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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