Component 2: Archive Rationale | HIST 107 Group Project

Student Information

Student Name:

Section Number:

Your Commodity:

Your Analytical Lens:

Group Members (list all names, including yourself):

Include all 3-4 members of your research group

Instructions

Component 2 has two parts: a shared group rationale and your individual reflection.

What You'll Submit:

Group Archive Rationale (750-1000 words) - Written collaboratively with your group
Individual Reflection (150-250 words) - Your personal perspective on your lens

⚠️ Collaboration Note: The group rationale should be written together. Use this worksheet to draft your portion, then combine with your group members' work. You can also use this to write the entire rationale together if one person is typing.

PART 1: Group Archive Rationale (750-1000 words)

This section should explain:

Why your group chose these specific sources
Major themes and patterns across the archive
Questions of power, perspective, and missing voices
Connections to capitalism, empire, and labor
How your commodity compares to cotton (using Beckert)

Why did your group choose these sources? What do they reveal about your commodity?

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What major themes and patterns emerge across your archive?

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Whose perspectives are present in your sources? Whose voices are missing or marginalized?

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Consider: colonizers vs. colonized, owners vs. workers, men vs. women, etc.

How do your sources illuminate capitalism, empire, and globalization?

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How does your commodity compare to cotton in Beckert's Empire of Cotton?

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Reference specific concepts from Beckert: war capitalism, state power, labor systems, etc.

Total Group Rationale Word Count: 0 words

PART 2: Individual Reflection Paragraph (150-250 words)

Your individual reflection should address:

How your specific lens shaped the archive
What your sources reveal that other lenses do not
What limits or silences remain from your perspective

How did your analytical lens shape what you contributed to the archive?

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What do your sources reveal that the other lenses don't capture?

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What limits or silences remain even within your lens?

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Total Individual Reflection Word Count: 0 words