07 Jul Us History 1301-1877
Initial Post Due 7/5, Two Replies Due 7/7
Choose one of the questions below and respond (if all of the questions are taken, make sure that your response is still unique). Put the question you’re responding to in the title of the post. When you complete your TWO replies later, make sure at least one of them is to a post about a different question from the one you answered.
1. How/why did the modern Black Freedom Struggle change in the 1950s and 1960s?
2. Rather than one civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, we can see many unfolding at similar times. What should we know about these other movements? What is most important? How did they change? (You don’t have to cover all of them … pick one of two and go with it).
3. How did LBJ’s Great Society affect American socially and politically?
4. How did the role of the federal government in society and the economy change in this period (1960s, early 1970s)?
5. Why was 1968 such a pivotal year?
6. How did the Cold War change in the 1960s and 1970s? Why? What did those changes mean for Americans at home and the place of America in the world?
General Instructions:
When making your choice, remember that each question can have a maximum of 10 threads (meaning that no more than 10 people can post about the same question). This set up favors those who get their work done early, so if you’re picky, don’t wait until the last minute.
Your initial posts should be at least 200 words. Your answer should begin with a concise thesis as a direct answer to the question, analyze the main ideas presented in the readings and videos, and cite specific supporting details from the reading (I mean that you need to bring in specific examples). Answers should be original (cant be something you copied and cant be something that someone else has already said), detailed, and include specific examples to back up your points and/or quotations from the primary source readings (which must be accompanied by your analysis of that quotation).
Your two replies do not usually have a length requirement, but they must advance the conversation by replying with additional details and information. In other words, you need to say something that they havent said yet. As a guide, I expect that you follow a framework called 3C+Q. You must include a Compliment (this is where you identify something specific in the original post and explain what stood out), a Comment (this is where you specifically engage the post by saying something like, I agree/disagree that because ), a Connection (this is where you really move things forward. You could write something like I also read/thought/heard/saw and noticed this ), and a Question (I wonder how/who/why/what/where ).
Please note that I am NOT asking you to critique the grammar, clarity, spelling, etc. of your classmates posts (its pedantic in regular conversations, and it kills any kind of good faith dialogue).
Generally, original posts receive a grade out of 30 points, and each response (2) receives a grade out of 10 points, for a total possible score of 50 points for each discussion assignment. (Together, these discussions account for 33% of your total grade).
