HIST 463-970: THE ATLANTIC WORLD

INDEPENDENT STUDY
UNIT 1 TEST
Please make sure that you read and review the writing guidelines for this course. They must be
followed without exception. Deviance from the guidelines in any way will result in an F for the
unit essay. If you are not sure how to follow any of the guidelines, it is your responsibility to email the instructor for clarification. Please especially note the guidelines on plagiarism.
All assignments should be uploaded to Blackboard. After uploading the assignment, you must email me to notify me that you have completed the assignment. Blackboard does not notify me
when an assignment has been completed, and I do not check Blackboard regularly. So, in order
to receive a timely grade, you must e-mail me to let me know that you have completed an
assignment. I will grade them and then upload the graded paper back to Blackboard. You will
find my comments in bold red in the copy I upload.
This exam consists of short essay questions. Please answer all questions as fully as you can.
Please remember that because this class is an independent study, these examinations are the only
way by which I can judge how you have absorbed and analyzed the readings for the week, and
especially how you have integrated the basic knowledge from the textbook readings with the
other readings. So when I grade your exam I will be looking for how your answer incorporates
all of the readings for the week. Answers that do not use the readings for evidence and
intellectual support will do very poorly.
SUMMARY (10 POINTS):
1. In four to six paragraphs, summarize the Bailyn and Armitage readings for the week.
ESSAYS (45 POINTS EACH):
Answer these questions in the space of no fewer than 750 words each:
2. David Armitage, in his chapter from The British Atlantic World, 1500 1800 entitled
Three Concepts of Atlantic History, outlines three ways to categorize Atlantic World
history. Write an essay that explains those concepts, and uses examples that you come up
with to do so. You can make up examples on your own, but your essay should incorporate
the other reading for the week.
3. Use Bernard Bailyns essay, The Idea of Atlantic History, to argue whether or not the
idea of Atlantic World history is a recent concept.
Your essay should be logically structured with a clear opening paragraph that introduces the
reader to the subject, and a clear thesis at the end of the opening paragraph. The thesis should be
a direct answer to the question posed in this prompt. The body of your paper should then be spent
proving the thesis using evidence from all the readings.