Spotlight Research Project
Heald & Mulder
Spotlight: Part 1
11th grade—U.S. History and Language Arts
Overview:
Write a research paper that shines a “spotlight” on a focused or personal aspect of a historical topic that addresses themes of American Ideals/Realities from the mid-20th century to present day.
Essential Questions to Consider:
Purpose of Project:
Specifics of Paper – Modelled off of the “Dig Deep” CBA:
A responsible citizen can use historical thinking to develop thoughtful participation in a democratic society. You will demonstrate your thinking skills by making an evidence-based argument related to an historical question. Your argument must be founded on your analysis of primary sources and historical narratives.
In a cohesive paper, you will:
Materials
Timeline:
Below is a list of potential topics and individuals that you may want to showcase. The list is not exhaustive. You may want to focus on someone or something outside of this list, which is totally okay, but please consider the spirit of the assignment. Try to select a person or an event outside of the mainstream. The domain in which your subject rests may be well known but the story which you focus on, which you spotlight, may not be.
Possible Topics for question generation:
11th grade—U.S. History and Language Arts
Overview:
Write a research paper that shines a “spotlight” on a focused or personal aspect of a historical topic that addresses themes of American Ideals/Realities from the mid-20th century to present day.
Essential Questions to Consider:
- What are our American Ideals?
- How are our Ideals similar to or different from our realities?
- What is America?
- What does it mean to be an American?
- How do we begin to understand our country today by examining the justice or injustice of our past?
Purpose of Project:
- The goal of the Spotlight paper is to give you the opportunity to explore a historical issue in an up close and personal manner, shedding light (analysis/ interpretation) on an aspect of history that isn’t normally seen or considered.
- Develop a deep understanding and awareness of multiple perspectives on a U.S. historical event/person/story.
- Topic selection: your choice! As long as your topic fits within the timeline of the 1950s to present day—as a group, decide on one topic of interest and then individually narrow the focus to investigate/analyze a small piece of that larger issue. The paper will be an individual assignment. Part 2 of the project will ask your group to come together to create a visual aid to represent your learning.
Specifics of Paper – Modelled off of the “Dig Deep” CBA:
A responsible citizen can use historical thinking to develop thoughtful participation in a democratic society. You will demonstrate your thinking skills by making an evidence-based argument related to an historical question. Your argument must be founded on your analysis of primary sources and historical narratives.
In a cohesive paper, you will:
- State a claim related to an historical question and support the claim with evidence.
- Provide evidence, using multiple sources from multiple points of view. *
- Address a counterclaim: consider the strengths and weaknesses not only of your position, but also of opposing positions.
- Refer explicitly in the paper or presentation to four or more credible sources that provide relevant information:
- Cite your sources when you draw information from them: for instance, when you summarize, paraphrase, or quote, and when you refer to facts, figures, and ideas.
- Provide complete publication information for each source in your bibliography or list of works cited.
Materials
- Research (turn in separately with proper MLA citations)
- Project proposal with guided question
- Final paper
Timeline:
- Week one: groups, research, decide topic, create proposal, outline
- Week two: paper development
Below is a list of potential topics and individuals that you may want to showcase. The list is not exhaustive. You may want to focus on someone or something outside of this list, which is totally okay, but please consider the spirit of the assignment. Try to select a person or an event outside of the mainstream. The domain in which your subject rests may be well known but the story which you focus on, which you spotlight, may not be.
