Late papers 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 should be submitted in person to the instructor; or to the History Department (Maybank 202), where the departmental administrators will sign them in and date-stamp their arrival. The instructor cannot be responsible for any papers simply dropped off at his office or shoved under his door when he is not there. Regrettably, such papers cannot be deemed to have been submitted on time if they go awry. Completion of the paper (even if it has a failing grade) is required to pass this course.

Topic: Students are required to write a research paper on any of the various medical and religious issues in ancient Egyptian medicine, medical practice, etc. Here they should focus on some issue of their interest, specialization or related pathology expressly from the perspectives of the textual and archaeological evidence, including the medical papyri, archaeology, and the study of human remains. They should also refer to the extensive course "Bibliography"-link on the course web pages to help identify primary and secondary sources and to narrow their topics.

It is especially important that their analysis be firmly based in the Egyptian medical texts or appropriate religious inscriptions. That means the focus of your analysis and the bulk of your data come from the Egyptian medical papyri (e.g., Papyrus Ebers, Papyrus Edwin Smith, Illahun Gynaecological Papyrus, etc.). They should then compliment or supplement that material with relevant archaeological evidence or the pathological data on the Egyptian mummies. Translations of certain of the medical papyri are found on these course web pages under the link: "Readings Library" (click to open). Translations of the other papyri are among the listings in the Course Bibliography under the category, "Primary Sources: The Medical Papyri and Texts" (click to open).

Students should confer with the instructor on the topic to ensure feasibility. All topics should ideally be approved by the instructor. Papers with unapproved topics ar in danger of not receiving passing grades. Completion of the paper is required to pass this course.

Suggestions. The papers might, for example, consider the who, what, how and why of certain diseases and conditions, the evidence for them and their treatments, and data culled from mummies and archaeology. Arguments should be specific and supported by the original texts, the archaeological record, pathological study of mummy remains, etc.

Required Style Guide. In the preparation and execution of all papers for this course, students are required to follow the style and format presented by Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) or The Chicago Manual of Style, especially in regard to the style of block quotations, footnotes, and bibliographies.

Turabian's Manual is also called the "Chicago style" because it is based on The Chicago Manual of Style, published by The University of Chicago Press. "Turabian/Chicago" 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 (or The Chicago Manual of Style) will be graded accordingly. Hard copies are located in the College of Charleston Library Reference Section and on Permanent Reserve. A digital copy of The Chicago Manual of Style is accessible through the Library Catalogue (see below). The Writing Lab can also advise students in the Turabian/Chicago format, and it also provides a Turabian Style Sheet (only marginally useful!).

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. an introduction presenting the issues and containing a thesis statement;
2. the body of the paper with argument and analyses following the rules of historical interpretation (see the "Taxonomy of Historical Questioning" above.
3. a conclusion which neatly ties up the argument and validates the findings in light of the thesis statement.

The cover page and the bibliography do not count toward the required number of 6-7 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. A 3-point grade reduction will be taken for each occurence of a parenthetical reference. 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 aaware 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 the Chicago/Turabian style.

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. As a rule of thumb, do not quote class-lecture notes. If you want to quote material mentioned in class, you should go find it in published sources among the course readings, and quote from there. If you cannot find the source among the readings, see the instructor for advice.

Footnote Format, Spacing, etc. Punctuation and form within footnotes depend on the type of publication cited. N.B.: the Chicago/Turabian Manual uses the following conventions:

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 uncertain of any spelling, use a dictionary. Proofread the paper before submitting it. Spell-check programs are useful, although admittedly, they will not help in spelling foreign names. 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 Egyptian Names. Among the instructor's lectures, course readings, and outside sources, students will probably find different conventions in the English spellings of ancient Egyptian names. When they write their papers, they should be consistent, whichever convention they use, e.g., not to write "Tuthmosis" one time and "Thutmose" later, or "Ramesses" and "Ramses." They should choose one convention and stay with it.

Students should confine the bulk of their research to printed publications, although 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 and the Near East:

1. primary sources, i.e. editions of original ancient inscriptions translated and presented by reputable scholars, often used as classroom resources on the Web;

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

3. synthetical studies and essays prepared by Egyptologists 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!). Because such essays are unvetted and have not undergone peer-review by qualified academics, they are not appropriate as source materials for research papers.

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

As of now, very few peer-reviewed professional--specifically Near Eastern--journals are published on the Web (see below). Publicly available 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 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: Jstor, Academic Search Complete, Academic Search OneFile, and Infotrac. The College of Charleston Library subscribes to many of these archives, and they are found in the College's library catalogue under the heading, "Databases" (https://www.cofc.edu/library/find/databases/index.php). Students do not need the instructor's approval to consult and quote from these electronic journals 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 Assyro-Egypto-crypto-bilge [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).