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This research assignment does *not* include a written essay.
Choose one of the following Topics:
Please choose a topic from the following list and use it as the basis for your research assignment. These topics are designed specifically to be used as keywords in a research database search, but feel free to use related words to broaden your search area.
Begin with a ProQuest search. I also recommend the MLA International Bibliography and Google Scholar.
1. Thomas Jefferson and Jean-Jacques Rousseau
2. Thomas Jefferson and slavery
3. The Abolitionist movement
4. Civil Rights and government
5. Civil Rights and voting
6. Civil Rights and Martin Luther King, Jr.
7. Henry David Thoreau and government
8. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and women’s rights
9. Aldo Leopold and environmentalism
10. Aldo Leopold and agriculture
11. Stephen Jay Gould and Charles Darwin
12. Peter Singer and animal rights
13. Jim Mason and animal rights
14. Factory farming and ethics
1. Choose 1 primary source relevant to your topic.
a. Cite the source appropriately, using MLA documentation guidelines.
b. How might you use a primary source such as this one to support or inform a thesis on your topic?
c. What are the benefits of consulting a primary source (as opposed to a
secondary or tertiary one)?
2. Choose 3 secondary sources (1 full-length book; 2 journal articles) that represent recent (2001 or after) analyses of the topic.[footnoteRef:1] For EACH source, please answer the following questions: [1: What’s the difference between a primary source and a secondary source? See the link “Primary vs. Secondary Sources” in the RESEARCH area of the course site.]
a. Cite each source appropriately, using MLA documentation guidelines.
b. How reliable is this source? Take into account the qualifications of the author, the reputation of the publisher, the accuracy and reliability of the information, and the author’s presentation of the material (is it objective? well-researched?)
c. What is the central claim (or thesis) of the source?
[footnoteRef:2] [2: A careful reading of the “Introduction” to a full-length book will reveal the book’s central thesis.]
d. What are the strengths/weaknesses of this approach to the topic?
3. Choose 1 secondary source that represents a recent (2001 or after) response or counter-argument to one of the sources in question #2. (NOTE: here you are looking for an argument that challenges one of the points of view you discovered in question #2 or looks at your subject in a completely different way than the sources you have listed so far)
a. Cite the source appropriately, using MLA documentation guidelines.
b. How reliable is this source? Take into account the qualifications of the author, the reputation of the publisher, the accuracy and reliability of the information, and the author’s presentation of the material (is it objective? well-researched?)
c. What is the central claim (or thesis) of the source?
d. What are the strengths/weaknesses of this approach to the topic? How successfully does this approach question or refute an alternative view of the topic?
4. Choose 1 source that represents one of the earliest discussions of the topic. (NOTE: Choose a source written by a contemporary of your topic or one written shortly after your topic’s death OR choose a source written between 1950-1980 – the goal is to find out what scholars of an earlier generation were saying about your topic and to think about how attitudes have changed)
a. Cite the source appropriately, using MLA documentation guidelines.
b. How reliable is this source? Take into account the qualifications of the author, the reputation of the publisher, the accuracy and reliability of the information, and the author’s presentation of the material (is it objective? well-researched?)
c. What are the assets/limitations of this approach to the topic?
d. How have considerations of the topic changed since this source was written?
RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and women’s rights
1. Choose 1 primary source relevant to your topic.
Q1. Cite the source appropriately, using MLA documentation guidelines.
A1. [Special Dispatch to the New-York Times.] “Equal Rights Convention.” New York Times 20 NOV indent1866. 9. Print MLA errors -2
Q2. How might you use a primary source such as this one to support or inform a thesis on your topic?
A2. Taken from the Equal Rights Convention held in Tweedle Hall, This article’s central claim is on the right for women to vote, which was a topic Stanton frequently pushed in the fights for women’s rights. Even though the convention was to be an Equal Rights Convention, Fredrick Douglass pointed out, “it appeared to him that this was to be a Women’s Rights Convention, instead of an Equal Rights Convention.”
