Friday, September 5, 2014

Searching and Researching

In today’s class, we discussed the difference between “searching”— looking for information that already exists and “researching”—compiling a variety of sources to examine and use as the basis of your own analysis. 

What is one thing—it does not have to be related to this course—that you would like to know more about? Will it require searching or researching? If your topic of choice is not directly related to the course, is there a possible connection that you could consider? How would you investigate this? 

This post will be available for new comments until Friday September 12. 


84 comments:

  1. Courtney Becker

    I would really like to learn more about Native American religions and gender roles. Through my educational journeying I have always been interested in the Native Americans and how they lived especially since my grandfather was straight off the reservation. In my history classes, I feel like the Native Americas are kind of just grazed over, never really getting into anything deeply.

    I feel that studying Native American religions and gender roles would definitely be a researching topic. I would probably have to narrow it down to two or three different tribes and then end up comparing them. It would require a lot of reading from historical documents in many different areas both text and computerized.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Courtney- you've actually suggested two topics- Native American gender roles and the presence (or absence) of Native Americans in the writing of history (historiography). I'd recommend a little background reading to get familiar with some of the questions contemporary historians are asking- James Merrill (whose argument about the kind of change Native Americans experienced we discussed in class) is one possible source. Daniel Richter is another historian who writes on this topic. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  3. One thing I'd like to learn more about is differences between slavery as it was in Europe before the exploration of America and what it was in America afterwards. When it was said that slavery existed far before africans were brought into America, but slaves were treated differently, it made me wonder how and why that change took place. I want to know did slaves in Europe live in better conditions, were they treated better like actual human beings and if so what caused the change when the concept was brought to America. This would require both searching and researching on slavery in europe pre exploration of America and Slavery in early America and the colonies.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Katherine Urena

    I would like to talk about Women's rights in the United States and how did they work all together to finally accomplish their goal to being able to vote and be part of the political rights. I think that my topic would require to be research and written in my own words because there's many information out there that i can include in my paper using my ideas. I think this is a very interesting topic and it is totally related to our class. To investigate this topic, I will probably go and read important Databases in the library and books that will provide me with important information about my topic.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'd like to learn more about the Civil war. Specifically what were the real causes. I feel that there were many different causes for the civil war and it would be fun to explore all the different causes and events that led up to the civil war. I bet there are many historic journals, newspaper articles and other FIRSTHAND sources that I can find which would be the most enriching sources. Hopefully I could find them in either our own databases or online

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm fascinated with the concept of self-awareness in today's society. I am very curious if this is something that is documented during the time of colonial America or if it was even a concept back then. Knowing why you do the things you do, why you say the things you say, and why you react the way you react. I wonder if colonists and native americans alike had this sort of understanding of themselves or if they were purely autonomous being.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jared,

      If you are thinking about these types of big philosophical questions, you might want to investigate the American Enlightenment. You'll find a lot of people questioning existing social practices and wondering what it means to be a person at this time.

      Good luck!
      --Mariel

      Delete
    2. Wow! Thanks for the tip. I'm glad that there is something I can look forward to doing research about.

      Delete
  7. Based on the last class in which we learned about the difference between searching and researching, I was able to come up with a couple of ideas about topics that I will like to know more about. Personally, I have always been interested into how certain people overcome difficulties and how their actions and decisions affect the life for future generations. Similar to what some of you guys have said, I will like to learn more about women’s rights; the obstacles they had to go through and the actions and decision they took in order to improve their situation. In addition, I will like to learn more about slavery in the United States; what certain individuals had to go through as well as how were they able to put an end to this and make improvements. I am sure that by using the History book, I will be able to find similar topics that I can be interested in. I believe that my topic will require research because it will give my research paper a sense of more credibility, professionalism, and a college level paper. Furthermore, with researching I will be able to better develop my main point by using more reliable information. If I choose a topic not related to this course, I will use library databases and other scholarly information in order to have a better understanding of how current topics have a strong relation to those in the past.