Possible Topics for question generation:
- Election of Ronald Reagan
- Hard-hat attack on demonstration NYC
- Love Canal
- Three Mile Island
- Roe v. Wade
- Million Man March
- Bay of Pigs
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- Iran-Contra
- MLK denounces Vietnam war
- Exxon Valdez
- Katrina
- Patriot Act
- Silent Spring
- WTO demonstrations 1999
- Stonewall
- Chicago 1968
- ERA 1972
- First Earth Day
- Death of Fred Hampton
- Poor Peoples’ March
- Boldt Decision
- Wounded Knee
- Symbionese Liberation Army
- Altamont Rock Festival
- Grape Boycott
- Watergate
- My Lai
- Roots, the TV phenomenon
- Black Panther Party
- Shot Simon
- Operation Able Archer
- Civil Rights Act 1964
- Voting Rights Act 1965
- Moon Landing 1969
- Central High School Little Rock
- Freedom Summer Mississippi
- Boycott New Orleans AFL Football
- Attica
- Freedom Rides
- Rodney King uprising
- Albany Georgia Campaign
- Angela Davis
- Russell Means
- Leonard Peltier
- Gloria Steinem
- J. Edgar Hoover
- Caesar Chavez
- Dolores Huerta
- Bella Abzug
- Billy Frank
- Medgar Evers
- Bayard Rustin
- John Lewis
- Toni Morrison
- Elizabeth Eckford
- Jack Kerouac
- James Hoffa
- The Berrigans
- Betty Friedan
- James Meredith
- Jane Fonda
- John Kerry
- Lenny Bruce
- Abby Hoffman
- James Baldwin
- Eldridge Cleaver
- Elaine Brown
- Fannie Lou Hamer
- Afrika Bambaata
- Questlove
- Richard Pryor
Research Steps and Resources
-
Search Terms
-
SPS/SPL Sources
-
UW Sources
-
City of Seattle Archives
-
HistoryLink.org
-
Comprehensive Collections
<
>
Consider how to construct your searches with targeted search terms. These are examples:
Dates: 1950's or The 50's or Range of specific years or decades
Issue: Civil Rights or African-American Rights or Women's Rights or Chicano (Latina/Latino/Mexican) Rights
Who: Blacks or African Americans/Hispanics or Chicano or Mexicans or Latinos or Latinas or Central Americans or South Americans or Guatemalans /Africans or East Africans or Middle Easterners or Syrians or Iraqis or Muslims or Arabic/Gays or Homosexuals or Transgender or Lesbians or Bisexuals
Analysis: analysis, reasoning, investigation, development, book review
Specifics: Brown vs. Board of Education, Redlines or Redlining, Steering, Jim Crow laws, Anti-Gay, Religious Bias, Social Movement, Anti-Vietnam, Anti-War Movement
Targeted Search Terms for a library book: Grape Strike, Calif., 1965-1970 — History
Targeted Search Terms for Congressional Testimony: Discrimination in law enforcement -- United States
"Police officers should enforce and uphold the law regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation. The ideal that all people are created equal with certain unalienable rights is the basis upon which the United States of America was founded. However, we have labored with this notion from its inception over 230 years ago. Unfortunately, law enforcement has been an effective tool of oppression throughout the history of our Nation. Biased laws and practices have forced officers to engage in institutional racism. It was barely a generation ago that law enforcement was charged with keeping water fountains separate and high schools racially segregated. We are still struggling to repair the mistrust and resentment that many communities continue to feel." -- Chief Burbank, Salt Lake City Police Department before U.S. House of Representatives sub-committee, 2010.
Targeted Search Terms for ProQuest database articles using Advanced Search: Work AND Women AND Discrimination
Green, Tristin K. "RACE AND SEX IN ORGANIZING WORK: "DIVERSITY," DISCRIMINATION, AND INTEGRATION." Emory Law Journal, vol. 59, no. 3, 2010, pp. 585-647. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/664889496?accountid=415.
"Additional research suggests that improving the racial and gender balance in the work environment and expanding opportunities for peer-like contact and collaboration among workers from different racial and gender groups can lead to better career outcomes for women and people of color. It follows from this research that considering race and sex when composing work teams can reduce discriminatory biases and stereotyping in intergroup interaction by leading to more integrated teams."
