Essay Questions and Policies

Four essays will be assigned during this session. Below are the questions for this session's essays. You are expected to express your reaction and answer the question given for each due date in a the equivalent form of a typed,and double spaced paper at least two but not more than three pages in length. The lowest score of the four essays will be dropped. Each essay will be worth 50 points for a total of 150 points toward the course grade. Each essay will be due by E-MAIL to his_ncp@shsu.edu by 12:00 PM on the day stated in the syllabus. Only those who can show that they have no possible access to a computer will be allowed to turn in a hard copies of the essay. No essays will be accepted after this deadline and there are no makeups.

Questions for the First Essay:

1) Compare and contrast the accounts of Prehistoric human development given in the web source based on a 1904 textbook with that of the Penguin Encyclopedia. How do they differ in their views of the agricultural revolution.
2) Comment on this isuue of gender relations in prehistoric societies. What evidence supports or refutes the existance of matriarchies in remote antiquity?
3) While visiting Babylon, the Greek traveler Herodotus meets a Jewish rabbi and a Chaldean priest and hears the story of a great cataclysm (which occurred in remote antiquity) from two different perspectives. While listening to the two versions, he made a connection with the Greek legend of Deucalion. In a lost section of his history, he described the stories of the priest and rabbi and analyzed them by comparing the flood story in Greek religion. Recreate this lost section of his history by using available among the web sources.
4) Herodotus' descriptions of Mesopotamia and Egypt were written over 2500 years after the emergence of those civilizations. Chronologically their origins were as distant to Herodotus, as Herodotus is to us. Nonetheless Herodotus was one of the only sources ( along with the Old testament) for the history of the river valley civilizations until the development of modern archaeology in the 19th century. Compare and contrast Herodotus' description of either Egypt or Mesopotamia with what we know about those civilization today. How accurate are Herodotus vignettes on the state, society, economy, and cultures of Egypt or Mesopotamia? Use the Penguin Encyclopedia,and the web sources (as well as other materials, if you wish) as your the bases for your discusssion.

Questions for the Second Essay:

1) In a brief essay discuss the effect that migrations of nomadic peoples had upon the development of the ancient Near East from earliest times to the about 800 B.C. How disruptive were they? Was there a continuity or a restoration of city life in their wake? In discussing this issue, concentrate on the Hyksos invasion of Egypt in the 1880's B. C., the movement of Sea Peoples, Hebrews, and others in the 1200's B. C. In composing your essay, use lectures, the Penguin Encyclopedia, the web sources, and other materials, if you wish.
2) While the Ancient Near East came to be dominated by region-wide Empires, such as Persia from 700 B.C. onward, these Empires were far from monlithic. From the primary-source readings on the Persian Empire, what weaknesses do you percieve in that state? What strengths do you see that could have been be used to consolidate and maintain Persian rule? In your view of the readings, how did they legitimize the authority of the Kings? In presenting your views, cite the reading you consider the most important in answering the question.
3) In your opinion, who were the Sea Peoples? Where did the come from before their invasion of Egypt? Where did they go afterwards? Use the text and web sources in answering this question.
4) Comment of the differing views of Bernal and Lefkowitz regarding one the follwoing: 1) the ethnic composition of ancient Egypt; or 2) the diffusion of civilization. Which position do you support and why. Use available sources to back your opinion.

Questions for the Third Essay:

