All students must write a 3-4 page narrative on a collection of primary sources.  This historical narrative will count for 15% of your grade for the course.  Those whose last names falls between A and N will write their narrative assignment for Week 8.  Those whose last names fall between O and Z will write their narrative assignment for week 10.  On the week you are not writing your narrative paper, your precept assignment will be to craft a set of discussion questions on the texts with a short typed response to one of the questions you choose.

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News of the great conflict that has broken out on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea has traveled far and wide.The emperor of China is particularly concerned.He wants to establish a series of trading outposts that will stretch from Asia to Europe but has no knowledge of this region.For that reason he sends you, one of his most trusted emissaries and diplomats, to the city of Jerusalem.The city is now peaceful and under Arab control.There in a dusty library you discover a series of documents that describes the conflict between the Crusaders and the Arabs from their respective points of view (Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres, “The Capture of Jerusalem by Saladin,” and the Arab Historians of the Crusades).From these texts you will compose a 3-4 page report that you will send back to your master, the emperor in China.

In your report you must carefully assess these documents as you answer some of the following questions as well as those of your own.
**What are the values of each society?What traits does each culture esteem most highly?How are they different and what accounts for these variations?
**What specific biases does each society have as reflected through the authors of these texts?Elaborate.
**How do Muslims and Christians view each other, and what does this tell you about their respective society?Give a number of specific examples.
**How does each side understand the role of God in this conflict?How do their perspectives differ?Do the Muslim historians understand God and his interaction in human affairs in a fundamentally different manner than the Christian chroniclers?  If so, how?
**What is characteristic of the code of warfare in this period? Do the two sides agree on this standard or do they vary?
**At what point do the texts disagree with each other?What accounts for these differences and which side do you think is more reliable?Why?

A thorough and effective report will rely on the documents you have read.This is not a research paper but a text exercise, and you do not need outside sources.You must be specific with this report, use concrete examples, and note page numbers throughout when you cite an example or a quote.The essay must hold together as a coherent unit.  See my tips on writing.

Within these constraints, feel free to be creative as you adopt the voice of a Chinese emissary in Jerusalem!

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Narrative Assignment #2:  The Conquest of Mexico

(due in class Wed., 11/4)

How did they do it?  What really happened?  The news of Cortes’s conquest of the great Mexica Empire has shocked Europe.  One of the most concerned is Spain’s great rival in Europe, England.  Henry VIII of England is furious for being left in the dark and is determined to find out what happened and why.  Fortunately for him, England has the best developed espionage network in Europe, and they have sent you, Henry Underhill, the country’s best spy to Spain to investigate.  You begin in the southern port city of Seville where ships from the New World are constantly coming and going.  As you survey the exotic new merchandise unloaded from ships returning from these strange lands, you come across an odd collection of documents that have somehow come into the hands of one of the city’s booksellers.  You begin perusing the text and discover that you have found a series of texts that detail the Spanish conquest of Mexico from the perspective of both the conquistadors and the Mexica.  Excitedly, you return to your inn and write up a report for Henry VIII that analyzes these complicated events.

Your 3-4 report must be a balanced assessment of the events of this dramatic encounter between two very different societies.  As you compose your analysis for the king, you should answer some of the following questions as well as those of your own:
**How did both sides view each other?  In what ways did they misunderstand each other’s culture and society?
**What type of biases influenced the Spanish account of the conquest as well as the Mexica version?
**Where and how do these descriptions of the same events differ?  What do you think accounts for these discrepancies?  Which account do you think is more reliable?  Why?
**What finally accounts for the remarkable Spanish success in toppling a substantial empire with a handful of men and limited resources?

A thorough and effective report will rely on the documents you have read.  This is not a research paper but a text exercise, and you do not need outside sources.  You must be specific with this report, use concrete examples, and note page numbers throughout when you cite an example or a quote.  See tips on writing.
Within these constraints, feel free to be creative as you adopt the voice of England’s master spy in Tudor England.

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