EUH 3533 Final Exam Guidelines

Your response to the question should be in the format of a regular paper:  Please type your response and number the pages.  Do not exceed the page limit.  Use double spacing, at least 1 inch margins, and 12 point font.  We will use the same grading criteria for the exam that we used for your papers: argument, evidence, and expression. You are encouraged to use the first person in writing this exam.

Longman Publishers has contacted you (a prominent historian) about a proposed textbook.  Their research has revealed a plethora of Irish history textbooks on the market.  These textbooks do a good job exploring Ireland’s troubled relationship with England and delve into the political and social history of Ireland . Joseph Coohill's Ireland: A Short History is a typical example.  But there is no textbook that takes full account of Ireland’s relationship with and within the British Empire.   Longman is soliciting your opinion about whether they should invest in a textbook that situates Ireland within a broader imperial framework.  If not, state your position and lay out your reasons for rejecting the idea.  Be sure to draw on specific examples and sources to support your argument.  If, however, you think it is a good idea, Longman would like you to submit a 5-6-page textbook proposal.  Here are some questions to consider as you write the proposal:

What would you call the book? 

What would be the book’s chronological scope? 

Identify a set of themes around which to structure the book.  Which four or five themes are the most important and why? 

Would you consider including extracts from primary sources to highlight particular themes and issues?  If so, provide some examples.

Identify some secondary texts that you would use to write the book and that might appear in a recommended reading section. How have they influenced your thinking?

What are the primary challenges in writing such a book?

Draw on as many course materials as possible: lectures, documents, books and articles, and discussions.  Feel free to use quotations and refer to specific readings to back up your argument.  Parenthetical citations (e.g. Coohill, 53) are acceptable.  Demonstrate to us that you’ve been keeping up with the reading and engaged in the class.

Turn the exam into the Department Office by noon on Dec 16.  WE WILL NOT ACCEPT LATE EXAMS!