HIST-H232
The World in the Twentieth Century
Spring 2023
Dr. Olson
Final Essay Assignment
160 points
For the final essay, which is due during Finals Week, you will write a creative comparison in which you create two imaginary but plausible characters who live during the twentieth century. One lives in a modernized, “first-world” nation and the other in a colonized (ultimately independent) nation. Your essay should be 5-7 pages long, double-spaced, and employ an 11- or 12-point font. Proper grammar and spelling are expected. Here are some guidelines to help you write the essay:
A) Both characters are born in 1901 and both die in 2000. You should name both characters. Their
names should reflect the culture(s) in which they are reared.
B) For both characters, your essay should reveal how at least four of the major themes covered by this class impacted them, though they need not be the same themes. Thus, your essay should be
historically plausible. Also, you may not change major historical events, but how these events impact
your characters is up to you.
C) Feel free to be creative about the personal lives of the two characters. For example, do your
characters get married? Do they have children? Are they educated? The possibilities are open on this aspect.
D) This assignment will be a measure of how well you have learned the major themes of this course and how well you can apply them.
E) Have fun with the assignment. It allows you to employ history, but in a way that allows you to shape personal history.
