Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Essay Assignments
For Essays # 1 and # 2, you are asked to read primary source materials and explain
insights gained from these readings. You have a choice of primary readings (all linked to
the web) related to historical periods we cover; you choose the topic and readings which
interest you the most and respond to question(s) asked about the documents in a formal
essay. Please look at specific assignment pages below for more details related to each
assignment.
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Required Essay Format (points will be taken off for not following these essay
format guidelines)
You respond to the specific question or set of questions related to chosen readings in a
formal College essay. Both essays should be sent as an attachment, not as email text
(to maintain formatting). Your attachment must be in WORD format.
* As a formal essay it must include a title, your name as author and it should be doublespaced and carefully proofread. Your response must:
You must make a concerted effort to comply with this basic structure of a formal essay;
increasingly students are writing sloppy unstructured essays (a reflection of blogging
styles perhaps) which fail to include structuring introductions and conclusions, and/or
have unfocused paragraphs.
* DO NOT write in the first person (I think, I believe etc.). This is a formal analysis essay
and should be written in the third person (one can see etc.)
* All quotations taken from primary sources readings must be properly cited
using MLA or Turabian format. (See HCC library guide to different citation styles.
http://libguides.hcc.hawaii.edu/citingsources)
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Help With Writing Improving your writing is only accomplished by practice, by doing
formal writing every semester. Writing is a skill honed by doing. I strongly encourage
you to do early drafts of essays and submit them to me for initial comments and
suggestions. This enables you to learn how to improve specific aspects of your writing,
as well as improve your grade on that essay. Once you have submitted the final draft
and receive a graded returned copy, be sure to read the comments given. Only then do
you learn and improve, instead of making the same mistakes the next time. Drafts
should be sent to me via email, making clear it is a draft for comment and would need to
be sent no less than two days before the due date. You should only post the final
version of the essay on Laulima.
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vocabulary and writing styles, but these sources allows one the most direct, unfiltered
and engaging way to understand an era. When you read a primary document or look at
work produced from a past era, no one is interpreting this work for you, no one is
stepping in between you and the past. No one has filtered, digested or analyzed
material for you. You are the one drawing conclusions from this material.
SECONDARY SOURCES do represent someone's interpretation - opinion or analysis
of material by someone not there -usually a scholar or historian. Most materials read or
used in studying history are secondary sources. Textbook readings are secondary
sources, as is the webtext for this class. Secondary sources include survey textbooks
as well as focused books on a specific subject (monographs), and articles and essays
explaining a particular issue or period in history. In a secondary source, someone is
interpreting information and presenting historical conclusions for the reader to accept or
disagree with. The key point is analysis has already been done. You as reader and
historian learn from analysis of someone else and react to it. Secondary sources are
important and *extremely useful* in gaining a general understanding of topics,
resources provided by those who have devoted time to studying and analyzing the past
and who are sharing their interpretations of the past. Based on a foundational
understanding of the past from secondary sources, you can dig deeper and frame your
own understanding through reading primary sources. Since most readings you do in a
history class are secondary, the purpose of both Essays is intended to have you
experience the kinds of insights gained by analyzing primary materials.
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While Essay # 1 is not due until October 12, I encourage you to get an early start on
this. If you wish to give me a draft of your essay for feedback and comments prior to
final submission, I strongly encourage doing this.
1. Topic: Mesopotamian civilization
Document: Code of Hammurabi
Weblink: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp
(read opening introductory remarks and then scroll down to look over all the laws)
Essay Question to be addressed:
* Based on these laws, describe four specific issues or problems ancient
Mesopotamians were clearly dealing with in this new urban lifestyle.
Provide supporting quotations from this document of specific laws on which you
base your conclusions.
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2. Topic: Egyptian Civilization
Documents:
1. The Declaration of Innocence from the Book of the Dead (The Negative
Confessions)
Weblink: http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/negative_confessions/index.html
2. Hymn to the Nile
Weblink: http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/texts/hymn_to_the_nile.htm
Essay Questions to be addressed be sure to tie answers to both questions together
as an integrated discussion of Egyptian religion.
* Based on the prayers (confessions) in primary source # 1, discuss two examples of
moral values or behaviors that were desired and/or condemned in ancient Egyptian
society and religion.
