Writing Assignment

We'll follow up with our review of Bernal's project and  2nd century millenium BCE (circa 1750-1100 BCE) developments by writing a response and research paper.

Develop a thesis or main topic sentence and explore the theme throughout your  paper.

Suggested themes and topics: Choose no more than one or two!

  1. Look through this blog.  You may also look at Lefkowitz or Howe (see tab above), or a recent paper by Wim M.J. van Binsbergen, "The continued relevance of Martin Bernal's Black Athena thesis:  Yes and No," (2009).
  2. Take an example from either a text or art that shows Greek, Egyptian and Near Eastern cultural exchange.
  3. For example, read and discuss one or more excerpts from Herodotus, Chapters 2 or 3.  

How we'll do this together!  

1)  Computer lab session - we'll schedule several computer lab sessions where we'll be able to search together and research analytical  issues raised by Black Athena.  We'll also practice locating research articles from databases.
2)  Divide into groups of 3 or 4.  Help each other find sources and discuss what you find.
3)  Document your sources and avoid plagiarism.  Minimize use of quotations but provide a source when you do use them.
5)  Turn in a draft by the end of Week 4 (3-4 pages minimum).  I'll return comments and we'll discuss how we can develop your project further.
6)  Project and summary presentation will be due by 7th week of class.
7)  A short research paper (minimum of 6-8 pages double-spaced) that summarizes your research and findings must also be turned in by the 7th week.  Include citations in MLA style format with a Works Cited Page.