HIST 1211 Primary Source Paper Prompt

For this paper you will compare two primary sources from the list of five options below. Your job will be to analyze each primary source, compare it to its counterpart, and relate both to their specific historical context. The Primary Source Paper is due at the beginning of class on June 14th.

OPTION ONE: Europe after 1945

Joseph Stalin's "Election Speech" of February 1946

and

Winston Churchill's "Sinews of Democracy" (a.k.a. "Iron Curtain") speech of March 1946



OPTION TWO: The Americas in the Cold War Era

Fidel Castro's 1960 Speech to the UN General Assembly

and

John F. Kennedy's 1961 "Alliance for Progress Speech"


OPTION THREE: Postcolonial Asia

Ho Chi Minh's 1945 Speech Declaring the Independence of Vietnam

and

Gandhi's 1947 Speech on Asia and the West


OPTION FOUR: Postcolonial Africa

Kwame Nkrumah's 1961 "I Speak of Freedom" Speech

and

Chenua Achebe's 1966 novel A Man of the People


OPTION FIVE: Technology and Nature in the 21st Century


Wangari Maathai's 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Address

and

2009 Yale Environment 360 interview with Stewart Brand