Discussion
Questions for
Wed. & Fri. Precepts
History & Historical
Thinking
The Code of Hammurabi
Early Christian Martyrdom
Ambrose and Augustine on War
Religion & Violence in the Later Roman Empire
Christian
& Jewish
Accounts of the Crusades
Columbus & the
Enterpise of the Indies
W, 9/2:
History,
Historical Thinking, & Their Importance
(article by Sam Wineburg,
"Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts"; page numbers refer to
article itself, which starts on p.3, not to Course Packet pages)
1. What is Wineburg’s
aim or goal with this article? What
is he seeking to achieve?
2. In this article Wineburg
compares the “familiar past” with the “strange and inaccessible
past” (pp. 6,7)? What does he mean by
these two terms and why does he contrast them?
3. What is the example of Derek meant to teach
us? What does Wineburg mean when he
states that
“Derek read these document, but he learned
little from them.” (p. 9)?
4. What does Wineburg
mean when he asserts, “The goal of historical study should be to teach
us
what we cannot see, to acquaint us with the congenital blurriness of
our
vision.” (p. 11)?
5. How do textbooks create an
"illusion" of the past? (p. 12)
6. What does the example of Laurel Thatcher
Ulrich and A Midwife’s Tale teach us about the role of the
historian in recreating the past?
7. Briefly describe the two
divergent ways students read the documents on Lincoln
8. In what ways was the American
historian Bob Alston an “expert” on Lincoln
9. According to Wineburg,
how can history teach us the virtue of humility?
10. Wineburg
concludes his essay by noting that history presents us
with a choice to learn about rhinoceroses or unicorns? What does
he mean
by this odd metaphor?
W, 9/9:
The Code of Hammurabi
Choose any one of the questions (1-10) to answer in a one paragraph
response.
Indicate on the response which question you are answering.
1. The stele of Hammurabi contains not only the text of the Code
of Hammurabi but also a pictorial
depiction of the Code's
origin (stele) What is this image? (You may want
to do some
research here.) Why would it be important to have both the image
and the
text?
2. Does the visual convey information the text
does not? For example, what do the size of the two figures, their
positioning vis-à-vis one another,
and their clothing
tell us that is not expressed in the text? Conversely, what does
the text
tell us about the relationship between Marduk
& Hammurabi that the picture does not
reflect?
3. What reasons does the text
give for the existence of laws?
4. What kinds of problems are these laws concerned with? Give a
specific
example.
5. What is the position of
women in the laws?
-What indication is there that
some
Babylonian women engaged in
business?
- Clearly men had more rights
than women
in this society; but what laws can you identify that seem aimed at
protecting
certain rights of women?
6. Which laws deviate from the
egalitarian standard of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth?" Why is this deviation significant?
7. What qualities does this
text say a ruler should have to enable him to write new laws?
8. What evidence about
Babylonian society does the Code provide? (Think about political,
social
and economic structures as well as values, beliefs, and way of life.)
9. What does
the pictorial image and/or the text of the Code reveal about religion,
violence, or the interrelation of the two in this society?
10. What would you like to know
about this society that is missing in the information it gives us?
11. Would you consider this Code “fair” by modern standards?
Why or why not?
W, 9/23: Early Christian Martyrdom
Work through all of the following questions in
preparation for
discussion in class. Be sure to have passages ready to support
your
responses. You may also choose any one of there questions for
your
primary-source analysis.
1. In each of the Martyrdom accounts in your Course Packet (CP,
pp.25-46), why
is Christianity perceived as a threat to the Roman government or Roman
society? To what extent is the persecution of Christians in these
texts
due to their religious beliefs? Give concrete examples from the
text to
support your answer.
2. How does the account of The Martyrs of Lyons differ in date,
geographical setting, form, and/or style from the Passion of Sts.
Perpetua
and Felicity?
[Although the text does not indicate this clearly, the martyrdom
of Perpetua & Felicity took place in Carthage, North Africa c.203]
3. What do these accounts of martyrdom reveal about Roman society, and
particularly Roman views of violence?
4.
Early Christians advocated
non-violence and passivity in the face of injustice. Argue for or
against
this claim drawing supporting evidence for your argument from
5.
What can we learn from the
accounts of the military martyrs (pp.43-46) about early Christian views
of
violence and/or warfare?
W, 9/30: Ambrose & Augustine on
War
Background: This week we will be looking at
developing views of violence and especially war in the Christian Roman
Empire. A strongly recommended excerpt from the Roman orator and
statesman Cicero (106-43
Until now we have been focuing on legal, social, and religious
history.
The study of these writings brings us more into the realm of
intellectual
history. Your assignment for this week is to write four questions
based
on your reading of Ambrose and Augustine. At least one question
must
focus on Ambrose, and at least two questions must focus on the texts of
Augustine. Please type your four
questions, and
be ready to discuss them in your precept group. These
questions
will not be graded, but they will be collected and reviewed and serve
as a warm
up for another question-writing exercise in the coming weeks.
W, 10/7: Religion and Violence in the Later Roman Empire
*Please
complete all the readings for this week and be prepared to discuss the
texts and these questions in your discussion section on Wed.,
10/7.
Written Assignment:
Choose one of the three questions below and type a 1-page
response. Be sure to cite
the text or give a concrete example or illustrations to
support one main point. You may single space your response, but
please do not go over 1 page! This response will count as a
precept assignment (2%).
1.
The two letters of Bishop Ambrose of Milan to Emperor Theodosius I,
both written toward the end of the fourth century, are fascinating
texts for studying changing relations between church and state and
between emperors and bishops in this period. They also illumine
religious perspectives on violence in the Christian Roman Empire.
Though written by the same person, these two letters present different
perspectives on violence on the part of the bishop, the emperor, and
others in the text. Briefly compare Ambrose's response to
violence in the two accounts. How might you account for the
apparent differences in his reaction?
2. The second set of texts for this week recount the same event -- the
murder of a female pagan philosopher in Alexandria in the year
415. These three brief accounts were written by three different
authors between the fifth and late sixth century: the
fifth-century church historian, Socrates Scholasticus; the pagan
philosopher Damascius, whose account was written in the early
sixth century but has come down to us in a tenth century Byzantine
encylopedia (called the Suda);
and the late seventh-century bishop, John of Nikiu. Note points
of agreement as well as discrepancies in their accounts. Discuss
the value and/or the limitations of these accounts in determining the
details of Hyptia's murder.
3. The Life of St. Martin is
a hagiographical text, i.e. a Christian saint's life, written in the
early fifth century. What forms of violence appear in this text,
how is violence connected with religion, and how would you describe the
author's perspective on violence?
8. According to the account of Solomon bar Samson, how did the
crusading Franks
end up attacking Jews in the
9. In what terms does Solomon ben Samson describe the sacrifice or mass
suicide
of the Jews in
10. The account of Soloman bar Samson was one of several accounts of
Jewish martydom during the Crusades. Who was the probable
audience for such texts? What would have motivated people to pass
on these horrific tales?
W, 10/28: Columbus
and the Indies
Assignment connected with this week's theme and reading:
Choose
two of the following three sections of the reading and type up two
discussion questions (one from each of the 2 sections you
choose). Then respond to one of these questions in a
one-paragraph response. Please hand in you typed questions
and response on Wed., Oct. 28, even though we will be meeting in the
library rather than in class that day. Here are the
sections you should read of Christopher Columbus and the Enterprise of the Indies (Bedford,
2005).
A. Christopher Columbus (43-59)
B. Four Voyages (60-83; 123-139)
C. European Constructions of the