    ReplyDelete
  8. An intriguing topic that I would like to more about would be the Native American perspective on their displacement. I would like to know how they felt being kicked out of their houses and homes. How did they feel about having to be assimilated into a completely different culture? How does one maintain one's heritage while undergoing through this? Basically, I would like to learn about our history through thier perspective.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I would like to know more about Korea; how and why Korea was divided into South and North Korea. I am wondering how it affected population and why most of Koreans immigrated all over the world like my grand grandparents immigrated to Uzbekistan. I am Korean, but I have never been in Korea. I was born in Uzbekistan and I have lived there most of my life. I am sure that not many of you have heard about this country. Uzbekistan was part of the Soviet Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Unfortunately, I do not know much about Korean and their traditions. All I know is that language, traditions, and traditional food of North Korea, South Korea, and Korean population, who immigrated long time ago, are different.
    I think this topic requires researching because I need to find information from different sources, put together all that information, and make my own analysis of what was happening in Korea that caused the division of Korea and immigration of Korean population. I am not sure how I could relate this topic to the course. I would investigate this by looking for information that relates to both Korean and American histories in the library and online. Maybe, I could relate this topic by discussing and analyzing Asian Immigration in America.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Diana,

      This is a fascinating topic, and if you have the chance to take History 152, you will learn a little bit more about how Korea became divided in the 1950s during the Cold War. I don't know very much about the Korean diaspora that you describe, but would be very interested to learn more.

      Although I can't speak to Korean immigration specifically, Asian immigration in America is definitely a topic that you could investigate further. I'd look especially for information about Asian immigration during the Gold Rush of the 1850s.

      --Mariel

      Delete
  10. Armin Celjaj
    I would like to know about researching Native American movements that try to stop colonization of their land. We don't focus in history class learning more about Native Americans side of major events. An example is the homestead act, more people are going west, but how is the Native Americans taking the news? This would require me to research what time period I want to focus on, and where in America. Another thing I have to research is certain chieftain leaders a example would be Sitting Bull. Lastly I have to look for texts and documents that will focus around the time period where America was moving west, post civil war.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Armin,

      The western movement for Native Americans began much earlier than the Civil War, and we'll discuss the forced migration of natives through the Trail of Tears in the 1830s. You might want to investigate this period which covers the same points you mentioned but is within the scope of this course.

      Delete
  11. I'm interested in finding out how and from where did this idea of one race being better than another come from. Why is it such a big deal that they are of different skin. Why is one better that another? Who was the originator of this idea?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Matias,

      This is a really, really big question. If we start with the understanding that race is a social construct--meaning that there is no biological difference between people of different skin colors but differences are projected through our social interactions--we can work towards and understanding of how different cultures view race at different times. Still, that leaves you with a lot of choices to make to narrow your focus. There's a whole subfield dedicated to this idea--one book that leaps to mind is The Wages of Whiteness by David Roediger. Another book that provides a broader overview on racism more generally is Racism: A Short History by George Frederickson. I think that once you start looking at sources you'll find a lot of opportunities to narrow your focus and find more works that are directly relevant to your interests.

      Delete
  12. I personally would like to learn more about the leaders of the major powers militaries and see what went on in their heads. I think it would be interesting to know what they thought about soullessly butchering entire towns just for the sake of "exploration" and "expansion". I would probably research this by finding a person in particular and reading up all i could about his background and hopefully find some interesting biographies.

    ReplyDelete
  13. In History 151, I would like to learn more about the Chicago Edition's citation format. As for a topic, I would like to read up more on the Stamp Act, which was established in the late 1760's in Great Britain. (The Stamp Act seems to be an intriguing historical event to learn and discuss about in class.)

    ReplyDelete
  14. In this class, one topic I would like to research is the early colonization of New England. I would like to gain insight on how the first settlements developed into maritime based economies, as well as becoming the starting point of American Industrialization

    ReplyDelete
  15. In this class one thing i would like to research would be how gender roles affected either the revolutionary war or the civil war. Women play a role in everything. I want to see what kind of roles they may have had during either of these wars. I might also want to take a look at the strategies and different decisions generals made for the north and the south during the Civil War.

