For this assignment, you will select a 19th century European or U.S. travel account describing Latin America, and write a short introduction contextualizing this primary source for general readers. What does your audience need to know about these types of sources to understand what they can tell us about Latin American history?
demonstrate your skilled primary source analysis, considering how the travelogue authors’ point of view shaped their depictions of Latin America.
explain the construction and maintenance of 19th century systems of inequality and/or hierarchies of power
connect the people, places and events described in your source to larger trends in national and global history.
use digital public history techniques to craft an engaging, sophisticated piece of storytelling.
Come to class on class on Friday, February 3 with a Word file with your complete text including citations, an image that represents your source, and the two sentence synopsis for “Travelogues of Latin America” on Wikipedia.
We’ll work on uploading your entry to our COW Latin America timeline during in class
Travelogue Primary Source Analysis Specifications
Your source intro should be 3 paragraphs (about 300-500 words total)
Paragraph 1: Concisely introduce the author, the POV represented, the historical context, and scope of book.
Paragraph 2: Your analysis of the author’s depiction of Latin America/Latin Americans. Illustrate this with one key example from the text to support your interpretation. How does this reflect the author’s POV? Hierarchies of power?
Paragraph 3: Link your example to specific events from the country’s history. Conclude by explaining what you think this travelogue reveals about foreign perceptions of Latin America in the 19th century.
Indicate all sources of information (whether quoted or paraphrased) with clear citations.
Edit carefully to make sure that your text clear and easy to follow, with a logical structure and well-written paragraphs
Travelogue Diviner Entry Components
Your entry must include the following components:
Entry title (this will be the concise title of your travelogue)
Travelogue Primary source analysis (your 3 paragraph, 300-500 word analysis in a paragraph block, under the title)
Works cited (listed in Chicago bibliography style, under the text paragraph). This must include the full citation for your travelogue, hyperlinked to digital edition you consulted.
Your author credit (OPTIONAL, under the works cited)
The primary source: you will choose “Add new Photo” from the Diviner Archive creator, and upload
Cite as: Cite this page as: YOUR NAME (optional), “Page Title,” in COW Latin America, page permalink.
Creator (author of your travelogue)
Time Period (click to select which of Chasteen’s time periods your entry fits)
Country (click to select your country)
Date (your travelogue’s publication date )
Keywords (click the relevant keywords for your entry)
Thumbnail Image (jpg or png full resolution image) to represent your entry: this can be an illustration from your travelogue that you’re describing, or (second choice) the title image or author.
Wikipedia Travelogue Specifications
Add a one to two sentences to the “Travelogues of Latin America” article introducing the author of your travelogue, their geographic focus, and the main themes of their account.
Add your sentences directly under your book’s bibliographical entry using the “indent” function.
Follow Wikipedia’s guidelines for tone, use of evidence, and style.
Cite all outside sources of information using footnotes.
Rubric
After your submission, I will leave my feedback on Moodle.
Wikipedia synopsis: Clear and concise overview of the travelogue’s content. Addition follows Wikipedia guidelines for tone and use of citations.
COW Timeline Entry Format Assignment fulfills criteria for content and entry components. All Diviner fields completed correctly
Primary Source Analysis Clear and engaging analysis of the travelogue author’s point of view, depiction of Latin America/Latin Americans, and central message.
Links to Latin American History The entry makes a strong, precise argument linking the travel account to its historical period and larger course themes.
Analysis of Diversity, Power, & Privilege: Your analysis shows a nuanced consideration of historical construction & maintenance of Latin American systems of inequality
Communication Clear, easily to follow writing with a logical structure. Nor (or minimal) grammatical errors. All sources of information are clearly cited.
Notes:
I do not expect you to read your entire travel account to complete this task! Spend some time with the introduction and table of contents to get a sense of the book’s contents and scope. Then pick one or two chapters of particular interest to read carefully for your primary source analysis.
