MEMOIR ANALYSIS
Style: Times New Roman, 12pt font or equivalent, double-spaced Be sure to include your name, student number, page numbers, and the total word count of the paper. REQUIRED READING: Chinua Achebe, There Was A Country (Penguin Books, 2012). In this assignment, you will be reading Chinua Achebe′s memoir on the Biafra secession/Nigerian Civil War of 1967-70. While this is a memoir reflecting Achebe′s personal experiences, students should still approach this kind of primary source critically. This paper should NOT be a review of the merits or historical accuracy of the memoir. Rather you will need to construct an argument about how the memoir represents historical themes and events. Think of Achebe not only relating his experiences but also putting forth an argument in retrospective about the causes, meanings, and outcomes of the historical events he describes: what is his argument? [unique_solution]How does he claim authority and use evidence to support his personal narrative? What are the larger political implications and stakes of his recounting of these events? Remember, the how and the why are your most important questions. As this is a relatively short paper (1,000 words), students should limit their analysis to a specific theme. NB DO NOT waste your words summarizing the historical events in question. Assume in your essays that your audience (me) has read the memoir in question and has a firm sense of the historical context. You are not expected to use sources outside the Achebe text, but the other readings for February 25th might give some helpful insights into the context and frameworks for reading memoirs critically to keep in mind for your analysis . This assignment should be written in full academic prose. As sources will be limited to the one source, simple parenthetical references (author, page number) will suffice and no bibliography is necessary. If you choose to bring in an external source, it should be properly footnoted and given bibliographical reference. The preferred guide for citations in history is The Chicago Manual of Style. All of the Chicago Manual of Style is on line, via the University of Wisconsin′s writing center page at: https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/documentation/docchicago/notes-bibliography/ (Links to an external site.) Or the Chicago Manual of Style (2017) available online through the library: https://search.library.utoronto.ca/details?11331900&uuid＝faa87386-34d1-4a8a-bdc4-185cddab2bd1Links to an external site.