    ReplyDelete
  16. One thing i would like to research in this class is how Native Americans interacted with American society in the late 19th century and 20th century. It seems interesting to learn because very little is mentioned about them after they are forced away by the European settlers, so I want to know if they participated in American society still, such as protesting wars or joining them if needed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Matthew,

      What about the ways Native Americans interacted with American society in the early to mid 19th century?

      Delete
  17. I am interested in researching the different version of historical events taught to student in other countries. It would be fascinating to compare the American version of history to that of the British on a topic such as The War of !812. I am inclined to believe that textbooks of those countries will tend to be slightly biased. It would be intriguing to see if countries are trying to influence their future generations via the use of historical texts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Wallace,

      What about comparing things besides textbooks? The American Revolution, for example? Or specific texts, works of art or other materials?

      Delete
  18. One thing that I would like to learn more about is the Gold Rush,and how it managed to change the lives of countless amounts of people. I would like to know more about what were the effects on the lives of the people migrating over to the United States in search of transforming rags into riches. I am interested in finding out what problems these people faced and how they overcame them.

    ReplyDelete
  19. One topic that I would like to learn more about is slavery. I would like to study the psychological effects that it had on men, women, and children, along with the slave owners themselves, in depth. I would also like to study the Civil war, since they are correlated, and all the events leading up to it. I know the basics, but I want to learn about every aspect that was involved. Ultimately, I want to be able to connect slavery and the civil war to other events in history that involved injustice against an entire race and/or possible wars because of that. This will definitely require a load of research on my part.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Since my topic was too broad, instead of focusing on slaves in general and the psychological effects on them as a whole, I would like to learn more about the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman. I still want to focus on the psychological effects, so maybe the psychological effects of her and the slaves she helped? Also, I would like to learn if this played a factor in the Civil War in some way. As far as the comparison to another form of slavery, I could compare other tactics of escaping slavery in different countries.

      Delete
    2. Hi Niara,

      Choosing an individual is a great way to narrow down a broad topic, but there are a couple things to watch out for. 1- coming up with too narrow of a focus and 2- doing something that has already been thoroughly examined. I'm not expecting original research here, but it can be tricky to do more than repeat what others have already said for a figure or topic that has been very thoroughly studied. At this point, I think your best bet is to start looking and see what you find. If you find a lot of sources repeating the same facts over and over, you might need to refocus your topic. But see for yourself what is out there first!

      Delete
  20. XinNing Cheng
    I immigrated here and I went from knowing nothing about the history of America to having a brief outline of the progress. I feel like there's still lots more to learn because too much things are happening and changing people's lives. One thing I would like to focus on is how life expanded in the west and how people survived in such harsh conditions where no one has been before. How travelers even able to get there with no help. Then how did the west become more lively through the construction of the transcontinental railroad. I feel like settlement in the west is a stepping stone of all the major events and advancements that will come later that changed people's life styles forever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Xin Ning,

      It's worth nothing that area described as "the west" changes pretty significantly over the scope of this course. For example, parts of New York State were considered "the western frontier" in the 18th century. So there are lots of opportunities to contemplate frontier expansion because the frontier keeps changing.

      Delete
  21. One thing I would like to learn more about is the Jonestown massacre. I would like to know what everyone was thinking, what was going through their minds, if it was an easy or hard decision and if they actually believed that this was the best course of action.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Amantina,

      Maybe you could do some research to discover any similar incidents in the US during the 18th through mid-19th centuries. If you can identify what specifically interests you about Jonestown, you might be able to transfer that to a researchable topic for this course. For example, if you are interested in religious cults, or mass movements you could definitely find topics to explore in the 19th century within the US.

      Delete
    2. I'll look up some religious cults examples from the 19th century and run them by you after class tomorrow.

