The Digital Past

History 390, Summer 2017

Assignments


Assignment Due Date Grade Percentage
Participation Throughout the semester. 20%
Blog Posts Throughout the semester. 30%
Project Proposal June 30th by 11:59pm. 5%
Final Project July 29th by 5pm. 40%
Reflection July 29th by 5pm 5%

Class Participation (20%):

Call participation necessitates you attend class, but it is not defined solely by attendance. I expect that students will come to class having done the readings beforehand. Students should be ready to discuss the readings, exchange ideas, and actively participate in class discussions. Grades will be determined by not just your presence in class but also by your contribution to class discussions and activities.

Many of our meetings will include an in-class demonstration of tools and exercises that are designed to help you become familiar with the skill. I will ask that you post the results of these in-class activities to your blog. These posts will count toward your participation grade.

Because many of the blog assignments will build on the exercises and demonstrations in class, it will be difficult for students who do not attend to keep up with the skills.

Blog Posts (30%):

Throughout the semester you will write a total of 6 blog posts. Each blog post will build on a topic discussed in class and they will often build on our in class tool tutorials. Blog posts will be due the following Sunday by 9:00am.

Your blog posts should be at least 350-500 words and should be written in a semi-formal scholarly style (complete thoughts, correct spelling, grammar and syntax.) Please use the Chicago style guide to cite any sources. Each blog post is worth a total of 3 points. A grading rubric can be found on the Blog Criteria page.

Project Proposal (5%):

This proposal will describe the research question you plan to answer in your final project and provide a summary of the source base you plan to use for the project. See the final project page for more details. Your proposal is due June 30th by 11:59pm.

Final Project (40%):

Throughout this course we will work with several digital tools. In lieu of a final exam, you will use the digital skills that you have learned in class to create and publish an original digital history project that will be due at the end of the semester. The project should be on some aspect of Boston’s history between 1890 and 1925. See the final project page for more details. The final project is due July 29th by 5pm

Reflection (5%):

The final assignment of the semester will be a reflection. Your reflection should be 500-750 words and should be posted on your blog. In the post you should reflect upon the progress you’ve made this semester.