‼️Important

information
 Resources
Name Type Notes

File Textbook ● Historians on History by John Tosh

File Textbook ● The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History by Jeremy Black

File Article ● Review Weekly: Reading and Resources in each Module

Key terms and concepts

Term Definition Notes

Word Describe in 1-2 sentences ● Add visuals, charts, supporting ideas, or

relevant resources such as external
links

Name Describe in 1-2 sentences ● The content should support your

understanding of the term

Concept Describe in 1-2 sentences ● Memory devices or visual aids can help
with recall

Weekly Assignments and discussions

Weekly Discussion Assignments Notes

1-1 Discussion: Historical Lenses In your initial discussion topic post, respond to the following points:

● Introduce yourself and share a little about your area of study.

● Using your own words, what are historical lenses? How do
Weekly Discussion Assignments Notes

historians use them to understand the past? How do they inform

and shape historians’ interpretations? Do you prefer a particular
set of lenses? Why, or why not?
● Before starting this course, what did you know about the Atlantic
slave trade and slavery in the Atlantic world? Based on your
reading of The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History, has your
understanding changed at all? How do you think historians use
lenses to understand this tragic episode in human history?

2-1 Discussion: Political & Economic In the discussion topic, complete the following points:
Lenses
● In your initial post, argue how it is possible for historians to come
to such radically different intellectual conclusions about the
motivations for slavery and its abolition.
● Analyze a historical claim and make a case for their motivations for
slavery or abolition with supporting evidence from the readings.

2-3 Worksheet ● Historical Lenses worksheet to keep track of terms

3-1 Discussion: Social Lens In your initial post in the discussion topic, utilizing a bottom-up approach
where applicable, choose a social group discussed in the readings and
describe what constituted their own internal understanding of their status
and place in society:

● Poor white people

● Rich planters
● Wealthy, free Black people
● People of mixed ancestry
● The majority of enslaved people

4-1 Discussion: Religious Lens For your initial post in the discussion topic, select one of the social groups
or identities from the Module Three discussion to use as an example or
illustrate your response to the following points:

● How were religious beliefs and practices transformed by the

trauma of enslavement and forced migration? Analyze what they
were in Africa, what they became in the New World, and what
contributed to those transformations.
● What unique contributions can the perspective of religious lenses
Weekly Discussion Assignments Notes

make to our understanding of the past, and the slave trade in

particular?
● Are there limits or weaknesses to using these lenses to understand
the slave trade?
● Support your arguments with evidence from the readings.

5-1 Discussion: Military Lens In your initial discussion topic post, address the following:

● How did conflict and war in Africa (and within the larger Atlantic
world) shape the processes of the slave trade and the experiences
of enslaved peoples?
● How does applying a military lens contribute to our understanding
of the slave trade?

6-1 Discussion: Cultural Lens In your initial discussion topic post, address the following questions:

● How were culture and identity transformed by the trauma of

enslavement and forced migration?
● What is the relationship between what culture and identity were in
Africa and what they became in the New World for enslaved
Africans and their descendants?
● How did these new identities inform and engage with each other
and their surroundings? Can geographical differences in cultures
be identified in the Atlantic world?
● How does applying a cultural lens contribute to our understanding
of the Atlantic slave trade?

7-1 Discussion: Gender & Sexuality ● For your initial post, although you are required to read all the
Lenses resources for this module, you will select one of the articles or book
chapters listed below to analyze in depth. They are focused on gender
or sexuality in the Atlantic slave trade. Evaluate how the author's use
of a gender or sexuality lens added new insights that would not have
been highlighted from the perspective of other, more traditional
historical lenses. Discuss how the contributions of gender and
sexuality lenses are unique from those of other historical lenses you
have studied in this course.

8-1 Discussion: Postcolonial & World In your initial discussion topic post, address the following points:
Lenses
Weekly Discussion Assignments Notes

● In what ways do postcolonial and global historians try to re-center

the history of slavery? To what degree do they succeed? In what
ways are these approaches similar to the bottom-up approach
discussed in Module Three?
● Are these lenses applicable to your final project’s topic? How might
re-centering your research topic inform your final project?

9-1 Writing Assignment: Digital History In your assignment, address the following questions:

● Is digital history a lens or historical approach in the same way that

social history and cultural history are? Instead, is it more of a tool
for historians to use in their work with other lenses? Why, or why
not?
● What new possibilities does using a digital tool, approach, or lens
provide for historians of the Atlantic slave trade?
● How might these tools, approaches, or lenses contribute to one of
the other lenses that you have studied in this course?
○ In what ways would, or did, using a digital approach, tool,
or lens help you in your own research project?
○ Explain how browsing a website this week was a different
learning experience than reading an article. What were the
benefits or limitations of the experience?

10-1 Discussion: Integrating Lenses For your initial post in the discussion topic, address the following points:

● Employing at least two readings from across the course, explain

how the introduction to various lenses and their applications has
informed how you approach historical research.
● Has this information contributed to the evolution of your ideas for
a capstone project topic and how you will approach your subject?
● Will you be contemplating using new lenses that you have not
previously engaged with?

Weekly Assignments and discussions

Weekly Writing Assignments Notes

1-2: Final Project Review ● In this course, you will complete a research paper in which you
address a historical topic of your choosing. Using one or two of the
lenses examined in this course and incorporating primary and
secondary sources, you will create an original argument about the
historical topic you have chosen.

