History vs Hollywood

HIST 107 History vs Hollywood Paper (25 percent)

Research Paper : Hollywood vs History

Due: Last day of week 8

Paper Requirements: (Significant points will be deducted if your paper does not meet the following requirements)

1 Primary Source

At least 5 different sources, not including the movie itself or the primary source
5-7 Typed Pages
Reference Citations (In text)
Valid Academic Sources

Movies are often based on historical events. However many times Hollywood takes liberties with the facts to create dramatic scenes

In some cases, when a particular movie becomes popular, Hollywood’s version of the become the accepted version.

This paper gives you the chance to explore the historical background of your favorite movie.

You may choose any movie whose subject matter is within the time periods covered in this class. (World History: Ancient Civilizations to the present)

Once you have watched it, pick 3-5 specific (no less than 3 and no more than 5) facts that the movie presents and analyze them for their historical accuracy.

Your analysis could include such topics as the clothes of the time period (Were they accurate?), the roles of the female characters (Would the character really have acted the way they did?), factual errors such as laws that were in effect in the movie that were not in effect in actual history (EX: Portraying women voting in 1860 when women did not get the right to vote nationally until 1920).

Paper Requirements:

5-7 Typed Pages

Your paper must be at least 5 pages of text in length. Paper under 5 pages in length will be given a grade of ZERO. However, the paper can exceed 10 pages. Cover pages, endnotes, illustrations, maps etc do not count as pages of text. If you use footnotes you MUST extend your paper so that you have at least 8 pages of written text.
Font size must be 12 pitch and not above. The paper must be double spaced.

Primary Sources

When gathering your facts, you MUST include at least 1 primary source in your paper. A primary source is something written in the time period. (A secondary source is something written after the event has occurred) For example if you are discussing the role of women during World War Two in the Pacific you could refer to the War Department’s training manuals for nurses, published during the war as a primary source.

Simply putting in a quote from someone that is reprinted in a secondary source is not sufficient. For example a quote from Joan of Arc that you found in a biography of Joan of Arc written by a 20th century author is not a primary source. A quote from a medieval scholar taken from a book written by the medieval scholar is a primary source.

An encyclopedia is NOT a primary source.

20 points will be deducted from your paper if 1 primary source is not used.

If you are at all in doubt about primary and secondary sources don’t hesitate to ask.

Reference
Citations: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

Full endnote/footnote citations (University of Chicago Manual of Style, APA or MLA) are required.

All style aspects MUST be taken from one of these manuals.

This is a history paper. Any and all statements of fact in your paper MUST be referenced. EX: A statement of “Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860 by a majority of the voters in the North.” must be referenced with the source of your information. Otherwise my comment to you will be “How do you know this?”

Your reference MUST be included immediately following the fact you have presented inside the text of the paper. It is not sufficient to simply list the reference book in the bibliography without making a direct correlation to the specific facts taken from the book. If you are at all unclear about referencing footnotes/endnotes PLEASE contact the instructor.

Once you have selected a style manual, the entire paper must be completed in this style.

All quotations used in this paper must be done in accordance with the style manual selected. No more than 20% of your paper shall be quotations without prior approval from the instructor. This paper is intended to show your analytical ability and not how well you can quote what someone else says or thinks.

Failure to properly cite information will result in a significant loss of points. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me.


Valid Academic Sources:

You may use any and all sources at your disposal: Internet, special edition DVDs, books, articles, journals. However all of your sources must NOT be of one specific type. You must have a minimum of 2 different types of sources. (This means you MAY NOT use all internet or all text sources) 20 points will be deducted if all of your sources are of the same type.

You will be graded on the academic quality of your sources. For example: MTV.com is NOT a valid academic source unless you are writing a paper about MTV. www.whitehouse.gov, www.libraryofcongress.gov or www.newyorktimes.com are valid sources. Encyclopedias etc use should be kept to a minimum and make up NO MORE than 10% of your bibliography. 20 points will be deducted if your bibliography has more than 10% of its sources as encyclopedia etc. (This includes wikepedia.com etc)

If you are at all unsure of your sources, particularly internet sources, don’t hesitate to contact the instructor.

Examples of movies you may use for this assignment:, tv series Rome, Troy, Alexander, Napoleon, War and Peace

These are just suggestions. You may use any movie that falls in the timeframe of the class.

Remember:
I will read and comment on any and all drafts of the paper up until 1 week prior to the due date.

If you submit your paper via email it is the student’s responsibility to make sure the instructor has received it.