Essay:             Due on December 10th                     100 points

Please write an essay one of the topics listed below. These are broad questions and you should not deal with every issue raised by the prompts provided. Rather, develop your own thesis and make an original argument around a few key points that you discuss in depth with concrete examples from primary sources. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain how well you have grappled with the primary sources. You may bring in secondary literature if necessary, which should be cited using the Chicago Manual of Style. But please remember that this paper is to gauge the originality of your argument grounded in your observations of the primary readings

 

Format: Your paper should be:

• 5-6 pages
• double spaced
• 12 point font
• one inch margins (top and bottom and sides)
• numbered pages
• “drop-down” footnotes
• proper citation style (see footnote below)

 

Citation of Primary Sources: I would like all citations to be “drop down” footnotes. You may use an abbreviated form using author, text and chapter, or by the Course Pack’s number, title and page number. Once you have provided the full citation, you may then give an abbreviated version for that work thereafter

 

1. Law Codes and Empire:

Compare and contrast no more than three of the following law codes. What are the purposes of these codes and whom do they seek to regulate? How do these codes express a theory of empire that transcends localized control? In what way does spirituality factor into these codes? Make sure to ground your essay in the specific historical context and use the full range of the codes supplied:

 

Code of Hammurabi:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/hamcode.asp#text

 

Capitularies of Charlemagne:

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/medieval/capitula.asp

 

Rules of the Fourth Lateran Council:

http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Councils/ecum12-2.htm

 

Jean-Baptise Colbert, Memorandum on Trade:

www.­fordham.­edu/­halsall/­mod/­1664colbert.­html

 

Declaration of Independence:

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/declare.asp

 

2. Idealized Kingship:

Compare and contrast no more than three of the following accounts of political leaders. By what criteria do these documents describe “Ideal” ruler. What should he be known for and how should those ruled act in response? What role does strength, beneficence or justice factor into that definition? Make sure to ground your essay in the specific historical context and use the full range of the codes supplied:

 

Kingship of David in Psalms 1-33:

http://www.ebible.org/web/Psalms.htm

 

Res Gestae of Augustus:

http://classics.mit.edu/Augustus/deeds.html

 

Magna Carta:

http://www.constitution.org/eng/magnacar.htm

Letter of King Louis IX to his son:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/stlouis1.html

 

Machiavelli, The Prince:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/machiavelli-prince.html

 

Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, Political Treatise:

http://history.hanover.edu/texts/bossuet.html

 

3. Love and Romance:

Compare and contrast no more than three of the following accounts of romantic love. How do these different accounts capture the sense of idealized love and romance? What do these accounts tell the modern reader about romantic and sexual mores in the past? Does the imagery still evoke passions in the modern reader?  Make sure to ground your essay in the specific historical context and use the full range of the codes supplied:

Sappho:

http://www.uh.edu/~cldue/texts/sappho.html

 

Ovid, Amores:

http://homepage.usask.ca/~jrp638/DeptTransls/Ovid.html

 

Letters of Abelard and Helouise

http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/aah/index.htm

 

Marie de France, Pais:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11417/11417-h/11417-h.htm#XI

Trial transcript of Jeanne D'Arc:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/joanofarc-trial.html

 

4. Church vs. State:

Compare and contrast no more than three of the following accounts of the social and political tensions between religious and political organizations. Upon what grounds does one institution base its authority in the other? Is the relationship mutually beneficial or exclusive? How do these accounts deploy propaganda to substantiate their claims? Make sure to ground your essay in the specific historical context and use the full range of the codes supplied:

Pliny the Elder, Letters to Trajan:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/pliny1.html

 

Symmachus, Letter to Ambrose:

http://people.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/texts/sym-amb/symrel3f.html

 

Paul of Damascus, On Holy Images:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/johndamascus-images.html

 

Banning and Dethronement of Henry IV:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/g7-ban2.html

 

Martin Luther, 95 Theses:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/luther95.txt

 

5. Subaltern Voices

Compare and contrast no more than three of the following accounts of those who traditionally have had no voice in history, women and slaves. Discuss how the various civilizations interact with these marginalized groups? How do these opinions differ from modern perceptions? Do you perceive a common theme running through them?  Make sure to ground your essay in the specific historical context and use the full range of the codes supplied:

Documents on Greek Slavery:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/greek-slaves.html

 

Gregory of Tours, Harsh Treatment of Serfs and Slaves:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/575Rauching.html

 

Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, Prologue:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/CT-prolog-bathmod.html

 

Saint Bernardo of Siena, Two Sermons on Wives and Widows:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/bernardino-2sermons.html

 

Bartoleme de Las Casas, Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies:

http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/02-las.html

 

To insert drop-down footnotes in MS Word: place the cursor at the end of the sentence you wish to reference. Go to the “References” tab. Select “AB¹ Insert Footnote.” This will automatically place a numbered footnote at that location. This system will also re-organize all numbers as you work through the text.