Dates: 1950's or The 50's or Range of specific years or decades
Issue: Civil Rights or African-American Rights or Women's Rights or Chicano (Latina/Latino/Mexican) Rights
Who: Blacks or African Americans/Hispanics or Chicano or Mexicans or Latinos or Latinas or Central Americans or South Americans or Guatemalans /Africans or East Africans or Middle Easterners or Syrians or Iraqis or Muslims or Arabic/Gays or Homosexuals or Transgender or Lesbians or Bisexuals
Analysis: analysis, reasoning, investigation, development, book review
Specifics: Brown vs. Board of Education, Redlines or Redlining, Steering, Jim Crow laws, Anti-Gay, Religious Bias, Social Movement, Anti-Vietnam, Anti-War Movement
Targeted Search Terms for a library book: Grape Strike, Calif., 1965-1970 — History
Targeted Search Terms for Congressional Testimony: Discrimination in law enforcement -- United States
"Police officers should enforce and uphold the law regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation. The ideal that all people are created equal with certain unalienable rights is the basis upon which the United States of America was founded. However, we have labored with this notion from its inception over 230 years ago. Unfortunately, law enforcement has been an effective tool of oppression throughout the history of our Nation. Biased laws and practices have forced officers to engage in institutional racism. It was barely a generation ago that law enforcement was charged with keeping water fountains separate and high schools racially segregated. We are still struggling to repair the mistrust and resentment that many communities continue to feel." -- Chief Burbank, Salt Lake City Police Department before U.S. House of Representatives sub-committee, 2010.
Targeted Search Terms for ProQuest database articles using Advanced Search: Work AND Women AND Discrimination
Green, Tristin K. "RACE AND SEX IN ORGANIZING WORK: "DIVERSITY," DISCRIMINATION, AND INTEGRATION." Emory Law Journal, vol. 59, no. 3, 2010, pp. 585-647. ProQuest, https://search.proquest.com/docview/664889496?accountid=415.
"Additional research suggests that improving the racial and gender balance in the work environment and expanding opportunities for peer-like contact and collaboration among workers from different racial and gender groups can lead to better career outcomes for women and people of color. It follows from this research that considering race and sex when composing work teams can reduce discriminatory biases and stereotyping in intergroup interaction by leading to more integrated teams."
-
Non-Fiction Books
-
SPS Online Resources
<
>
Nathan Hale High School Library Non-Fiction books:
Example:
Black, white, and Brown : the landmark school desegregation case in retrospect. "Contains twelve essays written in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of "Brown v. Board of Education" in which various scholars discuss the history and legacy of the 1954 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that legally enforced racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional."
Seattle Public Library Non-Fiction books and Congressional Testimonies or Reports:
Example:
Streever, Bill. Green Seduction. Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2007.
"Goldstein offers in-depth discussion of the economic situation and government regulations. Additionally, he readily acknowledges problems of the "real world" and offers workable solutions to address these problems." (From Library Journal Review of book)
SPS Online Student Resources (Databases):
To access outside of NHHS, use the login: studentsps and ask the librarian for the password.
ProQuest-
Example:
"WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES DIFFERENCE MAKE? WOMEN, RACE-ETHNICITY, SOCIAL CLASS, AND SOCIAL CHANGE."
"Stereotypes are not just ideas. They have an important material function: they support and justify the mistreatment of people from particular social groups -- in particular, economic mistreatment. One of the most important ways that women's experiences differ is whether they work in the paid labor force or not; the kinds of jobs they have; and how much they earn. These are profoundly influenced by both a woman's social class and her racial-ethnic background. First, middle/upper-class women can choose whether or not to work outside the home, whereas poor/working-class women -- who are disproportionately women of color-typically must work to support themselves and their families."
Issues and Controversies-
Example:
"American Exceptionalism: Is the United States exceptional among the world's nations?"
"Opponents of American exceptionalism contend that the U.S. founders did not create a country in order to export freedom and democracy around the world."
SIRS/ProQuest Knowledge Source-
Example:
Ford, Peter. "US Seeks Energy 'Dominance.' but is that a Shield Against.." Christian Science Monitor, 22 Feb, 2018, pp. n/a. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.