2-2: Final Project Milestone One: Select ● In this assignment, briefly describe the topics you are considering
Topic for your final research project. You do not need to commit to a
particular topic yet, but you should be thinking about the types of
lenses (such as political/economic, social, cultural lenses) that you
might use to examine your subject as you move forward.

3-2: Final Project: Work on Proposal ● If you have not done so already, now is a good time to get started
and Annotated Bibliography on the proposal and annotated bibliography that are due in Module
Four. You will need to describe the topic you have chosen for your
final project, which should make use of one or more historical
lenses. You will also include an annotated bibliography, which will
explain the main point or purpose of at least four resources that
you will use in your final project. Let your instructor know if you
have any questions.

4-2: Final Project milestone Two: ● Now that you have explored ideas for your final project research
Proposal and Annotated bibliography paper, it is time to select a topic and identify some resources to
begin focusing your research into a formal proposal and annotated
bibliography. The feedback you receive from your instructor will
help ensure that you are headed in the right direction.

7-2: Final Project Milestone Three: Draft ● Submit a draft of your final project. This should be a complete draft
of Research Paper including an introduction (with a thesis) and a main body that
outlines the flow of your arguments so the instructor can give you
as much feedback as possible on the entire paper.

8-2: Student Peer Review: Final Project ● The process of peer reviewing another rough draft will help you
Milestone Four: Rough Draft revisit your own paper and critically assess the state of your
research project. First, post your rough draft that you completed in
Module Seven. Next, review and critique the rough drafts posted by
your peers. Provide 2 to 3 paragraphs as you respond to at least
two of your peers’ presentations. Select a peer’s paper that
currently does not have any reviews. If all papers have been
reviewed, select a paper that you can provide additional feedback
on.
● Using your understanding of the lenses that you have explored in
this course and applying them to the historical events being
researched in the paper, provide a critique of and ask questions
Weekly Writing Assignments Notes

about their argument and sources. When preparing your critique,

consider the following questions:
● Does their thesis come down on a specific side of an argument, or is
it merely a recitation or exploration of the topic?
● How well is the argument supported by primary source evidence in
the paper?
● Can you think of any other sources that might help strengthen their
argument?
● Considering what you read is a rough draft, are there any stylistic
changes or organizational changes that you can suggest to improve
the final product?

8-3: Final Project: Continue to work on ● At this point in the course, you should be starting on the final edits
Research Paper of your research paper. Review the instructor feedback and work
on incorporating it into your final paper. Make sure you edit your
paper for grammar and clarity.

9-1: Writing Assignment: Digital History ● In your assignment, address the following questions:
● Is digital history a lens or historical approach in the same way that
social history and cultural history are? Instead, is it more of a tool
for historians to use in their work with other lenses? Why, or why
not?
● What new possibilities does using a digital tool, approach, or lens
provide for historians of the Atlantic slave trade?
● How might these tools, approaches, or lenses contribute to one of
the other lenses that you have studied in this course?
○ In what ways would, or did, using a digital approach, tool,
or lens help you in your own research project?
○ Explain how browsing a website this week was a different
learning experience than reading an article. What were the
benefits or limitations of the experience?

9-2: Final Project Submission: Research ● For the final project, you will write a research paper on a historical
Paper topic of your choosing that uses one or two lenses discussed in the
course. You will also draw on secondary sources written from a
variety of lenses in order to synthesize their approaches into your
own work.
📋 Discussion
Posts
 Discussion Posts
● Don’t forget to Comment on 2-4 classmates

Task Status Due Points No

1-1: Discussion Post In progress Mar 27, 2025 -/25 ● Historical Lenses

2-1: Discussion Post Not started Apr 3, 2025 -/25 ● Political & Econo

2-3: Optional Activity In progress Apr 3, 2025 Non-graded ● Historical Lenses

3-1: Discussion Post Not started Apr 10, 2025 -/25 ● Social Lens

4-1: Discussion Post Not started Apr 17, 2025 -/25 ● Religious Lense

5-1: Discussion Post Not started Apr 24, 2025 -/25 ● Military Lens

6-1: Discussion Post Not started May 1, 2025 -/25 ● Cultural Lens

7-1: Discussion Post Not started May 8, 2025 -/25 ● Gender & Sexuali

8-1: Discussion Post Not started May 15, 2025 -/25 ● Post Colonial & W

9-1: Discussion Post Not started May 22, 2025 -/25 ● Digital History

10-1: Discussion Post Not started May 29, 2025 -/25 ● Integrating Differ
Mod 1 Post
 Module 1 Discussion: Historical Lenses

Hi everyone! My name is Tabitha Adkins, this is my second term here at SNHU, as well as my second

time around working on my Master’s degree in History (though before last term, my last class was in

2020). I’m from a small town in South Texas close to San Antonio, and have a 9-year-old chihuahua, a

4-year-old tom cat, and a 5-month-old kitten. The areas of history that I’m interested in are pretty broad

and very all over the place, but my current hyper fixation has been on Manifest Destiny. You can

usually find me listening to which ever history documentary that has popped up on the different

streaming platforms, I love the Egyptian ones in particular.

To me historical lenses are the many different perspectives that historians utilize in order to analyze,

interpret, and catalog the past. It is these lenses that shape how historians’ approach historical events,

the way they frame their narratives, and understand each historical event. Some historians, like G.R.