      Delete
  22. Due to the fact that I'm majoring in accounting, an intriguing topic to me would be the development of business and the management of money and trade in society during the time periods that we are studying. I'm not to sure if my explanation of my topic makes any sense but I do hope that I can find a way to relate it very well to this class. This topic will definitely require research. I would research this by looking for many sources that focus on development of different business strategies and the results on the societies wealth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Shaylese,

      Just like Diana, you'll find a lot of information about this topic in the period covered in History 152, but fear not! There's still a connection for our period! One way to broaden your question is to consider different aspects of the Industrial Revolution, which begins in the 18th century in Great Britain and develops in stages within the US. Most often, we study the productive aspects of the Industrial Revolution- the changes in the physical production process that make it possible to mass produce a greater variety of goods quickly and cheaply. But there is also a management component of this- as production increases, so too do the offices and companies that manage production, so skilled clerks, accountants and business managers are in demand as well as production workers. A lot of this happens at the end of the 19th century, but the process is in motion in the early 19th century. We'll look at the development of the Lowell mills when we discuss the Market Revolution, but we'll concentrate on production, but I'm sure you could find out more!

      Delete
  23. One topic that interests me is the theories of Feminism. Knowing that Feminism is such a broad topic, what are some of the theories that are around today, and what were the basis for these theories? Also, I am interested in knowing how the terms, "male" and "female" is defined. Are we only defined by our body structure and the differences? Why does society place such a huge line between what they consider male and female? This would require a tremendous amount of research.

    ReplyDelete
  24. The topic that I am interested in researching is particularly trade between different colonies and Native Americans. I am not sure yet, what exactly I am going to be researching, but few topics of my choice are "how trade affected both colonies and Natives in depth", "what were the most traded resources that satisfied colonial and Native needs", and "how does trade progress throughout the development and progression of colonies as well as the downfall of the Native tribes".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Understanding that my topic is too broad and needs to be narrowed down, I decided to use an alternate topic, which will require both searching and researching. The topic of my choice is relations between blacks and whites and its progression from 16th to 18th century in the Northern colonies and furthermore towns and cities, also including in depth comparison as to the other colonies and cities outside the English borders, and in mid to South America. Relations include both the use of blacks in free labor and waged jobs, as it progressed, and the upheavals lead by blacks in order to get relief from the white oppression. Please let me know if my topic is too broad or vague, so I will narrow it down even more, and probably choose more narrower time period or just focus on the more specific region.

      Delete
    2. Hi Andriy,

      There's nothing wrong with either Native Americans or slavery as a topic, but both are very,very broad. For whichever topic you choose, your best bet is to do a little background reading to figure out how to further your topic.It's a really good idea to use a specific time period and geography to narrow your topic, but if you are "narrowing" to cover two centuries and two continents, you might need to "narrow" a little (a lot) further. :-)

      Delete
    3. Meant "further narrow your topic." Sorry about that!

      Delete
    4. Thanks a lot for you reply. I will definitely further narrow down my topic, in order to achieve the perfect "state" in which it will be viable for research.

      Delete
  25. The topic I would like to research is the colonization of the mid-Atlantic states of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware. This would include research on Dutch and Swedish colonies and any other European attempts at settlement that came before the arrival of the English. My interest in this topic stems from the fact that I live in the area, in a city that began as a Dutch colonial settlement in the seventeenth century. Following the development of European settlement in the region from its beginnings until the start of the Revolutionary War seems very interesting to me.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi, Delela Serrieux.
    I'd like to understand more on why animal are treated with more respect than human beings in USA. Mainly dogs, I do understand that we should not abuse any living creature but for some reason it seem like they get more attention when abuse, where as human beings get hurt every day and they don't always get the same justice. This may seem to be a petty subject but its real and it happens, hence my reason for this topic. why animals appears to be more important than human beings?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Delela,

      I'm not sure if this is exactly where you are going with this idea, but you could try to see if there are any studies of pets/animals in colonial or early America. You might find a journal article (look in JSTOR, a database accessible through the library website) that deals with this. It's a pretty specialized topic, and I can't guarantee that you'll find something, but you could look!

