History of Modern Mexico (HIS391H) Fall 2006
Annotated Bibliography (Oct 1- Oct 19) [HIS391 Main page]
[NEW: list of essay topics]
Due: over 4 weeks (posted on course wiki between October 1-October 19)
This first project has four goals, all geared toward preparing you to write your research paper:
(1) to familiarize yourself with the MediaWiki technology (both posting your own work and commenting on others)
(2) to demonstrate an ability to locate secondary (and in some cases primary) sources through the library and electronic resources
(3) to familiarize yourself a variety of scholarship on your selected topic
(4) to facilitate the formation of a strong research prospectus by helping you to identify key trends and debates in the existing scholarship
You will develop the bibliography over four weeks (adding two new entries each Thursday):
week 1: October 1 (1-5 sentence description of your topic + 2 entries)
week 2: October 5 (2 entries)
week 3: October 12 (2 entries)
week 4: October 19 (2 entries)
Assignment
NEW selecting a topic: by 1 October you should have selected a topic on some aspect of Mexican history. the topic should be relevant to the themes of the course and manageable in its scope (i.e. suitable for a 10-page paper). I have posted a list of essay topics to give you a sense of soem (but not all) the possibilities. Although you will need to select a topic by Sept 28, your topic may change during the period of the annotated bibliography assignment. You should contact the instructor if you have concerns about the essay.
(for each of the four weeks):
1. LOCATE and READ a book, article, or book chapter (in a collection), or VIEW a documentary film that deals substantially with your topic.
NEW: For help in locating materials (articles, books, films, images) on your topic, this course has a library webpage of research resources
To encourage the collection of a variety of resources, your four entries must meet the following criteria:
>> you must submit two entries (and only two entries) each week (this will allow time for feedback)
>> two entries should be a book or an article/book chapter not available online
>> no more than two entries can be a documentary or feature film
>> if you know Spanish, you may select a Spanish language resource
2. After reading, WRITE AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ENTRY on the resource. In terms of length, each entry should be between 100-200 words. Annotations are not simply abstracts (the descriptive summaries found sometimes at the beginning of journal articles or indexes). Annotated bibliography entries are both descriptive and evaluative--its merits and limitations; its utility and relevance for the study of your designated revolution.
here are questions, some of which might guide your annotation:
>> what is the author's objective? Is it explicitly stated?
>> what is the perspective of the author and her/his analysis in terms of geographic location (U.S., Latin American, etc.), academic discipline, political sympathies, etc.?
>> how is the material in the resource related to your topic? Does it deal primarily with background, revolutionary struggle, process of governance, legacy, etc.? Could the resource (or parts of it) be useful as a primary source?
>> does the information presented appear to be valid and well-researched, or is seem questionable and unsupported by evidence? Note any omissions or errors.
>> how does the resource compare with other works on the same topic? Does it update other sources, contradict other literature, or add new information or perspective?
>> Is the work effectively organized? Are the main points clearly presented? Is the author's argument compellingly developed?
Two recommended resources for guidance on how to write these bibliographic entries are: Writing an Annotated Bibliography and How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography.
For the sake of consistency, all citations should use the Chicago/Turabian Reference style (for citing electronic sources see this link)
3. POST the resource on your personal page on the course wiki (before Thursday 11:59:59 PM of each week).
students working on the same or similar topics
inevitably, some of you will chose similar topics. The shared environment of the wiki allows you to see what other students are working on. After the first week, we will identify these clusters of students and encourage collaboration with sources and ideas. At least once each week you should have a look at what others are doing. You are encouraged to make commentary and offer suggestions on the personal pages of other students.
This will form part of your participation grade
This will also facilitate the writing of your prospectus commentary
sharing of resources
it is important that those materials that are not available online (i.e. books taken out from the library) be widely accessible to interested members of each working group. We may need an email list for groups that are working on similar subject matter, through which members can arrange to exchange and share materials.
[last modified: 25 September, 2006]