* Based on the Hymn to the Nile, what *rewards* did Egyptians expect for pleasing the
gods? In other words, what did Egyptians hope from the Nile as a result of obedience
and pleasing the gods?
Provide supporting quotations from this document to support your conclusions.
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ESSAY TWO: Analysis of Longer Primary Source Readings
Due: November 28
Minimum: 3 pages
For this essay, there are four longer primary documents linked to and discussed below
related to societies covered throughout the semester. Choose *one* of the choices
below, one primary work from a specific culture. Answer the question as an essay
response. For some topic readings, the essay assignment requires you to respond to
more than one question in analyzing the primary source. Address each of the questions
in a focused manner and tie these points together in one cohesive essay. Essay # 2 is
due *no later* than November 23. If you wish to send me a draft of your essay for
feedback and comments prior to final submission, I am very glad to do this.
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I. Ancient China
Document: The Art of War, Sun Tzu (unclear date, likely during 6th or 5thcentury the
Era of Warring States: 400 - 320) Link:
https://sites.ualberta.ca/~enoch/Readings/The_Art_Of_War.pdf
(This is the entire book you do not have to read all of it. But review at least 5-10
pages of this source.)
This is a classic treatise on military strategy. The blunt lessons expressed regarding
political leadership and waging of war are still studied, ancient observations still seen as
relevant and applicable. This document reflects the violence of the age in which it was
composed, violence resulting from political fragmentation and competition. Interestingly,
though Sun Tzu provides detailed and insightful discussion of how to win a battle, a
campaign and/or a war - his clear emphasis is on war only as a last resort.
Essay Questions to be addressed:
* This treatise contains many insightful observations about human nature and how to
use that knowledge to be victorious, for example evaluations of how soldiers behave,
how leaders should behave, even the impact of war on the populace (peasants).
Describe in some detail three significant lessons on warfare and leadership put forth by
Sun Tzu.
Provide supporting quotations from this document to support your conclusions.
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II. Ancient Greece
Document: The Apology (composed by Plato as a record of the trial of Socrates)
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Link: http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/apology.html
The Apologia (The Apology) is a powerful summary of philosophical assertions of
Socrates, one of the profoundly influential philosophers of Greece's Classical Age. It
contains purported statements and arguments made during his trial when he was
charged with 'refusing to recognize the gods of the state, introducing new divinities and
of corrupting the youth of Athens'. In his statements, Socrates defended himself against
these charges, and also identified and criticized underlying reasons his enemies
brought charges to trial. Later in the document, he responded to the verdict and
sentence of the citizen jury. In these pronouncements, Socrates summarized many key
elements of his philosophical tenets and also revealed important aspects of ancient
Greek culture.
Essay Questions to be addressed:
* Summarize two points he made in defense of himself explicitly rejecting charges
made against him?
* What do his comments reveal about political maneuvering and realities of ancient
Athenian society?
Provide supporting quotations from this document to support your conclusions.
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III. Medieval Europe
Document: Excerpts from The Decameron, Giovanni Boccacio 1351
You are only required to read the Introduction (this is only the first part of this long work)
Link: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/decameronintro.asp
The classic work of The Decameron was finished by author Giovanni Boccacio in 1351.
The structure of the novel is presented as a collection of stories told during Late Middle
Ages when the Bubonic Plague (Black Death) ravaged Europe. In the story, faced with
threat of the plague, a party of revellers retreats to a villa outside the city of Florence,
isolating themselves from the disease ravaged city (as indeed many elite did throughout
Europe). They bide their time by telling stories ranging from bawdy to tragic; all the
stories center on defining aspects of human nature and experiences. Many of these
stories echo the fears and stark truths about the human condition made so evident by
the plague-ridden society they shut out. You are only asked to read the introduction to
this work which describes the context the ravages of the plague. This introduction is
considered the best *contemporary* description (a description by someone at the time)
of effects and experiences of the bubonic plague. This introduction is all you are
required to read for this assignment though you are encouraged to read the entire work
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* Ibn Battuta was intrigued by new foods, goods, animals and customs he encountered.
Describe two example of anecdotes/descriptions he shared about the wonders he
observed?
Provide supporting quotations from this document to support your conclusions