Research paper
The paper will require both primary-source analyses and outside research, based on the following assignment: Select a primary source from any period before 2000 in Brazil’s modern history on any topic. Write an analysis of that primary source, making an argument about
what it demonstrates to you as a historian. You will need to (1) use specific examples from the primary source in question to demonstrate the validity of your argument; (2) draw on secondary sources to broaden your knowledge of the document and its context, as well as to provide such context for your reader. It would be best if you also related your own argument to those made by the secondary sources you consulted. (For example, if you make an argument about a particular musical genre and perhaps use a song as a primary source, you will need to respond to—agreeing or disagreeing, or perhaps tweaking—the arguments of scholars who have written about that genre.) Examples of potential primary source materials include laws and constitutions; government proclamations; political speeches; songs, poems, or other works of art; intelligence or military documents; memoirs; and many other forms. For this assignment, you must consult only academic secondary sources—websites, journalistic accounts, and other non-scholarly works are not appropriate. You should plan to consult at least three books and four to five articles.
PLEASE MAKE SURE TO FOCUS ON ANY PERIOD TIME BEFORE 2000.