HIS3MHI 2020 Reflective Essay
1500 Words
Worth 30% of final grade
Due 11.59pm on Monday 26 October, 2020
Write a 1500 word reflective essay that answers the following question:
An apocalypse is coming. We think that some, but not all, people will survive. The infrastructure of Australia as we know it, our culture and cultural institutions, our society, the economic system, the built environment and our government will need to be re-made.
Experts around the country are being asked what to save in a huge bunker built into the base of Mount Kosciuszko. Biologists are being asked to collect seeds, economists are bundling up currency, and food scientists are stockpiling rations.
You are Australia’s leading historian.
What three historical objects will you choose for the survivors to use to learn about Australia’s past, and point the way for the survivors to rebuild a new, improved nation in the future?
Choose three historical objects and explain your reasoning for each.
There is no right answer to this question. You will be assessed on the creativity of your answer and the way you use what we have discussed this semester to guide your answer.
Your answer should reference the course materials from at least FOUR WEEKS of the course, including specific mention of at least six of the set readings.
You may do extra research (and will be rewarded for doing so) but it is not a requirement of the assignment.
N.B. It’s not necessary, but if you would like to listen to the inspiration for this scenario, and to hear some people’s answer to a similar question, here it is: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/atomic-artifacts
Reflective Essays
Reflective essays are designed to elicit your informed responses to the course. They offer a broader canvas than research essays and you are encouraged to make connections across different topics/week.
As well as providing an answer to the question, you should demonstrate sustained engagement with course content.
You do not need to do extra research for this essay
. You should answer the question and support your arguments using the course materials: weekly readings, lectures and tutorials. You may do extra research if you wish (and we will reward you for it), but it is more important to demonstrate to your reader the work you have done over the semester by drawing thoroughly on the course content.
This is not a formal research essay, so the stringent rules regarding formal prose and citation do not necessarily apply. You may (indeed you are encouraged to) write in the first person. You
do
need to clearly indicate the sources which you are referring to in footnotes, and list them in a bibliography (which is not included in the word count). You may cite lectures (e.g. ‘HIS3AAH Week Five Lecture 2 – Sport’ or tutorials, e.g.‘Week Five tutorial discussion’.) You should use the
Oxford (footnoting) system.
Submission:
Submit as a double-spaced word file via Turnitin link on LMS.
Hints
Reflective essays are academic essays just like research essays. What makes a reflective essay "good" is the same as for other kinds of essays: well-written prose, well-supported arguments, clear arguments, good structure and interesting ideas. What is different about a reflective essay is that the essay is about you and your thinking. However, CRUCIALLY you need evidence from your course to back up your reflections. So a reflective essay is also a chance to demonstrate all the work you have done over the semester. It is your chance to show us your ‘engagement’ with the course – all the lectures you listened to, tutorials you participated in, and the reading and thinking that you did. If you think of a research essay as a "vertical" axis (delving quite deeply into a quite narrow field of inquiry), then the reflective essay works on a more "horizontal" axis, attempting to range quite broadly over the whole course.
Grading information:
Your work will be evaluated on its:
· demonstration of an understanding of the role of historians in public life and
· engagement with the themes of the unit and its conceptual frameworks;
· engagement with and use of the unit materials (and their referencing and bibliography);
· ability to make links across and between topics we have covered;
· the clarity and eloquence of your expression.
Rubric:
|
N
|
D
|
C
|
B
|
A
|
Quality of response to the question
|
Question not answered fully
|
Question partially answered, but with little creativity or depth of analysis
|
A clear response to the question that demonstrates some understanding of the role of history in Australian culture and society.
|
An imaginative answer to the question that demonstrates a good understanding of the role of history in Australian culture and society
|
An imaginative, and creative answer to the question that demonstrates an excellent understanding of the role of historians in Australian culture and society
|
25%
|
|
13-14.5 marks
|
15-17 marks
|
17.5-19.5 marks
|
20-25 marks
|
Engagment with the course materials and themes
|
Little direct mention of readings and specific course themes
|
Some mention of course materials (basic reference to readings)
|
Evidence of engagement with readings (from at least 4 weeks); attempt to link them to place and subject position
|
Readings and weekly themes are linked to the argument and a good understanding of the course materials is demonstrated.
|
An impressive range of course materials and themes are integrated into argument and a sophisticated understanding of the course materials is demonstrated.
|
25%
|
|
13-14.5 marks
|
15-17 marks
|
17.5-19.5 marks
|
20-25 marks
|