The Problem of Empires & The Frontiers of Expansion and Isolation

Description

Below you will find three essay questions. Choose TWO of the questions and answer each in an essay of 750-1000 words.  Make sure that your essays actually answer the questions posed. Articulate a clear thesis or argument in the first paragraph. Use the body of the essay to develop that thesis and to provide specific evidence from class lectures AND the required readings for this class. Clarity, organization, and proofreading are so important that the fates of the gods and humanity rest on it. Topics/chapters covered: empires to frontiers of expansion and isolation (Chapters 6-10). Essay 1: The problem of empires. How did Persia, Rome, and China work to unify large regions with diverse populations into cohesive empires? Why did these empires ultimately fragment or collapse?  How did outsiders or “barbarians” play such big roles in the transformation of empires in this period? Essay 2:The frontiers of expansion and isolation.  What effects did geography and climate have on the development of states in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania? How did societies in these isolated regions of the world contend with their environments?  What kind of political, social, and economic structures did they build and what challenges did they face? Your essay must fulfill the requirements listed below and will be taken into account in the assessment of your exam.     Requirements: Each essay should be at least 750 words in length (at least three but no more than four double-spaced pages). You may feel overwhelmed by the amount of information to address. This simply means that you have to use your judgment to make difficult choices and think very hard about what you are trying to say and what is necessary in order to make your case. The text should be double-spaced, with 1-inch margins on all sides, and 12-point font. Attempts to inflate the size of the essay through larger font size or other means will be regarded as an affront to the instructors’ intelligence and will be treated accordingly. The essays must articulate a thesis, an argument, or some kind of main idea. The more clearly you can articulate and defend that idea, the stronger the paper will be. The essays must use specific, concrete evidence from both class lectures/discussions and course readings. References to the textbook or class lectures should be simple—for example (Fernandez-Armesto, 55) or (class lecture on barbarians). Quote from the text sparingly. Often a few words or a phrase can be quoted more effectively than an entire sentence. Avoid block quotations altogether. Your essay should have no title, no title page, no “works cited” page or bibliography. There is no need to include your name, a date, my name, the course name, or any similar information as you will be submitting the assignment in Canvas under your name, I know the name of the course, etc.