"For decades, haunted by fears of oil shortages, the United States made 'energy independence' its goal. Today, with the nation poised to become the biggest oil and gas producer in the world, the administration has declared a new and bolder ambition: 'energy dominance.'"
Special Collections- Posters and Images
-
Tyee Yearbooks 1970, 1971
-
UW Libraries Special Collections
<
>
University of Washington Libraries Special Collections - Social Movements of 1970's
Tyee (Yearbook) 1970 http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/uwdocs/id/47416/rec/71 Protests against ROTC, pages 50 and 51 Tyee Yearbook 1971 http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/uwdocs/id/21406/rv/compoundobject/cpd/21807/rec/72 Women’s Liberation on campus, pgs. 25, 26 and 27 Brown Berets (Chicano rights/ farming rights) Page 34 and 35 Changing political landscape on college campus for social issues: Pages 36 and 37: As John F. Kennedy said in his ad¬ dress honoring the UW's Centen¬ nial in 1961, "... if we are to move forward, we shall need all the calm and thoughtful citizens that this great University can pro¬ duce, all the light that they can shed, all wisdom that they can bring to bear. No other genera¬ tion of free men in any country has ever faced so many and so difficult challenges—not even those who lived in the days when this University was founded in 1861. This nation was then torn by war. This territory had only the simplest elements of civiliza¬ tion. And this city had barely be¬ gun to function. But a university was one of their earliest thoughts —and they summed it up in the motto that they adopted: 'Let there be light.' What more can be said today, regarding all the dark and tangled problems that we face than, 'Let there be light.' And to accomplish that illumina¬ tion, the University of Washing¬ ton shall still hold high the torch. Anti-ROTC (bombing of Clark Hall)Pages 38 and 39 UW Black Football players resign because of racism. Pages 52, 53, 54 and 55 Ecology Pages 57-62 Associated Students of University of Washington (ASUW) More politically active than ever before. Black Student Union shuts down building. ASUW Women’s Commission (Women’s Rights) Pages 88-91 |
protest_project_5-16.pdf | |
File Size: | 1886 kb |
File Type: |
Civil Rights struggles in Seattle during the 1960s-70s
Women Activists in Seattle City Government
Gender and Employment
Women and the Seattle Fire Department
Women Breaking Into Non-Traditional Jobs Video
Seattle City Light News -Int'l Women's Day 1977
(At 3:33 coverage of the 1977 International Women's Day Conference held in Houston, Texas narrated by “roving reporter” Nancy Callary (it is noted at this time that Seattle City Light employed 325 women)
Women at Work: Employment Discrimination
University Student Protests
Social Justice
Crowley, Walt. “Seattle Liberation Front clashes with police during protest at federal courthouse on February 17, 1970.” HistoryLink.org, 6/01/1999. Web. 5/10/18. http://historylink.org/File/2129
Article on Seattle Liberation Front ‘protests contempt citations issued against the "Chicago Seven.’
Wilma, David. “Weeks of protests erupt in Seattle, beginning on May 1, 1970, against U.S. entry into Cambodia and later also to protest the killing of four Kent State students.” Historylink.org, 5/01/2000. Web. 5/10/18. http://historylink.org/File/2308
Article on timeline of protests taking place during May 1970.
Social Justice
Crowley, Walt. “Seattle Liberation Front clashes with police during protest at federal courthouse on February 17, 1970.” HistoryLink.org, 6/01/1999. Web. 5/10/18. http://historylink.org/File/2129
Article on Seattle Liberation Front ‘protests contempt citations issued against the "Chicago Seven.’
Wilma, David. “Weeks of protests erupt in Seattle, beginning on May 1, 1970, against U.S. entry into Cambodia and later also to protest the killing of four Kent State students.” Historylink.org, 5/01/2000. Web. 5/10/18. http://historylink.org/File/2308
Article on timeline of protests taking place during May 1970.
