Homework 1

NOTE: The basic directions that apply to all the written assignments are available in Doc Sharing.

Although the Viet people have a long history, our course begins in the 19th century with Vietnam as part of a larger area called French Indochina, a colony of France. The colonization took decades, but for our purposes the process of French control was complete in 1893.

Many nations of historic significance matured to the point where they sent out colonial settlers to faraway lands and over time eventually extended dominion over those lands. The United States also came into possession of faraway territories but without the same process of sending talented citizens to those lands with an agenda of establishing domination over them or of establishing an empire.

Your assignment is to write a short paper of two or three double-spaced pages on the topic listed below. Follow the directions carefully, and for this first week also explain carefully what you are saying.

The Week 1 Topic: Explain why it is both necessary and helpful to study the context of prior history, especially the experiences of participants in that history, in order to understand what is valued by these participants. Also, what resources will be most helpful to you as a student of history?

Submit your assignment to the Dropbox located on the silver tab at the top of this page.