Q3. What are the benefits of consulting a primary source
(
as opposed to a secondary or tertiary one?
A3. A primary source is information taken from the original account of an event or time period. It is usually written or made during or close to the event or time period.
The main benefit of consulting a primary source is that the information retrieved from the source is 100% valid. While a primary source is factual, a secondary source is interpretable and analyzes the primary source. A secondary source is good for looking at another person’s perspective on an original article, or how that person views an event that took place; however, the primary source is where all the vital, original information is located.
2. Choose 3 secondary sources (1 full-length book; 2 journal articles) that represent recent (2001 or after) analyses of the topic. For EACH source, please answer the following questions:
Q1. Cite each source appropriately, using MLA documentation guidelines.
Q1A1.Griffith, Elisabeth. In her own right: The Life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. New York, New indent York: Oxford University Press, 1985. Print.
Q1A2. Roberts, Sam. “Women Get the Vote.” New York Times Upfront 143.1 (2010) : 24-27. indentPrint.
Q1A3. Wellman, Judith. “The Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention: A Study of Social indentNetworks.” Journal of Women’s History 3.1 (1991): 9-37. Print.
MLA errors -1 (remember to use a “reverse indent” on each citation)
Q2. How reliable is this source? Take into account the qualifications of the author, the reputation of the publisher, the accuracy and reliability of the information, and the author’s presentation of the material (is it objective? well-researched?)
Q2A1. This source is very reliable. The Oxford Press is the largest University Press in the world. The publishing company’s website describes this book as “The first comprehensive, fully documented biography of the most important woman suffragist and feminist reformer in nineteenth-century America, In Her Own Right restores Elizabeth Cady Stanton to her true place in history.” Griffith makes many references in her introduction alone, thus it is obvious that her content was well-researched.
Also, I found it very important that, in the introduction, the author spoke about the destruction on many of Stanton’s primary sources. Since many of these sources were done away with, Griffith was sure to mention this book intends to complete the factual record.
(
http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryAmerican/Women/?view=usa&ci=9780195037296#Product_Details
)
Q2A2. This source is considerably reliable. The author is an urban affairs correspondent for the New York Times, which is one of the most notable newspapers in the U.S. The article comes from New York Times Upfront, which is published by Scholastic Inc. (a very well-known publisher across the learning curriculum.) Throughout this 4 page document, the author uses factual representations, such as pictures, newspaper clippings, and timelines.
Q2A3. This source is very reliable. The author received her PH.D. from the University of Virginia. She specializes in U.S. History: Nineteenth Century, Social History, Women’s History, and Underground Railroad History. Wellman taught 2 history courses, and is a member of many history clubs.
http://www.oswego.edu/academics/colleges_and_departments/departments/history/faculty/wellman.html
The Publisher, The Johns Hopkins University Press, is a very well-known publishing division of John Hopkins University. I specifically remember having school related textbooks, which was published by John Hopkins University Press.
Wellman does use some of her own opinion, as do all secondary resources. For example she states in this article, “Elizabeth Cady Stanton was clearly the main organizer of the convention, and understanding her own story is key to understanding why the convention occurred in the first place” (11-12). While this statement may seem factual, some may disagree while doing research on this subject. Many believe by historical texts, that it was a group effort, that Stanton was simply “in charge” of. Although some of Wellman’s opinions are used, many facts come to follow. She uses the sort of a structure one would use in an argumentative essay.
Q3. What is the central claim (or thesis) of the source?[footnoteRef:1] [1: ]
A1. This biographical novel is intended to recall Stanton’s contributions to women’s rights, to investigate the nature of her collaboration with Susan B. Anthony, and to integrate her public and private life (from the introduction.)
A2. The central claim of this source is the women’s right to vote throughout the ages.
A3. The central claim of this piece is the Seneca Falls Convention and the part in which Elizabeth Cady Stanton took place in it.
