| What?
Each student will complete a Comparative Document Analysis
Which Documents? Here you have a choice
between two sets:
A. Beccaria, On
Crimes and Punishments
French National Assembly, Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
Mazzini, Instructions to Young Italy
B. The Holy Alliance
Metternich’s Confession of Faith
The Troppau Protocol
C. Documents relative
to the Franco-Sardinian War vs. Austria:
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Plombières Agreement: Cavour's Report to Victor Emanuel
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Plombières Agreement: Cavour's Sumary to Napoleon III
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The Franco-Sardinian Alliance
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The Armistice of Villafranca
Things to look for: What are the differences in Cavour's
two reports on Plombières? How do you explain the differences?
In what ways does the armistice at Villafranca contradict the agreements
at Plombières? Explain.
How? First, read the instructions on analyzing
documents. Then read each document in
your set carefully, looking for the following:
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the purpose of the document
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the intended audience
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the actors involved (who is trying to do what to whom?)
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the stated policy
-
any hidden policy
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values and assumptions of the author (s)
Second, write an essay comparing and contrasting the documents in
your set in terms of
the above. Use any format that makes sense to you and enables you to
compare and
contrast the most important points.
Make sure that your essay has a beginning--in which the thesis is clearly
stated--a body, in
which you will be doing the comparisons, and a conclusion, in which
you sum up your
findings. You may find it necessary to quote from the document
as you go along.
How long? Generally papers should be long
enough to cover the topic well using good,
precise, concise language. I would think that anywhere between 5-8
pages should suffice.
When due? The paper syllabus says Tuesday,
Feb. 15. but I am getting this information to
you late. You may certainly complete the project by the above due date.
But if you want
to have more time, get them in by Tuesday, Feb. 22.
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