Newspaper Project

Professor Flamming
HTS 3032, Spring 2014

Historic newspapers open a window to the past. Used with care, they can reveal the ideas,
assumptions, and values of a given place and time. In this project, you will examine historic
newspapers published in Great Britain during the early twentieth century. Specifically, you will
be looking at newspapers published in major cities during the following three years: 1900, 1914,
and 1935. These may not all come in at the same time; we shall be flexible and take what we can
get.

We will go Old School, using newspapers copied on microfilm. Many thousands of digitally
reproduced British newspapers are now available online free in the UK, but at a cost in the
USA. Oh well. Microfilm is always an experience. Microfilm builds character.

In part, I just want you to explore old newspapers. I think you will like it more than you might
expect. More than that, however, I want you to grapple with primary-source documents. I want
you to sort through the nitty-gritty of everyday life, to look for the big ideas of society in the
ordinary scuttle of a daily rag. It is a useful lesson on how history is actually made.

Yes, professional historians really do read historic newspapers! I have been using them in my
own research for more than thirty years. I have found them to be biased, blatantly political,
funny, heartbreaking, inspiring, boring, and, on occasion, just downright odd. I have also used
historic newspapers in my teaching here at Georgia Tech having sent thousands of students to
the microfilm section of the Library. They have all emerged as brilliant human beings. Now its
your turn.

DUE DATE: Friday, April 11. Bring your paper to class.


THE RULES:

1. You must do your own research and your own writing. You must use the microfilm
newspapers provided for this project.

2. Go to the GT Library main desk (1
st
floor). The microfilm reels will be held on reserve for
students in this class (Flamming, HTS 3032). Choose a reel from those available. You must use
microfilm in the Library. When you are finished, you MUST return your reel to the main desk.

3. Go to the microfilm section of the Library 2
nd
Floor East. Load the microfilm reel on the
reader. During daytime library hours there should be someone at the help desk to help. But of
course you will want to give it a try on your own! Be Georgia TECH!

4. Read your newspaper. No, you dont have to read every word, but take it all in. Consider
how the newspaper is arranged. Consider how the news was covered. Read the advertisements
and social pages, too!

AS ALWAYS consider the historical context when you are reading. WHEN was this
newspaper published? WHAT were the big issues of the day? WHO published this paper?
(You dont have to know details of this, but feel free to Google the papers name to try to find
out or take a guess from the tone of the political coverage? Given our options, it will be either
a Whig paper, a Liberal Party paper, or a Tory paper.)

FIND a story to write about. It could be a news story or an editorial. Choose carefully.
Make sure your story or editorial connects with the ideas we are covering in this course. A
story about a political controversy, or about economic development, or about some cultural
trend will REFLECT important ideas, assumptions, and values. The clearer the reflection,
the better choice for this assignment.

_____________________________________________________________________________

5. Write your paper as follows. You will be writing a three-paragraph report. Here is exactly
what I want:

Paragraph #1 should fully summarize the main article you have chosen (see above, bold
print). Make sure to include the name of the newspaper and the date of your issue. Make sure
you understand your story and report it fully and clearly.

Paragraph #2 should explain the ideas, assumptions, and/or values embedded in your
article. Explain your article in its larger historical context. What big ideas infuse the article
with meaning? Where did those ideas come from? Ask yourself: What does my story say about
the larger trends in European intellectual history. This is where you show your smarts.

Paragraph #3 should report on another aspect of the newspaper you found particularly
interesting whatever that may be (sports coverage, comics, advertisements, the layout, the tone
of the articles and editorials). What you write about here can range can range from the funny to
the tragic -- so long as it is eye-opening or interesting to you. If you cant find something fun (or
interesting, or horrifying, or just downright odd) in an old newspaper, then you might want to
check your pulse or get another newspaper.

6. Copy enough of the front page including the masthead and date to confirm that you are
not making all of this up. Microfilm readers should Xerox or copy to a pdf. Attach this copy to
the back of your written report. [If all attempts at copying fail, give me a written description of
the front page instead.]

7. Use the following format: double spacing, Times New Roman font, size 12, normal margins,
stapled at top left. You do not need a separate title page. At the top left, give your name, my
name, course number (HTS 3032), and the date (Spring 2014).

8. If you quote from one of your books for historical context, provide an in-text citation like
this (Herman, 95).

9. Hand in a hard copy of your paper at the beginning of class.

GRADING
These reports will be graded on a scale of 100. More specifically, your grade will be the total of
five separate scores. Here is the grading rubric:
Score 1: Following Instructions (10 possible points)
Score 2: Paragraph One (20 possible points)
Score 3: Paragraph Two (20 possible points)
Score 4: Paragraph Three (20 possible points)
Score 5: Overall Quality (30 possible points). Yes, overall quality includes grammar.
I have placed an example of an A paper on T-square, under Resources.