Elton, a professor of Modern history before his passing, argued that history in and of itself should be

looked at objectively, that historians should “study history for its own sake.”[1] Afterall, history isn’t

about what we want it to be, but rather what actually happened. While still others such as historian John

Tosh, acknowledged that, “the historian’s response to history of this kind is to point out that no identity

persists as an unchanging essence; it evolves over time, often changing character radically,” which

reinforces the thought that history isn’t static and unchanging.[2] Historian James M. Banner expands

on this idea with the argument, “all history is revisionist history,” because of historians constantly

assessing and reassessing the past due to new evidence and the shift of perspectives.[3] However,

historian V.H. Galbraith, took a much more traditional stance, which held “the study of history is a

personal activity – it is an individual reading the sources of history for himself.”[4] While primary

sources remain a critical part of a historians work, it is the interpretation that is the key. There are a
variety of lenses that historians use, racial, political, economic and social, which can be utilized to

spotlight different historical events. Taking historian Jeremy Black for example, who frames the

Atlantic slave trade through a geopolitical and economic lens, arguing the importance of slavery, “the

slave trade was linked to this geopolitics, but geopolitics was not the sole factor in the development of

the trade. The interaction of economics and demographics, of demand, supply and labor, were

crucial.”[5] Personally, I believe that a multifaceted approach is more effective, as there is no one single

lens that can be used to fully explain the different historical events. And while economic and political

factors are key, using a racial lens assists us in understanding how slavery became tied to ideas of race.

Before this course, I had a very rudimentary understanding of the Atlantic slave trade, that it was

centered on the idea that Anglo-Europeans had forced Africans into slavery, however, with reading this

week’s readings, particularly The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History, my ideas and perspectives have

been expanded. Black showcases how the trade was built upon already existing systems of exploitation

in Africa, “as later for the Western powers and both Africa and the Americas, there was a range of

relationships stretching from linking in with existing slave-trade networks, to adapting these networks,

to creating new ones.”[6] And while this does not absolve the European empires of their responsibility

in this, it adds to the discussion, showing that there were times when the African rulers and merchants

were also participating in the slave trade. Furthermore, my understanding of the racialization of slavery

has also deepened. According to Black, “the use of Africans undercut racial typecasting, but far less so

than it should have done. This racial typecasting drew on a Western tradition of presenting the

inhabitants of tropical lands as strange creatures, including humans with different characteristics.”[7]

Historians use lenses in order to interpret the complexities of history, moving us beyond the simple

narratives. The Atlantic slave trade was not only about economics, but also about power dynamics, the

ways racial identities were constructed, and the long-term consequences on the world as a whole.
 Bibliography

Banner, James M. Jr. “All History Is Revisionist History.” National Endowment for the

Humanities, 2022. https://www.neh.gov/article/all-history-revisionist-history.

Black, Jeremy. The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History. New York: Routledge, 2015.

Tosh, John. Historians on History. London: Routledge, 2018.

https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=22f86e2f-6290-3164-ab9f-6fa2c827c8da.

[1] G.R. Elton, “The practice of History,” in Historians on History, ed. John Tosh (London: Routledge,
2018): 28.

[2] John Tosh, “Introduction,” in Historians on History ed. John Tosh (London: Routledge, 2018): 7.

[3] James M. Banner Jr., “All History is Revisionist History,” National Endowment for the Humanities,
2022. https://www.neh.gov/article/all-history-revisionist-history.

[4] V.H. Galbraith, “An Introduction to the Study of History,” in Historians on History, ed.
John Tosh (London: Routledge, 2018): 17.

[5] Jeremy Black, The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History, (New York: Routledge, 2015): 19.

[6] Black, The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History, 9.

[7] Black, The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History, 25.

Mod 2 Post
In the discussion topic, complete the following points:

● In your initial post, argue how it is possible for historians to come to such
radically different intellectual conclusions about the motivations for
slavery and its abolition.
● Analyze a historical claim and make a case for their motivations for
slavery or abolition with supporting evidence from the readings.

______________________________________________________

Module 2 Discussion Post: Political and Economic Lenses

Module 2 Discussion Post: Political and Economic Lenses

From the beginning, historians have often come out on radically different sides and come to extremely

different conclusions about the topic of slavery, and about its abolition due to the ways that they each

interpret the historical evidence through different lenses: economic, cultural, political and moral. As

Historian E.H. Carr reminds us, “it is the historian who applies to their actions his hypothesis of

progress, and interprets their actions as progress.”[1] Looking at historian Seymour Drescher, who

highlighted how the ways that the historiography has shifted throughout time: early abolitionist history

interpretations had celebrated the moral progress, while Trinidadian slave descendent, Eric Williams

argued that abolition had only came about when slavery had ceased to be profitable in what had been

coined the ‘decline thesis.’ However, Drescher rebutted the ‘decline thesis,’ stating that “abolition came

precisely when Britain led the world in the production of sugar and coffee.”[2] The contrast emphasizes

how the same moment in history can be looked at differently and support more than one argument

depending on the lens that the historian is using. Historian James Walvin also observed, “What had

changed was not slavery and the slave trade (both buoyant and booming in the years before 1807), but

Britain itself,”[3] emphasizing that the shifts in national values and in the sentiment of the public, not
just economic change, were just as central to the abolitionist movement. These perspectives go to show

how each generation's influence broadened the concerns that each historian then prioritized.

