Compare 2 ancient Greek cultures
Pick two of the cultures we have studied so far in our course (chapters 1 – 7):
Mesopotamia, Africa, India, China, Greece, the Alexandrian empires, Rome, and the Americas. Use specific information from your textbook and other sources to compare two of these ancient cultures.
Compare the cultures by choosing one specific topic on which to base your comparison. Use this topic consistently across both cultures. This can be done for many different kinds of art, literature, religion, government, philosophy, technology, etc. (any topics related to the arts and humanities), but you must narrow the focus down to a specific aspect of these arts.
Avoid general overviews of broad topics: Try to focus on one specific work or example for each culture – avoid overviews with many examples. In other words, compare one specific piece of art to another specific piece of art and avoid filling your paper with lots of different examples. If you choose a specific type of artwork for comparison, pick artworks from each culture with similar themes or cultural meanings.
Here are some examples:
compare politics in one culture to politics in the other, but only use one specific example for each – a specific writing, a specific political system and how it works, or a specific collection of laws
compare one specific work of architecture or building in a culture to one specific work of architecture in another.
compare religious literature between two cultures by comparing one specific religious work in a culture to one specific religious work in another, but avoid comparisons of religious literature to non-religious literature.
compare sculpture between two cultures by using a specific work for each culture, but avoid comparing sculpture in one culture to some other medium (like painting) in the other.
Historical Context: Keep your topics limited to ancient history and examples from the textbook. It is a good idea to keep in mind the dates, or order in history, of your topics. You can use whatever order suites your writing style to discuss topics, but as a general suggestion keep in mind the time period of your examples — Greek culture is older and flourished before the Romans. For this reason, you may want to start with Greece even if you are jumping back and forth with your comparisons.
Write at least 500 words per culture (x2 = 1000 words total for the entire assignment).
Links to Rice Library databases for the humanities are included in the Blackboard menu tab labeled Web Resources. Use at least 5 sources for this assignment (3 sources per culture, but you can use your Fiero E-text for both cultures)
Assignments will be graded on:
1. Word Count (points deducted for work under 1000 words in length) – minimum 1000 words total (500 words per culture). This is the minimum word requirement to be considered for an A.
2. Topics (25 points) – be consistent with your topics and establish direct topic-to-topic comparisons across cultures. Focus on a few specific examples and avoid general over-views of broad topics.
3. Content (25 points) -demonstrate knowledge of your topics and the general historical context of your topics with relevant information from quality sources (see Sources below).
4. Sources (50 points or 10 points per source) ñ 5 sources are required for this assignment (3 sources per culture, but you can use your Fiero E-text for both cultures).
1. Citations – MLA format is recommended (see Web Resources): in-text citations with a works cited at the end. Include page numbers (for your E-text) or in-text citations for all information!
2. Use quality sources – see Web Resources on the blackboard menu for help with sources. Demonstration of understanding of readings and sources by citing specific information. Personal views must also be supported with specific information from the readings or sources
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