HIS 100 Project
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School
Southern New Hampshire University *
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Course
100
Subject
History
Date
Feb 20, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
3
Uploaded by KidDragonMaster799
HIS 100 Project Template
Use this template to address the steps in your Project Guidelines and Rubric. Replace the bracketed text with your responses. Ensure that you have considered your instructor’s feedback when revising your work. Proofread the entire document before submitting.
Part 1: Creating a Research Question
1.
Describe how your assumptions, beliefs, and values influenced your choice of topic.
I chose to study Chernobyl for a few reasons. One of these reasons was because my husband had just watched a show that focused on the events of the disaster and I wanted to learn more about what happened. Another reason is the fact that I had heard so much about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and that they had control over the Chernobyl power plant for a period of time and Ukraine was worried about another devastation. I have a belief that no one can take away your knowledge of anything. I constantly want to learn more about everything that I can. I was always taught to expand your knowledge base. I have learned throughout my research that there was a lot of factors that went into the devastation of reactor 4. After a lot of reading, I believe that the government could have evacuated the cities and villages a lot faster than they did to reduce the effects of radiation sickness, but I feel like they were more focused on their own health than the health of the population around the power plant. I believe there were different practices that could have led to different outcomes in this event. 2.
Discuss the significance of your historical research question in relation to your current event.
My initial research question asked about what the impact of the explosion had on the population on the wildlife and how it was affected today. I realized that it did not focus on the history. After more research, I molded my question in to wanting to know more about the events leading up to the explosion and learning more about the people involved. 3.
Explain how you used sources to finalize your research question.
My sources helped finalize my research question in a way that they helped me discover more and more about the families involved, the director, the USSR, and other parties that were involved in the explosion and the devastation at Chernobyl. Part 2: Building Context to Address Questions
1.
Describe the context of your historical event that influenced your current event.
On February 24, 2022, Russia captured the Chernobyl exclusion zone and the Chernobyl power plant. With Russia in control of those territories, Ukraine was ultimately worried of another nuclear disaster. According to environmental scientists, Ukraine has had a few long hot and dry summers. If Russia had set fire to Chernobyl any of the particles that were left in the soil by the blast would stir up the radionuclides and be extremely dangerous to Ukraine, Belgium and the Netherlands. The power plant has a cover on it and is to be sealed for the next 100 years. If that cover comes off, and a fire were to happen, that would cause another nuclear explosion. (Dias, 2022).
2.
Describe a historical figure or group’s participation in your historical event.
Viktor Bruykhanov was a member of the Communist Party who became the chief administrator of the Chernobyl Power Plant. He took this role in 1970. He knew that the newly remodeled reactor had skipped a safety test in 1983. The safety test was set to be done during a normal shutdown.
3.
Explain the historical figure or group’s motivation to participate in your historical event.
Bruykhanov’s motivation to participate in the safety test came from the pressure the USSR was putting on his shoulders. He was forced to cut corners. He was forced to lie about financial 1
numbers to mee the goals of his bosses. He was also forced to cover up a severe accident that occurred in 1982. His assistant also signed off on the approval to perform the test without informing Bruykhanov. Part 3: Examining How Bias Impacts Narrative
1.
Describe a narrative you identified while researching the history of your historical event.
A narrative that I identified while researching the history of Chernobyl is Chernobyl: From Accident to Sarcophagus. The section specifically on the events on the accident gives the reader a very clear understanding of the events that occurred on the night of April 25, 1986. This was the night that the scheduled safety test was supposed to occur. The narrative tells the reader exactly who was in the control room of reactor 4, what the purpose of the test was, who signed off on the test and so much more. The test was originally supposed to take place the year prior but did not. The purpose of the test was to see if the turbines, without power, could still supply power to the plant for 20-30 seconds until the emergency generators started up (p. 105). 2.
Articulate how biased perspectives presented in primary and secondary sources influence what is known or unknown about history.
Biased perspectives presented in primary and secondary sources influences what is known and what is unknown about history in a way that primary sources come straight from the time that the event happened. Primary sources can still cause speculation because of someone’s beliefs and values. Secondary sources come after the event happened. Years after the event happened. But the sources for the secondary sources should be the primary sources. Biased perspectives presented are more prone to give the wrong information to the events and make the researcher
or even society believe in untrue information just because something that someone believes to be true. 3.
Identify the perspectives that you think are missing from your historical event’s narrative.
I believe some perspectives that are missing from the historical event’s narrative would be from people that were in the control room at the time of the explosion. I would like to know more about what was going on in the control room, what the environment was like, why the director wanted to still go through with the test when everything was going wrong, why his assistant signed off on the test, and even what some of what everyone was thinking and feeling at the time when everyone realized something was seriously wrong. Part 4: Connecting the Past With the Present
1.
Explain how researching its historical roots helped improve your understanding of your current event.
Researching the history of Chernobyl helped me understand the seriousness of the semi current event with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia released their hold over the Chernobyl area in April 2022 but the war between the two countries still continues to this day. The two countries have been at war for 655 days. 2.
Articulate how questioning your assumptions, beliefs, and values may benefit you as an individual.
Questioning my assumptions, beliefs, and values will benefit me as an individual in a way that it will help me grow, mature, and learn. In questioning all of these, I will learn more about culture, history, different points of view, different beliefs, and different values. I am the type of person who loves creative discussions, I feel like they are enlightening. Having a new perspective on the
world and learning about new beliefs and values of the world will help me mold myself as an individual and teach my kids to be better adults. 3.
Discuss how being a more historically informed citizen may help you understand contemporary issues.
2
Being a more historically informed citizen will help me understand contemporary issues in a way
that I know that history does not repeat itself. Instead, we take what has happened in the past, understand why it happened, and understand that our history is what makes us who we are today. As Americans, no one, unless someone is a Native American, can say that they are pure blooded American. We all came from somewhere else, whether it’s Ireland, Scotland, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, etc. Personally, my dad is from Brazil. I know I have culture in Brazil, Italy, and Poland. Understanding my family’s history makes me a stronger individual and will help me teach my kids about my history. It will also help me be motivated to learn more about the history of my family and our historical roots. Dias, I. (2022, February 24). Russia Just Seized Chernobyl. Here’s Why It Matters.
Mother Jones. Retrieved December 10, 2023, from https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2022/02/russia-just-seized-chernobyl-heres-why-
it-matters/
3
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