HIST 101-085 N WESTERN CIVILIZATION I: PAPER
Requirements: Write a 4-6 page paper. The paper should be typed and double-spaced. Your paper should have 12-point font, Times New Roman, and 1-inch margins on all sides. This paper should answer the following question:
Question: Choose just ONE of the three questions to answer:
(1) Coinage was a vital tool in western civilization. Compare and contrast the coinage systems of three ancient western civilizations of your choice (from the Sumerians through the Franks). What similarities existed, if any, in the coinage systems of the three civilizations you examined? What differences existed in these coinage systems? What were the values of the coins minted in each of the three civilizations you chose? How were the coins shaped?
(2) The collapse of the Roman Empire was one of the most pivotal moments in western civilization. Identify three different explanations offered by three different historians for the downfall of the Roman Empire. Explainthereasoningprovidedbythosehistorianstoverifytheircase. Inyouropinion,whichofthethree explanations you examined makes the most sense and why? (Note: there is no right or wrong answer to that italics question. The key to answering that question is how you provide justification for your opinion on that question. Use specific examples to help you with that.)
(3) Choose three civilizations of your choice in ancient western civilization. Examine their religious traditions. Describe the similarities and differences between all three of them. What holidays or festivals were observed by those three civilizations? Were those holidays or festivals borrowed by other civilizations or were they original? Be specific with all of your answers.
Citations: For this paper, I am requiring you to do a little research. You need at least TWO SOURCES for this paper. You are free to use either books or journal articles as sources. Youare also free to use any database on NVCC’s library page for journal articles. But DO NOT USEANY INTERNET SOURCE OUTSIDE OF A LIBRARY DATABASE. Also, you cannot use the textbook as a source either. At the very end of your 4-6 page paper, insert a bibliography to indicate the sources you used. The bibliography does NOT count towards the 4-6 page requirement for the paper. If you are borrowing a thought or reference from a source in the body of your paper, you need to include a citation. For this paper, you may use parenthetical citation(Author’s name, Title, page number).
Example:
The Romans modified battle formations with the addition of the legion (John Smith,Battle Formations, 367).
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– Bibliographic citation format for a book with a single author:
Author’s last name, Author’s first name. Title. City of Publication: Publishing Company, Year of Copyright.
Example:
Smith, John. Battle Formations. Boston: Harvard University Press, 2006. ______________________________________________________________________________
– Bibliographic citation format for an article in a journal:
Author’s last name, Author’s first name. “Journal article title.” Journal Title. Volume number (Publication Year): page number range for the article.
Example:Smith, John. “Practices of Roman Paganism.” Journal of Roman History. 2 (2009): 113-117.
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– Bibliographic citation format for an article in a journal or a book with more than one author:
Author’s last name, Author’s first name and Author #2 first name Author #2 last name. [proceedas normal for either a book or article citation].
Example:Frost, Peter and John Smith. Religious Practices. Boston: Harvard University Press, 2006.
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Format: You MUST include a title page at the beginning, which should have your name, a title for your paper, and your class and section number. As mentioned above, you MUST include a bibliography at the end of your 4-6 page paper. Your title page and bibliography do NOT count to the 4-6 page requirement for your paper. Watch your spelling and grammar. DoNOT include contractions [i.e. don’t, can’t, wasn’t, etc.]. Do NOT use first person [i.e. “I”, “me”, “us”, “we”, “myself”, etc.]. I do take off 1 point for each contraction or first person pronoun I see in a paper.