1) Of the primary source readings on India, except for Arrian, which would you consider the most similar in theme and outlook to those of the Ancient Near East and Greece? Enumerate the reasons for your opinion, citing evidence from the four readings?
2) Of the primary source readings on China, which would you consider the most similar in theme and outlook to those of the Ancient Near East and Greece? Enumerate the reasons for your opinion, citing evidence from the readings?
3) The Greeks are said to have developed two of the important forms of western literature--Drama and History. Compare and contrast the historical and dramatic approach to confronting or depicting the problems of war and peace in classical Greece by using either Herodotus and Aeschylus, or Thucydides and Aristophanes. How do Herodotus and Aeshylus portray the Greek victory over the Persians? Or how do Thucydides and Aristophanes confront the dilemma of prolonged civil war among the Greek city states? Use the Penguin Encyclopedia and the web sources (as well as other materials, if you wish) as your the bases for your discusssion.
4) In the courts of Athens, defendants represented themselves at trial, as did Socrates in his trial for impiety and corrupting the youth. Prepare a brief for the defense for Socrates as a modern lawyer, using depositions (affidavits) from Socrates, Xenophon, Crito and Euthyphro. Limit your brief to five pages in which you present the main points made by your witnesses. In composing your brief, use lectures, the Penguin Encyclopedia,, the web sources, and other materials, if you wish.
5) Historians have debated over the nature of the personality and ultimate goals of Alexander the Great. To some he was a military genius who eventually envisioned one world living in peace under one government. To others he was an erratic alcoholic who was prone to fits of murderous temper and whose conquests were no different from those of previous megalomaniacs of the Ancient Near East. In a brief essay discuss whether Alexander was typical of other "world conquerors" or was he a visionary who wanted to unite East and West, Europe and Asia. In preparing the essay, use available materials in the web sources and text, as well as any outside materials on Alexander you may wish to use.

Questions for the Fourth Essay:

1) According to the historian Polybius, what political and military institutions made Rome able to dominate the Mediterranean? What did Rome have over its rivals, Carthage and the Hellenistic monarchies, in the political and military sphere that made it overcome them. Cite the readings of Polybius and Aristotle that you consider the most important in answering the question.
2) Compare and contrast the careers of two "losers" in Roman history, Crassus and Otho. One is representative of the late Republic and the other of the early Empire. How did their careers and demises affect the development of the Roman State? Cite Plutarch's biographical sketches in answering this item.
3) The enlightenment historian Edward Gibbon commented that the Roman Empire was a victim of Christianity and the Barbarians. In your opinion, based upon the readings, was the migration of peoples in the 4th and 5th centuries a negative or positive development in world history? Did the Roman Empire fall and the ancient world end as a result of this factor, or the migrations help to transform a civilization and a world order already in crisis? In presenting your opinions cite specific examples from Pliny, Josephus, Priscus, Salvian and other sources.
4) From the readings on the Christian church, how would you describe the relationship between Christians and the Roman state? How did the Emperor Constantine's edict change that relationship? What did Constantine do to change that relations?
5) Comment on the lifestyle and social organization of the "barbarians" with sedentary "civilizations. What is the attitude of authors like Priscus, Ammianus Marcelinus, Jordanes, Salvian, and the others toward nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples?

Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria for the Essays:

1. Coverage of Subject: Be sure that your essay directly addresses the question. Fully answer the question without side issues or repetition. Make a significant effort to fully cover and reiterate the question or topic of the essay in the conclusion. (10 points)
2. Analysis: The focus on the question should be maintained thoughout the essay. Points and/or subtopics should be clearly conceived, presented and discussed. Be sure to present your own view as well as the view of the sources. (10 points)
3. Content: The information you present to subtantiate points and topics ought to be accurate and clearly presented. The facts and the interpretation of those facts that you offer in the essay should contribute evidence to the general arguments you present. Do not make assertions in your essay without backing them up with evidence from the sources. (10 points)
4. Organization and Form: Your essay should be composed in a clear and logical manner. If your essay is a narrative essay, events should be covered in a clear chronological outline. If your essay is analytical or descriptive, your points should be presented in a logical sequence which enhances your general argument. Make certain that your essay has an introductory statement, a body of evidence, and a conclusion. (10 points)
5. Writing and mechanics: The writing style of your essay should be clear and concise. Your essay should be written in proper English and addressed the prospective audience of educated lay people. Be sure that each paragraph leads logically into the other and that all terms, events, people and other items are adequately defined. Be certain that all information is properly documented. Make sure that you follow the fundamentals of paragraphing, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Be certain that you have maintained proper margins and form. Have your essay carefully proofread for mechanics, organization, continuity, and transition. (10 points)

Score Sheet for the Essays:

1. Pertinance and coverage:____________ out of 10
2. Analysis: ________________________ out of 10
3. Content:_________________________ out of 10
4. Organization & Form:______________ out of 10
5. Writing & Mechanics:______________ out of 10
TOTAL __________out of 50 ------GRADE_______