APUSH
SPICES Historical Book Analysis
100 PTS
Choose a historical book from the list on the back. Keep in mind that the book is YOUR CHOICE. I am available to discuss book choice
and content. ANY DEVIATIONS FROM THIS LIST WILL RESULT IN A GRADE OF 0. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Complete the following for the book in the following format.
1.
2.
Create visual representation (poster, book, collage) about your book. NO POWERPOINTS OR FILMS WILL BE ACCEPTED. You
must include at least 3 photos with book quotes and page numbers per section of the assignment for a total of 15 images
not including title/cover. Quotes should be 10 to 15 words in length and clearly explain how the image reflects the
designated section.
On a separate typed MLA formatted paper, analyze the historical accuracy of your book. IN what ways was it a direct
reflection of real events and in what ways did the author use creative license? This must include two scholarly sources to
support your assessment. Any project that is missing this component or lacks scholarly source material will begin with a
grade of 70. Remember! Scholarly means the author has at least a Master’s degree in HISTORY!
NO SCHOLARLY AUTHOR= NO CREDIT
Keep in mind that creativity is the key to keeping history interesting!
Assignment Requirements: Analyze the book from each of the following themes. If your book choice does not address one of the
themes, you must research the facts of that event/era/location and make connections to the book. No more than one of the SPICES
categories should fall into this realm. All researched material must be scholarly and include appropriate citation and separate works
cited page.
Social--Development and transformation of social structures
• Gender roles and relations
• Family and kinship
• Racial and ethnic constructions
• Social and economic classes
Political--State-building, expansion, and conflict
• Political structures and forms of governance
• Empires
• Nations and nationalism
• Revolts and revolutions
• Regional, trans-regional, and global structures and
organizations
Interaction between humans and the environment
• Demography and disease
• Migration
• Patterns of settlement
• Technology
Economic--Creation, expansion, and interaction of
economic systems
• Agricultural and pastoral production
• Trade and commerce
• Labor systems
• Industrialization
• Capitalism and socialism
Summary- overall opinion of the book (Separate paper
with sources)
Cultural--Development and interaction of cultures
• Religions
• Belief systems, philosophies, and ideologies
• Science and technology
• The arts and architecture
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Character development
Historical error/accuracy- with scholarly support
Use of historical vocabulary- give a specific
examples
Edna Ferber-
Cimarron
Willa Cather- My Antonia
Showboat
O Pioneers!
Eudora Welty- Delta Wedding
Anderson, M.T.- The Pox Party
Elliott, L.M.- Annie, between the states
Barbara Kingsolver- The Bean Trees
Louisa May Alcott- Little Men
James Michener-
John Steinbeck- East of Eden
Travels with Charley
William Faulkner- The Sound and the Fury
As I lay Dying
Louise Erdrich- The Antelope Wife
Centennial
Love Medicine
Hawaii
A Plague of Doves
Alaska
Texas
Chesapeake
Nathaniel Hawthorne- The House of the Seven Gables
Edith Wharton- The House of Mirth
The Age of Innocence
Journey
Amy Tan- The Joy Luck Club
Fannie Flagg- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-stop
Cafe
The Kitchen God’s Wife
Sherman Alexie- Indian Killer
Sherwood Anderson- Winseburg, Ohio
Charles Frazier- Cold Mountain
Donald McCaig- Rhett Butler’s People
Caleb Carr- The Alienist
Winona La Duke- Last Standing Woman
Dean Koontz- Lightening
Zora Neale Hurston- Their Eyes Were Watching God
Toni Morrison- The Bluest Eye
Louis L’Amour- Conagher
John Jakes- North and South
Sign up
Edna Ferber-
Cimarron
Showboat
Eudora Welty- Delta Wedding
Anderson, M.T.- The Pox Party
Elliott, L.M.- Annie, between the states
Barbara Kingsolver- The Bean Trees
Louisa May Alcott- Little Men
James Michener-
Centennial
Hawaii
Alaska
Texas
Chesapeake
Journey
Fannie Flagg- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-stop Cafe
Sherwood Anderson- Winseburg, Ohio
Charles Frazier- Cold Mountain
Donald McCaig- Rhett Butler’s People
Caleb Carr- The Alienist
Winona La Duke- Last Standing Woman
Willa Cather- My Antonia
O Pioneers!
John Steinbeck- East of Eden
Travels with Charley
William Faulkner- The Sound and the Fury
As I lay Dying
Louise Erdrich- The Antelope Wife
Love Medicine
A Plague of Doves
Nathaniel Hawthorne- The House of the Seven Gables
Edith Wharton- The House of Mirth
The Age of Innocence
Amy Tan- The Joy Luck Club
The Kitchen God’s Wife
Sherman Alexie- Indian Killer
Dean Koontz- Lightening
Zora Neale Hurston- Their Eyes Were Watching God
Toni Morrison- The Bluest Eye
Louis L’Amour- Conagher
John Jakes- North and South