By the end of this course, you will be able to…
1. find and gain access to primary sources, by:
a. identifying different forms of primary sources, including texts, visuals, (collective) memories, objects, etc.
b. locating different repositories of primary sources, including online databases and regional archives;
c. using search engines, (archive) finding aids, and oral history techniques to gain access to specific sources.
2. use primary sources to generate new knowledge about regional expressions of Americanization, by:
a. identifying and explaining different theoretical approaches to the study of cultural transfer and mobility;
b. applying those theoretical insights to asses and interpret what primary sources could reveal about regional expressions of Americanization;
c. formulating and answering a theoretically informed research question about a case study of regional expressions of Americanization.
3. present your research outcomes to different audiences using different media, by:
a. recognizing and classifying the needs of different consumers of scientific knowledge;
b. relating the functions of different media to the needs of different consumers of knowledge;
c. designing an addition to a webpage based on your own research.
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Mapping the American Century is both an academic course and a collaborative research and publication project. It invites you to become a learning participant in an ongoing venture to understand and to share our understanding about how the global presence of the United States has had an impact on our immediate surroundings. During this course, you will collect and share insights on the processes of Americanization with your fellow students; conduct your own primary source research on local manifestations of those processes; and make the new knowledge you generate available to a larger audience.
Topics that you may consider for your independent research vary widely and there will be ample opportunity to develop your own interests or creative insights. You might consider consumer culture (clothing, food, leisure time); identities (the legacies of black GI’s during WWII, expressions of anti-Americanism); memory and commemoration (war monuments, museums, or grave sites), etc., etc.
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Your final grade for this class will be determined by:
- A series of assignments that will introduce you to various primary sources, research methods and theories, and audiences;
- An academic paper in which you will use a theoretically informed research question to interpret primary sources;
- A proposal for an online publication of your research results in which you reflect the choices you made in making your research results accessible to a larger audience.
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