A convincing argument could be made that the 1807 abolitionist movement of Britain was not just the

result of the elites or that of the economy; rather, it was being driven largely by a mass moral activism

and mobilization. Walvin documents how “petitions rained in from across the country; tens of

thousands of people, men and women, and from all social classes, added their names to the demand for

abolition,” pressing Parliament to act on their demands.[4] Drescher also supported this, noting

“between 1788 and 1815 an unprecedented proportion of Britain’s people not only took decisive steps,”

through the formation of public meetings and boycotts.[5] These were actions that occurred while

slavery was still profitable, according to historian Jeremy Black, who noted: “the prosperity of

plantation economies in the Americas, … rested on the integrated nature of the Atlantic economy.

Economic factors were crucial.”[6] These readings only complicate the narrative of the economic drive

of slavery, instead illustrating that abolition had stemmed from an overlapping convergence of cultural

change, moral conviction, and strategic considerations.

Finally, with historians like A. Adu Boahen who push others to widen the historical lens further by the

decentering of the Eurocentric narratives and arguing that Africa itself had its own history, and as such

should be studied like it and calling attention to the long-ignored perspectives of the Africans and those

who had been enslaved.[7] This line of argument is followed by historians and scholars like Drescher,

who placed emphasis on resistance and slave agency as the driving force behind the abolitionist

movement. From this perspective, the abolition movement was not something that was being done to

those enslaved, but rather something that was being forced on the rest of the world through resilience,

rebellion, and resistance. The variety of these different conclusions is not a weakness for the topic,

rather, it is a reflection on the evolving nature and the richness of historical inquiry.
 Bibliography

Black, Jeremy. The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History. New York: Routledge, 2018.

Drescher, Seymour. "Antislavery Debates: Tides of Historiography in Slavery and Antislavery."

European Review 19, no. 1 (02, 2011): 131-148.

doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/S1062798710000396.

https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/antislavery-debates-tides-historiography-slavery/

docview/817525164/se-2.

Tosh, John. Historians on History. London: Routledge, 2018.

https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=22f86e2f-6290-3164-ab9f-6fa2c827c8da.

Walvin, James. “Abolishing the Slave Trade.” History in Focus, May 1, 2007.

https://archives.history.ac.uk/history-in-focus/Slavery/articles/walvin.html.

[1] E. H. Carr, “What is History?” in Historians on History, ed. John Tosh (London: Routledge, 2018):
44.

[2] Drescher, Seymour. "Antislavery Debates: Tides of Historiography in Slavery and Antislavery."
European Review 19, no. 1 (02, 2011): 131-148.

[3] James Walvin, “Abolishing the Slave Trade,” History in Focus, (2007).
[4] Walvin.

[5] Drescher, 140.

[6] Jeremy Black, The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History, (New York: Routledge, 2018): 57.

[7] A. Adu Boahen, “African Perspectives on Colonialism,” in Historians on History, ed. John Tosh
(London: Routledge, 2018).
Mod 3 Post
Mod 4 Post
Mod 5 Post
Mod 6 Post
Mod 7 Post
Mod 8 Post
Mod 9 Post
Mod 10 Post
📋 Writing
Assignments
 Writing Assignments

Task Status Due Points Notes

1-2: Final Project Not started Mar 30, 2025 Non-Graded ● Final Project Re
Review

2-2: Final Project Not started Apr 6, 2025 -/50 ● Select a Topic
Milestone 1

3-2: Final Project Not started Apr 13, 2025 Non- Graded ● Work on Propos
Work

4-2: Final Project Not started Apr 20, 2025 -/100 ● Proposal & Ann
Milestone 2

7-2 Final Project Not started May 11, 2025 -/75 ● Draft of Researc
Milestone 3

8-2: Final Project Not started May 18, 2025 -/140 ● Rough Draft: St
Milestone 4

8-3: Final Project Not started May 18, 2025 Non-Graded ● Continue to wor

9-1: Short Paper In progress May 25, 2025 -/35 ● Short Paper Ass
Assignment

9-2: Final Project Not started May 25, 2025 -/375 ● Research Paper
Submission
FPM 1
Milestone One: Select a Topic
In Module Two, you will submit your topic selection in a short paper. You will briefly describe the
topics you are considering and the types of lenses (such as political or economic, social, and cultural)
that you might use to examine your subject for your final research project. This milestone will be
graded with the Milestone One Rubric.

Overview
This milestone will be submitted as a short paper and is private between you and the instructor.

For your final project, you will be developing a research paper that applies one or more lenses to a
research topic of your choice. Every research project begins with a specific question you want to answer.
Thinking about the topic you want to research early in the process allows time for peer and instructor
feedback.

Prompt
In this assignment, briefly describe the topics you are considering for your final research project. You do
not need to commit to a particular topic yet, but you should be thinking about the types of lenses (such
as political, economic, social, cultural lenses) that you might use to examine your subject as you move
forward.

What to Submit
This assignment should be 1‒2 pages in length. Submit the assignment as a Word document with
double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins.
FPM 2
Milestone Two: Proposal and Annotated Bibliography
In Module Four, you will submit a proposal and annotated bibliography. Your proposal will include the
topic you have selected, which will make use of one or more historical lenses. Your bibliography should
include at least four resources. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.

In this milestone, you will submit a proposal and annotated bibliography for instructor feedback. Your
proposal will include the topic you have selected, which will make use of one or more historical lenses.
Your bibliography should include at least four primary and secondary resources (being sure to include at
least one of each type). Make sure you include a summary of the main point or purpose of each resource.
It should apply the knowledge you have gained so far in the course. As you write your proposal and
annotated bibliography, be sure to address the following critical elements:

● Propose a topic for your final project that makes use of one or more historical lens.
● Include interpretive research questions that explain and defend your topic and its historical
significance and the value of applying the chosen lenses.
● Compare multiple scholars’ views on your chosen topic and lens.
● Explain the main point or purpose of at least four resources that you will use in your final
project.

