“Why history matters” essay
– For this assignment you will write an essay, of a minimum of two pages, that explains how the study of history facilitates a better understanding of world events and helps to shape well-informed global citizens.
· Choose a current world event (in other words, not an event that happened in the United States or primarily affects the United States) and explain how an understanding of history deepens an understanding of that event.
· Or you can write about how/why studying history should be important to the global citizen.
· You must give specific examples from both history and contemporary or “current” events to support your arguments and analysis.
· This essay requires you to do research in a variety of sources in order to understand the current event being discussed and the historical context. Only reading one source does not constitute research. And your sources should be credible and appropriate for college level work.
· Your assignment will be graded on both content and writing style and must conform to the instructions for writing essays and grading rubric included at the back of the syllabus. Remember that you will be penalized for not properly citing your work and for not following all instructions.
· This essay is intended to encourage you to think more broadly about the world around you, and about how an understanding of history can help us to understand global events.