1 University of Minnesota History Department HIST3797 ... - Users

Fall 2012. HIST3797: History of Population
ESSAY ASSIGNMENTS
Essay #1. Pick a topic from the lectures and readings for weeks 1 through 8. Select 2 or 3
supplemental readings on the topic, drawn from the list provided, or your own research. Write a
critical essay of 750 words describing your reaction to the readings and lecture. Who is right and
who is wrong? Why? What kind of evidence did you find most persuasive? What evidence was
unpersuasive? Write you essay in Word or another major word-processing program and email it
to eroberts@umn.edu by 11pm on 22 March 2011.
Essay #2. For the second essay we want pretty much the same thing as for the first, but we want
you to be more focused. Pick a topic from the lectures and readings for weeks 1 through 8. You
must write on a different topic than your first essay.
The essay must be based on at least six articles, no more than two of which are required readings,
and at least one article must be from outside the required or supplemental reading list. List a
bibliography of the readings you used at the end of the essay.
Identify a specific issue about which there is disagreement in the various articles. For example, if
you were writing about the agricultural revolution, you might address the issue of whether
mortality increased or decreased with the coming of agriculture. Or you could look at whether
agricultural innovation caused population growth or the other way around. The more specifically
you can define the debate, the easier it will be to write an excellent essay.
Once you have identified a specific controversial issue, write a paragraph briefly summarizing
the controversy, noting where each author stands. Then write a couple of paragraphs that identify
the kinds of evidence each author uses, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of each kind of
evidence. Use citations to identify the source of quotations, facts, or arguments. You may use
any recognized style for the citations, but I recommend the Chicago author-date system since it is
simple and easy (http://library.williams.edu/citing/styles/chicago2.php). You may also use
information and opinions from lecture, but be sure to cite them.
Conclude with a paragraph summarizing your own viewpoint on the issue.
Your essay should be approximately 1250 words. Write your essay in Word or another major
word-processing program and email it to eroberts@umn.edu by 11pm on 6 May 2011.
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