What to Submit
This submission should be 3–4 pages in length. Use double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font,
and one-inch margins. Include a minimum of four primary and secondary resources (including at least
one of each type), which should be cited according to Turabian style.
FPM 3
Milestone Three: Draft of Research Paper
In Module Seven, you will submit a research paper draft. This will be a complete draft including an
introduction (with a thesis) and a main body that outlines the flow of your arguments. Your draft should
integrate at least eight sources. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.

In this milestone, you will submit a draft of your research paper. Your draft should include a description
of the historical topic you have chosen and one or two lenses that you will apply to your topic. You will
also draw on at least eight primary and secondary sources (including at least three of each type) written
from a variety of lenses in order to synthesize their approaches into your own work. Your draft should
include a complete introduction with a well-formed thesis, an outline of the content, and as much of the
main body written as possible.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

1. Introduction
1. Introduce your historical topic, including the lens or lenses used in your paper.
2. Briefly describe current research on the topic, including the gaps in historiography
related to the topic.
3. Explain how your topic relates to other research while presenting new and original
arguments to the topic. In other words, what does your research add to the field? How
can it be used to inform present or future decisions or thought?
4. Describe the most significant sources relevant to your topic. Why are they significant?
What value do they add to your research?
5. Explain what insights you will draw from sources outside your selected lens or lenses.
2. Historiography
1. Evaluate the sources used in the paper for credibility, strength of argument, and
relevance to the topic.
2. Compare the lenses of the sources used in the paper, including a discussion of the
insights gained from the application of different lenses.
3. Evaluate the sources for their effectiveness in accomplishing the aims of the lenses
used.
4. Group the sources discussed into appropriate clusters for discussion. (Do not use
lenses for this grouping.)
5. Determine gaps in the historiography and explain how your paper addresses those
gaps.
6. Justify the relevance and originality of your paper based on the identified gaps. Use
specific examples to support your justification.
3. Research and Defense
1. Develop your historical argument through the lens or lenses identified in your
introduction.
2. Defend your historical argument with specific examples from primary and secondary
sources.
3. Connect your argument to the secondary sources and to the lenses they fit. Consider
the following questions: Is your argument effective in its application of the lens (or
lenses) when compared to the secondary sources? How does your argument build on
 the arguments made in the secondary sources? How do these sources represent
different lenses, compared to how your research represents a lens (or lenses)?
4. Connect your interpretations to existing historiography as you develop them.
5. Apply insights from outside your lens to develop and support your argument.
4. Conclusion
1. Summarize the final conclusions of your research. Be sure to reflect on your research
and what new and original conclusions can be drawn from it.
2. Summarize the gaps in the historiography and how those gaps were addressed by your
research.
3. Summarize what your research adds to the field. What are the implications of your
research for present or future society?

What to Submit
This draft should be 12–18 pages, using 12-point Times New Roman font, double spacing, one-inch
margins, and the latest edition of Chicago/Turabian for citations and formatting. Your draft should
integrate at least eight primary and secondary sources (including at least three of each type).
FPM 4
Milestone Four: Peer Review
In Module Eight, you will post your rough draft to the discussion topic for peer review. Then you will
review and critique the rough drafts posted by your peers. Your instructor will assign papers for you to
review. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Four Rubric.

Peer feedback is an essential part of any history project. Now that your rough draft has been submitted
to the instructor, submit it to this discussion topic for peer review. This will help you improve your final
project, which is due in Module Nine. In this assignment, your instructor will assign papers for you to
review.

In your initial post, be certain to include the following critical elements and see the guiding questions
below each element to help you in your critique:

Analysis and Evaluation:

● For each rough draft, does the thesis come down on a specific side of an argument, or is it
merely a recitation or exploration of the topic?
● How well is the argument supported by primary source evidence in the paper?
● Can you think of any other sources that might help strengthen their argument?
● Considering that what you read is a rough draft, are there any stylistic changes or
organizational changes that you can suggest improving for the final product?

Suggestions:

● What surprises did you find in your peers’ projects?

● Are there any parts that are confusing or misleading? Give specific examples.
● What was your overall impression of the rough drafts?

What to Submit
You are required to post one initial post in which you submit your rough draft for peer feedback and
follow up with at least two response posts in which you should review at least two rough drafts.

For your initial post, you must do the following:

● Submit a rough draft by Monday at 11:59 p.m. of your local time zone.
For your response posts, you must do the following:

● Reply to at least two different peers outside of your own initial post thread.
● Complete the two response posts by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. of your local time zone.
● Demonstrate more depth and thought than simply stating that “I agree” or “You are wrong.”
FPS
Final Submission: Research Paper

In Module Nine, you will submit your final project. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing
all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained
throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.

Prompt
Write a research paper in which you address a historical topic of your choosing. You must draw on and
synthesize a number of primary and secondary sources to produce a work that helps advance our
existing understanding of the topic. You will also discuss the historiography of your topic, using the
lenses discussed throughout the course.

Specifically, you must address the critical elements listed below. Most of the critical elements align with
a particular course outcome (shown in brackets).

