ASSIGNMENT 2: THIS DAY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY HISTORY CALENDAR

THE MISSION:  To design a This Day In 20th Century History Calendar, complete with at least 75 daily occurrences and monthly historical images.  The events should have occurred at some point between January 1, 1900 and December 31, 1999.  You should also identify at least three interesting events from the past century that happened on your birthday and three famous people who share your birthday.  The purpose of the assignment is to introduce you to the basic chronology of 20th Century World History within an interesting assignment format.

THE PROCEDURE

STEP 1:  DESIGN A THIS DAY IN 20TH CENTURY HISTORY CALENDAR

Decide whether you want to do a general This Day In World 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.  They include  not only the straightforward ( egs.  Women's History in the 20th Century; The 20th Century: The View From Africa; This Day In World Literature) but also the more imaginative (East Meets West; Daring To Make A Change; This Day In Clothing History; Canada On A Global Stage).  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.

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 sentence.  Include a page for each month of the year 2008, and aim to have a minimum of 75 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:

• History "4" "2" Day Main Archive

• BBC On This Day :  A BBC history site.

• Anyday In History 

• 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.

• On This Day

c)  Find at least 12 interesting images to include for the month cover pages.

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 who share your birthday.  List your results with accompanying brief historical and biographical detail.

STEP 3

Print off a colour copy of the calendar for your own use and send me an electronic or hard-copy version of the finished assignment.

HAVE FUN WITH THE ASSIGNMENT:  Don't worry if the finished calendar doesn't look like it's going to be a Barnes and Noble 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.

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