The Code of Hammurabi

The Code of Hammurabi

Prompt: What does the code of Hammurabi tell us about Babylonian (Mesopotamia) society?

Suggestions for thinking historically as you write Paper #1: The Code of Hammurabi allows us to learn about the daily life of ancient urban society. Law codes reflect a people’s sense of justice; they also provide notions of what they consider proper punishment. In this assignment you are asked to explain what you learn about Babylonian society based on your reading of the Code of Hammurabi. What do the laws tell us about social classes in Babylonian society? What do we learn about the roles of women and men? Which laws or punishments seem unusual today? What does that difference tell you about Babylonian society compared to modern society? Note that as you write you are forming your own interpretation or argument about Babylonian society. The “facts” you select, the questions you ask, the interpretations you provide — that all comes from each of us. In other words, when you write a history paper you are presenting an argument. In this way we can learn from each other in order to deepen our understanding of the past, the human experience, and ourselves.

PRIMARY SOURCE: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp

SECONDARY SOURCE WILL BE UPLOADED…

Read sections of Hammurabi’s code located on the internet: search — Code of Hammurabi – The Avalon Project – Yale Law School. This is an excellent version of the Code — and highly recommended. The objective is for you to base your paper on YOUR reading of the Code of Hammurabi — a primary source. Form your own understanding and interpretation of the Code and what we can learn about Babylonian society. You can include information from the course textbook — a secondary source — properly documented. You may even disagree with conclusions presented in the textbook and in other secondary sources.

Carefully read and understand the assignment above and examine the grading rubric below so that you can complete the assignment. The grade will be determined with the Rubricss below on how well you achieve the objectives of the assignment. The book should be used to complete this assignment but additional research may be employed to achieve the best possible grade. Please use proper citation when utilizing sources, both the text (or other secondary sources) and primary sources.

The page length for this assignment is a minimum of two pages; 1.5 spaced with one inch margins in 12 point Times New Roman font.

Include at least TWO quotations from the Code of Hammurabi with proper documentation using footnotes. Use the Chicago Manual of Style for citations.

For example,

1 Edward H. Judge & John W. Langdon, Connections: A World History, vol 1 Second Edition (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2012), p. 37.

Bibliography:

Judge, Edward H. and John W. Langdon. Connections: A World History. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2012.

The header of the document (placed on the top of the first page) is to be one line with the following information:

For a concise review of documentation using the Chicago Manual of Style (and MLA and APA if you are interested), see the OWL site at Purdue University.

Your Name, Your School, Class/Section, Assignment, Date – See example below.

Thomas Jones, ECC, HST 101 – World Civilization – Section OL1 , Hammurabi Paper, September 18, 2017

The assignment must be saved in Word with the following file nomenclature and uploaded into the Moodle system.

Word File Nomenclature: (School Name & Class) (Section Number) (Student’s First Last Name)

For example: ECC HST 101 – OL1 – David Berry

The history paper is intended to accomplish the following objectives: The student should be able to answer the following criteria items in their finished work. Basically, the student is demonstrating their understanding of what the author was communicating in the primary source, what influenced the author to write the primary source or why the primary source was written, and what impact the primary source had. Then, to substantiate the concepts presented by the student, the student must connect four historical events or impacts with the concepts — two that influenced the author(s) and two that the author(s) influenced with the primary source.

In order to complete this assignment successfully, the student needs to understand and construct an essay that demonstrates that the student has an understanding of the following:

The time period during which the primary source was written and details pertaining to the time period in history during which the primary source was written/published. What history/events propelled the author to write the document? Set the historical stage – establish what was going on in the time period of the author.

The main point(s) of the primary source. The student must be able to successfully communicate these points; the major themes or correlated concepts presented in the primary source. What does the document communicate to its audience? NOTE: To meet this objective, it is imperative to demonstrate successful analysis of the source, not just a listing of points made in the source. By accomplishing this, you are depicting your understanding of the intention of the author and the meaning of the document which ultimately will allow you to tie together objective number 1 and 3, here within.

An explanation or correlation, as to your opinion, of the author’s conclusions and their relevance in history referencing historical facts as a basis for your opinion – what EFFECT did the publication/writing of the document have on history and specific events? How does the writing AFFECT events/history as we know them today for both the time period it was written and in relationship the impact on us in modern day?

To achieve success with objectives 1 and 3, the specifics detailed for these two objectives must be correlated. Specifically, there must be a connection made to the circumstances that may have influenced the production of the primary source and the impact of the primary source after it was written or published.

In addition to establishing a conceptual relationship in your essay, you must prove an association with actual historical events. Specific events must be mentioned in meeting both objective 1 (at least two events) and object 3 (at least two events) that specifically demonstrate the students’ understanding and association with the conceptual relationship presented.