Making history relevant by connecting past, present and future

History is the bridge that connects the past with the present. Without history, we have no
future…. History allows us to investigate and interpret the past in order to see how we developed
and where we came from. We can get an idea of what has influenced our past and present, and
also what will shape our future.
Please use these formatting guidelines and the guiding questions below to complete a 10-page
paper based on the idea of making history relevant by connecting past, present and future. You
may be a creative as you would like as long as you incorporate past present and future.
This list is very general — use it to spark an idea for a specific, well-developed topic. You need
to think through how you will conduct an analysis of your particular topic, what questions you
will answer, and what your specific focus will be. Most importantly, be creative and have fun
with it.
• Gender
• Religion
• Laws and Policies
• Poverty
• Race, Gender, and/or Class
• Socialization, Group Processes, Social Control
• Violence
• Family Structures
• Same-sex marriage
• Race relations
• Education
• Historical variations in the construction of gender
• Crime
• Politics
• Social Justice
• Modern day slavery
• Social movements
Once you have selected a topic for your research paper, you need to focus and narrow it into a
specific research question. Your question should be one that: lends itself to sociological analysis
is not a “yes” or “no” question has more than one plausible answer you can get the information to
answer is answerable in the page length allotted.
• Your paper must be typed, double-spaced, one-inch margins, 12-point Times New
Roman or Calibri font only.
• Your paper should be between 10-15 pages in length.

• You must use and incorporate one of the major themes in chapter 23 and 24.
• Format your citations and bibliography using ASA or APA style. The bibliography does
not count toward the page requirement. You should be familiar with proper citation, as
well as the appropriate use of quotations. Papers that excessively use quotations will lose
points. Your paper should be in your own voice, which means using quotations
selectively and only when necessary.
• You need a cover page for the paper; I don’t care about the format or images as long as it
has your name, class and section.
• Please proofread your paper.
1. How does history connect the past present and future?
2. Why is history so important?
3. How does history affect us today?
4. How does past shape our identity and behavior?
5. How does your past influence your identity?
6. Why do we need to understand the past?
7. What are the variety of approaches that constitute Afrocentricity?
8. Explore the many dimensions of black identity, culture, and status in the twenty-first
century.
9. the modern civil rights movement had on the lives of African Americans, and what
progress is still to be made?
10. How have black culture and black artists had a profound impact on social injustice
and prejudice? What is the connection of the past to the present?
11. How does the past we are learning link significantly to the present?
12. Why is the past important?