Duke University The Soviet Union and the United States of America Complex Relationship Analysis

In your final paper, you will complete two tasks. First, based on what you learned from the textbook and discussions you will evaluate shifts and changes in the two countries’ complex relationship as a result of military, political, economic, social, and cultural developments during the twentieth century. Secondly, you will use two Hollywood films as primary sources to explain how those works expressed and reflected changing American perceptions of the Soviet Union in the period between World War II and the Cold War. Your paper needs to explain the historical context in ca. 500 words before analyzing in ca. 750 to 1,250 words how changing American attitudes toward the Soviet Union manifest in the two films.

In your efforts of engaging the films as primary sources that

signify crucial moments in the history of the two countries’

relationship, you may compare and contrast any of their common elements

(such as plot, characters, setting, dialogue, music etc.) to explain

changes in American-Soviet relations.

Write a coherent, argument-driven, and evidence-supported paper that grounds your analysis of the primary sources in the larger historical context. To identify names of characters or creative involved in their production, use the information provided on IMDb (and cite it in Chicago Style footnotes). Connect the material in meaningful ways and refrain from merely summarizing the films’ stories. The textbook will help with the first part of the paper. The Library of Congress also has an excellent overview of U.S. -Soviet relations here (Links to an external site.). If you wish to use external secondary sources for the second part of the paper then you must run your selection of external secondary sources by your professor for approval prior to December 01 at 11:59pm via Canvas message.

Make sure your paper begins with an introduction, continues with body paragraphs, and ends with a brief conclusion. Your introduction must feature a straightforward thesis statement that identifies your argument. Your paragraphs need to begin with topic sentences that establish a connection to your argument.

Put all text in Arial 12pt font (and put footnote text in Arial 10pt). Double-space all text (except for footnotes). Use margins of one inch on each side of each page. Indent the first line of each paragraph.

Your paper must be between 1,500 and 2,000 words (counting title but not counting the footnotes). Paginate the paper throughout and include a word count at the end.

Format your paper in accordance with the standards of the Chicago Manual of Style. Identify all directly and indirectly cited content with the aid of footnotes. Include a list of sources (bibliography) under your paper.