ASSIGNMENT

Research Paper #2 The Hall of Fame of Great Americans

This fall Bronx Community College President Thomas Isekenegbe proposed raising funds to revive the tradition of nominating candidates for new busts in the long dormant Hall of Fame of Great Americans. Rather than merely picking up where things left off when the money ran out back in the 1970s, however, and proposing a few more of the usual suspects—an Eleanor Roosevelt, for example, or a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—your assignment will be a bit more complicated.

The Hall of Fame was conceived at the turn of the last century as a celebration of individual achievements and contributions to the life of the nation. Many of the individuals represented there were well known in their own time. But nations are not built, maintained, repaired or transformed one prominent person at a time. And as we discussed when considering the statues of confederate soldiers that adorn the public squares and courthouses of many Virginia towns, stand-alone monuments run the risk of telling an incomplete and often deeply problematic story. Your task will be to help fill in those gaps.

Start by choosing a figure of particular interest from the ninety-plus bronze busts already on display. Find out who this person was, what she accomplished, when and where the words on the plaque underneath were spoken or written, and assess how accurately you think those words convey her importance. What larger American story does she contribute to? Does she represent a particular impulse or tradition? A set of ideas? A social movement? Take note also of the year she was inducted into the Hall of Fame (I will provide a list of dates). What was going on at the time that might have made her an appealing candidate or made the committee choose that particular quotation? Make sure to document your sources.

Then, explain what’s missing and propose an addition to—or even a slight rearrangement of—this particular corner of the Hall of Fame. Your addition should stand in relation to your chosen figure—shoulder-to-shoulder, perhaps, at her feet, or up in her face. It should not depict a famous individual, but rather express collective achievement: the anonymous garment workers of the Triangle fire, say, the native Americans at the first Thanksgiving, the Black Panther Party or team of scientists working on the Manhattan Project. (Of course, your addition need not be a group of people at all.) The important thing is that it adds something relevant to what’s already there, that it helps complete—or complicate—a story the outlines of which you’ve already sketched out for us.

In addition to making a connection to the existing bust and defending your choice, you must also describe how you will depict and label your addition, how visitors will be able to tell who or what they’re looking at. How will you create drama without relying on any more words than the existing plaques allow? (No video screens allowed. This is an outdoor sculpture gallery, built for the ages.)

Your paper should be four to five pages, double-spaced with MLA citations. The first draft is due Thursday, Dec. 3. The final draft is due the following Thursday, Dec. 10. You will begin posting, presenting and voting on one another’s proposals on the day the first drafts are due. More details about appropriate sources, format and submission guidelines to follow.