PURPOSE
The purpose of this assignment is to further develop your understanding of primary sources and
how they are used to construct historical arguments in contemporary scholarship. You will also
learn to understand the limitations of liberty and equality in ancient Greek democracy.
TOPIC
Eric W. Robinson’s Ancient Greek Democracy: Readings and Sources collects a range of primary source texts from the ancient Greek world and contemporary historical scholarship on the theme of democracy in the ancient Greek world. You will read chapters 4 (“Liberty, Equality, and Ideals
of Greek Democracy”) and 6 (“Limiting Democracy: the Political Exclusion of Women and Slaves”) from this collection, including the extracts from both primary source texts and contemporary scholarly articles, and in 800–1000 words will outline the evidence for how ancient Greek democracy fell short of its ideals. Your paper should address the following:
Summarize Ideals: In no more than 250 words, and drawing specifically on primary source texts presented in Robinson’s chapter 4, summarize some of the key principles of ancient Greek democracy.
Exclusion & Inequality: In no more than 250 words, and drawing specifically on primary source texts presented in Robinson’s chapter 6, summarize some of the evidence for inequality within ancient Greek democracy.
Argument Evaluation: In about 500 words, and drawing specifically on one extracted modern article from Robinson’s chapter 4 AND one extracted modern article from Robinson’s chapter 6, evaluate the arguments presented in these articles. Be sure to consider the degree to which these articles make claims that are supported by (or NOT supported by) the evidence of the primary source texts or other cited evidence.
The paper will be double-spaced and fully referenced, citing sources/readings in Robinson’s book.
GRADING CRITERIA
Your assignment will be graded on the following criteria (weight indicated in parentheses):
a) Have you addressed the assigned topic as outlined above? (10% of assignment grade)
b) Is your summary of primary source texts accurate and sufficient? (30%)
c) Is your evaluation of the article arguments informed, sufficiently developed, and does it
demonstrate critical historical awareness? (40%)
d) Have you followed instructions for word count, formatting, and source citation? (10%)
e) Have you used proper grammar/spelling and carefully proof-read the paper? (10%)