Your paper should have the following five main components, although you should not provide numerical subheadings. Rather, use strong transitional and topic sentences to clearly identify each section. 1. Introduction (1 paragraph) Briefly introduce your topic to the reader. Provide some general information about the monument (e.g. where and when it was built, who or what it is intended to memorialize). You may also refer—very briefly, since you will be discussing them in more detail later—to any aspects about the monument that are particularly noteworthy. 2. Historical Background (3-4 pages) Describe in some detail the historical event or person(s) your monument commemorates. For example, if you are writing about a monument memorializing a battle of the Texas Revolution, you will want to discuss its significance in that conflict. If your monument memorializes an individual, you should discuss his/her historical importance. In this section, you may rely largely on secondary sources, although primary sources are permissible. You are not expected to do a deep dive into the historical record, but rather provide an overview of the subject, and its importance to the community at the time the monuments was built. 3. Building the Monument (5-6 pages) You will need discuss the time period in which the monument was built. Is it representative of other monuments at this time? Why was this particular event or person(s) chosen? Who made the decision to build it? Was it a civic group? State or federal agency? How was the project funded? How long did it take to build? What does the monument say about the community’s own self-image? In other words, does it accurately reflect the community, or does it memorialize only the way the community wants to be seen? If the latter, why did civic leaders choose this self-image over another, more accurate one? Discuss in some detail the monument as a piece of public art. Who was the sculptor and what did he/she intend to achieve? In your view, was he/she successful? You may also want to discuss the aesthetics of the monument here, if relevant. Does the monument include explanatory text (often found on the base or friezes of the edifice), and is it accurate? Based on your own knowledge (section 2) is the monument a fair depiction/characterization of the event or person(s) it was designed to commemorate? What was the community reception to the monument when it was completed? Was it received favorably? In this section, you will want to rely on contemporaneous sources, such as newspapers, diaries and memoirs (if available). 4. The Monument in Historical Memory (4-5 pages) Discuss the ways in which the monument has stood the test of time. Has the public’s understanding/assessment of the event or person(s) in question changed? Has the monument become more controversial over time, and if so, why? In this section, as in section #3, you will need to rely on newspaper accounts and other contemporaneous sources. If public opinion of the monument has shifted, you will need to explain why. This may be due to changes which the community itself has experienced. For example, has the community become more urban? Multiethnic? You will also need to familiarize yourself with changes in the relevant historiography to explain changing public perceptions. In other words, are these shifting attitudes the result of new evidence and/or new scholarship? To what extent has shifting political, social and cultural attitudes been responsible for these perceptions? 5. Conclusion (1-2 paragraphs) Briefly summarize your findings, highlighting what you believe to be the monument’s principal significance. The conclusion should not be a restatement of your introduction. Rather, it should make at least some effort to situate the monument in the broader context of the culture of memorialization that we have discussed in class. Because this memorial was completed in 2016 there aren’t really any books or anything historical on it most of the information should come from news articles and findings from around the state of Texas.