Q4. What are the strengths/weaknesses of this approach to the topic?
A1. I actually do not find any weaknesses in this approach. The author wrote a complete biography on Stanton; one that tends to capture every aspect of Stanton’s life in accordance to her political standpoint. Griffith states this book will “Identify her [Stanton] private feminist identity and her public feminist ideology.”
A2. The strength of this article is the primary sources it uses, to aide with the articles factual standpoint. Also, the piece lists a timeline of events, which I find very helpful with the whole women’s rights concept. However, this article’s focus is one women’s right to vote in general, rather than only Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s effect on the movement.
A3. The strengths of this article are both the authors’ knowledge of the subject and the factual history that is put into it. The weakness, as I mentioned in an earlier question, is Wellman’s use of her opinions on certain aspects throughout the text.
Very well done!
3. Choose 1 secondary source that represents a recent (2001 or after) response or counter-argument to one of the sources in question #2. (NOTE: here you are looking for an argument that challenges one of the points of view you discovered in question #2 or looks at your subject in a completely different way than the sources you have listed so far)
Q1. Cite the source appropriately, using MLA documentation guidelines.
A1. Valle, Paul Della. “Current Democratic Party Schisms Not Really New Ground.” Telegram indent & Gazette 09 JUN 2008. A.7. Print -1
Q2. How reliable is this source? Take into account the qualifications of the author, the reputation of the publisher, the accuracy and reliability of the information, and the author’s presentation of the material (is it objective? well-researched?)
A2. I believe this source is fairly reliable. Paul Della Valle is a writer, who has a book published by the Globe Pequot Press. While this may not be a well-known publisher nationwide, the article cited was published by Worcester Telegram and Gazette. This source is the number one news and information source in central Massachusetts.
Q3.What is the central claim (or thesis) of the source?
A3. In this text, he brings an argument, claiming that Lucy’s Stone involvement in the fight for women’s rights was just as credible as Stanton’s (and Susan B. Anthony’s).
Q4. What are the strengths/weaknesses of this approach to the topic? How successfully does this approach question or refute an alternative view of the topic?
A4. The strength is the author addresses a claim that many others agree with. He provides facts about the situation that people do not acquire from readings on Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The downside to this is; however, that Valle uses opinions throughout the text.
4. Choose 1 source that represents one of the earliest discussions of the topic. (NOTE: Choose a source written by a contemporary of your topic or one written shortly after your topic’s death OR choose a source written between 1950-1980 – the goal is to find out what scholars of an earlier generation were saying about your topic and to think about how attitudes have changed)
Q1. Cite the source appropriately, using MLA documentation guidelines.
A1. Reliance, Mecca. “The Feminist Papers: From Adams to De Beauvoir.” Off Our Backs 4.6 indent (1974): 18. Print. -1
Q2. How reliable is this source? Take into account the qualifications of the author, the reputation of the publisher, the accuracy and reliability of the information, and the author’s presentation of the material (is it objective? well-researched?)
A2. I believe this source is reliable to a certain extent. This is a women’s news journal, thus much of it is going to be opinion based towards feminism. When I went to research the author for this passage, I did not really find much about her, besides the fact that she wrote these journal entries for “Off Our Backs.” It would be useful to find out a little bit more about this journal, which emerged during the feminist movement of the 1960’s-70’s.
Q3. What are the assets/limitations of this approach to the topic?
A3. Since this is a review on a book by Alice Rossi, the author here has no limitations. She speaks in a very opinionated matter about this book on Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This review is a great asset to help one understand Rossi’s writing on Stanton. It is broken down and critiqued very well.
Q4. How have considerations of the topic changed since this source was written?
A4. I do not believe considerations on this topic changed very much. The only thing that one may read differently is the point some try to make today on who the actual “movement starter” and “influencer” really was. While I do believe this is important, just to respect that person, it does not change the topic on the movement of women’s rights.
