During our discussion last week, one question that was raised (I think by Michelle) was how the community of Timbuktu in North Elba got its name. As it happens, I did a little bit of research on that question back in 2010, and I posted what I found (or didn’t find) on my blog. You can read the posts here if you’re interested.

If you do read them, you might think a little bit about what we discussed today regarding the difference between topic-based and argument-driven research. These blog posts I did on Timbuktu are not really good models for you to use for your research paper, because they are mainly reports about a topic–rather than attempts to answer a significant, arguable question. That’s why I posted them in this form. That said, can you think of ways I could have turned the research done for these posts into a thesis-driven paper? That thought experiment might be useful as you consider ways to get your own topic turned into a question.

Apropos of our discussion yesterday, here’s a review of a recent book on Lincoln’s emancipation policy. The author of the book, Harold Holzer, appears to agree with Oakes’s understanding of Lincoln as a great strategist and politician. Interestingly, it sounds like Holzer believes Lincoln’s delay on the subject of emancipation was not only excusable but actually necessary. What do you think?