Sarah Gudger, Born 1816 in Old Fort, North Carolina at the time of the picture (
Sarah Gudger, Born 1816 in Old Fort, North Carolina at the time of the picture (1937) Sarah was 121 Reflection papers are to be 2 full pages (no more, no less), typed double-spaced, a bibliography is NOT required for this paper, footnotes are; font is to be 12 point Times New Roman; double spaced, no cover page, and following all other paper guidelines provided in the syllabus (failure to adhere to paper guidelines–both content and formatting–will impact the grade of the paper). DO NOT simply provide a review of the materials—analysis is key. It is important that you not wait until the last minute to type the paper; remember, you only have 2 to 3 pages (no more, no less). This assignment is an exercise in how to effectively distill information in a clear and concise manner, while still provided a nuanced analysis and detailed insight; every word matters. This means, more than likely, you will have to go through at least three drafts of the paper. I strongly recommend condensing information where you can and dedicating no more than one paragraph per numbered bullet point provided above. Reflection papers may utilize first person voicing where needed. Papers should be submitted as .doc/.docx (microsoft word) or as a pdf. google docs, emailed, and/or canvas inboxed papers are not accepted. Guidelines: You must select a primary document from the one of the three sites provided (see Week 12>assignments>Resources for Reflection Paper 1) After selecting a primary document of interest, you must provide an analysis of the document by following the following steps: 1. Begin the reflection paper by placing the document in its proper historical context (this may require that you do further research beyond the document.) 2. Make clear the importance of the document (why should the reader care about this particular document? Why is it important?) 3. Identify a theme you wish to provide an analysis of within the document (this can be gender, capitalism, race/racism, institutional racism, etc–we have covered several topics and themes in the course which should help you to identify a theme; whatever theme you decide to highlight, it should be equally compelling as the importance of the document; you want to keep your reading audience engaged). 4. After identifying the importance of the document and the theme you will be highlighting from the document, provide a clear thesis statement (i.e. this paper argues, this paper advances, this paper engages, etc). 5. Carefully and thoughtfully provide an analysis of your selected theme–giving careful attention to why this specific analytical point is important and how it connects back to your thesis (it will definitely be helpful to use quotes from your source, as well as class materials). 6. You must place your document/theme/analysis in conversation with at least one source from class that is NOT from the Freedom on My Mind text. 7. End the paper connecting your analysis/theme in a clear manner to contemporary times and providing any additional thoughts/insights/important points you believe your reader should be aware of. 8. IMPORTANT: you must include a copy of your source at the end of your paper (this may require you to merge pdfs to make one document and/or copy the pdf as a picture into your word document). Everyone will have a different angle on what they think is important, some of you may underscore capitalism, others gender and/or race, others US policy and laws and/or illegal practices of enslavers, etc. Whichever approach works best for you, be sure the reflection paper falls within the parameters of what is outlined above, as well as what is provided in the paper guidelines in the syllabus.
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