Reading Response: Loewenstein
Reading Response: Loewenstein
“The re-emergence of Public Opinion in the Soviet Union: Khrushchev and Responses to the
Secret Speech”
Instructions:
Read the text (link is on blackboard)
Review the instructions in Antonova, Essential Guide to Writing History Essays, chapter
5.0-5.4 about how to take useful notes for a reading response
Write a reading response. There is not a set length requirement, but shoot for a minimum
of 400 words and a maximum of about 800 words. Use the following headings as a
template for your response. See Antonova 5.5 and 5.6 for more detailed discussion of
how to write about these things.
Complete the “Scholar’s biography scavenger hunt” [instructions on page 2]
Response Template. Include the following headings in your response:
Citation: Start with a bibliography-style citation of your source.
Topic: What is the topic of the text?
Question: What problem or question is the author trying to solve/answer?
Answer: What is the author’s solution/answer to the problem? [The author’s main
claim/thesis]
Reasoning & Evidence: Explain the author’s reasoning. (What reasons does the author give
that we should agree with this claim?) Explain the author’s evidence: what kind of evidence
does s/he use to convince us that his or her reasons are plausible?
[Optional] Scholarly conversation: How are the author’s claims a response or addition to
other people’s answers to the same question.
Critical Response: To “respond critically” means to explore the implications of the text and
the validity of the author’s interpretation of evidence. If you are stuck or need ideas to get
started, use the starter questions in Antonova 5.6, especially pages 80-81.
An example response paper is attached to this assignment sheet
“Scholar’s biography” scavenger hunt assignment.
Copy and paste the following items into the PowerPoint template provided.
1. Screen capture a published capture biography of the author (or the first page of their
acknowledgements, see below):
To find the biography of the author of your text.
o If you are reading an article:
there is usually a short biography at the end of the article that tells where
the person works, their email address, and perhaps where they completed
their phd and what books they have published.
If there is none, check the first footnote (or the first page) of the article
where the author sometimes includes acknowledgements.
o If you are reading a chapter in an edited book:
There is usually a list of author biographies at the beginning of the book
that tells where the person works and perhaps where they completed their
phd and what books they have published.
o If you are reading a monograph:
There is usually a short biography on the back cover of the book that tells
where the person works and perhaps where they completed their phd and
what books they have published. (This can often be found on the
publisher’s book landing page as well.)
There is also a section of the book at the beginning called
“acknowledgements” where the author will discuss where they worked,
what other scholars have supported them, and perhaps also describe how
they began their project and conducted their research and how their family
and friends supported them.
2. Find the author’s faculty webpage and screen capture it.
Begin by searching for the university where they teach (listed in the biography) along
with the person’s name and perhaps “.edu” to filter out unwanted results. Find the
department where they teach – this usually includes a homepage for each faculty member
listing the courses they teach, things they have published recently, and projects they are
working.
3. Identify a book they have written (if any). Screen shot the title and put a box around it.
Most faculty webpages will list recent publications. Use this list to find books that this
historian written. (We will use this in step 4 – find a review.)
Note that this can be a very useful way to identify other works on your subject. If you are
researching Gulag, for instance, and you find that “Jeff Hardy” wrote an article that looks
useful, you will find a list of all his other publications on his faculty website – possibly
including publications that will be MORE useful!
4. Search Cook OneSearch to find reviews of the book you identified in step 3. Screen
capture the top results.
Go to Cook Library’s homepage
o Click on “advanced search”
o Type in the author’s first name and last name and the title of the book. Change
the “Select a Field (optional”) field to “TI Title”
o If you get a lot of results limit to “Reviews”
Note reviews are usually written by someone who has expertise on the same general
subject. This can be a very useful way to identify other potential sources on your
