Unit 1 Writing Assignment: Africa Project Proposal
Name: Ms. Yerdon Period: 4, 5, 7 & 8 Date: September 8th, 2014
Unit 1 Writing Assignment: Africa Project Proposal
Date Submitted: September 8th
Submission #: #1
Step #1: Choose an idea that you would like to research for your project. Determine what your idea has to do with Africa and why it is important to the world at large. Articulate what you would like to learn as a result of this project then construct a research question.
*Example: This is what I am looking for. Use this example to guide your planning and research. You MAY NOT choose this topic or anything regarding the genocide in Rwanda, we will be covering this topic in class.
1. Topic: What are you planning on researching?
(Example): I am planning on researching more about the genocide in Rwanda.
2. Connections: What does this topic have to do with Africa? Why is it important to the world at large?
(Example): Rwanda is a country in Africa and during the mid 1990s there was a horrible genocide there. This instance of genocide drew a lot of media attention to Africa. After this tragic event the international community began to rethink how they would intervene in a country’s affairs on the basis of human rights abuses. The international community’s response to this event says a lot about how race is structured by European colonialism in Africa, the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and exploitation of Africa’s people and resources by the West.
3. Goal: What do you hope to learn from doing this project?
(Example): I hope to learn more specific statistics about the Rwandan genocide. I would also like to learn why the international community did not intervene during the genocide. I learned that the U.N. left Rwanda knowing full well that there was going to be mass loss of life based on race. I want to know how the U.N. could allow a tragedy like this to happen, especially since it is supposed to be the U.N.’s job to prevent such horrible atrocities.
Step #2: Find scholarly research on your topic (not Wikipedia or about.com).
5. Annotated Bibliography: What are three scholarly sources you plan on using to research for your project?
(Example): Reference #1:
Organization: The United Human Rights Council
Article Title: “Genocide In Rwanda”
Website (take down the website so you can find it again):
http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm
I will use this source to…: I will use this source to learn more about the history of the genocide in Rwanda. This site has a lot of statistics about the genocide, including: how many people participated and how many people were killed. The HRC discusses who was responsible including specific people and how the international community contributed. This website also includes a very brief timeline of events, I will use this in comparison to other timelines I find. By comparing this information to other information I will be able to check for accuracy.
MLA in-text reference: (“Genocide in Rwanda”).
MLA: Works Cited Reference:
“Genocide in Rwanda.” United Human Rights Council. American Youth Federation – Western United
States, 2014. Web. August, 2013.
http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htm
(Example): Reference #2:
Organization: PBS and Frontline
Article Title: “The Triumph of Evil: How the West ignored warnings of the 1994 Rwanda genocide and turned its back on the victims”
Website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/evil/
I will use this source to…: I will use this source to learn the timeline of events of the US and U.N.’s actions before, during and after the genocide. I will also use this site to understand how America’s failure in Somalia impacted our response in Rwanda. This website also includes interviews and readings from experts and people who experienced the genocide. This site includes lots of pictures that I can print out and use for my poster presentation.
MLA in-text reference: (“The Triumph of Evil”)
MLA: Works Cited Reference:
“The Triumph of Evil: How the West ignored warnings of the 1994 Rwanda genocide and turned its
back on the victims.” PBS, Frontline. WGBH Educational Foundation, 2009. Web. August, 2013. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/evil/
(Example): Reference #3:
Organization: The Holocaust Museum
Article Title: “Genocide in Rwanda (1994)”
Website: https://www.hmh.org/ed_Genocide_Rwanda.shtml
I will use this source to…: I will use this resource to find out more information about Rwanda. This site includes a map and a discussion of the events leading up to the genocide. I can print the map for my project. This website also had links to other scholarly sources such as: The Kigali Memorial Center, Yale University Rwandan Genocide Project, Rwanda: The Wake of Genocide and the article I already found from PBS and frontline.
MLA in-text reference: (“Genocide in Rwanda, 1994”).
MLA: Works Cited Reference:
“Genocide in Rwanda (1994).” The Holocaust Museum. The Holocaust Museum. Web. August 2013. https://www.hmh.org/ed_Genocide_Rwanda.shtml
Step #3: Explain your project vision. Tell me what you project will look like, be specific.
6. Project Vision: What do you think your project will look like when it is finished?
(Example): When my project is finished I think it will look like an informational collage or a set of graphic notes. The collage will include pictures I have printed along with information I will write. I will write the information I have researched on my poster as a part of the collage. To supplement my collage I am going to make a mini-timeline of events. I might have the timeline be the border of the poster or have it run along the top. My goal is to give people a artistic visual representation of the both the causes and the impacts of the international community’s failure to respond in Rwanda.
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NO LATE PROPOSALS WILL BE ACCEPTED
NO PROJECTS WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT A PROPOSAL