"Would it have been ok if I'd turned in a sci-fi story instead of a term paper on the Civil War?"
Apples and oranges. You are showing a bias. Try it this way: Do a paper on the Civil War, but don't mention Lincoln, or Davis.
Better yet:
Try a paper on the closing days of the Pacific theatre in World War 2, without mentioning Hiroshima or Nagasaki.
You get the idea...
CA....