      Delete
  27. Two topics I would like to further explore but might not be so directly related to the course are the history of Germany (moreso regarding the Berlin Wall and East/West Germany) and the Mohican Native American tribe. I've always been interested in those two areas and haven't had a chance to truly learn about each of the cultures. In terms of Germany, I am half-German and was born there and am interested in my country's history. And as for the Mohican tribe, one of my favorite movies is called The Last of the Mohicans and it follows the last three Mohican tribe members as they try to contribute to and survive the French-Indian War (even though I realize many of them lived in Northeast America). Hopefully, in this assignment I can engage more with the material knowing that I care so much about the two areas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Taylor,

      You could definitely research German immigration in the colonial period. I'd start with Pennsylvania, but you might find other settlements. You could also develop your interest in The Last of the Mohicans in a couple different ways- the book was written by James Fenimore Cooper in the western frontier of New York State a few decades after the American Revolution. It could be a starting point for your research. Either way, you have two interesting ideas!

      Delete
  28. As an incoming freshman at Hunter College, I have declared myself a psychology major. I declared myself a psych major because it something that really truly interests me, and it is something that I can see myself doing in the future. Psychology is a very broad term and even though there are many things that fascinate me and that I would love to learn more about, I am most interested in how certain diseases and disorders affect the mind. To get to know more about this topic I feel that I would have to do both searching and researching. I think that there has probably been many studies and tremendous amounts of research done on this topic so searching for information would not be a problem. I'm sure there are tons of websites, databases, books and articles written about this topic that will help me write my research paper. I also feel that this topic would require research too. I believe that this topic would require research too because it would make my research paper better if I did my own small study on how disease affects the mind. I believe this can be done by volunteering at a hospital, or even having multiple conversations and sessions with somebody that suffers from one of these mental diseases, studying their actions and behavior and then making my own conclusions regarding the topic. This topic isn't directly related to the course but I can definitely see a connection to the course. A possible connection is that people of the early ages might have dealt with these kinds of mental issues and did not know anything was wrong with them because we weren't developed as a nation and we weren't advanced enough to tell people that they had a disorder. To investigate this I think I would have to search through advanced textbooks and other sources to find more information on this connection to history.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ellen,

      The treatment of mental illness in the 19th century is definitely an interesting topic. I'd suggest starting with a broad search (try Gale Virtual Reference Library) to get acquainted with the history of asylums in the US as well as the names of prominent reformers, and see where your findings take you!

      Delete
  29. One thing that I am interested in that might be related to this course is the ongoing militarization of police and increasing gun control. As I have myself noticed and read elsewhere, the cases of police brutality are increasing, small town police departments are getting tanks, armored personnel carriers, and more US Military equipment like automatic rifles, fatigues, night vision, machineguns, combat boots, type 3 body armor etc. Swat raids are being made for increasingly minor situations where family pets are killed, children injured etc. Along with this military trend, across the country law enforcement departments are portraying American public as "enemy combatants" in a war zone . And all this time there is a growing trend that demonizes legal private ownership of weapons. What I would like to search and research is that if there is any form of relation between these two scenarios. Also, is the police brutality increasing BECAUSE of the militarization? Is it the way police officers are being trained or is it just plain old mismanagement? What causes law enforcement officers to use brutal and excessive force on unarmed and submissive civilians? Why do these cases disproportionately involve black, brown, and latino youth? The relation of this issue with US history is that we have a well recorded history of Racism, slavery, discrimination, inequality, and abuse of a group of people by those in power. By researching and studying history I can get some kind of an understanding as to why the things happen and how we can prevent them from happening again. I did not cite sources here for the facts, but they are from another paper that I wrote where all the information was verified.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ali,

      One thing to consider is how to make this an historic question, related to events in the past. What strikes me is that colonists on the eve of the American Revolution had very similar concerns about the militarization of their society due to the presence of the British military, and their fears played a major role in the development of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

