This is my final history paper. please read all the instructions mentioned here before starting the essay 

Music as History

 

a. Choose a topic you would like to explore through music (e.g. changing gender roles, the social acceptance of drug use, portrayals of sexuality in American culture, etc.) 

b. Choose a time period (1950-1995; 1965-1975; etc). 

c. Choose five songs that best exemplify the change you are examining. 

d. In a word document, in chronological order, list the name of the song, the year it was written/released, and a paragraph explaining the meaning and importance of the song you chose to the social change you identified. 

Directions:

In this assignment you will be constructing a historical argument about a topic/theme of your choice and articulating the change/continuity over time and its historical significance. For your evidence, you will be using popular music. This assignment requires that you choose five songs as evidence for your historical argument.

After identifying a historical change or continuity, you will write an introductory paragraph that outlines the historical context, change/continuity, significance, and your argument. Then, you will put the five songs you have chosen in chronological order, with a paragraph of textual and contextual analysis for each. For your textual analysis, you may want to quote a line or two from the song as evidence of your interpretation. After you have written a paragraph for each song, you will need to write a concluding paragraph that summarizes your historical continuity or change, thesis, and significance. 

You will need to choose an appropriate periodization, explaining why the time period you chose is crucial to understanding the continuity/change you are exploring. The time period and songs should come after 1877 (this is, after all, U.S. history since 1877) and be connected to U.S. history, broadly or transnationally.