-
ACRL - Social Activism
-
National Security and Military Analysis
-
UI -Economic & Policy Research
-
PBS Fronline
<
>
Association of College and Research Libraries - Social Activism
General history of activism
- American Friends Service Committee Archives (AFSC). AFSC is a Quaker organization that works on many areas of justice and peace. The archive features materials from both the organization’s history as well as documents from the many organizations they have worked with throughout the 20th century. The website includes articles highlighting major projects and movements AFSC has worked on, accompanied by a well-curated selection of digitized documents, photographs, and videos from their collection. The collection highlights AFSC’s work with some less discussed aspects of American activism, including conscientious objectors during World War I and World War II, Japanese internment, and work in post-depression Appalachia. Access: https://www.afsc.org/project/archives.
- Digital Public Library of America (DPLA): Activism in the United States. This exhibit from DPLA offers a high-level overview of the history of activism in the United States, using items from the University of Georgia Libraries. There are concise sections on topics such as the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr., women’s movements and LGBT activism, which are accompanied by photographs, video clips, and other materials. This site is a great place for starting a classroom discussion of social activism as well as a good starting point for introducing the use of archival materials in expanding on and illustrating the history of these controversial eras. Access: https://dp.la/exhibitions/exhibits/show/activism.
- Radicalism Collection: MSU Libraries. The Radicalism Collection from the Michigan State University Libraries collects books, pamphlets, and ephemera produced by and about radical groups within the United States. The website provides access to digitized materials on a variety of groups and movements, from the Ku Klux Klan to the International Workers of the World. A strength of this collection is the inclusion of materials from both what would be considered right- and left-wing groups, although a bulk of the materials are from the 1960s left wing. While the materials are excellent for illustration or research purposes, a deeper dive into the context of the materials and subject matter would have to be supplemented from other sources. Access: http://www.lib.msu.edu/spc/collections/radicalism/.
- The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project. This project is based at the University of Washington and is a collaboration between the university and community groups. The focus of the collection is on the unique civil rights and activist history of Seattle and Pacific Northwest, but the items are of interest to any large discussion of social movements in the United States. The digital collections include oral histories with 80 civil rights activists, essays and information on specific organizations, and the larger context of activism in the area, as well as portals gathering together articles, documents, and multimedia related to some of the large organizations and movements represented in the collection. The collection also represents how archive projects can engage with the more troubling aspects of history, by including materials relating to the Ku Klux Klan in Seattle and the history of segregation in Seattle. Access: http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/.
- The Civil Rights Digital Library. The Civil Rights Digital Library is a comprehensive meta-archive, bringing together primary source materials from the collections of many libraries, museums, public broadcasters, and other organizations. The collection is well cataloged and easily searchable and browsable. There is a particularly strong collection of unedited news footage, which could be of particular interest for classroom instructors. There is also a large collection of links to secondary educational materials, including lesson plans, instructional materials, and bibliographies. Access: http://crdl.usg.edu/.
- Voices from the Southern Civil Rights Movement. This archive provides access to digital files of noncommercial radio programs from the 1950s and 1960s, documenting the experiences of activists in the Civil Rights Movement. Programs include interviews with well-known civil rights figures and unknown participants, and documents activities such as sit-ins and boycotts. Ideological issues such as nonviolence, the development of the Black Power movement, and reactions to white resistance are explored through first-person accounts. This archive illustrates how journalism produced during historic events can be valuable source material for later research. Access: http://americanarchive.org/exhibits/civil-rights.
- Wisconsin Historical Society: Freedom Summer Collection. The Wisconsin Historical Society Collection is a valuable digital archive of civil rights material related to the Freedom Summer of 1964. These include photographs, posters, and visual materials that are free for nonprofit educational use. There are records from major organizations, such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and personal papers from major movement leaders, as well as letters and first-person accounts of the everyday students involved. The collection is a deep dive into a particularly interesting time in the civil rights struggle and offers many opportunities for primary source research. Access: http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15932coll2.