      Delete
  30. I would like to know more about past issues within the minority group and the current issues today. I would like to know how the issues occurring today relate to the issues in a past century. One issue I was reading about rather quickly, was about poor health related to minorities. Of course appropriate care is usually associated with an person's economic status, race, and gender. Is anything being done to resolve this issue? If so, what is being done to help them? What kinds of evidence has been found relating ethnicity with poor health conditions besides economic status? I am convinced that there is current information about the biological characteristics of minority populations that may explain the health issues experienced by these groups compared to the white population. However, I am not so sure. I would have to look into this issue and possible answers to my questions regarding this topic by looking at past journal articles, maybe some experiments that were done, and current journal articles to I can compare the past with the present.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Alexa,

      One possible way to look at this question is to research topics related to immigration patterns in the 19th century. I don't know if you'll find the phrase "health care" used (that's a modern term) but you might find topics related to hospitalization and asylums (you might find something in common with Ellen above), and if you concentrated your search on a particular city or region, you might find some institutional histories that are relevant. Hint: Roosevelt Island.

      Delete
  31. One topic I would he interested in would be early colonization of the Americas, specifically the colonization of what is now Belize. That is a country that has always held my interest and I want to learn more about its colonization because of a question that I've had for a long time. When I was in elementary school, I had to do a project in Spanish class on a Spanish speaking, Latin American country. I chose Belize but my teacher said that I couldn't use that country since it wasn't a Spanish speaking Latin American country. That's when I learned that it's an English speaking country. I want to know more about its colonization because I was always taught that Spain had colonized all of Central America (where Belize is located), and a large parts of North and South America. So what I want to know is if England managed to get a small colony in the middle of the Spanish Empire, or if something caused Spain to lose Belize, and for England to gain it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kaitlin,

      This is an interesting topic that I don't know much about, so I'll be very interested to learn what you find out!

      Delete
  32. One thing related to this history course that I would like to know more about, are more details on Native American life, specifically their religion. I know that they worshipped a plethora of different things and they differed greatly from what the settlers worshipped. I believe that this will require searching because Native Americans are an important part of this country's history and their religion is something that has already been researched and documented.

    ReplyDelete
  33. A topic that I am very interested about and would like to do further research is on the legal system of the U.S. I always thought since the U.S. heavily emphasized on equality and fairness that the legal system would be for the most part reasonable. However, after even doing little study of the legal system in high school, I realized I was completely wrong. There are many issues with the system such as the unbalance in punishments depending on the crime committed. So whether it is delving on the flaws of the legal system or even just studying more about the laws of the U.S., I realize there is much to learn. Studying more about how some of the debatable laws came into place would also be very interesting to look at such as the laws around self- defense. What are the limits to self- defense? Are there any? What happens if you kill the person that was attacking you; is there a punishment for it? Does it depend from state to state? Ultimately, any research around the legal system in the U.S. would be very interesting to look at.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sam,

      It seems like you might be interested in the founding of the American legal system, and how it evolved (correct me if I am wrong). You might be interested in some of the debates over the Constitution and Bill of Rights, or in the early Supreme Court cases that shaped the function of the judiciary. You might chat with Ali (above) and brainstorm about where your topics intersect.

      One thing to keep in mind is that however flawed the system may be, the framers did not intend to create a failure. They built the best system they could in response to their immediate circumstances and conditions. Maybe you are interested in what those circumstances were?

