Title: Public History Capstone: Question and Scope Conference
Course: The American West: Power, Place, and Memory > Section: Week 7 · October 5–9, 2026: Civil War and Continental State-Building

THE AMERICAN WEST

Public History Capstone: Question and Scope Conference

ASSIGNMENT

Public History Capstone: Question and Scope Conference

Purpose
Define a feasible, ethical public-history question, audience, and scope.

Fall 2026 deadline: Friday, October 9, 2026, 11:59 pm Central

Automatic grace period: through Sunday, October 11, 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

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. Defend the choices in a five-minute conference and complete the Decision Record.

Submission

Text entry or file upload.

Criteria for success

1. Question and significance (3)
2. Feasible scope and source plan (3)
3. Audience and ethical position (2)
4. Conference defense and Decision Record (2)

AI boundary

AI may generate search terms only after you record your initial question. It may not choose the question, audience, scope, sources, or ethical position.

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.