Popular Culture Report
for HIST 431: Big Things
An optional assignment in HIST 431 is to document a big thing (a roadside monstrosity), research its background, write a report, and exhibit a poster depicting the big thing. For background on big things in the regional landscape, and a list of big tings on the northern plains, see Big Things of the Great Plains. The general aims of the assignment are to research the background of a big thing; to document it and collect local information about it; and to situate it in the culture of the plains. Purposes of the
Assignment 1. To learn about the cultures of the plains through research, observation, and fieldwork. 2. To document an aspect of the popular culture of the plains, as a contribution to knowledge. 3. To
support heritage tourism and heritage renewal in the region, by contributing
to the programs of the Specifications Choose a big thing on the northern plains to attend and document. Conduct research on the cultural history of it, using resources in the NDSU Institute for Regional Studies and other written sources. Here’s a form for reporting your library and archival research. To do fieldwork at the site of the big thing, gathering documentation on its material aspects and its cultural setting. Here’s a form for reporting your field research. Deliverables 1. Brief report (250 words) on background research conducted in library and archival sources (see template). 2. Brief report (500 words) on field observations and interviews (see template). 3. CD containing digital photographs (and if available, other images, such as video or scans of historic images) 4. Poster for exhibit at Great Plains Folk Festival.
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