Major assignments
Every assignment names the evidence, judgment, and AI boundary.
Friday is the course deadline. The Sunday window is an automatic, no-penalty grace period and does not require an email. In-class annotations, transfer questions, and the unseen synthesis follow the announced class schedule.
01Mapping the West · 10% of course gradeMapping the West: Boundary Argument and Defense+
Purpose
Make and defend a consequential argument about where, when, and for whom the American West exists.
Required evidence
Begin with an in-class boundary sketch and initial claim. Submit an annotated map or map comparison plus a 750–900 word rationale using at least two maps, two primary sources, and two scholars. Conclude with the common Decision Record.
AI may test organization or clarity only after the in-class sketch. It may not create the historical argument or select the boundary.
Component points
- In-class boundary sketch and initial claim20
- Annotated map and evidence-based rationale50
- Complete Decision Record30
02Source Reasoning Labs · 20% combinedSource Reasoning Lab 1: Treaty, Sovereignty, and Translation+
Purpose
Practice close reading of a treaty as a negotiated, translated, and contested political instrument.
Required evidence
Complete the source annotation in class, then write a 450–600 word memo that treats the treaty as a negotiated, translated, and contested political instrument. Finish an unseen transfer question and the common Decision Record.
No AI during annotation or transfer. Afterward, clarity feedback is allowed; generated treaty analysis or translation is not.
Component points
- In-class source annotation8
- Evidence-based reasoning memo10
- Unseen transfer question5
- Complete Decision Record2
03Source Reasoning Labs · 20% combinedSource Reasoning Lab 2: Mobility, Risk, and Environment+
Purpose
Use diaries, material evidence, and quantitative traces to reconstruct mobility without treating migration as inevitable.
Required evidence
Complete a comparative annotation in class, then write a 450–600 word memo using two migrant accounts and one map or quantitative source. Finish an unseen transfer question and the common Decision Record.
No AI during annotation or transfer. Organization feedback is allowed only after you draft the reasoning sequence.
Component points
- Comparative in-class annotation8
- Evidence-based reasoning memo10
- Unseen transfer question5
- Complete Decision Record2
04Public History Capstone · 30% combinedPublic History Capstone: Question and Scope Proposal+
Purpose
Define a feasible, ethical public-history question, audience, and scope.
Required evidence
Submit a 350–500 word proposal with question, audience, working claim, geographic and chronological scope, source plan, one rejected alternative, and an access/ethics note. Complete the common Decision Record.
AI may generate search terms only after you record your initial question. It may not choose the question, audience, scope, sources, or ethical position.
Component points
- Question and significance3
- Feasible scope and source plan3
- Audience and ethical position2
- Complete Decision Record2
05Historiographical Judgment Portfolio · 20% of course gradeHistoriographical Judgment Portfolio+
Purpose
Judge how historians’ questions, evidence, scale, and causation shape interpretations of western expansion and state formation.
Required evidence
Prepare position cards and a page-anchored comparison matrix for three assigned scholars. Complete a 45-minute unseen synthesis in class, then submit a revised 1,200–1,500 word synthesis with a change memo.
No AI for cards, matrix, or the in-class synthesis. Later clarity or organization feedback on your own revision is allowed and must be documented.
Component points
- Position cards15
- Page-anchored comparison matrix20
- In-class unseen synthesis35
- Revised synthesis and change memo30
06Source Reasoning Labs · 20% combinedSource Reasoning Lab 3: Newspaper, Race, and Public Narrative+
Purpose
Interrogate how print culture produced racial knowledge and normalized or challenged violence.
Required evidence
Complete a close reading of two newspaper items in class, then write a 500–650 word comparison focused on audience, language, omission, corroboration, and ethical quotation. Finish an unseen transfer question and the common Decision Record.
AI may not select or interpret passages. Clarity feedback is allowed only after you draft the comparison and ethical choice.
Component points
- In-class close reading8
- Evidence-based comparison memo10
- Ethics and transfer question5
- Complete Decision Record2
07Public History Capstone · 30% combinedPublic History Capstone: Source Dossier+
Purpose
Build a credible, ethical research base before production.
Required evidence
Submit an annotated dossier of at least eight primary sources and five scholarly sources. For each, document provenance, relevance, limits, and intended use. Include rights/permissions and access checks, then complete the common Decision Record.
AI may suggest repository search terms. It may not write annotations, invent provenance, assess rights, or receive restricted material.
Component points
- Primary-source base7
- Scholarly conversation6
- Provenance, rights, and access checks5
- Decision Record2
08Source Reasoning Labs · 20% combinedSource Reasoning Lab 4: Oral History, Memory, and Silences+
Purpose
Evaluate memory as evidence while respecting narrators and collection context.
Required evidence
Annotate an approved oral-history segment in class, then write a 500–650 word memo on narrator position, interview context, memory, corroboration, ethical use, and evidentiary limits. Finish an unseen transfer question and the common Decision Record.
Do not upload oral-history media or transcripts to AI. No AI during in-class work or for analysis of testimony.
Component points
- In-class segment annotation8
- Evidence-based reasoning memo10
- Ethics and transfer question5
- Complete Decision Record2
09Public History Capstone · 30% combinedPublic History Capstone: Interpretive Artifact and Decision Log+
Purpose
Produce rigorous, accessible history for a defined public audience.
Required evidence
Create an approved public artifact with a clear historical claim, primary-source warrants, engagement with scholarship, counterevidence or uncertainty, audience rationale, and access/rights documentation. Submit a production decision log and the common Decision Record.
AI may help with organization, copyediting, troubleshooting, or accessibility only after interpretation is established. It may not generate the thesis, evidence claims, narrator voice, or ethical decisions.
Component points
- Historical claim and accuracy10
- Evidence warrants and counterevidence8
- Scholarship and context6
- Audience, access, and rights5
- Decision log and Decision Record6
- Accessible final materials5
10Seminar Practice & Reflection · 10% of course gradeSeminar Practice and Reflection Portfolio+
Purpose
Make preparation, contribution, revision, and intellectual growth visible.
Required evidence
Submit a curated set of dated in-class artifacts, evidence of teach-backs, and a final evidence audit explaining how your historical questions and source practices changed. Include a short written rationale for the selection.
No AI for in-class artifacts or the evidence audit. Sentence-level feedback may follow your own artifact selection and draft.
Component points
- Dated in-class artifacts and preparation40
- Teach-backs and collaborative reasoning30
- Evidence audit and selection rationale30