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HIST 100

Ancient, Medieval History to 1350

Assignment: Prompt and Parameters

Choose ONE of the following essay questions and write a 1200-1500 word paper:

  • "Writing is the most important factor in the rise of civilizations." Discuss.
  • To what extent was geography responsible for ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia becoming successful empires?
  • How important was religion in early civilizations (Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece)? What role did it play?
  • Compare and contrast the political systems of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. What impact have they had on the development of western civilization? Are there similarities to political structures still in place today?

You must quote and cite at least 2 primary sources and 4 secondary sources. Primary sources can be anything from the textbook, an ancient text quoted on a slide from class, or anything else you find yourself. Secondary sources must be peer reviewed journal articles from JSTOR, or academic books from the library. NO WEBSITES ARE ACCEPTABLE (online journal articles don’t count as an online source and can be used). Any websites used (and not approved in advance by me) will not be counted towards the 4 required sources for the paper. 

Thinking before you search

For any of the the assignment questions, before you begin, ask yourself these questions:

  • What do we need to know to answer this question?
  • What sources will we need to answer the question?
  • What keywords would you use to search for those sources?

Let's make some notes...

Primary, Secondary, Scholarly

What's a primary source?

What are some examples?

 

What's a secondary source?

What are some examples?

 

What makes a source scholarly?

Scholarly Secondary Sources