THIS DAY IN HISTORY CALENDAR
THE MISSION: To design a This Day In Calendar, complete with approximately 100 daily occurrences and 12 monthly historical images. By far the majority of the events should have occurred at some point between January 1, 1945 and the present, though you should not hesitate to include a few events from before 1945 if these are particularly relevant for understanding contemporary times. You should also identify at least three interesting events from the past 100 years that happened on your birthday and three famous people from any era who share your birthday.
DUE DATE: Wednesday, November 2. You should bring a printed copy of the calendar to class on this day and be prepared to offer a brief description of the calendar to a small group of your fellow students.
THE PROCEDURE
STEP 1: DESIGN A THIS DAY IN 20TH CENTURY HISTORY CALENDAR
Decide whether you want to do a general This Day In History calendar or a calendar with a more specialized theme. A general calendar will freely mix random important events together in the same template. A thematic calendar would include only those events that were connected with your theme. Themes include not only the straightforward ( egs. Women's And Contemporary History; The View From Africa; You Say You Want A Revolution; Technology And History; This Day In World Literature) but also the more imaginative (Non-Violence And History; The Intersection Of Sports And Politics; Canada On The Global Stage; Unnoticed But Important; Colour And Contemporary History). The possibilities here are limited only by your imagination. If you want to design your own theme, I would recommend browsing freely in the on-line calendars linked below as you seek inspiration.
a) Find a calendar template. There is a series of calendar templates within Microsoft Publisher, though I have not used any of these myself. Several free calendar templates are available on-line. The WinCalendar web-site, for example, seems as if it might be of use.
b) Research daily events from 20th Century History. Take notes as to possible events you might include on your calendar. When you're ready to write these on the calendar, try to compress the information into one short phrase. Do not cut-and-paste here but instead make sure you have put the information into your own words. Include a page for each month of the year 2012, and aim to have a minimum of 100 events spread throughout the year listed on the appropriate day (it's great if you include many more than the suggested minimum). Possible web-sites for research include the following, though you are also encouraged to engage in your own internet research:
BBC On This Day : A BBC history site.
History Channel : The This Day In History feature of The History Channel includes not only a general site but also such specialty topics as Crime, Literary History, Wall Street and World War II.
New York Times : The On This Day feature of the New York Time's educational web-page.
c) Find at least 12 interesting images to include for the month cover pages.
d) Do not hesitate to add your own special features or make some adjustments to the presentation format if you think these will improve the assignment.
STEP 2: YOUR BIRTHDAY IN 20TH CENTURY HISTORY
Find a minimum of three events from 20th century history that happened on your birthday. Find at least three people from any time in world history who share your birthday. List your results with accompanying brief historical and biographical detail.
STEP 3
Print off a copy of the calendar to show to your classmates and to hand in as your finished assignment.
HAVE FUN WITH THE ASSIGNMENT: Don't worry if the finished calendar doesn't look like it's going to be a bestseller. I am looking for evidence of research work but realize that not all have the skills of the graphic designer. And if you are pleased by the final appearance, maybe you can turn it into a present or hang it on your own wall throughout the year.
