Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992: Junior Thesis - AP

Practice Synthesis and  Research, Using Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992

Background:

Throughout the year in American Studies, we have practiced the skill of synthesis. As a way to practice both synthesis and research you’ll spend some time thinking about how the history connects to the text and how the text helps us understand the history. 

Assignment:

You will

• Research a topic related to Twilight
• Formulate a research question about a relevant historical topic that interests you, and 
• Write an annotated bibliography

Requirements:

• Note Taking / Research Logs

• Sources: You need at least 2 secondary and 1 primary sources

• Annotated Bibliography, that includes how you might use the source to answer your research question as it relates to both history and the play  

Research Question: 

Your research question will ultimately take the basic form of “How does historical context of _________________ help inform our understanding of Twilight? Or how does Twilight help us understand historical topic/ events? 

Example topics to get you started:

• Second Great Migration/start of CRM (African-Americans moving West to cities like Los Angeles)

• CRM, Malcolm X, Black Power, Black Panthers, Watts Riot

• MLK "a riot is the voice of the unheard," Post-MLK assassination riots/violence throughout country

• Birth of West Coast gangsta rap, responding to conditions (e.g. NWA, Compton)

• Revisit post-1965 immigration, tracing Korean immigration specifically

• Create a NoodleTools account (video)
• Create and share a project in NoodleTools (video)
• Cite a book (handout)
• Cite a source I found in a Gale database? (handout)
• Properly use quotes and evidence to support thesis
• Copy and paste a pre-formatted MLA citation (handout) 
• Cite a website  (video)
• What is the difference between websites and databases?

Additional citation help videos and links here. 

Do Your Best Google Search!

Vary the words you use and think of all the ways the search can be phrased.

i.e: headache, head hurts, pain in head, etc.   

“ “ - use quotes for the exact phrase

* - use for wildcard unknown or variables

i.e: manufactur*  (searches manufacture, manufacturing etc)

-   minus sign as a limiter. .

i.e:  jaguar -car  (eliminate car sites if you’re looking for the animal)

Search within a site (or type of site) using site:nytimes.com or site:.edu

..  shows results within a specific time frame or number range 2007..2010

Use AND,OR and NOT to search for limit, extend or include search results  

Google Book Search books.google.com  - full text books

For primary sources, try specific keywords in your search...diaries, personal narrative, documents, testimony, library archives, etc.

Library of Congress Primary Sources

USC Libraries: New Digital Resource for the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest

Ebony Magazine Archives
Excellent source for topics on African-American culture changing through our history.

Civil Rights Stories

Gilder Lehrman
An extensive archive of primary sources in American History.

Smithsonian: National Museum of American History
Contains digital counterparts to exhibitions at the museum (with images and descriptions of some of the items) on military history, civil rights, and much more.

Primary Source Lesson- Bedar/George