7th period research papers have been graded!

Judaism Mini-Harkness Discussions (50 points exam category)

For our final unit of the fall quarter, we are exploring foundational sources and varied interpretations of Judaism and the ancient Israelites.  We will look to a variety of visual, primary and secondary sources, including the Greenstein text you purchased for the class.  On your final date of class during “End of Fall Quarter Week,” students will be broken into four smaller groups for four smaller discussions of assigned texts.  Your goal is to answer the question of "what is Judaism and how does its history affect its followers and its message?"  In preparing you may find it useful to post your own ideas toward the discussion on the Schoology discussion page I created.  This could include raising interesting evidence you run across in the readings (cite quote, author, and page number), creating a word collage of your interpretation, and/or providing your input on the variety of "LENS" or "definitions” to understand Judaism.  Schoology participation will be taken into account by Ms. Gerst in calculating scores.

GROUP A 

You will focus on the Michael Fishbane source, juxtaposing its perspective with the other primary and secondary sources. 

7th period	8th period
Molly  Jonny Nicholas   Lea Neal	Anne Avery Sam  Eli H Orion

GROUP B 

You will focus on the Kertzer/Hoffman source, juxtaposing its perspective with the other primary and secondary sources. 

7th period	8th period
Nikhil  Ben E Jamison  Isabel  Ross	Paul Charlie Annie Soundjata  Caroline

GROUP C 

You will focus on the Martin Buber source, juxtaposing its perspective with the other primary and secondary sources.

7th period	8th period
John  Adrian  Carson  Katerina  Zain	* Nolan * Saige * Stanley  *Daniel  * Eli G *Neha

GROUP D

You will focus on the Greenstein source, juxtaposing its perspective with the other primary and secondary sources. 

7th period	8th period
Ben R  Henrik  Kathy  Mayher	* Alex  * Isabella * Ody * Kaley * Chauson

You will work in small groups to prepare for the mini-Harkness discussion. Each group will develop interesting evidence from the readings to examine which focuses on their assigned source, juxtaposed with the other primary and secondary sources. 

Unit 4: Judaism Begins

From Public Broadcasting Company (NOVA). http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/bibles-buried-secrets.html

8th period research papers have been graded!

Mentuhotep Super-Thesis Reflection

QUESTION: In the period known as the "Middle Kingdom," why was Mentuhotep able to reunify and consolidate power in ancient Egypt?

DIRECTIONS:  Good job getting the specific organization of the body paragraphs from the Mentuhotep article into your group super-thesis. Let's extend our skills of argumentation now.  First, think about what makes any statement descriptive, rather than argumentative.  In other words, what are the qualities of an argument that distinguish it from a description or a factual statement?  Order the below class examples from the least argumentative (1) to the most argumentative (7).  Second, how could we transform the more descriptive theses into argumentative ones?  For example, could we make judgments about the relative importance of Mentuhotep's various policies that debate one another?  

GROUP A: By invading the North but continuing to gain their loyalty using feudalism, Mentuhotep II reunited the country of Egypt by adding power to the south and bringing everyone together through his militaristic and economic expansions.

GROUP B: King Mentuhotep II was able to reunify ancient Egypt in the Middle Kingdom by combining his great knowledge of both military tactics and political powers.

GROUP C:  Mentuhotep was able to unify Egypt by using methods including military invasion, granting fair job opportunities to those from different parts of Egypt, as well as both furthering the economy and enriching the culture.  Although he had to use forceful tactics to unify the rebellious people of Egypt, Mentuhotep's persistent military action as well as creating large building projects were necessary for creating a unified nation.

GROUP D: Mentuhotep II was able to reconsolidate Egypt  under common rule, first by gaining control of Egyptian government with the help of militaristic obsession, then by unifying the people of Egypt with a common, structured form of government, and finally by creating a stable and long-lasting government by investing heavily in Egyptian economy.

GROUP E: Mentuhotep was able to unify Egypt during the Middle Kingdom due to internal power struggles in Northern Egypt, the installation of a feudalistic system, and the expansion of the Egyptian economy.

