The final project for this courses consists of two parts, a first-hand account of a failed European expedition to settle NC (as demonstrated by ongoing excavations in Morganton, NC and Beaufort, SC) as well as a critical reflection on the document you produce. You will be required to do a bit of original research in selecting appropriate events to occur, prevailing European attitudes, and an appropriate time/place in which these events happen.
This assignment will require you to:
- synthesize course readings and discussions
- apply your thoughts and knowledge in creative ways
- meditate on the nature of what constitutes history, how history gets written, and what histories lie just below the surface of the stories we take for granted
- reflect on the your experience here in the US as someone shaped by histories you know as well as by those about which you know nothing
For the account I do not necessarily expect “great literature” but I do expect a thoughtful engagement with the subject and the perspectives we have discussed. Consider carefully your medium, your text, and how you present these. How does Cabeza de Vaca address many of the same topics, etc., that you do? Indeed, his text will be helpful in determining how to write your own.
For the critical reflection you are encouraged to do a bit a of independent research (a minimum of three critical sources not read in class). What was your experience like? How is rethinking history challenging/liberating/frustrating? Why did you make the representational choices you made?
We’ll be reading and discussing this in a bit more detail over the coming weeks, but go ahead and start thinking about these issues!