[SOLVED] HIST 205 Paper 2 Prompts Python

HIST 205

Paper 2 Prompts

Due Monday, December 2nd at 2:30 PM (MyCourses assignments tab). Submit as .doc or .docx or .pdf file.

Basics: Please respond to one of the following three essay prompts. A compelling essay will directly answer the prompt’s question(s) with a specific thesis and present an argument that is supported by ancienttextualevidence(quotations, examples, and paraphrased citations from the relevant works). Avoid generalizations– draw your evidence from the text(s), using specific examples! Be specific as well in your use of dates and context. There are many possible answers to each question, and students are encouraged to be creative in their approach. Essays will be judged on how cogently and persuasively they present their argument, and how well students support their argument with analysis of historical sources.

Students do not need to consult sources or books beyond the texts themselves specified in each question,  though  they  can  use  Mathisen  and  the  introductions  to  the  sources  for  background information and context. However, students are encouraged to discuss their ideas with the instructor and/or their conference leader during office hours and over e-mail. We will only read over sections of papers and detailed outlines, however, in office hours.

Requirements: Papers should be 4-5 full pages double-spaced typed, 12 point font in Times New Roman with normal margins and are due December 2nd on MyCourses by 2:30 PM. Submit papers as a .doc(x) or .pdf file. Note that you are responsible for making sure that your submitted document is readable. If we can’t open your document, late penalties will be applied.

A bibliography is only required if you’re using translations of the texts not from assigned course readings (such as if you don’t use the Penguin translation of the  Germania), or if you use outside sources.

Automatic penalties: There will be a grade penalty of five points (from your essay grade out of 100) if the essay is late, and then another 2.5 points off everyday at 2:30 PM the essay is not in. If the essay is not in a week after the deadline without an extension, then it will count as a 0. There will also be a 5 point penalty if the essay is less than 4full pages long, (including if the essay only reaches this length through large margins/font/spaces between paragraphs, a large title area etc…). Extensions will only be offered in case of serious medical problems or personal emergencies. If you need to request an extension, e-mail the professor directly as soon as possible. Proof may be demanded depending on the issue (e.g., for medical problems).

There is no penalty for going over 5 full pages, but the grader will stop reading after 6 full pages.

Citation: Please see the document “Citing Ancient Sources” (MyCourses) for aguide to citing ancient literature and bibliography, including a link to a website with conventions for different ancient sources. You may use either footnotes or in-text citations. When paraphrasing or quoting an ancient or modern text, you should always cite them. And remember ancient source citation styles: Tac. Agr. 21; Polyb. 3.23, etc …

Because this paper is due at the end of semester, if you would like comments on your paper because you intend to look over it and its feedback, please write that you would like comments in the title area or as you submit it on MyCourses.

As a reminder: use of AI Chatboxes, such as ChatGPT, is considered plagiarism.

Keep in mind the feedback you received on paper 1 – this essay will be graded on the same rubric, though the grading standard will be a little higher, especially for providing and citing evidence.

Choice of Essay Questions:

1) In Sallust’s Jugurthine War, a Roman history about a late 2nd century B.C. Roman war in North Africa, the Numidian King Jugurtha makes the following claim: “the Romans are unjust… suffering from profound greed, the common enemy of all people… They had the same reason for war with Bocchus, with himself, and with all others: lust for empire” (Sall. Jug. 81).

Is Jugurtha (through Sallust) right? Either way, why did the Romans goto war so often in the late 3rd century and early 2nd  century B.C.? In answering this question, you should consider two case studies: The Second Punic War and The Second Macedonian War, using the sources on these wars we assigned for lecture and conference (Polybius, Plutarch, and Livy).

2) The first emperor of Rome (though he never called himself that), Augustus, claimed that he was restoring the ancestral religious and moral values of Roman society after many years of civil war. One way he did so was by emphasizing the restoration of “traditional” gender roles through legal and moral reforms. Did the life of the woman known as “Turia,” both in the civil war period and after peace was restored, conform to Augustus’ prescribed gender roles? Do you think that Laudatio Turiae supports or is critical of Augustus’ moral reforms?

In answering these questions, for context and comparison you should consider not just the Laudatio Turiae, but other sources from and about the Age of Augustus: the Res Gestae readings and the sources I posted on MyCourses about Augustus’ laws.

Special citation guidelines. When citing the Laudatio Turiae, note that it has two columns: a left column and a right column, along with line numbers. Please cite like this: Laud. Tur. Right 25-30 (for right column lines 25-30). In the edition that we have assigned, they only give line numbers at the beginning of anew section, so you can be approximate in your citations (e.g., Laud. Tur. Left 3-6 if you’re citing something from the first main paragraph).

3) Tacitus’ Germania is a description of customs and the territories of the “German” peoples who lived beyond the bounds of the Roman empire. To the Romans, the Germans were often considered to be the most “barbaric” people imaginable. Is Tacitus’ appraisal of the Germans positive or negative? How might the presentation of the Germans in Tacitus’s Germania act as a criticism or praise of Roman society during Tacitus’ lifetime – especially during the reign of the emperor Domitian and soon after? In answering these questions, you should also consider and compare Tacitus’ statements about contemporary Roman society in his Agricola to support your interpretations of the Germania.

Overall grading rubric:

A range essay: answers the question directly with a plausible, specific, and clear thesis/argument. Supports that thesis well through citing and analyzing primary sources, giving relevant examples and textual evidence to support each point. The very best essays will approach the question/sources with nuance, showing awareness of other possible interpretations and the flaws of the primary sources while still making a compelling argument.

B range essay: Answers the question with a good thesis, but does not support their argument well through analyzing and citing primary sources or with examples; or the argument shows structural problems. Or does not have a clear or plausible thesis, but shows skill and effort at analyzing ancient sources. Or is an A range essay that makes factual mistakes, has writing that is very unclear, etc..

C range essay: Avoids answering the question or does not have a clear argument or does not use the sources  to  support  their  argument.  Or  a  paper  that  goes  off  topic,  but  shows  good  skills  of analysis/argumentation.

D and below: a paper that does not address the question, does not cite/analyze primary sources, has unclear writing, etc…