This assignment is due in class, Friday, April 20. If you do not submit this assignment, your final grade will drop by 10%. The paper should be written in Times New Roman 12-size font, double space. You will have to write approximately 1000 words, without the Works Cited/Bibliography section at the end. Submit a paper copy to the professor and an electronic copy in the assigned dropbox (by 4pm on the due date) at EEE.
Here you will be encouraged to analyze two non-narrative secondary sources: the data gathered on the slave ship Aurore in the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database, and the 3D visualization of this same slave ship.
You will be graded on your ability to identify the major themes of both sources while comparing them, and your ability to state in writing the significance of these themes and ideas for the history of the Atlantic Slave Trade.
First, look the voyage ID 32359 at www.slavevoyages.org for the information on the Aurore on the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database. For the 3D visualization, open this link that will show you a five-minutes clip. The password to see the video is: voyages
In the paper, you have to describe what you see in these two non-narrative sources in relation to the history of the slave trade. What does each depiction tell us about the slave trade and slave ships? Then, compare and contrast these two depictions.
You can use a narrative secondary source to support your analysis, for which you may read and annotate chapter 2 of Marcus Rediker, The Slave Ship, for a detailed examination on the history of slave ships. This reading will help you to consider whether the Aurore was a regular slave ship or as an anomaly in relation to other ships.
To analyze effectively these sources, I provide the “6Cs of Historical Understanding” to facilitate how you process them. Download and print this: 6cs_Primary_Source1. Discuss the filling of this handout with your TA in section and then submit the handout, filled in with your preliminary writing, with your paper.
CITATIONS: You must cite the sources you use for this course. When you utilize the ideas, words, and research of another person, you are required to include citations. You must cite within your text and include a bibliography or works cited section at the end, even if you only used one source. You may use MLA or Chicago/Turabian Notes and Bib style. For help with citations, you can use the OWL at Purdue as a guide: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/. Lack of citations in your written work will result in a lower grade.
CONTEXT: look at the readings on slave trading for the first three weeks, particularly chapter 1 and 2 of Rediker’s The Slave Ship, as well as lectures. You can add in the paper some of Rediker’s reflections, but be sure to properly cite him (Last Name, page). To copy your words and sentences from other sources without citation is plagiarism.
For the CONTENTS, summarize the main ideas in each source. Writing good summaries showing not all of the contents of a document, but what you consider are the most important aspects, is a central task in many jobs. It is not necessary here to write full sentences but the key words describing the main themes –a draft with bullet points.
You may not be able to make many CONNECTIONS right now as we are in the first weeks of this course, but you can connect these sources to other readings.
COMMUNICATIONS: Look carefully at what was the point of view of each secondary source. Are these sources reliable on “facts” about the trade of slaves in Africa? How the perspective of the authors of the database and the visualization may have shape content?
Finally, what can you CONCLUDE from these secondary sources? You have to think on conclusions based on the evidence provided by these sources. Once you have answered the basic questions about your sources, you may go beyond your own description in order to discuss the significance of these sources.
Once you have the “6Cs” covered (CONTENT, CITATION, CONTEXT, CONNECTIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, and CONCLUSIONS), that’s when you begin to write the assignment.
Writing the paper
Title: Write Assignment 1 and your name
First paragraph: Introduce the reader to the two sources (the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database and the 3D visualization of the slave ship Aurore). Summarize the information about these two sources (what they are). Provide a summary of around 200 words.
Second paragraph: From what you previously drafted as CONTENTS, CONTEXT, and COMMUNICATIONS in the handout, look for specific points on how the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database depicts the slave ship Aurore. Aprox. 200 words.
Third paragraph: From what you previously drafted as CONTENTS, CONTENT, and COMMUNICATIONS in the handout, look for specific points on how the 3D visualization depicts the slave ship Aurore. Aprox. 200 words.
Fourth (and longer) paragraph: Compare and contrasts how the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database and the 3D visualization depict the slave ship Aurore. Use what you have previously drafted in CONCLUSIONS. Aprox. 300 words.
Use both in-text citations (Rediker, 45) and Works Cited/Bibliography section at the end. To see an example of Works Cited, click: Works Cited
NOTE: When writing a history essay you face the question of what verb tense to use. Use PAST TENSE to describe actions performed in the PAST. Do not use present tense to gain dramatic effect, which does not work in history essays as this causes confusion about the timing of the events. Also, avoid passive voice. Use verbs that clearly identify who did the actions, when these events occurred, and more importantly, why and how.
Proofread your paper before submission to avoid grammatical and typographical errors. Read it carefully before printing. Even after printing, read it again. You can mark with pencil grammatical errors or typos –identifying and correcting your typos will improve your grade. You should read what you wrote before submission, as this is part of the writing process.