History Spring 2018–Essay Portion
Value: 70% of Midterm
Rubic Criteria:
| Quality of thesis statement |
| organization and clarity of argument |
| Use of sources/(no outside research allowed, other than the class materials!) |
| analysis of examples |
| ability to write in standard English |
In an essay of at least seven paragraphs, answer one of the following questions:
The book of Genesis is one of the sources we may use (download for free). Other sources will be sent as an attachment:
- How did heroes of medieval Europe compare with those of ancient times, such as in Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome? What values did they hold? What goals did they set out to achieve? How were they judged by their contemporaries (as seen through our readings)?
- What were the key features of the culture of medieval Europe as described in the documents that we’ve read? How did it differ from Roman, Greek and/or Mesopotamian cultures? What was valued by each culture? What was despised by each culture?
- What role did religion play in medieval Europe, as observed in the assigned documents? How did it compare with religion in Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome or Ancient Israel? What was the relation of the religion to the rulers? What role did it play in the lives of the people? What impact did it have on the writing of the day (in particular, you may refer to our assigned readings).
In each of these questions, you have a number of options. You may choose to compare Medieval Europe (and Byzantium) with one or more cultures that we have studied. In defining your answer, you may include more specific points that have not been asked for your general topic. For example, if you have some feature of culture to write about that has not been mentioned in the second question, you can introduce it. \
Formal requirements:
Your answer must include at least 3 citations to medieval European texts that were assigned (see readings for Unit 4) and at least 3 additional citations to earlier civilizations (from Units 1-3). You may include more citations/references to the texts, as you deem it appropriate for you answer.
Your answer must contain an introduction, with a strong thesis and a plan for the overall answer.
Your answer must contain an introduction, with a strong thesis and a plan for the overall answer.
