FSU Africans and Chinese Learning Essay

Choose one of the following options for Essay 2:

OPTION 1: Using the primary sources in “Working with Evidence: Travelers’ Tales and Observations (pp. 305-314), write a 700-900 word essay assessing the credibility of these sources. What information in these sources is most useful for historians seeking to understand India, China, and West Africa during the period? What claims in these sources might be viewed by historians with the most skepticism? It is important to consider the authors’ purposes and their intended audiences as you prepare for this essay.  You will benefit from considering the “Historian’s Voices” section which follows these travelers’ tales.

OPTION 2: Using the primary sources in “Working with Evidence: China’s Scholar-Officials,” (pp. 348-354), write a 700-900 word essay analyzing the different ways that the values of these elite figures are represented.  What key values are most apparent and how do that connect more broadly with Chinese cultural traditions?  Your essay should also engage with the views of the historians presented in the “Historians’ Voices” section which follows the primary sources. Remember that all the artists are men; how might this affect the ways that women are represented? Considering the changes Chinese women underwent during this period (see pp. 204-208 and 322-325), can these images be used to illustrate those changes?  If so, how?