HIS 100 Project Template
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School
Southern New Hampshire University *
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Course
100
Subject
History
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
3
Uploaded by parisnicole
HIS 100 Project Template
Part 1: Creating a Research Question
1.
Describe how your assumptions, beliefs, and values influenced your choice of topic.
I decided on the topic of Climate Change and Environmental Issues because since I live in
Florida, I don’t technically get to experience the seasons as other places do and it piqued
interest me if I know enough about what is going on outside of my “Florida world bubble”. I have
noticed that when I am researching current events, I have been sticking to things that deal with
water or the beach and I think that is because for one I am comfortable/knowledgeable about
that topic and the beach/ocean is something that I truly enjoy and love.
2.
Discuss the significance of your historical research question in relation to your current event.
My research question is “How do the production and use of fossil energy affect humans and
Earth?” It is significant because it supports two separate things that are important for human life
and the life of the Earth. Speaking about the toxic release from the clothing line Columbia, the
waste/use of a certain ingredient in their clothes is bad for humankind and the Earth. How do we
expect the Earth to provide a suitable and stable living atmosphere if we pollute it and suffer in
the end? This can also be tied to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred in 2010. The oil
spill affected the ecosystem in that area, and we are known to get over 86 different species of
food sources just from the Gulf of Mexico.
3.
Explain how you used sources to finalize your research question.
I used a wide variety of sources to help guide me to a more successful research question. My
professor helped guide me on the correct path as well. But finding sources that have no
“winning” connections to the event was what I was striving to look for. What I mean by a
winning connection is that when the event occurs the source neither profits nor losses anything.
Part 2: Building Context to Address Questions
1.
Describe the context of your historical event that influenced your current event.
My two events correlate because they both impact the wellness of people, our ecosystem, and
planet Earth. The oil spill greatly impacted us over a broad spectrum of things like the economy,
humans, and sea creatures. It affects the economy by halting all tourist industries in the affected
areas in this case it went from the shorelines of Texas all the way to Florida! The oil spill nearly
affected about “82,000 birds of 102 species; about 6,165 sea turtles; as many as 25,900 marine
mammals; and a vast (but unknown) number of fish”
(Center for Biological Diversity). Oil spills
are also known to cause respiratory damage, liver damage, decreased immunity, increased
cancer risk, etc. This can be connected to the Columbia clothing company which has been using
toxic materials (PFAS) that affect humans and our environment tremendously. PFAS is a group of
chemicals that is used to make a specific coating that is resistant to heat, oil, stains, grease, and
water but the side effects of using it are “increased cholesterol levels, decreased vaccine
response in children, changes in liver enzymes, increased risk of high blood pressure or pre-
eclampsia in pregnant women, small decreases in infant birth weights, and increased risk of
kidney or testicular cancer”
(CDC, 2022). So overall, both events past and current affect/affected
our personal health tremendously.
4.
Describe a historical figure or group’s participation in your historical event.
The group that was involved in the oil spill in 2010 was BP. The oil rig in the Deepwater Horizon
oil spill was owned by Transocean and was leased by BP the oil company. The oil spill occurred
because high-pressure methane gas from in the well expanded into the marine riser and rose
into the drilling rig which caused a spark and then exploded, causing the drilling rig to sink,
leading to the oil spill. This explosion can be traced off Louisiana's coast where it released 4.9
1
million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. When it came down to who is responsible for this
action “the Justice Department brought 48 felony charges and 2 misdemeanors charges against
four BP employees: Kaluza, Vidrine, former BP vice president David Rainey, and engineer named
Kurt Mix” (Steffy, 2016).
5.
Explain the historical figure or group’s motivation to participate in your historical event
.
Obviously, the main motivation for owning/working in oil drilling is to collect as much product as
possible and to make as much money as possible. One would assume that they were pushing to
collect their product as efficiently as possible and either got lazy or cut some corners that didn’t
necessarily work out for anyone’s favor who was or wasn’t involved. An article from Britannica,
states that there was a similar incident in 2008 in the Caspian Sea. So, this is something that the
company knows can be a problem.
Part 3: Examining How Bias Impacts Narrative
1.
Describe a narrative you identified while researching the history of your historical event.
The narrative I continue to find while researching my historical event was who was going to be
held accountable. Would it be the government or BP? As I stated all the charges above, we now
know that BP was held more liable than anyone else. But many of the people involved were
trying to point the blame at someone else during most of the process.
6.
Articulate how biased perspectives presented in primary and secondary sources influence what
is known or unknown about history.
The potential of biased sourcing influencing the knowledge of any event is huge. Using a source
to educate yourself and others in your community is ideal but can make a giant game of
telephone if you don’t have a clear and unbiased source. So, it is important as an individual in
your community to educate yourself to the best of your ability with credible sources so we can
prevent misinformation from spreading and educating the surrounding people incorrectly which
can influence how we all think/make decisions.
7.
Identify the perspectives that you think are missing from your historical event’s narrative.
A perspective that I think is missing is the side of the oil drilling company BP. You can easily find
sources on how it has damaged humans, animals, the ecosystem, and the economy but when
you dig into BP point of view you get little to none. I would love to hear the perspective of
someone who was working at the time of the explosion and to learn what they were doing to try
to prevent it or if the explosion occurred without warning.
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 historical roots of my current and historical event not only educated me on the
topic but it helped me form a stronger connection to myself and the events as well as the events
together. Having the knowledge that BP has had a similar situation in 2008 with an oil rig was
something I was unaware of, but it goes to show you that people will overlook certain things if
they can gain anything from the situation whether it is power, fame, or money. And the same
can be looked at with Columbia’s continuous use of the PFAS even when we are fighting them to
stop all future products that contain the toxic material. Both events have had situations that
should have warned them to fix something to prevent harm to everything but decided to look
the other way. I would not have had this knowledge if I had not learned the historical roots as
well as looked for primary and secondary sources.
8.
Articulate how questioning your assumptions, beliefs, and values may benefit you as an
individual.
It is important to be able to understand the glasses you look through every day and what filters
you subconsciously use to view the world because they may not be the same as the person next
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to you or someone in a different state. I know that a lot of people like to just assume that
everything happens for a reason but compared to how scientists and historians think it is very
different. Scientists are taught to keep digging until they find the cause for that action and
historians like to learn all they can in history so they can make educated decisions that can better
our futures. It’s important in every aspect of personal, academic, and professional life to be able
to separate your thoughts and beliefs to keep all information you share as unbiased as possible.
9.
Discuss how being a more historically informed citizen may help you understand contemporary
issues.
Having knowledge of history is huge for making big-time decisions. Someone who is educated on
the topic of politics can make an educated decision on what they think will better themselves
and the future better than someone who has no knowledge and will ultimately just guess
without thinking of the repercussions it can make. I know I do strive to inform myself on
something before making any decision even if it means looking up the menu to a restaurant
before I get there so I know there is something I will like or educating myself on how fossil fuels
work and impact the world we live in and how it will affect our children/ future generations.
REFERENCES:
CDC. (2022, November 1).
Potential health effects of Pfas Chemicals
. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Retrieved February 19, 2023, from
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/index.html
Center for Biological Diversity. (n.d.). A Deadly Toll. Retrieved February 19, 2023, from
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/energy/dirty_energy_developm
ent/oil_and_gas/gulf_oil_spill/a_deadly_toll.html
Steffy, L. (2016, September 21).
Blowout
. Texas Monthly. Retrieved February 19, 2023, from
https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/deepwater-horizon-prosecution/
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