HIS 100 Project
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School
Southern New Hampshire University *
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Course
206
Subject
History
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
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Uploaded by CoachFieldCobra32
HIS 100 Project
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.
Since my only real exposure to this event was watching the HBO miniseries, I certainly have my
own beliefs and assumptions regarding the event. At the end of the day, this was a drama series.
When considering that, you must consider that even television shows or movies that are based
on real events intrinsically distort, twist, or embellish upon the facts of history to make their
product more entertaining. I have heard that the levels of radiation at the site and in the
surrounding area are extremely dangerous even now. I would like to find out whether that is still
true. I’ve also heard that the environment is thriving and there are more animals and natural life
flourishing than before because of the “reset” that Chernobyl forced. This is another point that I
am interested in investigating further.
2.
Discuss the significance of your historical research question in relation to your current event.
The similarities and the significance regarding the current Russia-Ukraine conflict in comparison
to what happened at Chernobyl is immense. During this current conflict, Russian soldiers were
camped at the Chernobyl nuclear disaster zone during the invasion of Ukraine. This certainly
draw attention to this site and makes me ponder as to whether any of the Russians or Ukrainians
were uneasy and anxious about the radiation levels that are still in this area to this day. Much
like how Alexievich’s “Voices from Chernobyl” looks at the event of what happened to the
citizens in the ten years that followed, I can’t help but wonder if being back in this zone will
affect these soldiers or their family’s health ten years down the line.
3.
Explain how you used sources to finalize your research question.
Historical perspective and evidence from my primary source helped to shift my original question
to what I ended up revising it into. Direction from Professor Mehrtens helped me to gain clarity
as well. I was able to shift it to a question that would lead to much more direct and fruitful
research. By looking at the immediate ten years after Chernobyl and how it affected human lives,
I can analyze information that came straight from those who were there that day and those who
affected then and the decade to come afterwards. As Svetlana Alexievich said in her book, “Show
me a fantasy novel about Chernobyl--there isn't one! Because reality is more fantastic”
(Alexievich, 1997)
Part 2: Building Context to Address Questions
1.
Describe the context of your historical event that influenced your current event.
What happened at Chernobyl remains extremely relevant to current events and modern society.
Today’s world and political climate hasn’t changed much, if at all. It is still driven by the powerful,
their decisions and their motivations and we the people are left to deal with the fallout, whether
it be positive or negative. It reminds me of how there are such fervent opinions on both sides of
climate change. The conservative right and big corporations telling us that climate change is a
hoax while the liberal left showing us evidence of the immense effect climate change is having
on our earth. This particularly interests me because infertility is a rising problem throughout the
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world. This topic hits home for me as my wife and I have been struggling to conceive for years
and have tried everything, including IUI and IVF treatments.
The increase in infertility has been a
result of changes in our society, environmental toxin exposure, GMOs, and water contamination.
This is just a small picture of everything that climate change has potentially affected.
4.
Describe a historical figure or group’s participation in your historical event.
Viktor Bryukhanov is a key historical figure in the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl.
Viktor
Bryukhanov was the manager of construction and the director of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power
Plant from 1970 until 1986.
5.
Explain the historical figure or group’s motivation to participate in your historical event
.
Viktor Bryukhanov was officially held responsible for what occurred at Chernobyl. He had played
a major role in the building and daily operation of the plant, and played a key part in how the
catastrophe was managed in what took place in response to the reactor exploding. Bryukhanov
had a lot at stake personally in this situation. He had witnessed firsthand the damaged reactor
and horrific reports brought to him by the supervisors and the plant, and still chose to look past
them and assured Moscow that the situation was contained. He insisted for the rest of his life
that neither he nor his employees were to blame for what happened at Chernobyl, even though
the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) determined reactor design, misinformation and
ill-judgement resulted in what took place that tragic day at Chernobyl (Higginbotham, 2023).
Part 3: Examining How Bias Impacts Narrative
1.
Describe a narrative you identified while researching the history of your historical event.
One narrative that has significantly influenced the understanding of my historical event is
“Voices from Chernobyl” by Svetlana Alexievich. She purposefully spent time traveling and
visiting with different individuals to gather and collect a diverse variety of tales from those who
were there to live it and those who were affected in the aftermath of the nuclear meltdown. This
collection helped to expose the real truth of what happened at Chernobyl and the effect on its
people not just immediately after the event but in the ten years that followed. She wanted to
give these people a voice to be heard worldwide and she succeeded in doing so.
6.
Articulate how biased perspectives presented in primary and secondary sources influence what
is known or unknown about history.
