Paper Proposal Instructions I. Due Date: Wed, 24 October, at the beginning of class. II. Overview 1 : This 50 point graded assignment is designed to make sure you are on track to completing your paper proposal in a timely fashion. Although the final paper is not due until the (nearly) end of the semester, it definitely is a good idea to get as early of a start as possible. In this paper proposal you will: Choose a topic area and work on narrowing the focus of your topic. Your topic must meet the following criteria: It must deal with history. i.e. While it is fine to spend some time tying your topic to current events, the heart and soul of your paper must be on the past. Your topic deals with economics. i.e. Your paper must deal with production, or material living standards, or political/economic systems, or how people make decisions when facing scarcity, etc. It must fall within at least one of the following subject areas: either: a. a colonial experience, anywhere in the world, prior to 1900 or b. the transition from colonial rule to independence, anywhere in the world, prior to 1830 or c. the U.S. (or Mexico, or another part of Latin America) during its early national period (prior to about 1830) Start your research by finding at least 4 academic or professional sources. These sources include academic journals or books. Review the above sources & think about how your research might proceed. You can change topic areas between this paper proposal and your final paper. Changing topic is extra work on your part. Nonetheless, your final paper is graded as a separate assignment. This proposal is primarily designed to get you started on the best path. 1
III. Structure of the Paper Proposal Although I do specify a minimum length, I would recommend shooting for about 3,000 words excluding your bibliography and outline. Page 1, Cover Page This should include an abstract at the bottom. Please see the back pages of this handout for an example. Pages 2?: Introductory Pages 1. Statement of Title and author (that s you) 2. Abstract (again): a short ( 200-250 word) summary of your paper (or your latest guess at what your paper will be). Your abstract should clearly state the question(s) your paper will be attempting to answer if you plan to use the journal/thesis format. Usually the abstract is in slightly smaller font, italicized, and has larger left and right margins. 3. Overview: Introduce and overview your topic in approximately 2-3 pages. For example, you might address the following: a. * What topic area are you interested in? b. Why is the topic of interest to you (very briefly)? c. Why is it of interest to the Field of Economic History? d. * What question(s) will you attempt to answer? e. What have you learned so far? Pages W X: Literature Review The Central Part of your Statement 1. Tell me about 4 or more sources you have read. At least 4 of these sources need to be professional (for lack of a better term) sources. Professional sources include books form good publishers, www.eh.net encyclopedia entries, and especially peer-reviewed academic journals (not magazines). You can include non-professional source(s) as your 5 th (or 6 th, etc) source in your paper proposal as long as you have at least 4 professional sources. Non-professional, in this context, include web sites and Wikipedia. 2. There are two ways literature reviews are generally organized. a. One source at a time o Tell the reader about the general nature of your first new source. Then, tell the reader what ideas or contributions this source will bring to your paper. At this stage, about half way between a book review and a review focusing only on the aspect of the source that is relevant to your final project. If the source conflicts with other sources, let the reader know. 2
o Traditionally, a source by source literature review is arranged chronologically. The source that was published first is discussed first, then the second published, etc. For this paper proposal, discuss your sources in any order you feel appropriate. b. By theme or idea o Organize what the sources have to say based on themes or ideas. Then, for one theme, discuss what your various sources have to say. Move on to the next theme, and so on until you have given the literature a good review. 3. The more sources the better. However, sheer quantity will not trump poor quality sources or poor reviews of each source. 4. Don t forget to use in-text citations!! Pages X Y: Finishing touches Tell me where you hope to go from here. Namely: 1. Are there ways you might narrow your topic down as your research continues? 2. What sources/information are you still looking for? 3. Include a rough outline of your proposed paper. Bibliography Use the APA (Social Sciences) citation style. Copies of the 1 st page of Each Source Print or photocopy the 1 st page of each new source. A Staple Staple the above (cover page to copies of each 1 st page) together. IV. Some General notes Upon turning this paper proposal in, you should be reasonably certain as to what your final topic will be. You might have a bit more searching, pondering, and tweaking to do before you are ready to write your final paper. You should, however, be pretty certain about the particular topic you will chose for your final paper. Remember, you want a well defined and relatively narrow topic for your final paper. Knowing what you will conclude, at this point, is fine. However, make sure you do not prejudge your topic. If you have not finished your analysis or literature review (gasp!) yet, you can merely develop a list of possible conclusions, not the definitive conclusion. Being eloquent and fluid helps greatly. That being said, the structure of both Statements of Interest assignment is a bit more clunky than one would expect in a paper. Don t lose too much sleep over abrupt transitions, etc. 3
