A review essay is not glamorous, but it is an excellent teaching tool. I am repeatedly
surprised (and thrilled) by how much students learn from this type of assignment.
By summarizing a complex argument and using course readings to offer a critique,
students grapple with the challenges of historical analysis from multiple perspectives.
First they must appreciate how Bederman put together her very sophisticated argument
and then they must support their critiques by mustering evidence from the course.
The assignment also accommodates students with differing backgrounds in history:
Less experienced students are often pushed to struggle with issues of bias and
evidence in ways that are new to them, while the strongest students are able to
think through the larger implications of either Bederman's argument or their own.