emphasizing themes. We have been practicing so we can get to this point, doing more of what historians actually do. 

As you know, historians do not memorize facts. They see trends throughout time, and use these trends to understand both the past and the present.

A historical theme is a trend, presented as an interpretive thesis, but supported by evidence from several different eras instead of just one or two. 

A number of weeks throughout the semester, we have posted evidence from one particular time-frame or era on a Primary Sources Board, but our writing this week must include evidence from multiple eras. 

Yes – the work you do here may be considered as the outline for your final assignment, so long as you are happy with your subject!

Themes are narrow enough to have a point of view, even though they are broad enough to cover several eras. They show a repeating trend, rather than progress over time. 

One way to begin a theme is to focus on a topic area, such as fashion, sexuality, class differences, cloth-making technology, the role of philosophy, ways in which literature reflects society, sports, games, furniture design, domestic architecture, dancing, political conflict, holiday celebrations, religious texts, expressions of spirituality, mass communication – the possibilities are endless.

Format

For this assignment we start with a theme (in bold text), and use six sources in pairs with a topic sentence (in italics) that covers them both. The format will be like an assignment, with no numbers or letters:

I. Historical theme
II. Topic sentence that supports the theme
     A. Primary source #1 with explanation
     B. Primary source #2 with explanation
III. Topic sentence that supports the theme
     A. Primary source #3 with explanation
     B. Primary source #4 with explanation
IV. Topic sentence that supports the theme
     A. Primary source #5 with explanation
     B. Primary source #6 with explanation
V. Brief conclusion

Avoid problems with themes

Here’s a list of common problems to avoid for themes:

•    The progressive theme problem.
The theme features advancement or improvement over time, when it needs to focus on a repeating trend.

•    The “throughout history” problem.
The theme should not use phrases like “throughout history” or “across the ages”. 

•   The “and” problem.
The theme should not try to cover more bases by using “and”, unless everything in it is proven in every paragraph. 

•    The “or” problem.
The theme should not contain “or”, which encourages paragraphs that focus on only part of the theme. 

•    The so broad it’s obvious problem.
This is similar to the big, factual thesis problem.

Writing assignment instructions (50 points, 45 points for your original post & 5 points for your reply):

Create an outline with a theme and three topic sentences, each supported by two fully-cited primary sources from various Primary Sources Boards, with a brief explanation of how each source supports the topic. All sources must be from a Primary Sources Board (you may add any fully cited sources to any Board at any time).

• The After the Fact assignments are graded credit/no credit