- Write an 800-word book review for the recently published historical
monograph: The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song – by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Author)
2. Employ the header and footer template you see below,
listing the name of the book, its author/s, its publication info, and number of
pages at the top, and your name and institutional affiliation at the bottom.
3. Structure your review according to the format (Title,
author, publisher, etc.) provided below.
4.
Be sure to craft a
concise review that includes the following typical elements:
A. Author Context – where the reviewer describes the author (e.g.
their educational background, their professional experiences) and tells what
else he/she has written.
B. Genre Context – where the reviewer tells what kind of book it
is – if it’s a monograph, an edited volume, part of a series, etc., and
explains what is its intended audience.
C. Title – where the reviewer opines on the suitability
of the title.
D. Style – where the reviewer evaluates the stylistic
strengths and weaknesses of the book, focusing on its readability, print
layout, imagery, typeface, etc.
E. Organization – where the reviewer judges
the organizational strengths and weaknesses of the book – whether or not it was
effectively structured into chapters, whether it was effective chronologically
or thematically, whether the images, tables, citations were useful, etc.
F. Subject – where the reviewer summarizes the subject/s of the book.
G. Thesis/Argument – where the reviewer
summarizes the thesis/argument of the book and concludes if it was persuasive
or not.
H. Method – where the reviewer explains the kinds of
sources the author/s used to build their analysis and if the methodology was
sound.
I. Theory – where the reviewer identifies any and all
theoretical frameworks that are used in the text and judges their efficacy
and/or suitability to the author’s findings.
J. Historiography – where the reviewer places
the book into the literature and/or compares it against extant works on the
subject.
K. Omissions – where the reviewer suggests analytical
approaches, analysis of other historical episodes, or other factors that could
have strengthened the analysis.
L. Judgment – where the reviewer concludes on the book as a
whole – Was it a strong addition to the historiography? Did it fail to meet its
objectives? Etc.
Structure
Review must follow the structure explained in class and/or
class videos/readings.
Specifically, the review must employ the header and footer template, listing on
top:
-the name of the book
-its author/s
-its publication info
-and number of pages.
And on bottom:
-your name and institutional affiliation.
Example:
Silver, Sword, and Stone: Three Crucibles in the Latin American Story
By Marie Arana
Simon and Schuster (2019)
477 pp.
[insert review here – 800 words]
Joseph U. Lenti (i.e. your name,) Eastern Washington Universit