Write a historiographical essay that compares and contrast the views of 2 historians who have tackled the idea of mobilization and civilian experiences in World War Two.
A historiography paper should give a detailed overview of the major works of scholarship on a topic, and it should summarize, evaluate, and critique the arguments of each of those works.
The goal of a historiography paper is to understand how a past event has been interpreted and understood by historians across time. Historiography paper will rely only on secondary sources, the historian is the primary source in this case.
Focus: Civilian Experience WWII
Citation style: Chicago
Length: 4-6 Pages (Double Spaced)
Part 1: Critical Analysis
1) Critically summarize the first chapter of Sean Kennedy, The Shock of War: Civilian Experiences, 1937-1945 (chapter 1: “The Strains of Mobilization,” pp. 13-48)
• Should accomplish 3 main tasks:
• A brief outline of Kennedy’s main argument
• A concise evaluation of the information provided by the author in support of the main argument
• Discuss the evidence Kennedy (see endnotes page 46-48)
• Estimated length for part one: 1-2 pages
Part 2: Critical Analysis (Stephen)
2) Critically summarize the introduction of Jennifer Stephens, Pick One Intelligent Girl: Employability, Domesticity and the Gendering of Canada’s Welfare State, 1939-1947 (pp. 3-15)
• Should accomplish 3 main tasks:
• A brief outline of Stephen’s main argument
• A concise evaluation of the information provided by the author in support of the main argument
• Discuss the sources used and approach taken
• Estimated length for part two: 1-2 pages
Some guiding questions for Part 1 & 2
• what is the thesis of the book? (what is the author’s main argument?)
• Provide a sense of the book’s main topics and key points
• What sources does the author use? Primary? If so, what kinds of primary sources – government records? Personal letters or diaries? Does the author use a lot of secondary sources and are there detailed footnotes?
• What type of history is it? Is it a political history? A cultural or social history? Global history? Something else?
• Is the focus narrow or broad? Does the author consider different perspectives and points of view? Is the book more of an overview or a focused study of something specific within the theme in question?
Part 3: Analyze both sources
3) After analysing the assigned excerpts from these two books, combine them for the final part of the essay. Note the differences between the author’s approaches and arguments, the disagreements (if any) they have with each other, and the relative merits of each in comparison with the others.
• Some guiding questions to consider:
• identify Kennedy’s and Stephens’ main argument and clearly explicate content and sources – how do they differ? How are they similar?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of either approach?
• Why do they have different/similar approaches for discussing mobilization?
• What can the contribution of these two approaches for understanding mobilization and civilian experience during World War Two?
• Estimated length: 2-3 pages
Format/structure
• 4-6 pages double spaced
• Introduction with a clear thesis statement
• Approximately 1-2 pages for part 1 and 2
• Approximately 2-3 pages for part 3
• Be sure to use paragraphs, do not use one large paragraph for each “part”
• Include paraphrased or direct quotation (approx. 2-4 citations per paragraph depending on length)
• You will likely find yourself paraphrasing with 1-2 direct quotes per book throughout the paper vs. the memoir study expected more direct quotation from the source
• Clear and concise conclusion
• Bibliography
• Chicago style footnotes
• Do not use in-text citation
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