Depiction of the U.S. military in film from the early 20th century to now.
Part A: In a 2500-3000 word reflection (8-10 pages double spaced), formatted in Chicago Style, you will trace the progression of your topic over time and address the following:
Provide an introductory overview on how your chosen subject has been depicted in popular media, as well as how the portrayal of your topic has changed over time.
Establish a research question about how your topic has been addressed in popular media that you will then set out to answer through your chosen sources.
Provide supporting examples of at least five works of historic fiction and/or documentary non-fiction (no maximum) media sources that utilize your chosen topic.
Suggestion A: You could break this portion of the assignment into a paragraph-by-paragraph depiction of each source and how it contrasts with other depictions.
Suggestion B: You can outline your sources in chronological order and develop your essay as a way to show a historiographical progression in how your topic’s portrayal in popular media has changed over time.
Describe any historical debates and controversies that have emerged from your chosen sources. This can be from using film reviews, critical assessments, or interpretive articles that address the historical perspective your source(s) have taken.
Your analysis must take into account the larger historical context in which each historian is writing (i.e. who are they and when are they writing?)
In your conclusion, revisit your initial research question and address whether your sources have helped to support or refute your initial assumptions.
Part B: At the end of your paper (this is separate from the 8-10 page initial submission), you provide an annotated bibliography of at least ten supporting sources used in your main paper submission.
An annotated bibliography is a list of sources with annotations (summaries + evaluations) of sources that might be useful for your pedagogy portfolio (as background reading). As you write your annotations, you should also synthesize your sources—making connections among them, showing how they talk to and talk back to each other, and demonstrating that you are aware of the larger conversation about your proposed project.
Take careful notes as you search. Remember where you were (what database), what you were searching for (what keywords), and so on. Keep copies of useful articles as you find them; for example, you can download them onto a jump drive or email them to yourself.
You can rely on any of the following types of sources:
Critical reviews of your chosen piece of media
Academic journal entries or Op-Ed pieces on the time period of your chosen topic
Peer-reviewed journal articles
Chapters from scholarly edited collections
Masters theses and dissertations
Selections from academic books
What should not be used:
Wikipedia or online encyclopedic sources. (However you can use the referenced articles on these pages if they fit the guidelines listed above.
Commentary pages or unaccredited critical sites. (These can be included in your paper, and if you go beyond the eight source minimum, this can also be allowed.)
The Bibliography Should Include the Following:
Chicago-Style bibliographic notations of your sources.
Summarize your citations. Make your summary readable and understandable even for audience members who are not as familiar with your sources as you.
Your citation summary should be between 25-50 words each. They should entail any or all of the following:
What is your opinion of the usefulness of the source? Why?
How well does the source relate to the topic you chose? How in-depth is its coverage of the topic? What evidence do you see of its depth?
What are the authors’ credentials? Are they experts on the topic?
What connections do you see among the different sources?
How do the sources talk back to each other, complement each other, add different angles to the discussion, etc.?