- Drawing on Labor History. This unique collection from the University of Pittsburgh features of the cartoons of labor activists and cartoonists for the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America. This series of 177 cartoons on labor history were published in the UE News. The collection provides digitized versions of all the cartoons presented both chronologically and organized into thematic collections. These items offer an unusual glimpse into the labor struggles of the first part of the 20th century, as told by and to those involved and affected by the movement. Access: http://images.library.pitt.edu/f/fredwright/index.html.
- Farmworker Movement Documentation Project. This site provides a strong collection of primary sources related to Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers grape strike. These include essays written by the movement’s participants, digitized documents and archival materials, and curated exhibits on topics such as art and design within the movement. This site is a great resource for discussion of the farmworkers movement—the only downside of the archive is its age, which results in some resources, particularly video files, being no longer accessible. Access: https://libraries.ucsd.edu/farmworkermovement/.
- ACT-UP Oral History Project. ACT-UP has been one of the most influential social activist organizations in the late 20th century—its techniques and methods have informed many later movements. This project collects oral histories from many of the original members of ACT-UP/New York. These activists participated in some of the most influential actions of the 20th century and their insights into both the work of organizing and the personal struggles they faced make this an excellent resource. Access: http://www.actuporalhistory.org/.
- Digital Transgender Archive (DTA). DTA is a meta-archive collecting materials from more than 30 institutions pertaining to the history of the experiences of transgender and gender nonconforming individuals around the world. The archive includes digitized and born digital materials, as well as finding guides to physical collections. This is an excellent resource for highlighting the specific and rich history of transgender activism, both as a part of larger LGBT+ history and as its own area of study. Access: https://www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net.
- Herstories: Audio/Visual Collections. The Lesbian Herstory Archives (LHA)is one of the largest and oldest archives dedicated to preserving items related to the lesbian community. The digital collections represent only a small fraction of the total collection, but they contain valuable audio/visual artifacts, including a digitized audio recording of Audre Lorde and a comprehensive history of the Daughters of Bilitis, including a large selection of digitized video clips documenting the influential organization’s history. LHA is an excellent illustration of how an all-volunteer archive created by and for the community it documents and the materials and project in general are a great starting point for classroom discussion and research. Access: http://herstories.prattinfoschool.nyc/omeka/.
- The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America. The Schlesinger Library has an unparalleled physical collection of items related to the history of women in America and its digital collections are equally impressive. Highlights include a fully digitized collection of the diaries, correspondence, and other memorabilia from Susan B. Anthony, the digitized papers of the Beecher-Stowe family, and the papers of Dorothy West. The site also provides informative articles about the physical collections, illustrated with sample digitized items. This would be an excellent source of primary research material relating to the suffragette movement as well as a great source of visual materials on a variety of women’s movement-related topics. Access: https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/schlesinger-library.
- Women’s Liberation Movement Print Culture. This collection focuses on the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, focusing on feminist print culture. The digital collection includes manifestos, flyers, articles, and photographs encompassing many aspects of the Women’s Movement. Particularly interesting are the materials related to the 1968 protest of the Miss America pageant, a seminal action in the course of the women’s movement. Access: http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/wlmpc/.
- Women of Protest: Photographs from the Records of the National Woman’s Party (NWP). NWP was a highly influential organization that brought the techniques of the militant British suffrage movement to the United States. This collection is made up of photographs from the NWP records and include many photographs of the group’s picketing and other actions. Suffragists’ protest strategies would become a model for the civil disobedience and actions of later groups and this collection provides an excellent visual record of their activities. The site also include articles and essays outline the history of the organization, their tactics and their place in the larger context of women’s movements. Access: https://www.loc.gov/collections/women-of-protest.
Council on Foreign Relations
https://www.cfr.org/project/national-security-and-military-policy-analysis
Urban Institute
https://www.urban.org/
The Dynamics of Poverty
https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/30656/411960-The-Dynamics-of-Poverty-in-the-United-States-A-Review-of-Data-Methods-and-Findings.PDF
The Dynamics of Poverty
https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/30656/411960-The-Dynamics-of-Poverty-in-the-United-States-A-Review-of-Data-Methods-and-Findings.PDF