Title: Historiographical Judgment Portfolio
Course: The American West: Power, Place, and Memory

ASSIGNMENT

Historiographical Judgment Portfolio

Purpose
Judge how historians’ questions, evidence, scale, and causation shape interpretations of western expansion and state formation.

Fall 2026 deadline: Friday, October 16, 2026, 11:59 pm Central

Automatic grace period: through Sunday, October 18, 2026, 11:59 pm Central; no permission is needed and no penalty applies. Work is not accepted after the grace period without pre-approval or extenuating circumstances.

Task

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 and defend the revision in conference.

Submission

Submit portfolio as one PDF or DOCX; complete the unseen synthesis and conference in person.

Criteria for success

1. Position cards (15)
2. Page-anchored comparison matrix (20)
3. In-class unseen synthesis (30)
4. Revised synthesis and change memo (25)
5. Conference defense (10)

AI boundary

No AI for cards, matrix, in-class synthesis, or defense. Later clarity or organization feedback on your own revision is allowed and must be documented.

Decision Record

1. State your initial claim or plan before substantial AI assistance.
2. Name the most consequential interpretive choice you made and explain why.
3. Identify one plausible alternative you rejected and the evidence behind that decision.
4. Name evidence that changed, narrowed, or complicated your thinking.
5. State one claim you cannot fully establish with the available evidence.
6. Record AI use: tool, purpose, what you accepted, rejected, and verified—or write ‘No generative AI used.’

Process checklist

- My question or thesis is specific, contestable, and historically situated.
- I identify creator, date, audience, purpose, and collection context for key primary sources.
- I corroborate rather than asking one source to prove more than it can.
- I distinguish evidence from inference and acknowledge uncertainty.
- I cite sources and rights information; media includes captions, alt text, or a transcript.
- If I used generative AI in a permitted way, I include the required process disclosure.

Evaluation

This assignment is evaluated on four levels—Exemplary, Proficient, Developing, and Beginning—across the listed criteria. Ask for clarification before submitting if the purpose, task, or criteria are unclear.