Late reports will be penalized 5 points for each day late (including Saturdays), up to three days, after which they will be graded no higher than a 59% (F). All papers must be submitted in person to the instructor; failing that, they may be submitted in person to the History Department (Maybank 202/204), where the departmental administrators will certify and date-stamp their arrival. The instructor is not responsible for any papers simply dropped off at his office or shoved under his door. Regrettably, such papers cannot be deemed to have been submitted on time. Completion of the paper (even if it has a failing grade) is required to pass this course.

Topic: In the latter half of the term, students are formed into teams centered on specific themes of Egyptian social history and daily life. Each team creates a virtual museum display related to its assigned theme. Coordinating approaches and activities with his/her team, each student chooses or identifies a single specific sub-issue, then researches and identifies objects related to that issue from museum collections around the world. The student collects images of those objects from publications, catalogs, or off the World Wide Web and mounts them for display. Acting just as a museum curator, the student writes museum labels for each object, identifying its date, provenience and function, and significance and meaning (like a real museum label). He/she also composes a short explanatory essay of several paragraphs that accompany the labels and which ties his/her group of objects together, much like an informative label in a museum display case. Each student is required to contribute to their team display 7 major items and 3 minor objects for a total of ten (10).

Written Final Report. Each student writes up a final report formally under his/her own name. The report is an historiographical essay that documents in formal historical fashion the student's theoretical approach to collecting and displaying the objects of their contributions. It contains a thesis statement that enunciates the issue(s) the student seeks to prove and an argument that demonstrates what the objects reveal about Egyptian daily life and society. While the report answers the questions, "how I did what I did and why," it also must show a conscious adaptation of the "Taxonomy of Historical Questioning" in its approach. The essay will list, define and describe the objects contributed to the exhibit, providing standard footnotes for all sources and argumentation and a formal bibliography.

Due Dates: The museum exhibits must be completed and ready for display and presentation in class on April 10. Each team will formally present their displays to the class. Deadline for submission of the written final report is April 12.

Subject Areas, Themes and Topics: The instructor will assign general topics in Egyptian social history to each team. Students may then select available teams to join (5-6 students per team). Each student will coordinate with their teammates their own specific subject within that topic, discussing how to combine together into a single exhibit of 50-60 different objects total. Each team should elect a team leader and coordinate activities and approaches with the instructor.

Required Style Guide. In the preparation and execution of all papers for the class, students are required to follow the style and format presented by Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), especially in regard to the style of block quotations, citations (i.e., footnotes), and bibliographies. Look over Chapters 8-10 to compare their forms and styles. Turabian's style, also called the "Chicago style," is the official style-guide of the History Department of the College of Charleston. This style is recognized throughout the world for academic writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences. If you are not familiar with this format, open the book and learn it! Do not try to "wing" it or fudge the format. Any papers that do not conform to Turabian's Manual will be graded accordingly. Copies are located in the College of Charleston Library Reference Section and on Permanent Reserve. The Writing Lab can also advise any student in Turabian's format; it also provides a Turabian style sheet (only marginally useful!).

You will find various extracts of Turabian's Manual at the following Web addresses (n.b.: these are not replacements for full Turabian's Manual!):

University of Chicago Press: Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers

https://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html

Bridgewater State College: "Turabian Style: Sample Footnotes and Bibliographic Entries (6th edition)"

https://www.bridgew.edu/Library/turabian.cfm

Ohio State University: "Chicago Manual of Style Form Guide"

https://www.lib.ohio-state.edu/guides/chicagogd.html

University of Wisconsin-Madison: "Writer's Guide (Chicago Turabian Documentation)"

https://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocChicago.html

Sample Papers. To see a sample of a paper using the required formats and styles for this research paper, including setup, margins, spacings, block quotations, footnotes, bibiography, etc., follow the links at the top of this page marked Sample Papers.

Format. All research papers should be printed in black ink on 8.5x11-inch white paper, with 1-inch margins all around. The paper must include:

1. cover page (do not repeat paper title and course information on page 1 of text);
   
2. text typed double spaced and in 12-point type (not Helvetica, Arial or any ornamental font);
3. type-written page numbers on all pages except cover sheet and page 1;
4. citations (footnotes only; no endnotes or parenthesis-notes; The footnotes are single-spaced with a double space between each note.
   
5. separate Bibliography-page

The content of the paper should consist of rational argument based in the historical method, including:

1. a thesis statement in the introduction;
2. an argument and analyses in the body of the paper;
3. a conclusion.

