Week 10 (May 27-31)

I have set aside this week to consider a few key documents in American history, but also to give you a little bit of time to reflect on what you've read thus far and to work on the longer final paper.  So the readings are pretty light.

➜Also: Please remember you have a quiz due this week (see bottom of this assignment or here).

• To read and to think about (required)

As you read these texts, please think about ways they relate (or don't) to what you've studied from ancient Rome...see if you can make any specific connections.   The four things I'd like to read and discuss this week, in this order, are:

→The Declaration of Independence.  Please CLICK HERELinks to an external site. for the text (from the National Archives)

NB: As you read this, please be on the lookout for a) references to liberty and freedom; and b) try to think about parallels or points of comparison and contrast with what you've learned about libertas in ancient Rome.

→'Amendments' to the Constitution:

Please read Amendments I, II, IV and V (=1, 2, 4 and 5).  Note that Amendments 1-10 constitute the 'Bill of Rights'.  These may be found HERE (also from National Archives)Links to an external site.: you can skip to individual amendments using the links of the righthand side of this page.

AND Amendments XIII, XIV, XV and XIX (=13, 14, 15, and 19).  These may be found HERELinks to an external site. (also National Archives, 'p. 2' of the preceding)

→Martin Luther King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail (16 April 1963) Click HERE for a pdf of this.

NB: If you are unfamiliar with the background to this document, you will find it useful to read the Wikipedia article about it.Links to an external site.  

→And last but not least: please read Patterson's Coda, pp. 402-406.

• And ALSO to note for this week:

Quiz #2: This will be available to you starting WEDNESDAY, MAY 22 at 12:30 PM, and must be completed by WEDNESDAY, May 29 by 11 PM.

Long paper: Hopefully, you have not waited until the last minute to start thinking about (and working on) this.  Please make sure that you have read throughthe Instructions and Suggested Topics: these have been posted under Assignments from very early in the quarter, and include a list of suggested topics.