HIST 17– Book Study Prompt(due Monday, 11/30)
This semester, we’ve beenreading and studying two books,The Shoemaker and the Tea Party by Alfred Young, and The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. For your book study, you will compare and contrastinformation from these books to discusslarger themes we have studied in this course.
Your essay should start with a statement of your main points, and conclude with a summary of those points. The body of your essay should address these questions, citing specific examples from both books:
1) How were the experiences of George Robert Twelves Hewes similar to, or different than, the experiences of Frederick Douglass?
2) Identify factors of change in U.S. history that shaped these similarities and differences.
3) What do each of these books reveal about the challenges and opportunities experienced by ordinary people in U.S. history?
NOTE: This is not a “book report.” Don’t write a plot summary that tells me “what happened.” Your paper should discuss larger processes of change in American history, using information from these two books as your primary examples.
Required format:
Your essay must include at least two direct quotes from each book, cited with in text citations, for example, (Young, 134) or (Douglass, 37).
3-4 pagesminimum (2.5 pages is not 3 pages, it’s only 2.5), double-spaced, 12 pt., typed (word processed), in a plain font on 8.5 x 11 white paper. There is no maximum page length.
60 points are possible for completion of this assignment. Points will be deducted for each day that the assignment is late!