The cover page and the bibliography do not count toward the required number of 7-8 pages. Pagination begins on the first page of text. See link above, "Suggestions and Advice on Preparing and Formatting Term Papers and Essays," for detailed information, advice, and suggestions on form, format, and grading criteria for the term paper.

Papers should be submitted in paper format only. Papers submitted electronically via e-mail are unacceptable, since: (1) formatting changes can occur when transferring files between computers; (2) it is not the responsibility of the History Department to print out students' papers.

Citations: Required Footnotes. Footnotes are required in this paper. Footnotes occur at the bottom of each page. Do not use parenthetical references. That means do not put references in parentheses at the ends of the sentences. Do not attempt to create and number footnotes manually. Use the proper footnote commands to make the word processing software create and number footnotes automatically. However, be aware that the default format for footnotes in most word processors does not conform to the requirements of Turabian's Manual nor to historical writing. For example, some word processors will automatically use Roman numerals (^{i, ii, iii}, etc.), instead of required Arabic numerals (^{1, 2, 3}, etc.), or they will incorrectly use a smaller type-font in the notes than in the text. The font size inside footnotes is always the same as the main text, not smaller (12-point, Times-Roman). Lines of text inside footnotes are always single spaced--but with a double space between notes! If necessary, change the default settings of the software to meet these requirements. In many word processors, one must manually type a carriage return at the end of each note to create the required double space between notes. Use only full-featured word processor programs to type the paper, e.g., Microsoft Word or Word Perfect. Microsoft Works is usually inadequate, since it does not contain all the features necessary for college level academic writing or for Turabian's Manual.

Be conscientious to note the sources of all facts, thoughts, and ideas that you use from other books and articles in your paper, whether or not you actually quote them directly. Even paraphrases must be footnoted.

Footnote Format, Spacing, etc. Punctuation and form within footnotes depend on the type of publication cited, Read Turabian's chapter 11 (pp. 185-213) to compare the various forms and styles. N.B.: Turabian's Manual uses the following conventions (e.g., p. 187):

As a rule of thumb, do not quote class-lecture notes in the paper. If you want to quote material mentioned in class, Go find it in the published sources among the course readings, and quote from there. The first place to look is in the bibliography at the end of the appropriate chapter in the course textbook. If you cannot find the source among the course readings, see the instructor for advice. Please feel free to consult the instructor at any time for advice and suggestions on preparing the paper.

Bibliography. History papers take a "Bibliography" not a "Works Cited"-list. See the sample paper (at the link above) for examples of correct footnotes and bibliography. The Bibliography comes at the end of the paper beginning on a separate page of its own. It is a listing of each book and article quoted or cited earlier in the footnotes. Do not list any sources that you did not actually footnote in the paper. All the books and articles are listed in alphabetical order according to the last name of the author. Although you can cite a reference as many times as necessary in the footnotes, in the Bibliography, you may list each entry only once. Similarly, do not list each primary text-reference separately in the bibliography if they come from the same anthology. List only the anthology in which it is published, and list it only once.

Form and spelling are factors in grading a research or project paper. If you are uncertain of your spelling, use a dictionary. You must proofread your paper before submitting it, and make any minor last-minute corrections cleanly in ink, if necessary!!. A few handwritten corrections will be tolerated; more than a few will lower your grade. If you employ a word processor, use a spell-check program. Admittedly, that will not be of help in spelling foreign names. So you will need to be conscious of spelling throughout.

Why the emphasis on form? A research paper is a means of communication. The purpose of any paper is to convey an argument as logically as possible according to standards of form that facilitate its communicative function. Form is not merely format and correct spelling but also includes the logical arrangement of an argument and the rational ordering of historical and textual data to support a particular interpretation. Poor form can impede the communication of a valid point of view. When a paper cannot communicate due to a lapse of form, it has failed in its purpose.

Conventions in Transcribing Near Eastern Names. Among the instructor's lectures, course readings, and outside sources, you will probably find different conventions in the English spellings of ancient Near Eastern names. When you write your papers, whichever convention you use, be consistent, e.g., do not write "Tuthmosis" one time and "Thutmose" later, or "Hattusha" and "Hattusa". Choose one convention and stay with it.

Students should collect images of objects from printed museum catalogs and erudite books on Egyptian art history and social history. Objects represent material culture, and as such, they are considered primary sources for the purposes of this exercise. Within specific limits, it is permitted also to use the World Wide Web for sources of images of appropriate objects. However, these can come only from the official web pages of museums; they may not come from any other web pages (including general histories of Egypt, travelogues, etc.. Similarly, they may NOT come from the web pages of this course (History 270). If a student sees an appropriate object on the course web pages, he/she should go find it somewhere else. On the other hand, secondary sources on the Web are not permitted uat all without prior arrangement with the instructor. Each unauthorized web source appearing in the paper will results in a 5-point grade reduction. See below for full details.

