Final Project

The final project will be devoted to crafting an entry in a digital map on one of the conflicts that we have
covered this semester. In addition to the work we covered in class, you will be required to use at least one
other work on that conflict, preferably a novel. Using these two primary works as well as secondary sources
(other works on this topic including those we explored in class, history texts, timelines, etc.), you will compose
a website to link to a digital map that locates different methods of approaching conflict around the globe
during different periods.
It is important to consider your audience. You are not writing a paper for me; you are composing a website for
a broad audience of people who may be interested learning more about the representation of conflicts. Keep
this in mind in tone. You want to demonstrate mastery of the material, certainly, but unlike in an essay, wherein
you have a clear, directed thesis guiding your argument, you are instead trying to demonstrate breadth and
range.
You may use any materials from the class (including lecture and discussion notes, secondary materials, etc.) to
help you with this work.
The project must contain:
Basic information about the texts, their authors,
their history and critical reception
An analytical engagement with temporal
dimension
How authors/artists/filmmakers/etc. have
engaged with this conflict in different ways
in different time periods

Parameters
Textualbasic information should be in a
short list akin to timelines (although not as
long)
Analytical should be a paragraph or two
(approx. 250-400 words)

Basic information about the conflict, its

geographical and cultural history

An analytical engagement with spatial dimension

How authors/artists/filmmakers/etc. have
engaged with this conflict in different ways
in different geographical/national contexts

An account of how engagements with this conflict

have deviated from traditional heroic treatments

Textualbasic information should be in a

short list akin to timelines (although not as
long)
Analytical should be a paragraph or two
(approx. 250-400 words)

Some text for explanatory purposes (300-450

words)
Images, video, radio, etc. should illustrate
difference between traditional hero and
what is represented in these texts

Consideration of at least one major ethical issue

that relates to this conflict

Textual analysis that incorporates material

from both primary texts

A discussion of dominant symbolism relating to

this conflict

Images with captions

Captions should include analysis of

A list of major thematic concerns, and the ways the

two+ works in your entry engage with those
themes

An explicit connection to how understanding this

conflict relates to our positions as citizens today

symbolic role, quotations from texts

Textlisting
Subcategories explaining differences in each
texts contribution (very briefly2-3
sentences, possibly including a quotation or
example from text)
What is the ethical claim laid by these
works/this conflict?
Probably textual, but Ill entertain other
options (audio, video, etc.)

Images, hyperlinks, music, videos, etc. that engage

in representations of the conflict
Very short explanations of how they
compare/contrast with dominant works (23 sentences)

Conflicts
The Wars You Know

The Wars You Dont

WWI
WWII
Vietnam
Gulf War
Iraq
Afghanistan

Parsley Massacre
Nigerian Civil War/Biafra
Israel/Palestine
Khmer Rouge in Cambodia
Iranian Revolution
Decolonization of Southern Africa
Rwandan Genocide
Bosnia

Due Dates
March 4
Decide on conflict. Remember that we have covered under half of the conflicts.
Spring Break
Find and read other text, compile a couple pages of notes on the above parameters on the outside text.
March 23
Have historical/background research done, craft first page. Submit url to Dr. Polak.
April 3
Explanation of differences in heroic treatment.
April 10
List of dominant symbolism/motifs in relation to that conflict; list of major thematic concerns. Submit
url to Dr. Polak.
April 20
Have secondary material compiled.
April 27
Ethical argument.
May 1
Complete website. Submit to Dr. Polak.
Directions: Website
1. Go to weebly.com or wix.com and sign up for an account.
2. Choose a template.
3. Insert appropriate titles for pages (About the Conflict, Symbolism and Themes, Ethical Stakes, Other
Engagements, and any other youd like to add).
4. Compose text in Word file, copy and paste into website as you complete elements.
5. Insert images, hyperlinks, and video as you find them!
6. Choose locations for map. For the two primary texts, find out both where they were published and the
main locations (can be approximate) that served as the settings.
Once the map has been shared with you, add a marker.

Choose a new color for the marker.

Insert the locations. Add the bibliographic citation of the work, and a note about whether it was published at
or set in this location. Add a hyperlink to a portion of your website that deals with this work.