Description of Assignment

Using only the materials available from the course (textbook, course pages, specific webpages that link out from course pages, assigned primary sources Download assigned primary sources

) write an essay (target length: 1000 words) that answers this question: Was the Early Dynastic period the first phase of "history" in Mesopotamia? To achieve this goal, you should evaluate the Early Dynastic (not another period) and should provide a definition of what "history" is.

You should use evidence to construct your arguments: texts (the Cooper readings) Download Cooper readings)

 & Chapter 3 in A History of the Ancient Near East), art-historical, archaeological etc.  Be sure to analyze the possibilities, limitations and potential biases of the sources.

You should be careful to refer to all relevant information from your textbook, the assigned primary sources from Cooper and the course notes. You may use any of the readings assigned for the course so far.

Required Formatting and Citation

You must cite all information (facts about the Early Dynastic sources, quotes etc.) and format your essay appropriately using the Chicago Manual of Style Links to an external site.. Here is an example paper Links to an external site. that shows correct formatting. If you are doing the assignment correctly, most sentences will include a citation (with page number). I have a slight preference for author-date style Links to an external site..  Failure to cite sources (must include page numbers) or the use of unapproved outside sources will result in a zero on this assignment.

While you should reference the source of your assertions, you should not overuse direct quotations from the course materials. Typically, historians paraphrase (re-state) secondary literature and only quote primary source material when the exact wording is relevant to an argument that they are making.  Re-stating the texts' arguments in your own words develops your analytical abilities and is the appropriate historical style.

Rubric and Additional Resources

Please see the assignment rubric (below) for information on how the essays will be evaluated. Please review Rampolla's Guide to Writing for History Download Guide to Writing for History

for additional guidelines.

Questions?

Consult the Q&A: First Essay Assignment to see questions other students have asked (and that I will answer) or to pose your own questions by May 29th.