FINAL PROJECT/ARCHIVE OVERVIEW ASSIGNMENT
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Part I: Your Archive Overview
This will be an in-class exercise (or at least we will start it in class) where I will ask you to dive into archives that are not the BSU archives. I'll give you some places to start in class, and then I'll take you through an exercise. The complete details for this assignment are available on our blackboard site as part of the discussion board entitled: "Rule Of Three Exercise (22 April 2026) ARCHIVE OVERVIEW ASSIGNMENT". Completing this discussion board post of roughly 500-750 words will count for 10% of your final grade.
Part II: STARS presentation
For the purposes of the STARS presentation, you should put together an 8 minute presentation. You'll use Sutori to structure your "timeline" of your archival research. You'll need to record your presentation as a youtube presentation (you can do that using screencast-o-matic). We'll upload those presentations during class on the 29th.
Your presentation should be a kind of outline of what your final paper will be. In that way, it is a kind of rough draft but also a presentation because, in 8 minutes, you really only have time to hit the highlights of what you are working on.
Things that aren’t hard but that you should think about:
Part III. A Final Paper & reflection
Your final paper should be a fleshed out version of your presentation. It should consider feedback you've gotten on your rhetorical analysis and should expand the scope of your original paper in terms of the archival material you've located and supporting scholarship.
The two projects, the archive overview and the final project are worth, collectively, 35% of your final grade.
The Final Project is worth 25% of your final grade. To earn a B for that 25% you must
To earn an A for 25% of your final grade you must:
To earn a C for 25% of your final grade you must:
If you don't do enough to earn the C grade for the Final Project, you will earn an F for this 25% of your final grade.
This will be an in-class exercise (or at least we will start it in class) where I will ask you to dive into archives that are not the BSU archives. I'll give you some places to start in class, and then I'll take you through an exercise. The complete details for this assignment are available on our blackboard site as part of the discussion board entitled: "Rule Of Three Exercise (22 April 2026) ARCHIVE OVERVIEW ASSIGNMENT". Completing this discussion board post of roughly 500-750 words will count for 10% of your final grade.
Part II: STARS presentation
For the purposes of the STARS presentation, you should put together an 8 minute presentation. You'll use Sutori to structure your "timeline" of your archival research. You'll need to record your presentation as a youtube presentation (you can do that using screencast-o-matic). We'll upload those presentations during class on the 29th.
Your presentation should be a kind of outline of what your final paper will be. In that way, it is a kind of rough draft but also a presentation because, in 8 minutes, you really only have time to hit the highlights of what you are working on.
- Your presentation should include what your main argument is for your entire final project.
- Then, identify a series of artifacts from a mix of BSU and your outside sources to offer proof. Remember the work you do for. the Archive Overview portion of this final project. Organizing your presentation around a mirror, a challenge, and context using your BSU archival material as the central artifact around which you build your argument will keep your presentation meaningful and organized.
Things that aren’t hard but that you should think about:
- Picking the right images. As you might imagine, the point of doing this for your final project is because archives are often super visual (remember Orson’s point about pieces that are good for research and pieces that are good for exhibition).
- You should understand that you are making an argument using both the words of your script and the images that you select for each "frame" pm .
- You do, though have to have an argument. That’s not any different than any other kind of essay that you’ve ever had to write before, the difference is in how you are presenting it–using both words and images, and doing it in the most concentrated way you can.
Part III. A Final Paper & reflection
Your final paper should be a fleshed out version of your presentation. It should consider feedback you've gotten on your rhetorical analysis and should expand the scope of your original paper in terms of the archival material you've located and supporting scholarship.
- On 29 April 2026 we will work on locating and incorporating supporting scholarship (not archival material) to be used in your final paper (your STARS presentation does not need to include that).
- On 6 May 2026 you should bring in a draft of your final paper. It should be 1500 to 3000 words long.
- We'll workshop that paper in class. And you will have until the last day of finals (12 May 2026) to turn it in.
- A final reflection to this question (500 words): What have you learned about doing research in general? Writing about research? About how it shapes an argument? And what is unique or not so unique about using archives to make an argument? What does it feel like to do research in archives?
The two projects, the archive overview and the final project are worth, collectively, 35% of your final grade.
The Final Project is worth 25% of your final grade. To earn a B for that 25% you must
- Attend the one-on-one conference with a working draft of your presentation
- Participate in the workshop on 6 May 2026
- A final paper that shows evidence of revision as needed
- Your STARS presentation uploaded by 29 April 2026
- The 500 word reflection on using archives in research (a discussion board post)
- Attend and present your Pecha Kucha in class on 10 December 2024
To earn an A for 25% of your final grade you must:
- Do all the things required of the B grade
- Demonstrate strong skills of description of your archives
- Demonstrate a strong rhetorical argument and organization
- Demonstrate a the careful use of secondary sources
To earn a C for 25% of your final grade you must:
- Upload your presentation for STARS
- Turn in a Final Paper.
If you don't do enough to earn the C grade for the Final Project, you will earn an F for this 25% of your final grade.