Lieutenant Nun

Order Description

Purpose of the Assignment

The principal task of the historian is to reconstruct the past as accurately and objectively as possible. The chief tools of historians in this endeavor are the letters, diaries, documents, and personal recollections written by participants, observers, or later chroniclers of the events under study. These primary sources, such as those in Catalina de Erauso’s memoir, Lieutenant Nun, provide the basis for any text or monograph written by a modern-day historian. Difficulties frequently arise, however, when these primary sources directly contradict each other, or just present different accounts and interpretations of past events. In such cases, historians exercise critical judgment and weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each primary source. Finally, historians must come to their own conclusions about the events under investigation. The purpose of this assignment is to evaluate Catalina de Erauso’s memoir in light of what we have discussed in class. Like any professional historian, each student will evaluate the purpose, content, conclusions, and historical reliability of this important primary source.

Format for the Paper

Each paper will answer the following prompt. Please use the text as the main source, but be sure to consider the Johnson and Burkholder textbook for reference so that you understand when and where the main narrative is taking place.

1) The Colonial Americas had a rather complex social structure that ordered people by gender, ethnicity, sexuality, social status, and various other factors. Catalina de Erauso does not always talk about these issues, but she encounters and reacts to problems associated with this social hierarchy. What were the different levels of this hierarchy and how did Erauso navigate them?

Requirements

All papers must be double-spaced and typed. They should vary from 750 to 1,250 words in length (three to five typed pages). Please staple your paper. I do not need a cover sheet or a bibliography since your work will be citing the memoir and possibly the textbook. All other outside sources are forbidden. All papers should be referenced using MLA, APA, Turabian/Chicago styles. We will discuss these styles in class, briefly. We will also discuss how to cite and reference the book to avoid confusion and possible issues of academic misconduct. Remember: If a sentence or an idea is not your own, you must cite the source of that sentence or idea. This includes paraphrasing. Students reading this book on kindles or other types of e-readers must convert their versions so that the page numbers of the e-book match up to the pages in the physical text. Late papers will be penalized one letter grade for each class session after the due date. Students who do not hand in a paper will receive a zero for the assignment.