Historical (primary source) documents, reference articles, and journals covering periods in U.S. history from precolonial times to the present. Includes citations for history journals from the Arts and Humanities.
Want to share a URL or EMBED video code? See our how-to guide.
Civic Engagement Project:
Purpose:
This is a project designed to highlight some of the important figures who had pushed for reform throughout the first half of American history and to help students understand the role of civic engagement in the growth and shaping of the United States of America.
This meets SLO 5 (Social Responsibility): Analyze the influence of civic engagement on U.S. History during the time period being examined in this course.
Skills:
Task:
Each student will complete a biography and poster on an individual who was actively engaged in movements that have re-shaped the nation. The biography should specifically highlight what the individual did in the public, political or social arena to bring about change in the United States.
Audience: Students should consider the general public their audience. The biography should be written as if for a popular history magazine. The audience for the accompanying poster will be for their classmates. Time will be allotted at the end of the semester for sharing.
Format: The biography should be 1.5 point spacing and 2-3 pages in length. Remember, you are trying to capture your reader’s attention and keep it interesting and informative, without being so long you lose the reader’s interest. The specific resources used to complete the biography should be included at the end of the article.
The poster should be eye-catching with images and graphics included, and provide the highlights of the individual’s life in a format that catches the viewer’s attention.
Other Expectations:
Research for this project should be completed using the resources available through the San Antonio College library. This does not mean you have to go in and check out multiple books on a topic. The library has several databases, many of them history specific, that will provide the information necessary. Use of these resources is required to ensure accuracy of information as Google and Wikipedia are not credible academic sources.
You can find specific databases to get started with by going to the San Antonio College Library web page (https://www.alamo.edu/sac/library/) and selecting Use your Libguide. On the Libguide page click on History and it will give you a list of Instructors and courses. Select HIST 1301-McIntyre, Jennifer: Pre-Columbian to 1877. You are not limited to these databases but it is a good place to start.
This project will be completed in four parts:
Topic Proposal (15 pts): Students will submit a proposed individual for approval, along with a one-paragraph description of why that individual qualifies as a subject for this project. This must be instructor approved and students may be asked to shift their focus if too many students want to do it on the same individual.
Research Bibliography (20 pts): Students will be required to submit a bibliography with at least three resources listed, and explain how those sources will assist in the project. These sources MUST be from the San Antonio College library and its available databases for credit to be received. Students will be given a day of library instruction to familiarize them with what sources are available and how to best use them.
Biography Submission: This will be the final submission on Canvas of the completed biography.
Poster: Students will bring a poster with the highlights of their individual’s life to class for others to view.
Library databases require a login from off-campus!
What does the login page look like?
