POTENTIAL ID'S:

KEMET, NOMES, PHARAOH [PER-O], HIEROGLYPHICS, UNAS, MAXIMS OF PTAH HOTEP, PLEA OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT, OSIRIS, HYKSOS, BOOK OF THE DEAD

SUMER, CUNEIFORM, ENLIL, "INTERESTING SUMERIAN LAW," "MEMORABLE SUMMERIAN PROVERB," ZIGGURAT, BABYLONIANS, HAMMURABI, CODE OF HAMMURABI, MARDUK, (ISHTAR), GILGAMESH, ASSYRIANS, "EXAMPLE ASSYRIAN LAW," CHALDAEANS, NEBUCHADNEZZAR, ASTRAL RELIGION

(PATRIARCHS), ABRAHAM, JOSEPH,  MOSES, (JOSHUA), JUDGES, DAVID, SOLOMON, (ELIJAH),  DIASPORA

(TORAH), (TANAKH), GENESIS, DEUTERONOMY, ISAIAH, PSALMS, DANIEL, (MESHACH), (MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN)

HINDUISM, BRAHMA, SHIVA, VISHNU, RAMA, KRISHNA, (CASTE SYSTEM), (SATI), BUDDHA, FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS, EIGHT-FOLD PATH, (NIRVANA), CONFUCIANISM, TAOISM

POTENTIAL ESSAYS QUESTIONS:

A.  In order to survive, a society must provide physical security, ethical guidance, and emotional fulfillment for its members.  Egyptian society was able to survive for well over two thousand years because, for the most part, it did an excellent job providing these three things.  Comment.

B.  In order to survive, a society must provide physical security, ethical guidance, and emotional fulfillment for its members.  Mesopopotamian society was able to survive for well over two thousand years because, for the most part, it did an excellent job providing these three things.  Comment.

C.  The history of Ancient Israel (the Hebrews) has many important lessons about the importance of physical security, ethical guidance, and emotional fulfillment to the success of a civilization, lessons often remembered by subsequent peoples.  In many ways, the Hebrews taught the world "new ways to dream."   Comment.

D.  The books of the Hebrew Bible (what Jews call the  Tanakh and Christians call the Old Testament) have had a tremendous influence on subsequent civilization.   Comment.

E.  In some ways, India and China mark "roads not taken" by Western Civilization.  This is particularly true when it comes to religion.  Comment.

For Part I of your exam, I will choose twelve (12) of the above ID's and ask you to identify and explain the historical significance of eight (8) of those terms.  For Part II of your exam, I will choose two (2) the essay prompts and ask you to write a good essay response to one (1) of those prompts.   I will choose ID's that don't overlap with the essay.  If, for instance, I choose Essay Question 1, I will not give you Kemet, Nomes, Pharaoh, etc. as ID's.  But if I *don't* give you Essay Question 1 as a choice, I will include four ID's from that first group among the potential choices.

In general, a good essay response includes most of the ID's in the related group.  A good response to the Egypt question would probable talk about Kemet, Nomes, Pharaoh, etc.  A good response to the Tanakh question would talk about Genesis, Deuteronomy, etc.

I am impressed when students use what the remember from the primary sources in their essay.  Including where appropriate an example or two of Ptah Hotep's advice, a Sumerian proverb, or an Assyrian law, for instance, can make a good essay even better.  I especially like to see students use the "book" quiz material when appropriate.  I like seeing students discuss Gilgamesh in their Mesopotamia essay.  I like also seeing students include some of the verses they quoted in their quizzes when doing the Tanakh essay.

Please note that a good essay on Egypt should talk about Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom Egypt--not just the Old Kingdom.  A good essay response to the Mesopotamia prompt should include comment on Sumer, Babylon, Assyria, and the Chaldaeans, not just the Sumerians.

There is a slight overlap between questions C and D.  The material I ask for in these questions used to be included in *one* question.  Turned out that that was too much for one essay, so I divided the history of Israel material from the Tanakh material.  If you get question C, be sure to talk mostly about the ID's in Group 3.  If you get essay question D, be sure to talk about the books of the Hebrew Bible read for class and listed in Group 4.  Many of you know things about the history of Israel not discussed in class and books of the Hebrew Bible not talked about in class.  Feel free to talk about the additional material.  If you want to get creative and talk about things like Veggie Tales, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Prince of Egypt, etc., that's fine too, but make sure you connect that material to the prompt.

The China and India question can focus on comparing the four eastern religious philosophies we discussed in class (Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism). 

When appropriate on all of these questions, feel free to include information you have learned in other classes or on your own.