GROUP F: Mentuhotep II was able to unify and consolidate ancient Egypt in the Middle Kingdom through decisive victories, purchasing loyalty from nobles, and expanding the economy to keep his subjects complacent.

GERST: Although Mentuhotep II's militarism is often credited for his (re)unification of upper and lower Egypt, his cultivation of conquered nobles as well as economic expansion glorifying his rule were equally important in retaining such unity.

Super-Thesis Day 2

Directions: Using this secondary source, create a thesis responsive to the below prompt.   

In the period known as the "Middle Kingdom," why was Mentuhotep able to reunify and consolidate power in ancient Egypt?  

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Egypt Edition . . . "Revising" the Historical Narratives of Textbooks

Congratulations on finishing your research paper. As you've seen, the telling of Egyptian history has often focused on the great pharaohs of the ages as well as their monumental architectural projects. Indeed, as we saw in the first day of our unit, Egyptian history has been "periodized" with those achievements in mind.  The "kingdom" periods are described as times of unity, stability, and expansion, while the "intermediate" periods are described as times of chaos, disorder, or even invasion.

However, could the Intermediate Period(s) in Egyptian history actually have been good times for some?

Step 1: We will read the Lamentations of Ipuwer as a whole class rotating around the room as Ms. Gerst notes the major social classes and occupations discussed within it.

Step 2: You will work in small groups of about 3 students. Each group will be assigned a social class (typically organized by occupations).

Step 3: Using our first source (the Lamentations) and a second source "Be a Scribe," you will work in small groups to change the historical periodization (and underlying assumptions) often told in textbooks. Each group will create one 2-panel "before and after" depiction that answers the above question for their assigned social group.

Step 4: We will report out your findings, displaying your 2-panel picture using my iPad for the whole class.

Step 5: Ultimately, you will work in the same group to write a group (super-)thesis statement that summarizes the answer to the following question: However, could the Intermediate Period(s) in Egyptian history actually have been good times for some?  

Starter Thesis: While the literature typically presents the Intermediate Period(s) as times of disorder, chaos, and invasion, [INSERT REVISED ARGUMENT]. 

Final Reminders: Research Paper Formatting

• Need reminders of our discussion of effective thesis statements, body paragraphs, supporting evidence, and other feedback?  Make sure to use the WRITING GUIDELINES I passed out in class.  
• Your final paper should be about 3-5 pages (not including cover page and bibliography).  I will not take deductions for lengthier papers unless the paper reads more like a description or summary, rather than the required analysis and argumentation.
• Your paper must use a mix of primary and secondary sources.  You are required to use 4 sources (at least two scholarly sources like books and database articles and two primary sources). 
• Weave your sources together.  Try not to rely on just one source in each of your body paragraphs. 
• Use Times New Roman, 12 point font, double-spacing and 1 inch margins.  
• History papers use Chicago Style footnote citation and bibliography, not MLA parenthetical citation and work cited pages. Use http://www.citationmachine.net/turabian/cite-a-book to assist you in creating the proper citation. There is a 7 minute YouTube video that shows you how to create a "hanging indent" and insert a "footnote on the Citation Guide for this blog. Make sure you include the page number to which you are referring.  

Here are some examples of what it should look like, along with a research paper sample from Rampolla (note it uses endnotes - you should format as footnotes).   Need additional help on typical expectations for introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions?  Review pages 55-69 of your A Pocket Guide to Writing In History (attached as well here).  

Footnotes:

Bibliography: 

Outline to Rough Draft

By Monday morning, your feedback and grade on your outline will be available for viewing on turnitin.com. You will have class 1 and class 2 to write your rough draft this week.  Based on my feedback, the most common problems are students writing descriptively rather than argumentatively and not having dived deep enough into their research, resulting in vague generalizations in the outlines. 

Remember that the Writer's Center (C307) is open and available to help you.  The hours are:

Mondays: 9:10-2:35 

Tuesdays: 8:50-3:50 

Wednesdays: 8:50-3:50 

Thursdays: 8:00-2:30 

Fridays: 12:20-1 (lunch) 

Drop in whenever it is open, or sign up for a conference up to one day in advance. The Writer's Center is open every day at lunch, every Tuesday open period, and every open assembly period.  You may tell them that papers must be in past tense throughout, the thesis should come at the end of introduction, topic sentences should be in the form of mini-thesis statements, it should conform to Chicago style with footnotes, and you may not write with "I, we, me, you" and should use strong verbs throughout (documents do not "talk" or "say" anything).   

From Research Topic to Research Question and Organization

"Since your goal is to create a thesis -- and a paper -- that takes a stand of a particular issue, you should ask a meaningful historical question that calls for analysis and interpretation, and that might elicit some debate." (Rampolla, 84). 

Which of the categories of analysis (geography, economics, technology, politics, economics, social structure) are most relevant to your topic?   

Are you comparing different pharaohs, social classes, time periods, or types of art? 

Why is your topic significant?  What does it illuminate most about Egyptian society? 

Last Minute Digital Links to Egypt Secondary Sources

In Early World, we aim to use primary source collections and scholarly secondary sources that are accessible to early high school students. I have linked many helpful resources that will help fill in any last minute gaps in your research.

EGYPT Artifact Collections

ABC-CLIO Ancient History

Oriental Institute Egyptian artifact collection book

Oriental Institute of University of Chicago

Metropolitan Museum of Art (search for articles and related/similar artifacts) 

EGYPT

ABC-CLIO Ancient History

Ancient Egyptian Society and Family Life (Douglas Brewer and Emily Teeter)

Religion in the Lives of Ancient Egyptians (Douglas Brewer and Emily Teeter)

Chapter 10 Egypt: the Black Land and Chapter 11: The Old Kingdom or the Pyramid Age (2575-2134 BC) (Chadwick, Robert. First Civilizations: Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, 2nd Ed., Equinox Publishing Ltd. 2005)

Chapter 12 Funerary practices, rituals, and mummification (Chadwick, Robert. First Civilizations: Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, 2nd Ed., Equinox Publishing Ltd. 2005)

Chapter 13 The Hyksos period and the New Kingdom (Chadwick, Robert. First Civilizations: Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, 2nd Ed., Equinox Publishing Ltd. 2005)

Chapter 14 Akhenaten and the Amarna period (Chadwick, Robert. First Civilizations: Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, 2nd Ed., Equinox Publishing Ltd. 2005)

Creating An Annotated Bibliography

You are in the process of creating your first annotated bibliography.  You should read pages 27-29 on Annotated Bibliographies in your Writing in History (Rampolla) book. These pages may also be found here. 

Use Citation Machine for Turabian/Chicago Manual of Style to build the correct format for books, articles, and artifacts. http://earlyworld15-16.blogspot.com/p/citation-guide.html

Make sure to annotate your bibliographic citations, which requires you to do the following:

Artifacts found on websites and books can be trickier to cite properly.  Below are a couple of examples to guide you:

Examples of Artifact Citations

“Egyptian Clay Model of Cattle.” In Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects (New York: Viking, 2010), pg 44.

“Model of a River Boat; Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 11-12.” Chicago Institute of Art. http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/127874

Happy Halloween! It's "Mummy" Day!

This week, we have looked at how the Nile River shaped Ancient Egypt.  This gave us some exposure to Egyptian religious beliefs as well, with many of you noting yesterday that the system of gods and goddesses appeared to be hierarchical in nature.  How did the Egyptians answer the big questions?  How did we get here?  Why are we here?  How do we explain the good and the bad stuff that happens to us?  What happens to us when we die?

EGYPTIAN VISION OF THE AFTERLIFE: MUMMIFICATION

One of the most important points to be made about Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife was that it persisted for over three thousand years.  Compare the two "mummifications" below, one pre-dynastic and one thought to be of the Old Kingdom (one thousand year difference):

                          

How did they make a mummy?  Play this game from the Oriental Institute to find out. 

http://oi-archive.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/ED/mummy.html

Here's another one, available at the British Museum:
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/activity/main.html

http://discoverykids.com/games/mummy-maker/

As argued in your homework reading, the Egyptians covered the walls of the tombs with spells and guides to the afterlife.  This comes from the Book of the Dead.

