HIS 101-02, 111-12, 135, 218, and 241-42
Reflective Paragraph Assignment

 

 

 

 

The Friendship Arch in Kiev, Ukraine has a rather impressive, formal name: Friendship of Nations Arch (Арка Дружби Народів) aka the People's Friendship Arch. Created by Skoblikov and Ivanov and opened on 7 November 1982, this 50m high titanium arch had all kinds of significance when it opened: 7 November is the anniversary of he Russian Revolution; 1982 was sixty years since the founding of the Soviet Union, of which Ukraine was a part; 1982 was perhaps 1500 years since the traditional date of the founding of Kiev. The arch was meant to to commemorate the "strong" bonds that existed between Ukraine and Russia, dating back to the 1654 treaty of Periaslav. Although the exact, formal terms of that treaty have been lost to history, the key provision seems to have been the cossacks of Ukraine agreeing to accept Russian suzerainty. While the treaty was initially intended to signify the break with Poland, what it instead brought for Ukraine was Russian domination over time.

Friendship Arch
 
Red Separator Bar

In this assignment, you are asked to reflect upon and assess your work in your course. I have a short video about the assignment that I originally created for HIS 112, but the same principles apply for the other HIS courses. You should write a long paragraph (about 3/4 of a page in length, double-spaced with one-inch margins, font size 10 or 12) in which you consider these points.

  • Your overall thoughts on what you learned in your study of history in the course
  • Your understanding of the work of historians
  • Your ability to work with and critically analyze historical sources
  • The changes you have noticed in yourself as a writer and as a historian during the course
  • If you have always hated history, or done poorly in history classes, has your attitude towards history changed or have you done better with this particular history course?
  • and finally, assess the quality of the work that you have done in the course and explain what grade you feel that you have earned

Your coverage of these topics does not have to be in the order listed, and you do not have to cover every single one of these topics. You may also personalize your writing of this assignment, i.e., it is OK to use "I."

Your assignment should be submitted on Canvas.

 

 

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