Research Project

One of the central goals of this class is to get you working as historians, developing skills of historical thinking, research, and analysis by creating your own projects. Influenced by the ideas of Brazilian educational theorist Paulo Freire about engaging students as active content creators in their own learning, this project give you the chance you come up with a (class-related) research project that is meaningful to you. Working over the course of the semester, you will design a research project to investigate any aspect of the history of modern Latin American history (any event between 1791 and 2005) that analyzes a range of primary sources as well as addressing how this topic has been studied by other scholars. Your project might focus on topics like Bolivian responses to environmental contamination by U.S. mining companies; Caribbean migrant flows and the creation of reggaetón; the history of Chilean social protest music; indigenous activists during the civil war in Guatemala; or Afro-Brazilian political and social activism. We’ll work together to find something that is both meaningful to you and makes a positive contribution to digital public history. Student Learning Outcomes (based on the AHA Tuning Project): Students will:

identify a significant research question about Latin American history
demonstrate their skills of historical research in finding primary and secondary sources
produce effective narratives that describe and analyze the past to make a sophisticated interpretive argument.
understand the complex nature of the historical record by considering primary texts with very different perspectives.
use sound, images, and narrative to craft a compelling, sophisticated piece of storytelling

Your research prospectus will serve as the basis for the research project. You are also welcome to draw on the primary source research you complete for the digital timeline project. You’ll communicate your historical analysis two formats: an oral presentation (or short movie) and a research essay designed for a wide audience.

Approaching the Project:

We will break this project into multiple steps with chances for revision and refinement during the course of the semester.

First few weeks of class: come see me to talk about project ideas.
Initial blog post with a preliminary research idea and why it is important before class on Wednesday, February 5.
Research Project Blog Post with your revised research question and source ideas before class on Monday, February 17. Detailed blog post that describes your research question, explains its historical significance, and identifies relevant, high-quality sources (4-5 scholarly sources, and at least one primary source).
Peer review: comment on three classmates’ research plans before class on Wednesday, February 19.
Research Prospectus: Upload abstract and annotated bibliography to Moodle by noon on Thursday, February 27. Extension: now due by midnight Saturday, 2/29!
Secondary Source Critique: post to CoW Latin America before class on Friday, March 27.
Draft Presentation outline and slides uploaded to Moodle before class on Friday, April 3.
Peer review of presentation outline and slides before class on Monday, April 6.
Student Research Presentations Weeks 12 & 13.
Draft of research essay due on Wednesday, April 29.
Post final research essay to CoW Latin America site by noon on Monday, May 4.

Research Resources

LibGuide for Latin American Studies

Approaching the Project:

Research Resources

Country Readers