Failure to properly cite sources you use is, technically, plagiarism. It doesn t matter whether the plagiarism was intentional or not. Plagiarism is an example of academic dishonesty and can get you in big trouble. Keep yourself and your academic career safe both by properly citing sources within your text, and by having a proper bibliography. V. How I grade the statements of interest and the final paper. o Rough Grade: I first read each proposal and assign a rough grade based on a rubric. This rubric is broken down into the following categories. 1. Citation: The technical quality of your citations count for about 5% of the rough proposal grade. Don t forget to use proper citations (according to your chosen citation style). This includes the use of both in-text citations and a bibliography. Failing to cite a source or other forms of plagiarism are much more serious. If it appears your statement (or paper) contains examples of plagiarism, I will assign a zero (if you have no prior instances of reported academic dishonesty) for the assignment and file an academic dishonesty report. If you have prior instances of reported academic dishonesty, I will consult the dean regarding appropriate penalties. 2. Sources: This is about 45% of the rough grade. I look to see if you have the minimum number of sources (and hopefully more). I also try to ascertain the quality of your sources. Are they professional and directly relevant to your topic area? Do you have the seminal sources in your topic area? 3. Focus: This is a relatively small percent of the rough grade for this paper proposal (about 10%) but will increase to about 25% in the final paper. First, your topic area must meet the topic criteria (history + economics + either colonial, early U.S. or slavery). Second, I prefer papers that focus on one (or a few) theses or questions. For example, a paper on How British Institutions Affected America s Early Institutions? is definitely too broad for a semester paper. A paper examining; The Effects of the British Judicial System on the Structure of America s Legal System is a nice size and focus for a semester paper. That being said, it s normal for your paper project to start out relatively broad and become more and more focused as your project progresses. 4. Writing: This is about 20% of the rough grade. Please write using correct spelling, syntax, and punctuation. Nice transitions between paragraphs and a smoothly flowing paper are also good. I would suggest having someone else proofread your paper (and statements of interest) before you turn it in. 5. Analysis: This is about 20% of the rough grade. The more insightful your analysis of the questions, points of contention, etc. is, the better your project is. 6. Boldness: This is 5% of the rough grade for the paper proposal. It will be about 10% of the rough grade for the final paper. Boldness relates to pursuing a topic that is not easy because there is a general lack of pre-existing literature on that topic. 4
Please note that I (the grader), not you (the student), determine the level of boldness. An example of a bold topic is Reasons for the Failure of Sweden s North American Colonies: Lack of Investment or Wartime Shocks? Good luck finding a lot of literature on that topic. An example of a topic that is not nearly as bold is: Disease and Development: Daron Acemeglu v Jeffrey Sachs There is a lot of literature on this topic and we will discuss it at length in class. o Final Grade: I next order the papers (or statements of interest) in order of the rough grades. I scan the papers again to make sure I am confident that the grades reflect the relative quality of each paper. Occasionally, after reviewing the papers in (rough grade) rank order, I will tweak a paper s grade up or down to make it fit better. And finally A Very Random (and simply made-up) Sampling of Specific Paper Topics It s normal to start out with a broad topic (ex. American slavery) and narrow it down as your research progresses. Native Americans o Pre-colonial trade patterns o Native Americans in the fur trade o Farming by Eastern woodlands Indians as compared to European colonists o U.S. government trading factories: Beginning in George Washington s presidency, the U.S. government operated and subsidized trading posts to trade with Native Americans. The founding of the Colonies o Indentured Servitude in the British North American Colonies o Farming in New England vs the Chesapeake o Tobacco, from planting to market o Rice, an 18th century grower s guide o Sugar, commodity of riches and oppression o Native American slaves in the Southern Colonies o New France s property rights in labor and land (as compared to British colonies) o Restrictions on native labor in New Spain. o The use of European labor in the Caribbean 5
Slavery If you chose slavery as your topic area, make sure you develop a relatively focused sub-topic such as one of these. o Slavery in the northern colonies o The Slave trade: the Royal Africa Company o Emancipation in the Northern colonies o Emancipation in the British Caribbean o Labor relations in the British Caribbean after emancipation o Pilgrims gone bad: The Providence colony. o Georgia s failed attempt to avoid slavery. o Slavery in manufacturing. o Economies of scale in tobacco farming. o Economies of scale in cotton farming. o Living conditions of Southern Blacks before and after emancipation in the U.S. o The economic viability of slavery outside of the cotton south. The Colonial or Early National Experience in Other Nations o Why did Haiti become corrupt? o How did the Spanish constitution of 1812 Affect Mexico? o Spain s Colonial Policies Under the Bourbons (early colonization) v the Habsburgs (later periodn) o The Failure of Mexico s (1 st ) Federalist Constitution Demographics, etc. o Measuring income and wealth distribution in the colonial period. o Economic opportunities for women in the colonies. o Economic opportunities for women in the U.S. vs New Spain and Mexico. Goods and Processes o The early (pre-revolutionary) fur trade o The fur trade of the 19 th century o Cod fishing o Tobacco: from seed to final product o Cotton: from seed to final product o Early textile manufacturing The Legal and Institutional Environment o The Constitution of 1824: Mexico s brief experiment with federalism. Why might a federal system encourage growth? What are some possible drawbacks of a federal system? What was Mexico s history in this matter? o Attempts to reform the Articles of Confederation: How close did they come and what might the results have been? o Did Economic interests drive the drafting and ratification of the Constitution? Miscellaneous o Early U.S. public education o Public finance in the Republic of Texas o What drove the value of paper money in colonial America, quantity or credibility? 6