Emphasize the idea that history is a continually developing story that evolves with new information, discoveries, and/or changes in political, social, and or economic conditions.

Prompt:
General Overview: This research project will start with the student examining a recent news story (reported within the last year) that reveals new information about the historical past, OR a recent news story that contributes to the longer dialogue/history of the relationship between Africa, the Americas, and Europe. The goal of this essay should be to emphasize the idea that history is a continually developing story that evolves with new information, discoveries, and/or changes in political, social, and or economic conditions. Important note: the news story should be directly tied to an event covered in this course (pre-Columbian era to the end of the Civil War).

Examples:
The recent discovery of a sunken slave ship off the coast of South Africa with slaves from the east coast of Africa
The discovery of the time capsule found in a building in Boston
The issues of epidemic diseases such as Ebola, and the way epidemic diseases affected communities in the past.

Research Objectives and Questions to be Discussed in Your Essay:
What is the topic of the news story, and what does the reporter highlight as the current historical significance?
What is the historical context of the news story? What does it specifically relate to?
How does the news story either add new information, expand, and/or change what we know about the historical past?
Overall, using your news story as an example, how do recent events and discoveries illustrate that history is a dynamic and evolving study?

Guidelines:
Your completed essay must be at least 850 words.
All essays must be double-spaced, using margins to not exceed 1″, and using a font that is no larger than 12 pt.
The essay must include at least one primary AND one secondary source.
The essay must include one image that is either a primary or secondary document. The image should have a caption of 50-100 words explaining its relevance to the essay project. The image can be embedded within the text or attached as a separate page.
Cite all sources used for research. The preferred citation style for the essay is the Turabian/Chicago style. Common citation styles for this format can be found at the University of Chicago Press Turabian Citation Guide website.
All KNAC projects must contain a Works Cited page and must use either footnotes or endnotes.
Attach all documents (essay, supporting documentation, illustrations, journals, etc.).
Submission of the essay portion must be in a .doc or .docx file type.