Long Fuse Outline and Seminar Assignment
2008-2009
In examining the history of the 20th century, we will deal with historiography. Historiography
involves analyzing differing perspectives on the meaning of the past. One of the most
contentious historical questions involves culpability for the outbreak of World War I. To
facilitate the writing of an essay on the causes of World War I from the perspective of Lawrence
Lafore, you are responsible for three tasks over the course of the summer of 2007.
First, you are to carefully read and take notes on Lawrence Lafore’s The Long Fuse.
Second, you are to prepare an outline of The Long Fuse. The outline must consist of:
1. a paragraph concisely summarizing the major ideas of Lafore in each chapter of the book,
followed by
2. bulleted points highlighting major people and events related to the outbreak of World
War I, for each chapter, followed by
3. a summary paragraph which ties together all the major themes of the book and
summarizes Lafore’s overall argument.
**Please note:
a) you should double space between sections, and between major subsections
b) the outlines should be around 5 pages long
c) YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COMING TO CLASS THE FIRST DAY OF SENIOR
YEAR WITH A CLEAR IDEA OF THE CAUSES OF WWI, AND SHOULD BE
PREPARED TO WRITE AN ESSAY ON THIS SUBJECT.
Finally, there will be a seminar on the Long Fuse within a week of the first day of school. To
facilitate your participation in the seminar, you will:
Prepare twenty questions relating to The Long Fuse. About 50% of the questions should relate
to the first half of the book, and 50% to the second half of the book (in other words, evenly cover
the material in preparing your questions). The questions should be substantive, and should link
directly to specific issues in the book; page number references are absolutely required for all
questions.
These assignments will be collected on the first day of your senior year in IB History. You
should therefore make two copies as you will need the questions and outline for the seminar.
**NOTE: Be sure to review this assignment carefully, so that you understand the
parameters of the outline and questions. If you need clarification, ask for it before you leave
for the summer; being confused by the assignment is unacceptable as an excuse for being
unprepared the first day of class.