1. Introduction
1. Introduce your historical topic, including the lens or lenses used in your paper.
2. Briefly describe current research on the topic, including the gaps in historiography
related to the topic.
3. Explain how your topic relates to other research while presenting new and original
arguments to the topic. In other words, what does your research add to the field? How
can it be used to inform present or future decisions or thought?
4. Describe the most significant sources relevant to your topic. Why are they significant?
What value do they add to your research?
5. Explain what insights you will draw from sources outside your selected lens or lenses.
2. Historiography
1. Evaluate the sources used in the paper for credibility, strength of argument, and
relevance to the topic.
2. Compare the lenses of the sources used in the paper, including a discussion of the
insights gained from the application of different lenses.
3. Evaluate the sources for their effectiveness in accomplishing the aims of the lenses
used.
 4. Group the sources discussed into appropriate clusters for discussion. (Do not use
lenses for this grouping.)
5. Determine gaps in the historiography and explain how your paper addresses those
gaps.
6. Justify the relevance and originality of your paper based on the identified gaps. Use
specific examples to support your justification.
3. Research and Defense
1. Develop your historical argument through the lens or lenses identified in your
introduction.
2. Defend your historical argument with specific examples from primary and secondary
sources.
3. Connect your argument to the secondary sources and to the lenses they fit. Consider
the following questions: Is your argument effective in the application of the lens (or
lenses) when compared to the secondary sources? How does your argument build on
the arguments made in the secondary sources? How do these sources represent
different lenses as compared to how your research represents a lens (or lenses)?
4. Connect your interpretations to existing historiography as you develop them.
5. Apply insights from outside your lens to develop and support your argument.
4. Primary and Secondary Research
1. Effectively use primary and secondary sources in the documentation style.
Meaningfully integrate supporting evidence from at least eight sources, of which at
least two are primary sources.
5. Conclusion
1. Summarize the final conclusions of your research. Be sure to reflect on your research
and what new and original conclusions can be drawn from it.
2. Summarize the gaps in the historiography and how those gaps were addressed by your
research.
3. Summarize what your research adds to the field. What are the implications of your
research for society now and in the future?
Short Paper
Overview

Writing assignments in this course are designed to help you make meaningful connections between the
course content and the larger goals of this course.

Prompt
Modern historians use different digital tools such as mapping, spatialization, and data mining to interpret
and understand the past. In this assignment, you will consider the contribution of these tools to
historians’ knowledge of the Atlantic slave trade and reflect on the relationship between digital history
and the other historical lenses you have studied in this class.

In your assignment, address the following questions:

● Is digital history a lens or historical approach in the same way that social history or cultural
history are? Support your evaluation by answering: Why, or why not?
● What new possibilities do digital tools open up for historians of the Atlantic slave trade?
● How might these tools contribute to one of the other lenses that you have studied in this
course?

What to Submit
This assignment should be 1 to 2 pages in length. Submit the assignment as a Word document with 12-
point Times New Roman font, double spacing, and one-inch margins.

Module 9 Short Paper: Digital History

Digital history represents more of a methodology rather than an actual historical lens like that of cultural

or social history. Where these lenses are used to examine the past through specific thematic

perspectives like that of belief systems, daily life or class structures, with digital history, you are

utilizing technological tools in order to analyze and interpret the data from historical events. The
framework is not interpretive perse, rather it is more of a pathway that is being used to enhance other

methodologies so that historians are able to analyze, visualize and present the information in new and

different ways.

Specifically, the study of the Atlantic slave trade has benefited greatly from the use of digital tools like

that of spatialization, data mining, and mapping. Digital archives, like Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

database on SlaveVoyages.org, which has enabled historians to track the movement of those enslaved

across the different continents, which gives a broader perspective on the scale and the massive impact of

the trade.[1] Then there are tools like the geographic information systems (GIS) mapping, which is

being used by the Revolt project, which is helping to illustrate the slave ship routes, migration patterns

and the spread of economies related to slavery.[2] Another digital database that is being used for the

enrichment of the history of slavery, is Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade on enslaved.org,

which uses digital networking to connect to information about different individual enslaved people, and

using it to reconstruct their lives throughout the many scattered historical records.[3] Another tool that

is being used are spatialization tools, including those that are being used by the African Diaspora

Alliance, which provides insights to how the different enslaved communities were able to navigate their

new environments and resisted the oppression, which adds layers to the understanding which traditional

sources originally only in text would not be able to reveal.[4] The use of data mining allows researchers

to go through vast amounts of historical data in order to uncover the patterns that might not be quite so

visible otherwise, like that of the economic exchanges, slave sales and mortality rates. The Library of

Congress also houses the Voices Remembering Slavery collection, which preserves first hand accounts

of former slaves, which enables historians to analyze their lived experiences through digital transcripts.

Furthermore, digital history is a complement to the other historical lenses that are being used for

research like social and economic history. An example of this would be historians for economic history

looking into the profitability of the Atlantic slave trade being able to use a computer model in order to
reconstruct the financial networks between not just Europe and the Americas, but also between Europe,

Africa and the Americas showing the dependency between the continents. Likewise, for social

historians utilizing digital tools to reconstruct the different demographic profiles of the enslaved people

and communities. As discussed in a speech from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the

digital humanities projects provide a type of “civilizing” effect by making historical study more

accessible and inclusive.[5]

Ultimately, while digital history is going to replace the more traditional historical lenses, it does enrich

and enhance them by giving more ways for historians to analyze and interpret the historical data.

Utilizing tools like data analysis, and mapping, historians are able to dig through and uncover aspects of

the Atlantic slave trade that before now were hidden thus making the study of this history much more

engaging for not only the scholars going through the research, but also for the public.