Except for the catalogs on museums' web pages, students should confine the bulk of their research to printed publications. Admittedly, they may use the World Wide Web selectively to help research the paper topic and to identify valid issues. A great deal of information exists on the Web pertaining to ancient Egypt. However, the Web also houses a whole lot of trash that does not conform to modern academic standards. In general, the World Wide Web contains four types of materials pertaining to Egypt:

1. primary sources, i.e. editions of original ancient inscriptions translated and presented by reputable scholars, as well as objects in museum collections;

2. original archaeological reports and field data by archaeologists and bona fide researchers;

3. synthetical studies and essays prepared by Egyptologists, Hittitologists and Assyriologists (often as Web versions of reputable printed publications);

4. materials, idiosyncratic essays, and polemical tracts of uneven and inconsistent quality, prepared by non-professionals, dilettantes, radical Afro-centrists, and self-proclaimed prophets of the New Age revelation (yikes!).

Sadly, this latter Egypto-crypto-trash [no. 4] constitutes the bulk of Egyptological materials on the Web.

As of now, relatively few peer-reviewed professional--specifically Egyptological--journals are published on the Web, although more and more can be found in Jstore®, Academic Search Premier® and other databases in the College library (see below). Photographs of objects from museum catalogs on the Web are permitted, only as long as they come from the official museum web sites. Publicly available written primary sources on the Web [no. 1] are usually out of copyright, obsolete translations superceded by modern translations in print. For the purposes of this course, students are permitted to quote from these, but only with the prior approval of the instructor and only if the texts are not available in print! You will find all or most of the primary sources you need in Near Eastern literature-anthologies in the College library. Because Near Eastern secondary sources on the Web are rarely peer-reviewed, students may quote from [nos. 2 & 3] but only after consulting with the course instructor on each specific source! Web pages for [nos. 1 - 3] are usually identifiable by the domain-markers ".edu" or ".ac" in their Web addresses, and sometimes also by ".org" (denoting educational or charitable organizations).

Also, some professional peer-reviewed academic journals do exist on the Web. They are usually Web-versions of paper journals, and they are collected together into archives for easy searching and consultation, such as: Jstore® (https://www.jstor.org/), Academic Search Premier®, Project Muse™ (https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/), and Infotrac™ (https://web7.infotrac.galegroup.com/). The College of Charleston Library subscribes to many of these archives, and they are found in the College's library catalogue under the heading, "Electronic Journals by Title" (https://www.cofc.edu/library/ej_title.html). Students do not need the instructor's approval to consult and quote from Jstore® and the other electronic journals and databases archived in the College Library catalogue.

While students can consult Web pages for [nos. 1 - 3] and quote with prior permission, under no circumstances may they quote from the unprofessional Egypto-crypto-bilge-muck [no. 4] (usually identifiable by the domain-markers ".com" or ".net" in their Web addresses). Students should never quote from any world encyclopedias, whether from the Web or in paper medium. If in doubt about the appropriateness of any research source--either on the Web or in print--please feel free to consult the instructor. He will be happy to examine or discuss the strengths or weaknesses of individual Web sites with you.

As you prepare your papers for this course, be careful not plagiarize any of your sources. Plagiarism is copying or paraphrasing the words and ideas of others and passing them off as your own or misleading the reader into thinking that the words and ideas of other writers are your own. Any plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, whether blatant or merely inappropriate paraphrasing, will not be tolerated. As you prepare the term paper for this course, be careful not plagiarize any of your sources. Any plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, whether blatant or merely inappropriate paraphrasing, will not be tolerated. If you have any questions as you prepare your assignments, feel free to ask the advice of the instructor. If in doubt about anything, quote it--even indirect quotations! The Honor Code of the College of Charleston strictly prohibits plagiarism, cheating, and attempted cheating. A student found guilty of these offenses will be reported to the Honor Board, will fail the paper and probably the course. Additional penalties may include suspension or expulsion from the college at the discretion of the Honor Board. See the College of Charleston Student Handbook, p. 11 (https://www.cofc.edu/student-life/handbook/handbook01-02.pdf), for definitions of these offenses. You are responsible for informing yourself of all definitions and regulations on this subject. Ignorance is not an acceptable excuse before the College Honor Board. Protect yourself; when in doubt footnote it! For examples of proper and improper quoting and paraphrasing, see also "A Guide to Freshman English" (https://www.cofc.edu/~english/Guide.html).