respond to each discussion2

Week Two Discussion 2 Topic 1 - Classical Greece

Primary Sources:

Website: Thucydides (c.460/455-c.399 BCE): Pericles' Funeral Oration from the Peloponnesian War (c. 430 BCE) - http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/pericles-funeralspeech.asp

Website: Xenophon (c.428-c.354 BCE): The Polity of the Spartans, c. 375 BCE - http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/ancient/xeno-sparta1.asp

Discussion Prompts:

After reading Chapter 3 and the material at the websites, and viewing the video, please make a 250-word initial post that answers the following questions about the primary sources:

Who do you think were the intended audiences of Pericles' Funeral Oration and Xenophon’s description of the Spartan state? How might their purpose and intended audience affect their tone? Can we take these accounts at face value? Why or why not? What else would you like to know from the author?

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Topic 1 Required Reading

Kevin Reilly, The Human Journey, Chapter 3

Website: British Museum, Athens - http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/athens/home_set.html

Website: British Museum, Sparta - http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/sparta/home_set.html

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Week Three Discussion 2 Topic 2 - Medieval European Towns

Primary Sources:

Website: Documents Concerning the Origin of Guilds, 884-930 - http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/930orgngild.asp

Website: Guibert de Nogent: The Revolt in Laon, 1115 - http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/guibert-laon.asp

Website: Account of the setting up of self-government in Ipswich in A.D. 1200 - http://users.trytel.com/~tristan/towns/ipswich2.html

Website: The Chronicles of Venice: How the Doges Were Chosen - http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/dogesvenice.asp

Website: Southampton Guild Organization, 14th Century - http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/guild-sthhmptn.asp

 

Discussion Prompts:

After reading Chapter 5 and the material at the websites, and viewing the video, please make a 250-word initial post that answers the following questions about the primary sources:

Some of the primary sources are legal documents while others are memoirs or narratives. How might their nature make a difference in what they contain? Does one type of primary source seem more reliable than the others? Taken together, what insights do the documents give you into the concerns, hopes, and preoccupations of European urban dwellers in the Middle Ages?

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Topic 2 Required Reading

Kevin Reilly, The Human Journey, Chapter 5

Website: Medieval Towns - http://www.medieval-spell.com/Medieval-Towns/

Website: Medieval Town Life - http://www.medieval-spell.com/Medieval-Towns/Medieval-Town-Life.html

Website: Italian Cities - http://www.medieval-spell.com/Medieval-Towns/Italian-Cities.html

Website: Medieval England - daily life in medieval towns - http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Townlife.htm

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