Using my own chosen historical and current events as an example, it is easy to see how the
influence the known and unknown about history. Originally, in the beginning of this assignment
my chosen current event was the Ohio Train Derailment in 2023 that resulted in hazardous
materials being leaked. After analysis, this event really did not have much in common with
Chernobyl. I then pivoted and chose to focus more on the current conflict between Russia and
the Ukraine. The Soviets and the USSR, which now in current times is essentially Russia, still
considers the controlling of information and power to be paramount.
This seems to be a major
part of the conflict as Ukraine is trying to break free of this while Russia continues to want to
position its’ thumb down on Ukraine to control it and keep it under its power.
7.
Identify the perspectives that you think are missing from your historical event’s narrative.
The narrative of the event at Chernobyl could change if we were able to look at it more from the
perspective of the scientists and management who worked at the Chernobyl plant. They
certainly took the brunt of the blame at the time and especially in the narrative playing out in
the media and they were essentially silenced. It would also change if we knew what had
2
occurred moments before and what was going on in the minds of the two scientists closest to
the disaster who passed away.
Part 4: Connecting the Past With the Present
1.
Explain how researching its historical roots helped improve your understanding of your current
event.
My understanding of the Soviets intentions and mindset was limited before this project but as an
effect of looking deeper into Chernobyl I gained a larger understanding of this. The Soviets, in all
regards, regulated the media and what appeared and what did not appear in both local and
foreign newspapers and on television. As a result of the cold war, information was at a premium
and they wanted to contain these mishaps. When Chernobyl, as well as other plants were
created, the USSR deliberately rushed and sacrificed the wellbeing and health in order to cut
corners, save time, and beat the United States in a race quite similar to the race to the moon.
8.
Articulate how questioning your assumptions, beliefs, and values may benefit you as an
individual.
We should always be willing and eager to question our own assumptions, beliefs, and values.
Especially those that particularly benefit us as individuals. When we hold onto old ideas and
thoughts, and accept our own beliefs as the absolute truth, that is when we get into trouble and
head down dangerous paths. This type of close-minded thinking has many negative effects. It
can lead to conflict, whether it’s with a loved one, neighbor, or a global war. It can lead to racism
and sexism against those who are different from you. Being closed off to others’ beliefs and
values breeds more and more judgement and from that only negative things come.
The more
we challenge our own beliefs and values and the more we seek to learn more about others’ who
are different than ours, the more peace and harmony we can expect to exist on this planet.
9.
Discuss how being a more historically informed citizen may help you understand contemporary
issues.
Being a more historically informed citizen means not only seeking knowledge of our history and
past, but also to be informed on current events locally and across the globe. Learning more and
diving deeper into history and events that have occurred in the past is an important part and
leads us to being able to be more informed to events and issues happening in real-time.
Identifying patterns can help us to learn, grow, and stop history from repeating itself as it tends
to do. Speaking for myself, in the past decade I have made it a point not to watch any news or
read any papers. I know am beginning to think that this is a big mistake. Ignorance is not bliss,
and if I continue to ignore the history happening around me, I am a part of the problem and not
the solution. I need to stop labeling so many sources as fake news and spend the time to sift
through it all and learn more about the current climate of what is happening locally and globally
in the world today. It is my duty as a citizen, and as a future father, to do this.
References:
Abramowitz, M. (1986, May 2).
INR information memorandum from Morton Abramowitz to the
Secretary of State: Estimate of fatalities at Chernobyl reactor accident.
National Security Archive.
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/19496-national-security-archive-doc-9-inr-information
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Alexievich, S. (2006).
Voices from Chernobyl: The oral history of a nuclear disaster (K. Gessen,
Trans.).
Picador. (Original work published 1997).
https://ebookcentral-proquest-
com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/lib/snhu-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6840804
Deppisch, B. (2023, February 14).
Fish, chickens, and foxes: Ohioans say animals getting sick
after train crash.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-
environment/ohioans-say-animals-getting-sick-after-train-crash
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It’s been more than a month since a freight train
carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in Ohio. Here’s what’s happened since.
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Jacobo, J. (2023, March 7).
How environmental disasters affect ecosystems: Ohio train
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tip-sheet-ohios-toxic-train-wreck-impacts-on-animals-and-environment/
Schmid, S. D. (2015).
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https://www-jstor-
org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/stable/j.ctt13x0ppk.11
Serafin, S. R. (2023, May 27).
Svetlana Alexievich
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https://www.britannica.com/biography/Svetlana-Alexievich
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