Bibliography

Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade. https://enslaved.org/.

"The Civilizing Implications of the Digital Humanities." National Endowment for the

Humanities (Archived).

https://web.archive.org/web/20170126072129/https://www.neh.gov/about/chairman/speeches/

the-civilizing-implications-the-digital-humanities.

Slave Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database. https://www.slavevoyages.org/.

 Revolt: Mapping Slave Resistance in the Atlantic World. http://revolt.axismaps.com/.

The African Diaspora Alliance. https://www.theafricandiasporaalliance.org/home.

Voices Remembering Slavery: Freed People Tell Their Stories. Library of Congress.

https://www.loc.gov/collections/voices-remembering-slavery/about-this-collection/.

[1] Slave Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database. https://www.slavevoyages.org

[2] Slave Revolt in Jamaica, 1760-1761. https://revolt.axismaps.com/.

[3] Enslaved: Peoples of the Historical Slave Trade. https://enslaved.org/.

[4] The African Diaspora Alliance. https://www.theafricandiasporaalliance.org/home.

[5] “The Civilizing Implications of the Digital Humanities,” National Endowment for the Humanities, (Archived).
https://web.archive.org/web/20170126072129/https://www.neh.gov/about/chairman/speeches/the-civilizing-implications-the-
digital-humanities.
📝 Class notes
Mod 1 3-24-25
notes
Owner Tabitha Adkins

Instructor Dr. Paul McKenzie-Jones

Subject Historical Lenses/Scholarship

Mar 24, 2025

Reading #1: Historians on History, Intro & Part 1

● In their pieces, do V.H. Galbraith and Geoffrey Elton offer an understanding of particular lenses?
● Or are they describing historical methods?
● What is the difference between the two?
I.

Reading #2: The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History

Ch 1 & 2
II.
Reading #3: Literary Article: The Practice of History
(1969)
● What are the practical uses of History?
● How have previous generations justified the study of history?
● What are your reasons for studying history?

III.

Reading #4: Literary Article: The Philosophy of History

IV. “

Reading #5: Literary Article: All History is Revisionist

History
V. “

Reading #6: Literary Article: History Program Smart

Reading Guide
VI. “

Reading #7: Website: What is a Scholarly Source?

VII. “
📝 Class notes
Mod 2 3-31-25
notes
Owner Tabitha Adkins

Instructor Dr. Paul McKenzie-Jones

Subject Historical Lenses/Scholarship

Mar 24, 2025

Reading #1: Historians on History, Intro & Part 1

● In their pieces, do V.H. Galbraith and Geoffrey Elton offer an understanding of particular lenses?
● Or are they describing historical methods?
● What is the difference between the two?
VIII.

Reading #2: The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History

Ch 1 & 2
IX.
Reading #3: Literary Article: The Practice of History
(1969)
● What are the practical uses of History?
● How have previous generations justified the study of history?
● What are your reasons for studying history?

X.

Reading #4: Literary Article: The Philosophy of History

XI. “

Reading #5: Literary Article: All History is Revisionist

History
XII. “

Reading #6: Literary Article: History Program Smart

Reading Guide
XIII. “

Reading #7: Website: What is a Scholarly Source?

XIV. “
📝 Class notes
Mod 3 4-7-25
notes
Owner Tabitha Adkins

Instructor Dr. Paul McKenzie-Jones

Subject Historical Lenses/Scholarship

Mar 24, 2025

Reading #1: Historians on History, Intro & Part 1

● In their pieces, do V.H. Galbraith and Geoffrey Elton offer an understanding of particular lenses?
● Or are they describing historical methods?
● What is the difference between the two?
XV.

Reading #2: The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History

Ch 1 & 2
XVI.
 Reading #3: Literary Article: The Practice of History
(1969)
● What are the practical uses of History?
● How have previous generations justified the study of history?
● What are your reasons for studying history?

XVII.

Reading #4: Literary Article: The Philosophy of History

XVIII. “

Reading #5: Literary Article: All History is Revisionist

History
XIX. “

Reading #6: Literary Article: History Program Smart

Reading Guide
XX. “

Reading #7: Website: What is a Scholarly Source?

XXI. “
📝 Class notes
Mod 4 4-14-25
 notes
Owner Tabitha Adkins

Instructor Dr. Paul McKenzie-Jones

Subject Historical Lenses/Scholarship

Mar 24, 2025

Reading #1: Historians on History, Intro & Part 1

● In their pieces, do V.H. Galbraith and Geoffrey Elton offer an understanding of particular lenses?
● Or are they describing historical methods?
● What is the difference between the two?
XXII.

Reading #2: The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History

Ch 1 & 2
XXIII.
 Reading #3: Literary Article: The Practice of History
(1969)
● What are the practical uses of History?
● How have previous generations justified the study of history?
● What are your reasons for studying history?

XXIV.

Reading #4: Literary Article: The Philosophy of History

XXV. “

Reading #5: Literary Article: All History is Revisionist

History
XXVI. “

Reading #6: Literary Article: History Program Smart

Reading Guide
XXVII. “

Reading #7: Website: What is a Scholarly Source?

XXVIII. “
📝 Class notes
Mod 5 4-21-25
 notes
Owner Tabitha Adkins

Instructor Dr. Paul McKenzie-Jones

Subject Historical Lenses/Scholarship

Mar 24, 2025

Reading #1: Historians on History, Intro & Part 1

● In their pieces, do V.H. Galbraith and Geoffrey Elton offer an understanding of particular lenses?
● Or are they describing historical methods?
● What is the difference between the two?
XXIX.

