Pomona College History 21: Dynamics of Power in the US

Spring 2017

First Paper Assignment

DUE: 2/24, at 5:00pm via email in Word, PDF, or Odt format

Send to: vsilverman@pomona.edu with "h21 paper 1" in the subject line

KEEP A BACKUP PAPER COPY OF YOUR PAPER and EMAIL!!!!!

Write a 1300-1600 word (@4-5 pp) report on the results of a study of a historical power network. For an introduction to the basic methods of doing this research, read: Michael Domhoff, "How to Do Power Structure Research" and/or Val Burris, "An Internet Guide to Power Structure Research" which are linked here.

For the paper you can choose to research the board of directors or trustees in 1917 of:

The class will be broken up into groups, one for each board. Each member of a group will be responsible for researching and writing a paper about one or at most two members of a board. Find the names of the board members, their education, birthplace, employment history, and social register status. It is fine, in fact recommended, for group members to meet together and exchange research findings. At the class presentation, each group will report on their groups finding overall--that means you need to meet to prepare your presentation ahead of time.

There are many sources/databases available through the libraries to research the paper. Please read through the guide that Lisa Crane has put together for the class at: http://libguides.libraries.claremont.edu/content.php?pid=556384&sid=4586373. Some of the most useful for this project will be:

In the paper you will describe one or two members of the board, recount their biographies,and detail the economic, political, social or cultural connections that show them to be or not to be members of the upper class. In an appendix or endnote provide a list of their connections--people, companies, or other insitutions. In the paper you will also have to detail the method and sources you used to discover this information. You will also provide an analysis that explains how the makeup of this board and institution supports or contradicts the argument in Domhoff.