Prof. Kalman                                         History 166C                                               Fall 2018
The midterm is an open-book take-home.  (The final will be a closed-book and in-class exam.)  Write on ONE of the prompts.  Submit your answer via  PDF on gauchospace on Monday, November 5, by 5 PM.  Submit it as a PDF on gauchospace.   The exam resembles a paper in giving you a chance to show off your command of the material in the reading, lectures, and documentaries in a well-written and well-spelled, grammatical, polished and creative manner.  I know (more or less! J) what I’ve said in lecture, so please don’t simply repeat it to me.  And please don’t hesitate to disagree with me!  You may think I've been too hard on JFK and/or too easy on LBJ, for example.  Just explain why, if it's relevant. And please do not simply repeat the documentary or text!  For example, if you choose prompt 1 and decide  to write about 1964, think beyond the documentary, "1964," and if you choose 1963 or 1965, think beyond the text, etc.  You do not need to include citations (that is, footnotes) to lecture, reading, and the documentaries.  I would estimate that it would take at least 1800 words to make a decent stab at responding to either of these prompts, but you may find you don’t need as many words.  We will stop reading what you have written at 2400  words.  Finally, while you should feel free to bounce ideas off each other as you think about the "prompts," we will be watching for midterms that duplicate the wording of other midterms or sources, and I am obliged to report cases of plagiarism to the dean. 
1. A publisher asks you to write a book proposal for a book  on the year "everything changed" in the 1960s, and given the choice of four years about which to write your book--1962, 1963, 1964, and 1965.   First, you need to indicate what year you have chosen, and make the case for why this year is more important than the years you have not chosen.  Remember that any good defense anticipates the offense.  So, if you've chosen, say, 1963, explain WHY it is it more important than 1962, 1964, or 1965 in the first chapter. Then you need to explain what chapters you plan to include in your book, give them titles, and indicate what you will cover in each chapter and what questions and issues you want to raise.   Your proposal should include an introduction setting out the themes you will cover, the title and description of a first chapter making the case for why your year is more important than other years, titles and descriptions of subsequent chapters, and a  conclusion explaining the significance of your work.
2,  Comment on the following quotation, being sure to indicate whether the characterizations are correct: "Any sane person who observed Eisenhower, JFK and LBJ between 1952 and 1965 from the vantage point of 2018 would become a Republican. Eisenhower, a genuine hero, pursued a politics of moderation that institutionalized the New Deal; permitted (if it  did not encourage) advances in civil rights; and promoted a dynamic, yet cautious, anticommunism.  Of the two Presidents who followed, the first was a womanizer, who showed no interest in domestic reform; demonstrated little enthusiasm for civil rights until 1963; and pursued a dangerous anticommunism with respect to Cuba and Vietnam.  A crude egomaniac, the second embraced anti-poverty measures and other legislation that proved bigger on rhetoric than accomplishments; showed the bankruptcy of liberalism;  sold out the civil rights movement in Atlantic City; and lied the country even further into Vietnam.  Score one for the Republicans!"  Note that I’ve just given you some examples to start you thinking.  Please be sure to discuss the specifics mentioned, but don’t limit yourselves to them.  To answer this question, you need to grade all three Presidents and tell us why you have rated them as you do.  Once again, remember that the best offense includes a defense.   If you do give Eisenhower the highest grade, for example, tell us why he is superior to JFK and LBJ.   So, too, if you give JFK the second highest grade, you should explain why he is superior to LBJ.
注：本栏目重在收集一些海外留学文书的题目，以便加加留学编辑深入了解海外教育方式与发展形势，从而拓展个人陈述、推荐信等文书的写作思路。