Western World

All students are required to write a traditional research paper on a narrow topic of your own choice. Once you have decided upon a topic I would strongly recommend you begin gathering materials for the assignment at some earlier point in the semester rather than waiting until week 12 to begin. The paper should relate to themes in the course but could literally be about anything you find interesting, regarding the historical of the Western World. It could be about an individual, a group, a specific historical event, a primary source, religion, art, architecture, cultural practice, etc. It should not however be of such a broad or general nature as to cover an entire textbook chapter or large topic from the course like “The History of Rome”, “The Story of Christianity”, “Islam”, “Greek Philosophy”, “The Bible”, “European Art”, etc. You could however (if you are wed to these preceding topics) you may write in a more narrow well-researched paper about one particular king, an event in the history of Christianity or Islam, a school of philosophy, a particular style or period of art, a verse, theory, story or chapter in the Bible, etc. If you are unsure about your choice of a topic feel free to run it by me. The paper should be a minimum of 7 pages (it certainly can be much longer), utilizing at least 5 sources. Inclusion of primary sources such as the scriptures, or the first-hand accounts (theories, history, philosophy) of an historical individual to support your position are always encouraged. You may use any academic writing style that you are comfortable with (MLA, Chicago Manual, APA, SCI, etc.).