Suggested Reading List for U.S. History 121

You are required to complete a 5-7 page book review on a scholarly book related to class. The book should come from the list provided in the syllabus; however, you may also suggest another book as long as it's approved by me. The book review is due the day the book topic is discussed. Before you do any review, however, let me know what book you selected.

What is a scholarly book? For our purposes, the criteria includes a book written by a professional historian, ie. someone who has a Ph.D., who is employed in the history field (ie. professor at a university, curator at a museum, etc.), whose work has been peer reviewed and whose work makes a significant contribution to the field of history. Additional criteria can be found at: http://www.masters.edu/DeptPageNew.asp?PageID=1809

How to read a book for a book review: First, you should identify the argument/thesis of the book. This is found in the Introduction. Sometimes the historian will say "I will argue that...." and sometimes the argument will not be very apparent. Sometimes there will be multiple arguments. As you read through the book, you should identify the major themes and ask yourself if they support or detract from the historian's argument. When you read the conclusion, again, ask yourself if what you've read and how the historian concludes the book supports the argument. You don't have to agree with the author. Many times you get to the end of the book and say "The historian didn't make his/her point."

How to structure your book review: There are many ways to structure a book review. The most common and to the point way is to start with citing the historian's argument. For example, "In her book, Ceremonies of Possession, historian Patricia Seed argues that each of the European colonizing powers engaged in unique rituals in order to lay claim to their new found territories. These rituals reflected, among other things, their individual cultures, and were frequently alien to the native populations the Europeans encountered." Next you would give a brief overview of the book followed then by your critique. For instance, in your critique you might say, "Seed did an excellent job at showing how the English ceremony of possession involved erecting fences, constructing houses and plowing fields, all similar to what they left behind in England. However, she fell short on explaining how this ceremony of possession ran counter to the prevailing Native American culture of New England, especially the differences between Native American views on agriculture and English views on the subject." See, in this example, you're pointing out a strong point of Seed's argument while at the same time identifying what you believe to be a deficiency. The conclusion of your review should entail your final comments and observations. For example, "Despite the book's short-comings, Ceremonies of Possession provides excellent insight into European first-encounters with and settlement of the New World. In short, Seed's book demonstrates how European's struggled with ways to make their New World environment both familiar and theirs!" I will distribute examples of book reviews during class.

Your reviews must be typed, double-spaced and follow the Modern Language Association (MLA) format for writing scholarly papers, this includes MLA formats for citing sources (parenthetical, endnotes or footnotes), and bibliography. Just because you are using one book, doesn't mean you don't have to cite your sources thorughout your paper. Go to the Citing References link on NOVA’s library site and choose one of the links referencing MLA. A good reference book is A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, sixth edition, by Kate L. Turabian (The University of Chicago Press, 1996). You will use it throughout your college career. Another resource for you to use is NOVA's Writing Center. Personnel at the Writing Center will review your paper, checking spelling, grammar and making suggestions on how to improve it. You will need to make an appointment at the center in order to have them look at your work. It is also a good idea to have classmates read your paper as well.

Papers will be graded as follows: Clarity and presentation of your topic (50%). This means how well you structured your paper, presented your information and argued your point. Grammar, sentence structure and punctuation (50%).