Reading #2: The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History

Ch 1 & 2
XXX.
 Reading #3: Literary Article: The Practice of History
(1969)
● What are the practical uses of History?
● How have previous generations justified the study of history?
● What are your reasons for studying history?

XXXI.

Reading #4: Literary Article: The Philosophy of History

XXXII. “

Reading #5: Literary Article: All History is Revisionist

History
XXXIII. “

Reading #6: Literary Article: History Program Smart

Reading Guide
XXXIV. “

Reading #7: Website: What is a Scholarly Source?

XXXV. “
📝 Class notes
Mod 6 4-28-25
 notes
Owner Tabitha Adkins

Instructor Dr. Paul McKenzie-Jones

Subject Historical Lenses/Scholarship

Mar 24, 2025

Reading #1: Historians on History, Intro & Part 1

● In their pieces, do V.H. Galbraith and Geoffrey Elton offer an understanding of particular lenses?
● Or are they describing historical methods?
● What is the difference between the two?
XXXVI.

Reading #2: The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History

Ch 1 & 2
XXXVII.
 Reading #3: Literary Article: The Practice of History
(1969)
● What are the practical uses of History?
● How have previous generations justified the study of history?
● What are your reasons for studying history?

XXXVIII.

Reading #4: Literary Article: The Philosophy of History

XXXIX. “

Reading #5: Literary Article: All History is Revisionist

History
XL. “

Reading #6: Literary Article: History Program Smart

Reading Guide
XLI. “

Reading #7: Website: What is a Scholarly Source?

XLII. “
📝 Class notes
Mod 7 5-5-25
 notes
Owner Tabitha Adkins

Instructor Dr. Paul McKenzie-Jones

Subject Historical Lenses/Scholarship

Mar 24, 2025

Reading #1: Historians on History, Intro & Part 1

● In their pieces, do V.H. Galbraith and Geoffrey Elton offer an understanding of particular lenses?
● Or are they describing historical methods?
● What is the difference between the two?
XLIII.

Reading #2: The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History

Ch 1 & 2
XLIV.
 Reading #3: Literary Article: The Practice of History
(1969)
● What are the practical uses of History?
● How have previous generations justified the study of history?
● What are your reasons for studying history?

XLV.

Reading #4: Literary Article: The Philosophy of History

XLVI. “

Reading #5: Literary Article: All History is Revisionist

History
XLVII. “

Reading #6: Literary Article: History Program Smart

Reading Guide
XLVIII. “

Reading #7: Website: What is a Scholarly Source?

XLIX. “
📝 Class notes
Mod 8 5-12-25
notes
Owner Tabitha Adkins

Instructor Dr. Paul McKenzie-Jones

Subject Historical Lenses/Scholarship

Mar 24, 2025

Reading #1: Historians on History, Intro & Part 1

● In their pieces, do V.H. Galbraith and Geoffrey Elton offer an understanding of particular lenses?
● Or are they describing historical methods?
● What is the difference between the two?
L.

Reading #2: The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History

Ch 1 & 2
LI.
Reading #3: Literary Article: The Practice of History
(1969)
● What are the practical uses of History?
● How have previous generations justified the study of history?
● What are your reasons for studying history?

LII.

Reading #4: Literary Article: The Philosophy of History

LIII. “

Reading #5: Literary Article: All History is Revisionist

History
LIV. “

Reading #6: Literary Article: History Program Smart

Reading Guide
LV. “

Reading #7: Website: What is a Scholarly Source?

LVI. “
📝 Class notes
Mod 9 5-19-25
 notes
Owner Tabitha Adkins

Instructor Dr. Paul McKenzie-Jones

Subject Historical Lenses/Scholarship

Mar 24, 2025

Reading #1: Historians on History, Intro & Part 1

● In their pieces, do V.H. Galbraith and Geoffrey Elton offer an understanding of particular lenses?
● Or are they describing historical methods?
● What is the difference between the two?
LVII.

Reading #2: The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History

Ch 1 & 2
LVIII.
 Reading #3: Literary Article: The Practice of History
(1969)
● What are the practical uses of History?
● How have previous generations justified the study of history?
● What are your reasons for studying history?

LIX.

Reading #4: Literary Article: The Philosophy of History

LX. “

Reading #5: Literary Article: All History is Revisionist

History
LXI. “

Reading #6: Literary Article: History Program Smart

Reading Guide
LXII. “

Reading #7: Website: What is a Scholarly Source?

LXIII. “
📝 Class notes
Mod 10 5-26-25
 notes
Owner Tabitha Adkins

Instructor Dr. Paul McKenzie-Jones

Subject Historical Lenses/Scholarship

Mar 24, 2025

Reading #1: Historians on History, Intro & Part 1

● In their pieces, do V.H. Galbraith and Geoffrey Elton offer an understanding of particular lenses?
● Or are they describing historical methods?
● What is the difference between the two?
LXIV.

Reading #2: The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History

Ch 1 & 2
LXV.
 Reading #3: Literary Article: The Practice of History
(1969)
● What are the practical uses of History?
● How have previous generations justified the study of history?
● What are your reasons for studying history?

LXVI.

Reading #4: Literary Article: The Philosophy of History

LXVII. “

Reading #5: Literary Article: All History is Revisionist

History
LXVIII. “

Reading #6: Literary Article: History Program Smart

Reading Guide
LXIX. “

Reading #7: Website: What is a Scholarly Source?

LXX. “