America in the 21st Century

Students will select a topic relevant to America in the 21st century. This assignment should be in the form of a PowerPoint that will be presented in class. The PowerPoint should be no fewer than eight (8) slides of content and also include a separate title slide and a bibliography slide for a total of a minimum of ten (10) slides. The in-class presentation should be 5 minutes long. The assignment can examine any aspect of life in the 21st-century but should demonstrate engagement with a variety of sources including newspaper and journal articles, as well as other secondary sources. It should also provide some discussion of how this topic connects to American history overall. Students should be comprehensive in their examination and presentation of this topic. The assignment will be graded both for the PowerPoint as well as the in-class presentation. In their presentations, students should be professional and demonstrate command and familiarity with the material being discussed.

This assignment is worth a total of 75 points; The PowerPoint is worth 50 points and the presentation is worth 25 points

Potential topics include:

Politics (e.g.) the presidency of Barak Obama; Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Stacey Abrams and contemporary political activists,etc.

Social/Civil Issues: police brutality; climate control and environmental activism; social activism and protest, etc.

Arts & Culture: Hip hop, contemporary art, rise of social media, etc.

Students may also propose their own topics, but please note that multiple students CANNOT cover the same topic. Topics will be approved on a first come, first served basis. If you are having difficulty identifying a topic, please reach out to me and I can assist you.

This assignment is due at the start of class (5:30 p.m. CST) on April 23rd for graduating seniors and on April 30th for all other students. If you are a graduating senior please let me know.