      Delete
  34. Last semester I took a Intro to Legal Studies class as an elective in another CUNY school that has made me realize so much that we are blinded by. I found a image online that explains the percentage of every one of our tax dollars and where the money goes. The dollar bill indicated that only 1% of every tax dollar goes to K-12 education and that 23% goes to national security. I presented this topic in class because I thought it might help those interested in pursuing working in National Security to make sure they are making decisions not based on salary, but on how the government is spending our money. Why is the government spending more time on giving people jobs to stop crime then educating children more to prevent crimes. It is more difficult to change someone who may become violent in the future then to educate a child. When children begin in Kindergarten, they should already be learning about what's consider right and wrong in our government. Although parents and peers have an influence over these children, providing this kind of engagement with students may help change those who are doing wrong around them. I believe we must conduct research and apply it in our lives because if not we will continue to live under a government that is corrupting our future generation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jennifer,

      I think that you have a lot of ideas here that still need a little sorting out. Are you interested in federal funding of public schools? The decision-making process of building a federal budget? The history of education? All of these things are researchable topics, but it depends on what interests you the most.

      Delete
    2. I'm interested in the decision making of federal funding of public schools.

      Delete
    3. Hi Jennifer,

      You may not post on the blog during class. Any comments posted during class time will be deleted.

      Best,
      Mariel

      Delete
  35. Hello, Luis Grande here.
    Having read some of the previous comments by my fellow classmates, I've realized that what interest me might not be affiliated to American history at all, but I will give it a try nonetheless.
    I am a dance major with a heavy background in theater. A possible topic that I think could relate to the class would be the forms of entertainment or performance arts that early Americans were part of.
    My guess is that through all the harships that early settlers went through, they found some sort of entertainment to act as therapeutic relief.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Luis,

      There's definitely a history of theater in colonial America- in fact, the area south and west of City Hall in Manhattan was a theater district during the British colonial period. Basically, there is theater throughout the period this course covers, you just need to narrow your focus and start searching!

      Delete
  36. Ever since my law elective class in high school, I have always been interested in controversial legal issues, such as the legal consequences of suicides or self-harm. From what I hear, both are illegal and if such actions are done, the person will be involuntarily sent to a mental institute. However, we also have the constitutional right to privacy and the fifth and fourteenth amendments. I am curious to find out what the supreme court has ruled in the past. This topic definitely requires more research and looking at past Supreme Court cases' rulings. I'm sure people back then have attempted self-harm and suicide, so I could relate it to this class, but most cases would most likely not be documented.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Keo,

      You might want to brainstorm with Alexa and Ellen about mental illness in the 19th century. Again, I think you might benefit from a general query into asylums and reformers and see where your research leads you.

      Delete
  37. One thing that I would like to know more about is where the ideas of colonizing, domination, and ruling came from mainly from the european countries some of which we are learning about came from. Also, where did their technologies/weapons originate from as well. This is going to require searching as well as researching lol.

    ReplyDelete
  38. This is a recent interest but I would like to know more about the Salem witch trials. I know that many innocent people were put to death in the belief that they were witches and i previously read a book, The Crucible, and although it was fiction it interested me in not just the actual events of the trial but what preceded it and what came after the trials were done.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Ok so the one thing that I have always liked about history class was the industrial era and the world wars but seeing as how we are only going to learn up to the civil war, I'll have to pick my second favorite thing in history which is still war in general. I like learning about the tactics and strategies used during the battles. If I were to pick a topic in the future to research it would be related to the battle tactics used during the revolutionary war against the British.

    ReplyDelete
  40. One topic I would like to know more about is the influence that the Native Americans had on the Europeans culture because in school what i have learned didn't go into much detail and all I have learned is the Europeans have "bettered" the Native Americans by making them more civil.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Hello, I'm Emmanuel Maldonado and I would like to learn more about conquest, colonization and expansion (Specifically how Native populations allowed incoming minority groups to take over so easily). I would like to examine this notion of how there's power in numbers however, great populations were oppressed by the very ones they could outnumber. I would like to research the techniques and methods used to make so many submissive to so very few. I wonder why the Indians didn't see European's as automatic enemies and allowed them to get so far when they possessed heaver knowledge and familiarity over all the lands. A similar question goes for the slave populations, why is it that if they were so great in size yet did they allowed themselves to be subjected to so much damage for so many years. To investigate this, I would probably research what ever some Native American necessities that led them to trust the European minorities to begin with and what laws were set in place to prohibit or brainwash African Slaves to believe that they possessed no natural rights.

