Assignment

PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT

This assignment asks you to look carefully at the material presented in two textbooks and compare the presentation of material in the two textbooks. This will make you more aware of selection and presentation in the writing of history, help you improve your ability to write comparative essays, and provide you with a starting point to review for your exam.

DIRECTIONS FOR ASSIGNMENT

Answer each of the following in numbered paragraphs.

1. Describe the coverage of river valley civilizations in the online textbook by Eugene Berger, et al., World History: Cultures, States, and Societies, to 1500.

Focus on Mesopotamia and Egypt (sections 2.5-2.8 and 2.13-2.15), but also take into account coverage of India (sections 3.5-3.6) and China (sections 4.5-4.6). Take into account comprehensiveness, consistency, and modularity as defined on the textbook review page, Give specific examples (brief summary with page numbers) to support your evaluation.

2. Describe the coverage of river valley civilizations in the book bundle textbook for the class. For the Tuesday-Thursday class this is Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, The World: A History, vol. 1 (available through eLearn). For the Monday-Wednesday class, this is Peter von Sivers, et al., Patterns of World History, vol. 1 (available in hard copy through the bookstore).

Focus on Focus on Mesopotamia and Egypt, but also take into account coverage of India and China (chapter 2 in Fernandez-Armesto and the first parts of chapters 2, 3, and 4 in von Sivers). Take into account comprehensiveness, consistency, and modularity as defined on the textbook review page. Give specific examples (brief summary with page numbers) to support your evaluation.

3. Compare the coverage of river valley civilizations in the two textbooks you examined.

Which do you prefer and why? Give specific examples (brief summary with page numbers) to support your evaluation.