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History 181B:  Modern Physics

Writing assignments
This page repeats information from the course overview. It is provided as a summary of all the written assignments.

 
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Short writing assignments You will have four short writing assignments, two based on books and two based on research. You must do all four. See the specific instructions for each.
  • McCormmach, Night Thoughts of a Classical Physicist (3 pp.): Write a short essay (questions are given) on this work of historical fiction about a turn-of-the-century theoretical physicist. Due Monday, February 10.
  • Physical Review assignment (3 pp.): Examine the early years (pre-1910) of the first American physics journal, the Physical Review, and submit a group report. Due Wednesday, February 26.
  • Frayn, Copenhagen (3 pp.): Write a response (questions are again given) to the Tony-Award-winning play about a World War II meeting between Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr. Due Wednesday, April 16.
  • BAS assignment (3 pp.):  Analyze two articles of your choice from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists between 1945 and 1952, suggesting what they reveal about physicists' concerns after World War II. Due Friday, April 25.
Alternative to the short writing assignments If you choose, instead of the four short writing assignments, you may make a special arrangement with me to write a 10-12 page research paper. This is recommended only for history majors (looking ahead to the History 101 thesis, for instance) or students with experience with college-level research papers. If you are considering this option, you must come talk with me. You may not pursue it without my approval. You must make your decision no later than Wednesday, February 26, and inform me in an e-mail. I will be happy to help you brainstorm.

If you end up doing the first short writing assignment and then deciding to write a research paper, the first short writing assignment will count as extra credit.
Reading journal option If you choose, you can skip the midterm and take a reduced version of the final (fewer paragraph-answer questions and no identifications). In exchange, you must keep a reading journal. This is a series of responses to the reading assignments, kept in a notebook or (preferably) on your computer. You must write at least three entries per syllabus unit and turn them in on the last day of each unit. You must decide whether to take this option no later than Friday, February 14, when the first unit's entries are due in class. Obviously, you will make it easier for yourself if you write the entries as each assignment comes up.

Each entry should be 300-400 words (about 1 to 1½ pages typed, double-spaced). If you choose, you may use the reading questions for each assignment to guide your responses. If there is more than one text in a single day's assignment, you may respond to the entire assignment or any part of it, but you cannot do more than one entry per day. Entries may be tentative or exploratory, but the writing should be polished. The entries will be graded. If you do more than three entries in a single unit, you will get extra credit.
 Reminders Written assignments may not be submitted by e-mail or in any other electronic form. Papers are due in class, and late papers will be penalized: each day (or fraction thereof, starting at 11:00 a.m.) that a paper is late will reduce its grade by 2/3 of a mark (e.g., A to B+, B- to C).
Copyright © Cathryn Carson 2003