You are asked to write a 5-6 page (double-space) research paper on a topic related to this class. A list of topics will be provided but you must have your choice of topic approved by the professor.  You will submit your proposal for topic here on Blackboard in Week 10, no later than 11:59 pm on Sunday, November 1.

The paper will include

a map or image or chart
and all sources will be footnoted. 
You can use any scholarly system of footnoting as long as it is consistent throughout the paper. (See suggestions below.)

The intent of the paper is to reference and expand on the material studied in the class, and to explore further a topic of particular interest to you.

You may also choose to include a summary paragraph that relates the historical material to current events today.

The research paper is worth 100 points, like an exam, and counts as 30% of the final semester grade. 

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CHOOSING A TOPIC

You should choose a topic that relates to “World History,” the theme of our class.

Here are some ideas, but you can also find another topic of interest to you.  Email Dr. Hook to discuss it.

Your topic should be somewhat specific, but be sure you can find enough sources.

Suggestions for topics

Significance of Gilgamesh
Significance of the Code of Hammurabi
Greek democracy and democracy today: for example, Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” has been related to Pericles’s funeral oration.
The conversion of Russia to Byzantine Christianity
Women in the Roman Empire
Buddhism in Southeast Asia
Magellan and exploration of the world
The Opium Wars between Britain and China
Manifest Destiny in the United States
The Scramble for Africa
India as the “jewel in the crown of the British Empire
Japan after World War II
Communism in Africa
Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution
The Monroe Doctrine (1893) and the 1904 Roosevelt Corollary: Effects on Latin America
The Balfour Declaration (1917) and the establishment of the State of Israel (1948)
The creation of Pakistan
Honduras as the first Banana Republic
..

HINTS FOR A BETTER PAPER

This paper is 5-6, double-space paper.  Use Times Roman font in 12-pt. size.

Your paper must show that you have done research beyond what we learned in class.  Try to find an unusual angle or perspective (your thesis). Formulate your own opinion and back it up with sources. Dont forget to look for primary sources, such as letters, diaries, speeches, etc. 

ALL information should be referenced, not just quotations. 

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You can use any style or format that you choose, as long as it is consistent throughout the paper.

However, here are some helpful hints: