Professor Grimsley
History 2550
Please read all the instructions carefully. Your examination must reflect complete adherence to these instructions; otherwise your grade will suffer to the extent that you depart from the instructions.
This is a take home examination and therefore obviously open book and open note. You are discouraged from using other sources (Wikipedia entries for instance), first because it is unnecessary and second because it raises the likelihood of your examination being flagged by Turnitin.com for possible plagiarism.
You do not have permission to consult with other students when taking the examination. Examinations that appear to reflect collusion will make you subject to the provisions regarding academic misconduct. By way of reminder:
It is the responsibility of the Committee on Academic Misconduct to investigate or establish procedures for the investigation of all reported cases of student academic misconduct. The term academic misconduct includes all forms of student academic misconduct wherever committed; illustrated by, but not limited to, cases of plagiarism and dishonest practices in connection with examinations.
Instructors shall report all instances of alleged academic misconduct to the committee (Faculty Rule 3335-5-487). For additional information, see the Code of Student Conduct and links to other relevant material on the online syllabus.
You must answer each question completely. Be careful not to introduce irrelevant material or material only tangentially (loosely) relevant to the question.
Your responses should be double spaced using Times New Roman or Courier New. Use 12-point font size. Margins should be Top: 1 inch, Left: 1 inch, Bottom: 1 inch, and Right: 1 inch. (These are the normal margins on Microsoft Word.) You won't be punished if the margins are a bit more generous. The practical purpose of double spacing with adequate margins is that it makes the essay easy to read.
Quote sparingly. For example, a direct quote might be in order for a particularly vivid word or phrase (usually one to three/four words), or a specialized term (e.g., "eleutheria"). Paraphrase instead. Re-stating an argument in your own words is a better indicator that you understand the material. Extensive quotation merely indicates that you can type.
Victor Davis Hanson's Carnage and Culture argues that the Western Way of War is comprised of certain key cultural traits. Each "landmark battle" in the book emphasizes one (or sometimes two) of these cultural traits. But if his argument is correct, you would expect to see cultural traits emphasized in one case study to also be present in the other case studies, even if Hanson does not give them as much prominence. Therefore:
In a well-organized, well supported essay of between 900 and 1,200 words, respond to the following question.
Compare and contrast the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs (Chapter 6 of Carnage and Culture) with the defense of Rorke's Drift (Chapter 8).
Specifically: Identify the primary cultural trait(s) emphasized in Chapter 6 and look for evidence of the trait(s) in Chapter 8. Then do the reverse: identify the primary cultural trait(s) emphasized in Chapter 8 and look for evidence of the trait(s) in Chapter 6. Based on what you find, how convincing is the Hanson Thesis?
This essay is fairly straightforward if you can read for argument but otherwise very difficult. In essence, I am testing you on your ability to employ the techniques for active reading (reading for argument) set forth in the handout "How to Read in College." Bear in mind that, in order to be sure you fully understand the Hanson Thesis, you will also need to read the book's introduction and conclusion.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k0ml7moucvug7j8/assign.rar?dl=0