• Class Participation: 20 %
• Including Reaction papers and your “History of Me” papers
• First Draft: 10% (due April 5)
• Final Research Paper (20-30pp): 70% (due May 4)

REACTION PAPERS/RESEARCH PROPOSAL:

1—Reaction papers— 1-2 page reactions to questions asked. They are not graded for style or grammar or content, but are intended to allow the writer full liberty in responding to the question in whatever form that strikes them. See reading assignments for due dates.

2—The Research Proposal— This is an approximately one page summary of the topic you propose to research. It should include a description of your topic, possible questions for exploration, and possible sources. This proposal must be turned in by March 2.

3—“A History of Me” Paper —Due on February 15. Using at least one oral interview with someone who knows you well, your own memories of your life, and any other pertinent evidence (emails, letters, IM conversations, articles about you, etc.) write an approximately 3-5 page history of yourself. This paper may take a long look at your life or focus on one transformative moment or a series of events. Another student will read your history and then present it to the class in a five-minute presentation. Then you and the class will decide if you “got it right.”

THE FIRST DRAFT:

4—The First Draft— Due on April 5, in electronic form. This should be a substantially completed version of your paper written in your highest quality prose. I will make comments on this paper and return to you for use on completing your final draft.

5--FINAL PAPER:
Due May 4.

Your final paper should be approximately 20 to 30 pages long. It should be a work of original research on a topic on the 1960s era. Sources should be properly referenced throughout with one of the established referencing systems.

The paper topics available for students depend on the student’s imagination and interest. The only major requirement is that the papers address the 1960s. Topics are likely to deal with President Johnson, but this is not necessarily a requirement. Papers do not have to be about policies. I encourage students to approach their topics from a wide variety of perspectives and consider cultural, social, economic, and political analyses of the era.

Some themes for topics are listed below. These are merely suggestions. Other topics, not listed, may also be possible; if you would like to pursue a topic not listed, please check with the instructors first.
• Civil Rights.
o Civil Rights Act of 1964.
o Voting Rights Act of 1965.
o Freedom Summer Murders, 1964.
o Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
o Relationships with Roy Wilkins, Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young, James Farmer, and others.
o Watts and urban civil disorders.
o White violence.
• Economic Policy.
o Tax Cut legislation of 1964.
• Great Society.
o War on Poverty.
o Medicare.
• Johnson and the Labor Movement.
• Vietnam.
o Escalation.
o Press.
o Relations with advisers.
o Decision-making.
• Other Foreign Affairs.
o (Panama, Dominican Republic, Cyprus, US relations with other nations, especially Soviet Union and in Western Europe.)
• Elections. (1964 Presidential in particular)
o Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party controversy.
• Comparison of the Political history in film and literature to Political history on the Johnson tapes.
o Theatrical releases. Novels.
o Documentaries about Johnson or 1960s-related events.
• Comparison of Press coverage of Johnson and Johnson on the tapes.
• Appointments and Personnel.
• Relations with the Kennedy family.
• Relations with various individuals and/or institutions.
• Johnson and the Press.
• Johnson the Person:
o Gender.
o Sexuality.
o Manhood.
o Personality and Identity.
• Culture of the White House and the Executive Branch.
• The Dynamics of Place (Texas, the West, the South, the Beltway).
• The Official Use of Violence and Force.
• The Management of Crises. [Riots, war, or other crises]

4--FINAL PAPER »

Due May 4.

Your final paper should be approximately 20 to 30 pages long. It should be a work of original research. Sources should be properly referenced throughout with one of the established referencing systems and it should include a bibliography of works used in your research.
The paper topics available for students depend on the student’s imagination and interest. Most topics are likely to deal with President Johnson, but this is not necessarily a requirement. The tapes offer another layer of evidence for exploring various aspects of the 1960s. Papers do not have to be about policies.
Some themes for topics are listed below. These are merely suggestions. Other topics, not listed, may also be possible; if you would like to pursue a topic not listed, please check with the instructors first.

Sources should be properly referenced throughout with one of the established referencing systems and it should include a bibliography of works used in your research. Further details and examples of references are available in the Style Guide.

Recommendations for Final Papers, Writing Requirements, etc.

Everyone should consider the following recommendations that we have compiled regarding your papers. These problems do not occur in every paper, but they occurred in enough to warrant everyone to consider them. If you have not already done so, you also need to pick up a hard copy of your papers to which we have added editorial remarks.

1. Whenever you revise your papers think about the following questions. How can I provide a more instructive and comprehensive context for what I am saying while remaining concise and confident? Everyone needs to think CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT. The subjects of your papers did not occur in a vacuum. The reader needs the most appropriate context that you can provide them without weighing them down.
2. Everyone should improve their introduction. Remember that the introduction is the most important part of your paper. It is where the reader decides whether what you have to say is worth exploring in more detail. You must tell the reader what your interpretation is, why that interpretation is important, and how you plan to show that your interpretation is the best one to use. Tell them what you are telling them. Tell them why you are telling them. Tell them how you are telling them. Then do it all over again in more detail in the body of your paper. Two things to watch for, in order: 1- Don't mislead. 2 - Don't use irrelevant material.
3. In the body of your papers, defend the interpretation you present in your introduction with logical and well-organized use of evidence. All students need to rethink how they are using their evidence and the questions they are bringing to the intellectual table. You should be the most intense critic of your argument. Anticipate its weak points, and always be open to the idea that your original argument is flawed and could use revision.
4. Improve transitions between paragraphs and within paragraphs. Don't jar the reader; lead them along gracefully. Don't drop bombs without context. They'll end up being duds and cause the reader to lose confidence in your interpretation.
5. Never leave in a run-on sentence.
6. Avoid using sentence fragments, block quotations, first or second person, inexact language, and vague modifiers like "very" unless you have a "very" well thought out reason for doing so.
7. Books, magazines, newspapers, journals, court cases, and ship names must be either italicized or underlined. Periods and commas must go inside quotation marks. Footnotes go outside. See the abbreviated course style guide.
8. The first time that you mention a name, you must spell it out fully and include all names and appropriate titles. The person, group, or thing, must be introduced enough so that the reader knows why you put them in your paper at that point.
9. In most cases, put indicators of time (dates) at or near the beginning of sentences.
10. All citations must come in the form of footnotes. See the style guide for proper formats.
11. Review the Merrill's Rules for Writing History and the Historian's Ten Commandments. If you decide not to adhere to those suggestions, you need to have a good reason.
12. DO NOT TURN YOUR FINAL PAPERS IN LATE. FOR EVERY DAY THEY ARE LATE AFTER April 24, YOUR GRADE WILL BE REDUCED ONE LETTER GRADE.
13. We also recommend that you take a look at a sample evaluation form that can be used to grade your essays. See Essay Evaluation Form.