    ReplyDelete
  42. A topic that I'm very interested in is the Vietnam War and the shift in American support from the beginning to the end. Organized protests have occupied a significant portion of the era. I would like to focus on the anti-war demonstrations in Washington in the late 60s, one of which included nearly 500,000 people. Since evaluating the "degree" of support is subjective, it will require broad research. Campus newspapers, articles, videos, and journal entries are all possible research sources.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Maryam,

      Would you be interested in protests of other wars? Revolutionary War? Civil War, maybe? You won't have the dramatic demonstrations of the 1960s (or the music!) but if you concentrate on political protests or opposition, you will probably find something.

      Delete
  43. While thinking more in depth about my topic of past and current issues among minorities, specific related to health issues, I figured that newspaper articles would also be a great source to for details on both the past and the present. Of course, it would be easier to find newspapers during this present time. Past newspaper articles can be found online if not in paper copy in a pile at home or from others, whether it is from a week ago or years ago. It would be nice to see how health issues have improved, worsened, or stayed the same over time.

    ReplyDelete
  44. One topic that has captured my attention and that I would like to learn more about is the medical procedure used during the American Revolution. I would like to know how Americans were being treated during and after the battlefields.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Michelle,

      Great topic! There is a whole other field of the history of medicine, and if you're interested and have the stomach for it, you'll find a ton of material in this field. Good luck!

      Delete
  45. I wanted to learn more about the propaganda for the american revolution and the civil war. Like how the propaganda helped influence men the become soldiers and slaves to pick up a weapon to fight for what they thought would give them freedom.

    ReplyDelete
  46. A topic I would be interested in researching more about is Plymouth Colony and the impact of the Mayflower and John Smith on early North American settlement. In addition, I would like to research about the religious motives of the colony. I would obtain information on this topic by doing research on databases, websites, newspapers, books, etc... The Plymouth colony is often overlooked as just another settlement however the historical significance and momentum it created had far-reaching effects not fully appreciated as of yet.

    ReplyDelete
  47. I'm interested a lot about gender norms within American society. I find it very interesting that if you look at norms that where around during the founding of the various colonies that would eventually become what is now known as the United States, there are actually a lot of gender roles, norms, and societal expectations that are still around today, and I'm interested in finding out why is it that they've stuck around so long. Pertaining to that, I'd want to find out if there were fluctuations in this, for instance if during the time of the Puritans there were very strict, carried out gender roles, and then during the revolution it changed to where women had more freedoms and were less constrained, but then by the time of the Civil War there was once again this rigid social structure pertaining to gender roles, I want to find out why this happened, what influenced these changes. Also, that was just an example, I'm almost positive none of what I said, except maybe in the case of the Puritans, was true.

    ReplyDelete
  48. I am thinking of writing about the topic of Cherokee Native Americans and how they reacted to settlers that eventually came to the area in the midwest region. If this is too broad I could focus on the women of the tribe and their role.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Charlotte,

      You might be interested in the Trail of Tears and the event leading to the removal of the Cherokee in the 1830s.

      Delete
  49. Katherine Urena

    My topic is about Women's rights. So, a more specific topic will be The Goals and Achievements of the Women's suffrage movement.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Katherine,

      The Goals and Achievements of the women's suffrage movement is something you can find by searching, rather than researching. The Women's suffrage movement is a great, though broad, topic to consider. Think about other ways to narrow your focus and remember the examples we discussed in class on Friday!

      Delete
  50. I would like to learn more about lives of Puritans in New England in 1600s. I have interests in what exactly Puritan beliefs were and how it affected the people in New England. While I was listening to the lecture on how the Christianity broke into many branches, i was amazed how each branches had subtle but essential differences in it. And I realized Puritan belief is very different from the Christianity I believe in. So I would love to research more about the belief and also how it can relate to the lives of Puritans in the America

    ReplyDelete