You are to find a current news article (online or physical) and relate its content to the themes and events of our course. The article you choose must be current, published since the beginning of the semester (starting in January), and from a newspaper, or news website. The key to this assignment will be choosing the right article, so don't necessarily write on the first article you find.

You can make the connections to any of the material we've covered in the course, going back to contact between Europeans and Native Americans and up to the 1980s, but you should be prepared to explain what the connection is, and how it either reflects the course material showing that the issue is ongoing and remains current, or is a unique and different version of a similar circumstance. For instance, we've been talking in class about political tensions between the US and Russia, so you might find an article about current tensions between those two countries. However, it is not enough to simply find an article on, for example, the economy and make the connection between the economy now and the fact there was an economy in the past. You should connect your article to a specific event, trend, or movement from class (economic events are fine, as long as it is a specific connection, and the same goes for political, social, military, or any other connections made).

The article you chose should NOT make the historical connection for you. This is meant to be your exercise in finding historical context and precedent in current events using what you have learned, not detailing on what journalists have found. Therefore, the article should not reference the connection you describe.

You should write your paper in the style of the response papers. It should start with a brief synopsis of the article and then the rest of the 2 pages should make the connections to the course material. Include a link or copy of the article, and necessary identifying information, with your assignment. As always, let me know if you have any questions.