Summer reading
One book over the break, a presentation rubric, a worked example of turning a book into a case study, and the documentary list.
Pick one book from the list and read it properly over the break. There is a sheet below for claiming your book and for the presentation rubric, plus a worked example built from The New Silk Road showing how to turn a book into something you can actually use in an essay.
How a book becomes a case study
- Read for the political issue, not the plot. Who has power here, who does not, and how is that maintained?
- Find the concepts. Sovereignty, legitimacy, interdependence, development, rights — a good book on world affairs will carry three or four of them without naming any.
- Note two or three specifics — a date, an actor, a policy, an outcome. That is what makes it citable.
- Find the counter-argument. Every book has a thesis. What is the strongest case against it, and does the book engage with it?
The documentaries list does the same job in ninety minutes, and each entry is tagged with the concept it illustrates.
Resources for this page
Type and length first, then why it is worth opening.