Western Civilization II Term Research PaperYou will be crafting an 8-10 page research paper. This will be the largest most of

you have ever completed. Because of this, it is very important that you are interested in the topic that you will be researching and writing upon. Therefore, you will be able to select your own research topic. This topic can be from anything we have learned up to this point, as well as anything we have yet to cover. However, your topic must be reviewed and approved by Miss Wright. The final draft of your paper will be due on May 4th , so you have plenty of time to complete this assignment. We will have select dates that you will need to turn things in to show your progress on your paper. These smaller assignments will count towards your grade and will also help you stay on top of your paper. This way we should not have anyone writing the paper the night before it is due.

Requirements for your paper are as follows:

-You must have your paper in Chicago format, double spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font with a title page.

-It MUST be 8-10 pages. No more and no less.

-You must have at least (but not limited to) 7 sources. Of these sources, THREE of them must be books and the others can be academic articles or websites. All sources must be academic in nature.

-Your topic must be approved by Miss Wright and it must be historically significant for modern European civilization (1350-1914)

Assignments- You will receive more detailed directions for each of these assignments.

Subject essay: You must turn in a one page, typed, essay with your topic, why this topic is historically relevant, and why you wish to do research on this topic. Miss Wright will use this as an opportunity to help make sure the topic is researchable, or appropriate for the assignment. (full assignment directions to follow)

Annotated Bibliography- You will have to show me your 7 (or more) sources and write me a small paragraph on each source. This paragraph will need to show me why you picked this source and how you will use it in your paper.

Essay Outline- This will be your first layout of your paper. You will write me your thesis as well as topic sentences to each one of your body paragraphs, including some information that you will use to support your statements.

Rough draft- This will be a paper that is as close to your final as you can make it yourself. We will then be bringing these into class and doing both peer and teacher edits on these rough drafts. This will help you fix mistakes before your final paper is due.

Due Dates- These are subject to change

Subject Essay Due: December 19th

Annotated Bibliography: February 9th

Essay Outline: March 9th

Rough Draft: April 6th

Final Draft: May 4th

Choosing a topic:One way to think of a topic for a history paper is by first asking yourself

what you love. Politics, war, fashion, philosophy, religion, art, theater, music, math, science, economics, technology, and literature: all human endeavors have a history and can be studied in great detail over the last 600 years. Once you settle on a topic, then we can think about ways to formulate a specific research question that you want to answer on that particular topic.

Another way to think of a topic is to pick a period which interests you, then think about why it interests you. For example, Francis Bacon is interested in the Industrial Revolution. Why? He wants to see how man manipulated nature to create a better world. However, he is NOT done picking a topic. You could write a 300 page history of the Industrial Revolution and still only be scratching the surface. The topic would be too broad. Bacon needs to think about what historical questions interest him: politics, philosophy, fashion, economics (trade and business), diplomacy, technology, art, propaganda, etc. in regards to the Industrial Revolution.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Paradoxically, the more narrow you make the question, the easier it will be to write the paper. This is because when you have a very specific question, you will be searching for very specific answers. You will thus know exactly what kinds of sources will answer your question, making research MUCH easier!

Possible Topics List (need to be narrowed down, this is just to help spark your thinking)The following list is in no way comprehensive. If you wish to do another topic, please speak to Miss Wright.Late Medieval Political philosophyPico Della MirandolaRenaissance Art or MusicPetrarch“New Monarchs”Charles VHenry VIIINicolo MachiavelliMartin LutherJohn CalvinThe Anglican Church16th century CatholicismThe Spanish InquisitionThe Spanish conquest of the New WorldEuropean Mercantile EmpiresThe Printing PressWars of ReligionThe 30 Years WarWitch HuntsThe English Civil WarCharles ICharles IICromwellThe Glorious Revolution

John LockeThomas HobbesAbsolute MonarchyConstitutionalismThe Scientific Revolution

AstronomyNew Philosophies

Sir Isaac NewtonRene DescartesEarly Modern SocietyEarly Modern WorldviewThe War of the Spanish SuccessionLouis XIVBaroque art or music18th Century Warfare18th century Fortresses (Vauban)A philosopher of the EnlightenmentThe EncyclopediaVoltaireEnlightened DespotsPeter the GreatCatherine the GreatFrederick II (of Prussia)The Seven Years WarRise of the Prussian military

Handel (Messiah)The Wesley Brothers (Methodism)Creation of Stock MarketsAdam Smith/CapitalismClassical Music MozartBritish Colonial EmpireJean Jacques RousseauLouis XVIThe French RevolutionJacobinsNapoleon BonaparteMetternichThe Congress of Vienna19th century Liberalism/ ConservatismBeethovenRomanticism (writers/musicians/artists)The First Industrial RevolutionThe Second Industrial RevolutionRailroadsNationalismSocialismThe British Factory SystemVictorian Etiquette19th Century Novelists (Dickens, Dostoevsky, Victor Hugo)

Karl MarxCommunismAnarchismUrban Planning (late 19th century)Charles DarwinEvolutionary TheorySocial DarwinismPositivismAtheism/MaterialismGerman UnificationBismarckFranco-Prussian WarItalian UnificationImperialismLate 19th century diplomacyChristianity in the 19th century

Liberal Christianity1st Council of the Vatican

Modern Art (Impressionism, Cubism, Dadaism)Modernism (literature, psychology, art)20th Century MusicEinstein (theory of Relativity)Quantum Mechanical Theory