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History 210 Essay #1 Prompt

GUIDELINES:

*Also consult the “Essay Rubric” and “Style Sheet for History Essays” so that you know what makes a good essay.

Overview

In this essay, students will be required to address an essay prompt that asks them several historical questions. Students will need to review several sources for each prompt (see below). Your thesis statement (in your introduction) should be your clear and specific answer to the essay prompt you choose.

Formatting • Essay must be 3-4 pages in length. Make sure it is at least 3 pages, not 2½.

o 12 Pt Font –Times New Roman (or similar font) - Double Spaced § Essay should be well organized, with:

o Title (Not just the name of the topic) o A Short Introduction (With a thesis statement – your answer to the question) o Supporting Paragraphs (With topic sentences and examples) o A Short Conclusion (Restates your thesis and wraps up your ideas)

§ See the Style Sheet for History Essays for more on formatting and organization.

§ Formatting Style: o To legitimize research, all essays must be formatted correctly, and failure to do

so will result in a deduction of points. Students should use MLA, but history majors should use Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago Style or Turabian Style). Useful samples from the Chicago Style and MLA can be found at the following websites:

§ MLA Style: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ § Chicago Style:

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

Source Requirements § In addition to the sources that you are asked to read in the prompt you

select, include in your analyses at least two sources from either the History Research Center or EBSCOHost (students ready for more advanced articles may also utilize JSTOR).

o ***AVOID NON-SCHOLARLY SOURCES SUCH AS HISTORY.COM OR WIKIPEDIA

§ Whenever you quote, please make sure to introduce and explain your quotes – See C.6. in Style Sheet

§ If you use quotes, use them in a proper context and do not overuse them. Quotes should support your ideas, but not replace them. Don’t let them “speak for you.” Also – for a short essay, usage of quotes should be rather limited.

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History Research Center EBSCOHost JSTOR

Steps for obtaining scholarly sources via HCCC’s library databases

1. In the portal, select “Library.”

2. Click “Research,” and then select “History.”

3. Click on History Research Center

4. Search away!

1. In the portal, select “Library.”

2. Click “Research,” and then select “History.”

3. Click “EBSCOHost Databases”

4. It is probably best to check the first five boxes: “Academic Search Complete” through “E-Book Collection,” then continue.

5. Search away!

1. In the portal, select “Library.”

2. Click “Research,” and then select “History.”

3. Click on JSTOR

4. Search away!

*One note: it might be best to search using quotation marks around key phrases and the word “and” between relevant terms (e.g., “Ancient Greece” AND “Women”, rather than only Ancient Greek Women).

Academic Honesty § PLAGIARISM IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED: Please review the section in the

syllabus on plagiarism if you are not completely sure what it means. § Upload your essay before the due date via Unicheck on CANVAS AND hand in a hard

copy on the due date at the beginning of class. Essays handed in after the start of class will be considered late.

Write a 3-4 page essay that responds to any one of the prompts below (your choice):

Essay Option #1 Jared Diamond has stated that when humans adopted agriculture, it was “the worst mistake in the history of the human race.” The Anthropologist Marshall Sahlins also had an positive view of the Paleolithic Era of hunting and gathering. Others, however, might argue that agriculture ushered in a new era of human ingenuity and “progress,” as seen in the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt (See Chapters 1-2 of Western Civilizations). What is your position? Read these sources (Diamond, Sahlins, Chapters 1-2 of the textbook) and support your answer with concrete examples. Jared Diamond’s article on “The Worst Mistake in Human History” http://discovermagazine.com/1987/may/02-the-worst-mistake-in-the-history-of-the-human-race Chapter 1, “The Original Affluent Society,” from Marshall Sahlins’ book, Stone Age Economics: **Look for this under “Supplemental Readings” on our Canvas page under Modules**

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Essay Option #2 In the 1970s the anthropologist Marjorie Shostak interviewed a woman (named Nisa) of the foraging !Kung peoples of the San culture of Africa’s Kalahari Desert. Read the excerpts of Shostak’s work (called “Nisa Interview” in the Supplemental Readings section of Modules) and write an essay that answers the following questions:

• How would you describe Nisa’s overall assessment of San life? Support your answer with examples. Also, how would you compare the society that Nisa describes with women in early agricultural civilizations, such as Mesopotamia and Egypt (as discussed in chapters 1-2 of Western Civilizations)?

Essay Option #3 Read the secondary source entitled “Crime and Punishment in Ancient Mesopotamia,” (see Supplemental Readings in Modules) then read the entirety of the Law Code of Hammurabi here: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp Write an essay that answers the following questions:

• From reading the entirety of the Law Code of Hammurabi, what would you say were the three main issues that the code was trying to address in Old Babylonian society? Please make sure to provide specific examples to support your argument.

Essay Option #4 Analyze the visual evidence in the “Remembering Hatshepsut” section of Chapter 2 (of Western Civilizations), and read the following interpretation of reliefs (engravings) about her birth, which were found in her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri in Egypt: http://www.u.arizona.edu/~afutrell/w%20civ%2002/birthofhat.html Write an essay that answers these questions:

• In what ways do the primary sources deal with gender? When and how is she portrayed as female? And when and how is she portrayed as male?

• Are there any signs of tension or resistance concerning Hatshepsut's claim to power? Explain these.