History 504.02: Class Project

History 504.02

Class Project

This project must be completed and submitted no later than Wednesday, November 24 at noon. This is different from the date previously announced. Projects may be turned in any time up to the 24th at noon, in class or at 365 Dulles Hall. Do not attempt to turn the project in to the Department of History; it will not be accepted there.

The project should be an investigation of some aspect of life in the ancient city (from ancient Mesopotamia to the later Roman Empire). You may select any aspect of ancient urban history and you may either examine a broad phenomenon or you may focus on a situation in a specific individual city. You may choose any topic that interests you, but the following are some possible topics you could consider:

engineering principles involved in construction of Sumerian ziggurats
astronomy and urban design in Babylon
the temple of Apollo at Didyma
the design of the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia
harbor construction in Roman cities
slaves in ancient Rome
graffiti on the walls of Pompeii
sanitation in Roman cities
philosophical representations of cities in antiquity
Juvenal's view of Rome
the gymnasium at Thera

the purpose of Roman monumental columns
religious processions in classical Greek cities
prisons in ancient cities
Minoan country houses
the Egyptian grain trade in Roman times
how a Roman bath was used
the Asklepieion at Pergamon
Greek-period athletic training buildings
traffic problems in an ancient city
urban holidays in a Roman city
churches in late Roman cities

You should come up with a topic that is small enough that you can get the job done, and large enough that it has some importance. You should not simply select one of the topics above, but come up with one that you define on your own.

You should do research on your topic, and then you should decide what you want to turn in for the grade. The following are acceptable:

1. A regular research paper, with bibliography and references to where you got your information. The paper should be between 5 and 12 pages.

2. A web-site, either actually on-line, or set up on a disk ready for viewing with a browser.

3. A model, drawing, or other visual presentation.

You will be graded on the following points:

how appropriate the project is for the course -- does it reflect one or more significant issue from ancient urban history?

how well what you turn in conveys what you have learned -- how effective it is in communicating your ideas

how sophisticated your topic is -- a simple "report" on a Greek temple will not get as good a grade as an analysis of how seige machinery changed in the third centiry BC

how much work you seem to have put in on the project

If you wish, you may work with one or more other people in the class to do a group project. All members of the group, however, must understand that they will get the same grade for the assignment.

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