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HIST 361/PORT 385 : Brazil Country of the Future

This guide is designed to assist student with their research for Dr. Lesser's and Professor Manfredini's Spring 2026 Semester seminar.

HIST 361 / PORT 385 Writing Assignments

  • Paper 1 (3–5 pages) – 15%
    This assignment invites you to step outside the classroom and reflect critically on how Brazil is represented in everyday spaces. It will challenge you to connect personal observations with broader historical or cultural questions discussed in class.
  • Paper 2 (5–7 pages) – 20%
     This paper will develop your interpretive skills by asking you to analyze unfamiliar primary sources. It emphasizes creativity, critical thinking, and the ability to construct an argument from limited information, supported by class readings and discussion.
  • Paper 3: Final Paper (7–10 pages) – 25%
     Your final project will be a research-based paper on a topic of your choice connected to course themes. It must engage with primary sources, demonstrate a clear thesis, and incorporate relevant scholarship (historiography). For history majors, this paper must earn at least a C to fulfill the department’s major requirements. All students will be required to meet with instructors to discuss the development of this paper.

For the papers and most assignments in this course, you will need to submit your work in two formats: a printed hard copy that you bring to class, and a digital Word file uploaded to the corresponding Canvas discussion thread. When uploading digital files to Canvas, use a consistent naming convention that helps us organize and locate your work efficiently. Begin each filename with your last name, followed by a hyphen and a brief description of the assignment. For example, if your last name is Lesser and you are submitting your proposed observation site for Paper 1, your filename would be Lesser-proposedobservationsite.doc.

Progression Toward the Final Paper

Throughout the semester, you should work on aspects of your final research paper of approximately seven to ten pages that is due on April 22 at noon. This final paper must engage with primary sources and focus on a topic connected to the class themes. Rather than approaching this as a single assignment completed at the end of the semester, you will develop your paper through a series of interconnected steps designed to build your analytical, writing, and research skills progressively.