Given what you have read, heard, and discussed in this course, write a short reflection paper in the following style:
Imagine you are a curator at the Intergalactic University Museum of Alpha Centauri. It is 3000 CE, and humanity is now a pangalactic species. The museum director has given you a special assignment – the little-visited Old Earth Wing, and its Americana section of the museum needs a new historical plaque, and it is your job to research and write the text for it. The director hopes your work will renew interest in this moribund and mostly forgotten exhibit!
You have 800 words to create a narrative Historical Plaque like the kind of archaeologists found in the climate-destroyed ruins of the North-Western Hemisphere of “Old Earth.” (See the image below for an example of the find.)
The museum director wants you to think about the essential theme of US History from 1876 to 2020. You will need to trace this theme over nearly 150 years and highlight the essential people, places, things, or related ideas.
Considering this time frame, what is the most crucial development? How would you characterize the central struggle during this period? What would it be if you wanted your viewers to know one critical concept that defines this period?
As you write, you should consider: 1) did I describe this theme clearly? 2) how did this theme change or evolve? 3) how did this theme shape day-to-day life for ancient Earthlings? And 4) what does this theme tell your reader about the past, and does this theme matter?
The director demands that you ground your historical marker in texts, lectures, and primary sources using Chicago Style Footnotes. Use good clear, and relevant authorities. See the video below.
