This is a group research project that will result in at least a five-page paper on a topic to be determined by the instructor. A past topic for the project was Biafra and the Nigerian civil war (1967-1970). Please contact me for a topic.
As part of the paper, the group will identify and explain
- causes of the war
- a brief overview of the course of the conflict
- immediate outcomes of the war
- long-term impact on Nigeria
- long term impact on other societies/countries in Africa
Please contact me if you would like to recommend a different topic.
Your assignment
- a five-page paper (no longer than that), complete with footnotes (200 points). You should use as many sources (books, scholarly articles, historical newspaper accounts, primary sources, etc.) as you can in the paper, which should
- be double-spaced with one-inch margins, font size 10 or 12
- contain an introduction paragraph that directly indicates the specific sections to follow in the paper
- use direct, quoted material to support points (footnote the sources)
- have a bibliography with sources listed alphabetically--the bibliography does not count as one of the five pages
- sources should include materials, such as articles, from the NVCC library databases
- contain a conclusion
The NVCC library has many options for you to research this topic.
- You can look for books at the campus libraries. (Note that as a student you also have borrowing privileges at George Mason--but you don't have parking privileges there.)
- You should search for scholarly articles, especially Project Muse.
- Check the historical newspaper collection.
- One of the most important online databases that you can use is WorldCat, which allows you to search widely for books in libraries all across the United States (and sometimes online resources too). After all the NVCC library collection is small compared to what exists in other libraries.
- Make sure that you do your standard web search, and it is important that you start with Wikipedia, When you check the wiki entry for the Biafran War, pay close attention to the references and external links.
Please take a moment to review Charlie's History Writing Center for specific information on the writing requirements for the assignments in the course. Please check this short explanation of what it means to cite historical evidence.
Your assignment should be submitted on Canvas.