PROF’S VIDEO ON PICKING TOPIC: https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/c0ef1UVySil
Also, if you have no idea what to choose I attached a document with a list of sample topics from which you may choose, if need be.
Purpose: Remember the Final Project options you reviewed and discussed in your Introduction Discussion? This brainstorming discussion is where you should get more specific about your ideas for your Final Project. Even if you’re still unsure about the details of your topic or your thesis, engaging with your fellow students should get you a little further down the road. Many find choosing a topic the hardest part of the project, so if you are totally lost as to any topic you find fascinating, you may choose a topic from a list of examples, if need be. (See attached document below). There are just a few rules and guidelines to keep in mind:
1) No topic may cover history from the Civil War or earlier (must be our course time period). (Examples of rejected topics: colonization, American revolution, early Native American relations)
2) No topic may be entirely in the 21st century, and if a topic took place in the 1990s to the twenty-first century, get approval first. (Examples of past rejected topics: BLM movement, social media history, Trump/Clinton campaign)
3) Content must be fully United States history, not topics that focus on other nations or people in other nations. (Examples of past rejected topics: the Holocaust/Anne Frank, historical culture in the Congo, politics in Colombia)
4) Topics cannot be too vague or broad, but must be narrowly focused. (Examples of past rejected topics: overview of the Civil Rights Movement, women’s history from the Civil War to today, “sports” history without specifying just one)
Task:
Share with your classmates what you’re thinking of in terms of:
- you idea fora topic, or multiple ideas or subjects if unsure
- ideas for a possible working thesis/claim/argument, only if possible
- time period you might be considering (one year, a decade, a century?)
- and format/modality (essay, audio PPT, video?)
Also, briefly explain your thought process so far – what you like and what you’re unsure of. Feel free to ask questions as well. Check the UNC Writing Center’s Thesis Statements page for help developing your thesis.
