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Specifications for Critical Analysis
of a United States History Book
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Find a book dealing
with a specific significant event, person, group, issue, theme,
or some aspect of United States history. (Not a textbook or anything
else too generalized.) Choose a historical subject that seems interesting
to you, perhaps related to your major or ethnicity. Look through
the bibliographies in our textbook or in other history books. Use
the Mt. San Antonio College Library,
other college libraries (if you have access), or public libraries
such as West Covina, Pomona, or Ontario.
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Make SURE
your book meets ALL the following criteria or it will be UNACCEPTABLE.
- It must be obviously history (NOT a novel, theology, anthropology, sociology,
political science, etc.) It must clearly deal primarily
with the United States, not some other country. It must be at least 150 pages and not a picture book (such as a
Time-Life or Readers Digest book) nor written
for children. It must have only one
author. It cannot be a collection
of extracts from other works. It should be scholarly or academic, by someone with a degree in history.
(Mt. San Antonio College librarians may help you in checking
this.) The purpose of this
paper is to analyze interpretations written by a historian
trying to reconstruct the past. It cannot be
a first person account, an original source, or written by a
participant.
- It cannot be a book written more than 50 years ago, as you may be wasting
time on material that more recent research has superseded.
PLEASE NOTE:
This information is being provided as a courtesy only and is the most
recent the library has available at this time. The section that is quoted
here is from a lengthier, 3 page handout detailing the actual assignment
from Professor Markham in depth. If you have questions about the assignment
itself, you need to contact Professor Markham for clarification.
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