The Twentieth Century:  History through Culture

Overview and Purpose
To fully understand the past, it is important to study more than just the political, social, and economic events of an era.  People living in the past were as affected, if not more affected, by the culture of their times.  In this project, you are asked to give us a better understanding of what it was like to live in a particular decade of the Twentieth Century by bringing to life the culture of that era.

What is culture?
Historians use the word culture to refer to the products of a particular society’s creativity and thought.  By studying the culture of a particular society at a particular time, historians are better able to understand the thoughts, attitudes, feelings and emotions of the people of the past.  Culture can include art, music, literature, religion, food, clothing, entertainment, television, movies, sports, fads, and trends.

Guidelines for the Presentation
•	Presentations are not “reports.”  A quality presentation will be entertaining, exciting, dynamic, and informative.  The goal is to make all students feel as if they are almost living in the decade.
•	Do not read your presentation.  If you begin to read, you will be asked to stop.  You will restart your presentation the next day, and it will be considered one day late and the grade will be reduced by 10%.  You are expected to be somewhat of an “expert” on your topics, and you are expected to speak freely.
•	Do not include things in your presentation that you do not fully understand.  If you do not know what something is or what it means, either do not include it or find out what it is first.
•	Visual aids:
o	No posters or booklets of photos.  Do not pass your visuals around (unless it is an artifact and the only one.)  If your visuals are not large enough to be seen from the back of the room, you should give them to me in advance so I can make them into overheads or PowerPoint slides.  
o	Limit the number of visuals you use.  Each visual used must tell a story.  You should explain to us the significance of the visual and why you chose it.
o	Incorporate visual aids into the presentation.  Do not save them to the end and just mention them.  Make them a part of the story.
•	Media sources:
o	Videos cannot do the “teaching.”  Videos and other media sources should be used to compliment what you are telling us.
o	Each video or audio segment should not exceed one to two minutes in length.
o	Media sources must be cued to the correct starting position prior to your presentation.
•	Voices of the decade:
o	“Voices” should be read aloud and explained.  Limit your primary source “voices” to less than 15 seconds in length.
o	Each “voice” should highlight a particular aspect(s) of the decade’s culture or reflect what it was like to live in that decade in general.
o	Each “voice” must be from an actual primary source and must be cited in your bibliography.
•	If you do not have your presentation ready on your assigned date – or if anyone in your group is absent on the scheduled day – it will be considered late and the grade will be reduced by 10%.

Tentative Schedule
Decade(s)	Approximate Date	Students	
1920s	mid October		
1930s & 1940s	early November		
1950s	mid November		
1960s	late November		
1970s	early December		
1980s	mid December