HIST 17bKluchin September2021 Essay 1: Who Cares about History? The majority of you are taking this course because it fulfills GE requirements not because you have a deep love of history. I will, of course ,try to inspire such a love over the course of the semester and if that fails, at least an appreciation for the discipline, its methods and the ways in which it can help you become more discernible consumers of news and culture as well as engaged citizens. For your first essay I am asking you to consider what history means to you. To do so, you should answer the following questions: What has been your prior experience with history? This can include the classroom, but also stories told by family and friends. Which stories/events/people meant the most to you and why? Or if you found history totally boring, what made the subject mind-numbing? Then I want you to consider why history fulfills a GE requirement and what you could learn from this class that might stay with you and help you consider the world we live in today. Put another way, youre taking this class because you have to, what can you get out of it? If you feel like history doesnt matter to your personallyand thats totally fine, albeit a bit heartbreaking to methen explain that. Finally, if there are issues/events/people that you want to study this semester, identify those and explain why they interest you. As Alexzandria and I grade your essays, we will create a list of these topics and I will do my best to incorporate as many as possible into subsequent lectures. Your essay should be three pages in length, double-spaced, with twelve-point font and one-inch margins. All essays should be clearly written and well-organized. Proofread your essay carefully. I will deduct points for typographic, grammatical, and spelling errors. This essay is due on September16between 9a and 9p. Essays that are submitted late will be deducted 1/3 of a letter grade per day.Show more
