Category: History

A Disability History of the United States by Kim E. Nielsen required text

Write a general response paper in which you respond to the text, what stood out, important events, etc. The format of
this paper (in terms of what you wish to discuss) is generally up to you, giving you more creative freedom. Do not
summarize the text. Briefly introducing the book is one thing, but this is not a book report. Essentially, a response
paper requires a response to the text and its significance. What is crucial when writing a response paper is to be
specific (avoid general comments about how the book made you feel, such as This part was sad. Why was it sad?
Be specific and descriptive). The point of this response paper is to analyze, and possibly question the text. I am
looking for more than just a summary of points you find interesting-go beyond the broad outline and dig deeper into
the history of disability in the United States. Below are a few questions to keep in mind when organizing your paper:
1) What is the significance of this text?
2) Kim Nielsen quotes fellow historian Linda Kerber: The myth of the lone individual is a trope, a rhetorical
device. In real life no one is self-made; few are truly alone (xiii). How have individualism and the
concept of the self-made man shaped American culture? Have they affected the way we view persons
with disabilities and people from other minority groups?
3) While writing about the amorphous definition of disability, Nielsen writes: Disability is not the story of
someone else. It is our story, the story of someone we love, the story of who we are or may become, and it
is undoubtedly the story of our nation. It is, quite simply, the American story in all of its
complexities (xiii). How does disability overlap with other identity categories, such as race, gender, and
sexual orientation? Is disability a more diverse or harder to define category than these other groups?
4) How did the definition of disability determine who was granted full citizenship, who was educated, and
who was not? Were women, Native Americans, and enslaved people considered effectively disabled?
Why?

European history can be divided and understood in many ways. Write a history of Europe in two periods (defined above) using environmental and technological OR scientific, intellectual, and cultural events as dividing points or moments of change [Note: on the exam, only one of these sets of themes will be offered; please prepare answers for both sets]. How does this approach redefine European history in significant ways? What is revealed when we periodize history according to these turning points rather than more traditional moments of change defined by politics, religion, or war?

European history is often conceived of in terms of renaissances and revolutions. Identify what are commonly thought of as revolutions and renaissances in two different periods of European history (as defined above). What characterizes these renaissances and revolutions? Are they, in fact, renaissances and revolutions? Why or why not?

Some historians views wars as catalysts for profound social, political, and economic change. Others believe that wars entrench the status quo. Looking at the major wars in two periods of European history (defined above), with which side (if any) do you most agree and why? [If you agree with neither, what conclusions would you draw about the impact of wars, and why?]

Defining Europe has long vexed historians, politicians, philosophers, others. Present-day debates over membership in the EU attest to this conundrum. Address the development of Europe in two different historical periods (defined above). How have its geopolitical, geographical, and cultural parameters shifted? What do these shifting assignations signify? How are they useful for historians? How do they illuminate or obscure important themes in European development?

Examine the role of institutions of authority (i.e. religious, political, economic, and cultural institutions) in the lives of ordinary people (i.e. citizens, subjects, and estates) in two different periods of European history (defined above). What is the balance of power between institutions and individuals? How are individual lives shaped by institutions of authority? Has the balance changed over time? If so, how?

For decades now, US History survey classes have been divided by the Civil War with the first half covering up to 1865 and the second half covering 1865 to the present.  Discuss why you think historians settled upon this demarcation and why it persists to this day.  What are some other turning points in American history that historians have emphasized or should emphasize?  How might these other turning points influence where new American history surveys begin and end?