You will read Rigoberta Menchú’s I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala (London: Verso, 2010), 2nd edition, and develop a research project during the semester analyzing the story and connecting it with any aspect of modern Latin American history. You can focus, for example, on political aspects, gender, religious issues, military etc. You can develop, for example, a news broadcast, a website, a comic book, a videocast, a podcast, etc. You are always encouraged to come up with other types of digital projects. If your choice is a traditional research essay, it must have between 5 and 6 pages (not counting the bibliography).
IMPORTANT I: The purpose of the assignment is to analyze a topic in Latin American history and relate it to the themes and ideas presented in the book of Menchu. The goal is to create a research project that links a topic of Latin American history to Menchu’s book. You are free to choose any topic in Latin American history that you find interesting and relevant. However, it should be a topic that you can link to the book and analyze in the context of the themes and ideas presented in the book.
IMPORTANT II: History Majors must write a research essay. The final version of the project is due May 07 by 11:59 p.m. This project is meant to engage your creativity while consolidating what you have learned in class.
The research project is worth 40% of your final grade. Activities that build you up to the final exam are built into the course calendar and count toward your final grade (thesis paragraph, outline, sources, annotated bibliography).
In general, for all assignments, please use 12-point font. You may use the font style Arial or Times New Roman. Please use standard one-inch margins and double space. For references, please follow the Chicago Manual of Style https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html.
I do not accept late assignments without a legitimate excuse (health issue, family tragedy, etc.).
IMPORTANT: I have set aside April 04 (Week 12) for an in-class discussion on the drafts of your final projects as an opportunity to present ideas & receive collective feedback.
Final Projects will be assessed on the following criteria:
- Understanding of key themes, theories and methods
- Quality of research and analysis
- Clarity and relevance of argument
- Quality of (written or not) expression and (written or not) structure
- Correct referencing and formatting
Tagged below will be my bibliography