FINAL PAPER
Due: Thursday, August 31 at 1pm Submissiog: In-class, hard copy Length: 3-4 pages (min = 3 hill pages, max = 5 pages) Formatting: 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with 1" margins on all four sides. For this paper, you will watch and reflect on one of five historical fiction films depicting U.S history before 1877. These films are listed on the syllabus on the weeks with which their content corresponds.
Your options are Pocahontas (1995), The Crucible (1996), John Adams, Part 6 (2008), The Alamo (1960), or Glory (1989). All of the films are on 4-hour reserve at the McHenry Library Media Center. Your paper must include a thesis statement and will be graded on coherence and strength of argument, familiarity with and use of course materials, and clarity and style of writing.
While watching the film of your choice from the list above, consider the following:
1. How does this representation of the past compare to the history that we learned about in class lectures and readings?
2. What effects might the differences between reality and historical fiction have on the average American's perception of the past?
3. Is film an effective means of learning (or disseminating) historical knowledge? After watching the film and carefully considering these questions, write a 3.
4 page paper responding to the following prompt:
The successes of films like Dances With Wolves (1990), Lincoln (2012), and 12 Years a Slave (2013) emphasize the fact that many Americans derive knowledge of the past through cinematic representations.
How does your film rate as a source of historical information?
In addition to your introductory paragraph and conclusion, your essay should tell the history of the events depicted in the film as discussed in class and course readings, compare and contrast this history with the cinematic portrayal of the same events, and provide critical analysis of the merits and/or faults of the film.
In the end, you may want to critically analyze film more generally as a vehicle for historical information. This is not a research paper.
Other than the film itself, you should rely only on course lectures, readings, and handouts to craft your response to the prompt. Be sure to cite your sources.
Since this is an introductory course, you may use parenthetical citations. For example: (Baker, 53), (Chavez, 15-16), (Schultz, 8!12/17).
All information derived from a source must be cited, even if you are not quoting. Also, this must be an original work of scholarship; plagiarism will be punished.