How important are individuals in shaping history

How important are individuals in shaping history?  

WRITE THIS ESSAY FOR ME

Tell us about your assignment and we will find the best writer for your paper.

Get Help Now!

Karl Marx once wrote “Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.” (The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon, 1852).  This quotation recognizes the possibility of human agency, but at the same time emphasizes the importance of social, political, and economic context in determining just how much agency people have.

Your task:  Write an essay of 1800-2000 words that addresses the problem identified in this quotation by focusing on a single individual. Select one of the people discussed in Ken Wolf, Personalities and Problems vol. II (3^rd edition).  Focusing on that individual, address the question “How did [your chosen individual] shape history, and how did history shape him or her?”

NB:  You may not choose an individual from a chapter about which you have already written a short essay.  Other than that, you may choose an individual from any chapter in the book.

The top of your essay should include the following information:

1. Name and tutorial group number
2. Wolf chapter used in this paper
3. Previous Wolf chapters on which you have written an essay.

Use the following sources: 

1. the information in the Wolf chapter
2. two (2) scholarly journal articles (English-language).

When selecting the scholarly journal articles, there are two important points to note:

First, make sure you are selecting a scholarly journal, not a magazine, and that you are selecting a research article, not a book review or review essay.  For example, Journal of World History, Journal of Modern History, and American Historical Review are scholarly journals; Time Magazine and The Economist are not.  An appropriate article will normally be at least 10 pages, and it will have footnotes or endnotes, and it will not be obviously about one or more specific books.  If you have any questions, please ask.  NB:  If you do want to be sure an article “counts” as a scholarly journal article, then ask Dr. Smith or Dr. Hampton for approval.  In addition, please see one of us if you have any difficulty finding journal articles.

Second, you’ll want to be careful about selecting relevant articles.  These articles may be biographical, or they may be about an important historical context in which the individual lived.  For example, if you choose Otto von Bismarck, then an article about German unification would be helpful; if you choose Edmund Burke then an article about English politics in the 1790s would be helpful.  But it’s especially helpful if your individual is actually discussed in the article you choose!

I encourage you to start selecting your individuals and your relevant articles right away, and to talk to us or email us if you have any questions.

Measurement of Learning Outcomes:

This assignment is designed to measure the following learning outcomes articulated on the syllabus and course outline:

Students completing this course will:

1. a) Understand significant themes in modern world history;
2. d) understand historical causation;
3. evaluate and construct historical arguments;
4. writeand speak effectively in English.

How this essay will be graded:

In grading this essay, we will evaluate your argument (30%), your use of evidence (30%), your paper’s organization (30%), and clarity of expression (10%).  Please see the accompanying rubric.