HIS 101 and 111 Gilgamesh Paper

HIS 101 and 111 Gilgamesh Paper Assignment

Professor Diane Thompson, who teaches world literature at NVCC, has some good remarks on Gilgamesh. Surprise, surprise! We can study this ancient epic from both a historical--Gilgamesh was a historical figure--and a literary point-of-view. An aside: I still find it amazing that someone ever figured out how to read this cuneiform! The tablets were originally found by British archaeologist Austen Henry Layard in 1849 and now reside in the British Museum, which has some good online information about the Gilgamesh tablets.
photo www.sas.upenn.edu/~ekondrat/GilgTablet.jpeg.

Read Gilgamesh (in its entirety).

Answer the following question in a one-page paper:

Citing specific evidence from Gilgamesh (not from the textbook), explain the role(s) of kingship in ancient Sumerian society. In other words, one might ask, what were the duties of the king or what was a Sumerian king expected to do? Your paper must follow the following format:

typed using a word processor (font size 10 or 12 only)
one-inch margins
double-spaced
page number citations for your quoted evidence
not to exceed one (1) page
name, date and HIS 101 or 111, depending on your course, at the top left
must have a brief introduction and conclusion (each not to exceed two sentences)
You may consider submitting drafts of your assignment to your instructor for feedback before submitting the assignment for a grade. Please send some specific questions that you would like answered about your draft. The questions can be general (Is my introduction clear?) or specific (Is the phrase, "Chardin was jeweller," written correctly?). You can send in multiple drafts (within reason) of an assignment before you submit for a grade.
At times, you may be asked to rewrite your essay before it is graded. This is done for your own benefit and will result in an improved grade.

Since this is your first paper assignment in the course, you should take a moment to review the Short Tutorial on Writing the One-Page paper (and the other materials) in Charlie's History Writing Center. The tutorial will give you a good idea of exactly how your paper should be structured and organized.

Before proceeding, you might wish to read the short notes and review the study questions on Gilgamesh.

Your assignment should be sent to your course instructor following the directions for submitting assignments. The Gilgamesh Paper is worth a maximum of 100 points.