World History Research Assignment: Insiders and Outsiders
As a class, we recently looked at the issue of race in the Dominican Republic, exploring how the
Dominicans use race as a way to separate themselves from their Haitian neighbors, and thinking about
why the Dominicans would want such a separation in the first place.
Now each of you will individually research and learn about other historical situations in which one group
of people has tried to create a clear line of separation between themselves and some other group they
want to label as outsiders. You will want to discover:
1. Why did the group want to create a boundary between insiders and outsiders?
2. How did they go about creating the separation?
3. What was the result?
Topics:
South Africa and the creation of apartheid, 1948-1994, with roots in colonial times (1700’s): Mikhayl,
Eric and Sam
The Ottoman Empire and the Armenians during World War I: Evan, Bradley
Serbs vs. Croatians and Bosnians, 1990s: Zach, Hannah G.
Hutus against Tutsis in Rwanda, Africa, colonial times (1894) through genocide in 1994: Nash, Sydney
Russian pogroms against Jews, 1880’s through early 1900’s: Haley, Kylie
Australia and the Aborigines, 1910-1970: Emma, Jordan, Kuo
China and the Uighurs, Xinjiang province, 1990s to now (roots in 18th century): Noah, Hannah L.,
Haofeng
Hindus and Muslims, India, pre-independence (1947): Lauren, Erin, Jenna
Northern Ireland, Protestants and Catholics, 1968-1998, with roots in colonial times, esp. after 1500’s:
Jack, Hannah S., Camila
Guatemala and the Mayans, 1980s (during Civil War that lasted from 1960-1996): Steven, Jeremy,
Mallory
What should I do?
1. Find a good background reading in your topic, either on-line or in the library. This should not be
Wikipedia. You want to scan the reading first to make sure it is helpful. If it isn’t, put it back and look for
a different one!
2. Create a Google folder with your name in the title and share it with Jen
(jmaxwell@scarsdaleschools.org). Put one document in your folder titled “Bibliography.” Type the
bibliographic information for your first source and label it 1.
3. Create a second document titled “Background Notes.” You will create a timeline of key events here.
Type or copy/paste notes, and label each note from your first source “1”. Most of these notes should be
paraphrases, and make sure the notes are truly in your own words. If your notes are quotes, be sure to
use quotation marks. If your source has page numbers, put the page number next to each note in
parentheses. If any of the notes are primary source quotes, mark them with an asterisk.
4. When you finish your first source, find at least one more background source to add to your
knowledge. Add the bibliography and label it “2”. Add notes, and label those “2” also! If necessary, find
a third source. If you feel like you’ve got a solid understanding of basic events, move on to step five
below.
5. Create a third Google doc and label it “Focus and Slugs.” Yes, that’s the right word. On this page, type
a paragraph for yourself summarizing what you know and what you are thinking so far. Then, think of a
focus question. This question should be something with no obvious answer, a question that you would
explore through further research. It should not be a question you already know the answer to. Make a
list of topics you need to know about in order to answer the question. Label each topic with a letter.
These are your slugs!
6. Create a fourth Google doc and label it “Notes.” Now, continue your research with additional sources
that go more deeply into the topic. Put notes on your “Notes” page, and remember to put each source
in the bibliography, give each source a number, and then to label notes with source numbers. In
addition, you will give these notes slug letters, based on the list you created. Feel free to add slugs if you
need to. Also, it is fine to have only a few slugs, and fine to have a lot!
You will need at least 10 primary source notes! Label these with an asterisk. You will probably need to
note the context for primary source notes: who is speaking to whom and when?
By the time notes are due, you should have at least 25 secondary notes and 10 primary notes. You need
to have at least five different sources. At least four of these should be either books or sources from the
library database.
Due dates: Background notes should be finished by Monday, 11/23. All notes are due on Thursday
December 3.