History Question

Assignment: Write a 7-10-page paper (you will need that much to fully discuss the topics and answer the questions contained in the topic) that is the equivalent of double-spaced, using standard font and 1” margins all around on one of the two topics (the “red” topic or the “blue” topic) below. You can choose which of the two topics interests you the most to research for your term paper. Students cannot do both and ask for “double credit” nor for me to “grade/just count the best one”. As the paper is being generated on a computer without a time limit (unlike your midterm or final exam), spelling and grammar should be correct – and you must provide citations within the essay as well as a separate bibliography. You can either compose your paper within the textbox of the assignment or upload it as a word file in either .doc or .docx format (just like the Primary Source Analysis papers).

You can receive a maximum of 100 points for this paper – remember, this assignment is required for students seeking to earn an A in the class but is otherwise an optional assignment.  As this is a research paper assignment, I will look at works in progress, introductory paragraphs, and/or rough drafts or help you with your writing – please send them as attachments to [email protected] or thru the Canvas site messages/email.

Instructions: Write a research paper equivalent to 7-10 double-spaced pages on the following topic below that fully answers all parts of the question asked. Your answer should focus on using primary sources and scholarly journals for its evidence as much as possible. To begin your research, you should use the History Research Guide at the ELAC Library https://researchguides.elac.edu/HistoryLinks to an external site. to search for primary source materials and scholarly articles relating to the topic you choose. Additional materials can also be found at https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/ancient/asbook.asp (for Ancient Greece & Rome), https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/sbook.aspLinks to an external site. (for Medieval Europe), and https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/modsbook08.aspLinks to an external site. (for the Americas). You should also use any primary source excerpt documents found in the textbook as well as any other primary and secondary sources that you discover in research of the topic that you deem necessary to construct a compelling argument which fully analyzes and evaluates all aspects of the topic and supports your arguments, evaluations, and conclusions. 

Be sure to cite evidence and construct arguments in creating your answer – do not just narrate the story and offer nothing else – that is not answering the question. Think like a lawyer, you are using evidence to make an argument(s) that will convince the Judge and Jury (i.e. your reader).

TERM RESEARCH PAPER TOPIC OPTION 1: Using primary sources as your chief evidence; first, compare and assess the impacts of plague/pandemics on Periclean Athens, Justinian’s Byzantium, European society during the Black Death, and Mexica society after the conquest, analyzing impacts on social structures and relations as well as on the society and government of each; then, secondly, evaluate which of these societies was most impacted by the pandemic they suffered through, providing evidence for your evaluation; then, finally, third, please compare their experiences to our own in 21st century Los Angeles and America as we live through our own pandemic.

OR

TERM RESEARCH PAPER TOPIC OPTION 2: Using primary sources as your chief evidence; first, compare and assess the reasons for the decline of representative government in Ancient Athens and in the Roman Republic, analyzing major social and political factors in each society as well as evaluating short and long term causes, events, and people who led to each representative structure declining and ultimately becoming a tyranny or imperial state; then, secondly, evaluate what was the most influential factor within each of these societies that led to the decline and ending of representative government, providing evidence for your evaluation; then, finally, third, please compare their experiences to our own in 21st century Los Angeles and America as we live through our own current crisis and threats to representative government in a structure that is modelled, in part, on these ancient examples.

NOTE: Wikipedia, other encyclopedias, and/or sparknotes or other secondary summaries as well as .org or .com sites and/or materials from sites such as quizlet.com, coursehero.com, khanacademy.org, megaessays.com, history.com, 123helpme.com, kibin.com/essay-examples, and other such sites are NOT acceptable sources for a college or university paper and are not allowed as sources on this assignment. Use of or submission of papers using AI, ChatGPT, Ai paper writer or other such technology is also prohibited.