See our Course Calendar for assignments & due dates.
Access the MLA Handbook for citing sources. You can also consult the Online Writing Lab at Purdue.
Post the link to the CI Keys page for your final draft here.
Element Overview: In this Course Element, you will draw upon primary research conducted in Broome Library’s archives, specifically the “unprocessed” Harold T. “Bizz” Johnson Collection. Congressman Johnson served in the House of Representatives from 1959 until 1981, becoming Chairman of the Public Works Committee, and the senior Democrat on the Interior Committee. In Johnson’s 1988 obituary, the Los Angeles Times described him as the “king of pork barrel” for his finesse in garnering millions of dollars in funding for federal projects in his remote, rural district in the northernmost part of California.
The goal of this Course Element is to expose you to the immediacy and tactile nature of primary source materials. We will look specifically at correspondence (letters) between Johnson and his constituents during the Vietnam Era (1961-1975). While secondary sources do the work of interpreting and analyzing primary sources for the reader, and are at least one step removed from the events they describe, primary sources give you the opportunity to interpret events for yourself and to create your own lens for making sense of that material.
Element Time Frame: Weeks 1 – 5
Writing Tasks – Archive Dive Essay: We will devote some class time to sifting through the archives so that you can identify a particular point in time you would like to study and read the letters from that period. You will develop your own proposal focused on a theme you identify in the correspondence that you would like to explore more deeply. You will then write a persuasive essay in which you tease out the context of that theme (historical, political, social, economic, environmental, and so forth), integrating at least 4 additional sources from Broome Library. You will write one working draft for peer exchange and reflection and a complete draft for peer review before submitting a final, revised draft for evaluation.
Speaking Tasks – Archive Dive Class Presentations: You will deliver several presentations throughout this Course Element. These presentations should be prepared but have an “extemporaneous” tone. The first will ask you to present your proposal to the class for feedback. Next, you’ll present your working draft for peer feedback. You will then share the “Roses, Buds, and Thorns” from you complete essay draft. And the final presentation will ask you to reflect on your “Lasting Impression” from the work that went into your Archive Dive Essay. Each presentation should be no longer than 3 minutes in length.
Assessment: This Course Element will be evaluated holistically, taking into consideration the quality, thoroughness, and timeliness of your proposal, essay drafts, presentations, and feedback to your peers, as well as peer assessments of your work.