YOUR CLASS INTERPRETATIONS:  Afraid of uncertainty, they drew comfort from the idea of the afterlife to explain what happens to us after we die. Appealing to the gods and goddesses, the rituals and spells, they can take comfort against the unexpected, the uncertain, and protect their loved ones.  During life, they celebrated and praised what gave them life.  In death, they wanted to perpetuate the life they enjoyed.  According to the Book of the Dead, to be a good person, an Egyptian should strive to be religious (respect gods), selfless, pious, generous, pacifist/peaceful, helpful, charitable, and honest. 

Egypt: Quarterly Research Paper Begins!

Today, you began the process of considering a research paper topic specific to ancient Egypt.  Once you have an idea of a topic, you may begin your LIBRARY RESEARCH.  Ms. Volk, our class librarian, has created this EGYPT PATHFINDER, which is a special web page, that links you to relevant books, databases, scholarly websites, and primary sources. The goal of secondary source research is to provide the contextual details to aid your analysis of the civilization and the artifacts you have chosen.  If you pick an artifact from the Old Kingdom, your secondary source research should not deal with the New Kingdom.  Use the approximate dating of the artifact to locate the particular era from which it would derive in ancient Egypt.

My recommendations are to (a) consider what "lens" (political, economic, technological, religious, social, cultural, military) interests you most as a historian; (b) consider what "period" or "periods" of Egyptian history are relevant to your "lens;" and (c) consider the geographic area of Egypt relevant to your "lens," "period," and finally "topic." A knowledge of ancient Egyptian cities, as different pharaohs concentrated power in different places, can be of use.  In class, we are looking at a film in class to ignite your "historical imagination," assist you to choose a "lens" and "period," and give you a sense of change and continuity over 2500 years. It is also available via Youtube, if you are absent.

Keep track of your sources as well as their page numbers as you research. We will spend Friday and Monday the library, so that you have time to ask Ms. Volk and myself research questions. 

Your first DUE DATE is a four source, annotated bibliography (two artifacts or primary sources and two scholarly secondary sources minimum) due to turnitin.com by 7 pm on Wednesday, November 2.  A sample annotated bibliographic summary for a source can be found HERE, from your Rampolla text.  

Unit 3: Ancient Africa: Egyptian and Kushite peoples

Today, we will move to our third unit on ancient Africa: Egyptian and Kushite peoples. This unit will feature your first quarterly research project of the year.

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/africa_pol_2012.pdf

Countries and Capitals	Landmarks
Algeria (Algiers)  Angola (Luanda)  Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa)  Egypt (Cairo)  Ethiopia (Addis Ababa)  Ghana (Accra)  Kenya (Nairobi)  Morocco (Rabat) Mozambique (Maputo)   Nigeria (Abujo) South Africa (Pretoria, a/k/a Tshwane)  Sudan (Khartoum) Tanzania (Dodoma)  Uganda (Kampala)	Atlas Mountain Congo River Indian Ocean Niger River Nile River Red Sea Sahara Desert  East African Rift

Again, realize that political map boundaries (the black lines) are artificial and of "modern" construction.  They are ephemeral (lasting for a very short time) in the "Big History" of the world. Africa's map could have taken a very different form, but for European conquest and the decisions made at the time of decolonization to keep the map to prevent disputes between newly independent African nation-states.  That said, efforts have been made to represent what political boundaries would have looked like had some other indicia, such as ethnicity, been used. 

Some economists today have tried to study to what extent Africa's artificial and tragic political boundaries may be blamed for conflict and wars in Africa today.  "Not surprisingly, the length of a conflict and its casualty rate is 25 percent higher in areas where an ethnicity is divided by a national border as opposed to areas where ethnicities have a united homeland. Examples of divided (and conflicted) groups are the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania, and the Anyi of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The conflict rate is also higher for people living in areas close to ethnic-partitioned hot-spots." 

http://freakonomics.com/2011/12/01/the-violent-legacy-of-africas-arbitrary-borders/


"The past lies like a nightmare upon the present." -- Karl Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte