Reflection InstructionsThe Reflections assignment is where students consider, interpret, and critically explore central aspects of that week’s lecture.
The goal of this assignment is to have students engage the lecture material through small, personal yet critical interpretations of that material and how the historical material relates to them and what it has taught them.
This experiential assignment rests on the idea that we cannotalwaysremove ourselves from the subject matters we learn about, despite ourdiscipline’snoble dream of empirical objectivity.
These Reflections act as conduits between the student’s interpretation of the subject matter and how they think about history.
Reflections Questions List:
•What were the core concepts or events of the lecture and what did you learn?
•What surprised you about the material, or what stood out most to you?
•What is today’s equivalent of some of the issues brought up in lecture or in what ways do you see the legacies of this material in today’s America?
Tips:
•Avoid summarizing or regurgitating the lecture material.
•Avoid meandering too far away from the lecture material, etc.
•Integrate your own voiceand interpretation.
•Connect various points of analysis to other parts of the lecture or lectures.
•You may bring in outside sources, but only modestly as this assignment is focused on your interpretation of the lecture’s main themes—and there’s not much space anyway.
Format:
•Two (2) pages to three (3) pages in length for each Reflection.
•Times New Roman font; font size 12; double-spaced spacing; reasonable margins.
•Citation Method: Informal. Student’s choice.•Answers at least twoquestionsfrom the Reflections questions list/ prompts.
