See Attached
For the final project, you will write a thesis-driven essay to answer finish the statement, “Humans created societies, states, and empires from the late Neolithic period to 1500 CE in order to…” Choose
three specific states or empires from Africa, Asia, Europe, or the Americas to complete this statement. In order to support your thesis and fully complete the statement, you must provide a detailed analysis of social, political, and economic structures that relate to your topic. You will use primary and secondary sources from the collections listed in the Shapiro Library’s Research Guide for HIS 117 (
http://libguides.snhu.edu/worldcivilizations) to support your claims.
Specifically, the following
critical elements must be addressed:
I.
Introduction
In this section, you will provide a general overview of what this essay will accomplish. This section includes your thesis statement, which clearly states your completion of the statement, “Humans created societies, states, and empires from prehistory to 1500 in order to…” and introduces the three states or empires you will use as examples to prove your thesis. This section sets up the argument you will try to prove in the research and analysis section of the essay through the use of research-based examples, specific details, and careful analysis.
A. Briefly introduce your
topic related to the why humans created societies, states, and empires in the premodern world, including an introduction to the civilizations selected as examples.
B. Create a
thesis statement that clearly states your argument and your answer to the question posed and that draws on research from primary and secondary sources.
II.
Research and Analysis
In this section you will use both primary and secondary sources to research and analyze the reasons humans created societies, states, and empires and how they did so from the late Neolithic period to 1500 CE. You should use the three societies, states, and empires you have chosen as examples to illustrate your points. This is the body of your essay, and it should be made up of sections that analyze each of the forces listed below. Each section should relate directly back to your thesis statement.
A.
The Structure of Complex Societies
i. Explain the ways that
environment drove humans to organize themselves into complex societies.
ii. What
structures did humans create to facilitate this organization into societies?
iii. What
benefits did the societies derive from this organization and these structures?
iv. Incorporate evidence from both primary and secondary sources to
support your
claims about the ways that the structure of human organization contributed to the rise of societies, states, and empires.
B.
Class and Gender Structures
i. Explain how the states or empires developed and organized
class and gender structures.
ii. What
effect did these class and gender structures have on the states or empires during the period 500 BCE–1500 CE?
iii. Analyze how class and gender affected a person’s
ability to participate in his or her state or empire.
iv. Incorporate evidence from both primary and secondary sources to
support your
claims about the ways that class and gender structures contributed to the rise of states and empires.
C.
Intellectual and Religious Structures
i. Explain what forces spurred the development of
intellectual and religious structures in these states or empires.
ii. What factors caused these intellectual and religious structures to differ across states and empires? What
commonalities and differences did intellectual and religious structures share across states and empires?
iii. Explain what
tools and machines developed in these different societies, states, and empires. How were these different according to the needs of the given society, state, or empire?
iv. Incorporate evidence from both primary and secondary sources to
support your
claims about the ways that intellectual and religious structures contributed to the rise of societies, states, and empires.
D.
Economic and Political Structures
i. Explain how the
economies of the emerging states or empires interacted with their neighbors and the broader world.
ii. Analyze at least three
political events or trends in neighboring areas or other world regions that may have affected the development of these interactions.
iii. How might the
development of these interactions in turn have affected both neighboring and distant societies?
iv. Incorporate evidence from both primary and secondary sources to
support your
claims about the ways that economic and political structures contributed to the rise of societies, states, and empires.
E.
Historical Perspective
i. Summarize the role played by
increasing global networks in the development of states and empires between 3000 BCE and 1500 CE.
F.
Primary and Secondary Sources
i. Ensure that you have utilized
primary sources purposefully and effectively throughout your paper to support your argument and claims.
ii. Ensure that you have utilized
secondary sources purposefully and effectively throughout your paper to support your argument and claims.
III.
Conclusion
In this section, you will restate your thesis statement and reference the broader significance of your topic.
A. Provide a conclusion for your essay in which you restate your thesis statement and summarize the overall historical significance of the rise of states and empires as a global form of individual and group identity during the period from the late Neolithic Era to 1500 CE.
Milestones
Milestone One:
Introduction and Thesis Statement
In
Module Three, you will submit a general overview of your topic related to why humans created societies, states, and empires. You will also include a thesis statement, the three states, empires, or societies you chose as examples to illustrate your main points, and a bibliography.
This milestone will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two:
Rough Draft
In
Module Five, you will submit a rough draft of the body of your final paper, covering the key points regarding the social, political, and economic structures that relate to your topic as well a conclusion.
This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.
Final Submission:
Historical Analysis Essay
In
Module Seven, you will submit your final project. It should be a complete, polished artifact that demonstrates your understanding of the reasons humans created societies, states, and empires. It should contain all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course.
This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.
What to Submit
Your historical analysis essay should be 6 to 8 pages in length (plus a cover page and references) and must be written in Chicago/Turabian format. Use double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Include at least six references cited in Chicago/Turabian format. If you choose to use endnotes instead of footnotes, those do not count toward your page total.
