history 21a paper

Requirements: 2-3 pp. double-spaced, 12 point Times Roman font, 1” margins. Due to Canvas

by 11am on Wednesday, November 27. Hardcopies should be turned in by noon to Krieger 200

on the same day. You will lose 5 points if you fail to provide a hardcopy to your TA. The only

sources you should be citing are your chosen primary sources, assigned background reading, and

material from lecture. Do not carry out any additional research or rely on any other sources

(including the Internet!).

Topic: answer one of the following questions relevant to the ancient world based on the indicated

primary sources.

Comparative paper—deals with transformation of traditions over time or comparisons of

traditions across geographical space

1. Contrast the portrayal of Lucretia with that of Perpetua. Alternatively, contrast the role

of Lucretia’s and Perpetua’s male interlocutors (the other men in the stories). What

characteristics in women or men are valued in traditional Roman Republic vs. the

developing Christian tradition?

2. Compare the portrayal of Confucian teachings in “The Debate on Salt and Iron” and the

Analects. The first is a debate that takes place in the 1st c. BCE during the Han dynasty

(which promoted Confucian teachings). The second is supposedly a record of the

students of Confucius’s students of his teachings. What do the two documents reveal

about the concerns of followers of Confucius? (Are the concerns/ questions being asked

the same in both documents?) Consider whether these differences (or not) are due to the

different genre of the works or the different time periods in which they were written, or

both.

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