History 284: Hawaiian History	FALL 2009
Instructor: Colette Higgins

WRITING PROJECT

(Discovering History)

Understanding Self & Community

Written Communication

Critical Thinking

Overview

Historians are detectives of the past. The work of an historian involves a great deal of searching, and sometimes the quest is more rewarding than the final product. Your assignment is to go on a detective-like journey to learn more about a subject you find intriguing, and to share an unexpected story that you discovered along the way.

Your Task

Look over the topics listed below, you will be signing-up for topics in class during the second week of instruction (no more than two students per topic). Once you have your topic, you can begin your quest. Be mindful of your own thought processes along the way.

I want to know more about . . .

1. Captain Cook's visit to Hawai‘i and what caused his death.

2. Kamehameha's use of western and Hawaiian ways in his rise to power.

3. Opukahaia providing the motivation for the American missionaries to come to Hawai‘i.

4. Alexander Liholiho's and Queen Emma's fundraising efforts to build Queen's Hospital.

5. Kalakaua's building of Iolani Palace and some major events that took place there.

6. Kapi‘olani's visit to Kalaupapa in 1884 and the building of the Kapi‘olani Home for Girls.

7. what happened to the Hawaiian scholars of Kalakaua's Study Abroad Program.

8. the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and imprisonment of Lili‘uokalani.

9. the history of the Big Five companies and their legacy today.

10. the experience of the civilian population during WWII when Hawai‘i was under Martial Law.

11. how Hawai‘i was annexed to the U.S. in 1898 and why it took over 60 years to become a state.

Be sure to keep track of all your sources. You will need to submit a "Detective's Notebook" with Parts I & II. This is basically an informal list of all the sources you've consulted during your investigation. For Part III, you must submit an annotated bibliography, which means, in addition to the typical bibliographical citation (author, title, city, publisher, year), you need to also provide a brief explanation on how each source helped you. I am interested in all the sources that you’ve consulted for your information (i.e. books, articles, videos, internet sites, historical sites, interviews), regardless of its significance in the final product.

Three Part Writing Process (worth 150 points total)

• Part I (25 points) This will be an exploratory paper where you will explain why you chose this topic, what you've uncovered so far, and what you hope to find. This first paper is like a journal entry where you're "talking to self." I'm looking for insight into your thought processes, and a narrative of your quest so far. Don't worry about grammar, spelling, and organization for this part. Format: one side of a page, single spaced, one inch margins, 300-500 words.* Late papers will not be accepted. Due: Monday, September 21st

• Part II (50 points) This will be a letter to a fellow history detective explaining what you've learned to date about your subject, and what you still need to find out. Ask for feedback on the path you have taken, and solicit advice for the journey ahead. Share any fascinating and unexpected discoveries. You could even express your frustrations since this is someone who could sympathize with your struggles. Try to identify anything that would make the search meaningful to you. How does knowing more about this topic alter your understanding of our modern world? Since this is a letter, you may use first person references (i.e. I, me, my). You will be graded on organization, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Format: double spaced, one inch margins, 500-700 words.* Late papers will not be accepted. Due: Wednesday, October 21st

• Part III (worth 75 points) Write an essay, a dialogue, or a vignette. In this final paper you will demonstrate a deeper historical understanding.

o If you choose to write an essay, you will develop a thesis and support it in a typical research paper format. Imagine that you’re writing for a scholarly journal and the theme for that edition is: People & Places in History. You will develop a thesis statement, then support it with data uncovered through research.

o If you choose to write a dialogue, you will need to identify two people who will have an imagined conversation (one being a person conncected to your research). It will read much like a script for a play, or a transcript of an interview. Imagine that your written dialogue will be performed as a two person live play at a high school or middle school. The curriculum objective is to have students appreciate the value of learning about people who came before us.

o If you choose to write a vignette, you will be telling a story. You could describe behaviors, thoughts, and events from your historical character's perspective. This format also provides the option of a narrator's voice (i.e. someone telling the story, but not necessarily involved in it). Imagine that your vignette will be published in one of KCC’s student journals and your audience knows nothing about Hawaiian history.

Organization, grammar, spelling and punctuation will be graded in this third part. You must also resubmit your graded Parts I & II, and provide an annotated bibliography (all in a non-plastic folder). Format: double spaced, one inch margins, 800-1000 words, although it is understood that the dialogue or vignette may be substantially longer for scene setting reasons.*  Late papers will be accepted, but there will be a five-point penalty for each class day that a paper is late. Due: Wednesday, November 25th

*Please identify the font & provide a word count at the end of each part.

(e.g. Times New Roman 930 words)