What combination of three historical themes set the stage for an event or
experience in my (or another’s) life in the United States?
In answering this question pay attention to social structures (barriers and advantages) that Loewen, Michelle Alexander, and others say are hidden from conventional understanding. A crucial part of one’s historical imagination is to recognize such structures and explain how they work in the subject’s personal
experience. For example, one can examine how class, race, and gender advantages and/or barriers created the conditions for the subject to have been raised in a particular community, gone to certain schools, and from there attend USC. Alternatively, one can focus on themes of the Cold War, Sixties protests, and
globalization to explain their parent’s occupation, and how that created the conditions for their upbringing. And in a final example, one can consider how themes of immigration, civil rights achievements, and the end of the Cold War gave rise to the historical conditions that made it possible for a family to migrate to the US. Think of the three themes as puzzle pieces: Describe each but also explain
how they fit together to set the stage for the subject’s experience.