The Topic
Ancient history tends to focus on the wealthy and powerful, in part because much of our evidence for how people lived comes from them, and in part because of the bias of many Classical scholars. For this assignment, you are asked to consider what we know about those who are not as often the focus of popular interest and even of scholarly inquiry.
Choose one of the following groups of people and write a paper that explores a particular aspect of the lives of the people in that group. You may also look at two overlapping groups (e.g. children with disabilities).
- Enslaved people
- Women
- Children
- People with disabilities
- Crafts people
- Non-Greeks
Once you have chosen your group, you will need to narrow your topic by deciding:
- What element of their lives you are interested in investigating
- What particular geographical area you are focusing on
- What time period you are focusing on
You could look at one particular geographical area/time period or compare two, but do not attempt a large geographical or chronological time span. Keep your focus narrow to ensure you can cover your topic thoroughly in a short paper.
The Proposal
The first part of the proposal will take the form of a Brightspace quiz. The quiz will ask you to provide the following information:
- General information about narrowing your topic
- A preliminary thesis statement
- Potential evidence and points you will use to support your thesis.
The second part of the proposal requires you to compile an annotated bibliography of sources. Upload your bibliography into the Bibliography folder in Brightspace as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf. It must include the following:
- One primary source. Choose ONE of the following:
- One text by an ancient author (max two). If you are including texts by ancient authors, make sure you find a translation that dates to after 1960.
- One sourcebook (max one). A sourcebook is a modern collection of ancient references to the topic. They are commonly themed and tend to focus on areas that ancient authors didn’t discuss in detail, such as slavery or women.
- One book that presents archaeological or artistic objects, such as illustrated catalogues or archaeological site reports
- Three scholarly articles from peer reviewed journals
- Two scholarly books
- Four items from the last 10 years (2014 – 2024)
- Eight entries total (max ten)
- Annotations
- Format your entries according to Chicago style. Follow the Chicago style citation with 1-2 sentences about why this is an appropriate or relevant source for your topic.
- Note: For books, you may need to look at book reviews, either scholarly or online, chapter headings, and/or excerpts.
The Term Paper
There are three components to the term paper:
- A title page
- A 1,800-2,000 word term paper (including an introduction, focused paragraphs, a conclusion, and Chicago style footnotes)
- A Chicago style bibliography
Your term paper should reflect your proposal and my comments on it; if you wish to make substantial changes, you must speak with me first. Ensure that your paper has an analytical thesis statement. Keep the paper focused and wellsupported with specific evidence/examples.
