Ancient History Assessment Essay

          This essay will make up 20% of the final exam grade. It is modeled on the Major Field Assessment that the History Department has developed to measure how well students have mastered both the content and the theoretical framework of history.

          Directions:  In a full essay of at least five paragraphs, respond to ONE of the following with specific reference to topics covered in this course (HIST 3840, Ancient History).  Be sure to make clear which essay option you chose.

A.  Periodization:  Identify and discuss a question of historical periodization. Why have historians identified the era in question as a distinct historical period and what perspectives or considerations suggest alternative patterns of continuity and change?

B.  Causation:  Identify and discuss a significant event or development attributed by historians to multiple short-term and long-term causes.  What approaches to understanding historical change (political, economic, social, cultural, etc.) does each factor represent, and how do you rank their relative importance?

C. Context:  Identify and discuss a historical subject for which you believe considerations of context are especially important in forming value judgments.

D.  Primary Evidence:  Identify and discuss an instance in which the examination of a primary source (or sources) has significantly challenged or changed your interpretation of a historical subject.

E.  Historiography:  Identify and discuss a historical interpretation that has changed significantly over time.  What factors, internal and external to the discipline of history, contributed to this change?