118 replies to this topic

[MrJohnDClare]

This is the thread for Ancient History GCSE questions and links

[MrJohnDClare]

HERE BEGINS THE RECORD OF OUR COURSE ON ALEXANDER THE GREAT:

 

 

[All materials available here at my website here.]

[MrJohnDClare]

Lesson 1 - Thu 4
Overview of relevant section of course - looking at prescribed content in spec
Looking at the kind of questions you'll face
Give out Basic Timeline and discuss first task (factual overview).

Lesson 2a - Fri 4
A very brief look at the Google-earth Alexander overlay
Personal work on the overview - to be continued...

[MrJohnDClare]

Lesson 2b - Mon 1
Continue with constructing your overview; do not panic if it seems to be going slowly.
Concentrate on getting the broad awareness of what is going on, and eschew the detail for now.

Materials to help you with the Overview
The Great Homepage of Alexander, or Something Like That is probably the best website for what you are doing
This is the wikipedia article
This is a really full, though very detailed and dense, account of Alexander's life.

[There is no need to finish by Thursday, but I will want to take in and look at the work you have done.]

[MrJohnDClare]

Homework 1
Please read the textbook at a run - just to give yourself an overview.
Please finish this by Lesson 4.

[MrJohnDClare]

Lesson 3a - Thu 4
A introduction to the historian Arrian - especially his sources, his methods, his motivation and his reliability.

[MrJohnDClare]

Lesson 3b - Fri 3
Please finish off outstanding tasks/ tie up loose ends on the factual overview etc.,
if you finish everything, start reading the translation of Arrian in preparation for...

Lesson 4a - Fri 4
Arrian: his methods and his motivation - sourcework (i.e. the first two sourcework exercises on the second side of the Arrian fact/worksheet).
Arrian: his reliability (i.e. the third exercise on the second side of the Arrian fact/worksheet).

[MrJohnDClare]

Homework 2
Please read the Arrian texts at a run - just to give yourself an overview.
You can either use the OCR translation of Arrian booklet, or -- if you want a broader view -- you can read the Arrian side (right-hand side) of the parallel texts document.
Please finish this by Lesson 5a.

[MrJohnDClare]

Feedback from lesson 3a:

1. Strengths of Arrian

• used contemporary sources
  
• consciously tried to select the best/most reliable sources
  
• attempted to gain an objective view
  
• had personal military experience/ experience as a military writier
  
• was motivated, even obsessed (said it was his whole life's work)
  
• had personal experience as a ruler/of government
  
• steeped in the Greek heritage (e.g. of Xenophon)
  
• had personal experience of the priesthood/religion
  
• trained as a philosopher (= better insight/understanding)
  
• wrote in his 60s (experienced and reflective)

2. Weaknesses of Arrian

• arrogant and over-confident
  
• writing four centuries after the events (Bosworth says he didn't really understand ancient Greek culture and society)
  
• only as reliable as his sources (esp Ptolemy and Onesicritus have been shown to be very unreliable)
  
• he used wrong criteria to judge sources (believed kings don't lie)
  
• might NOT have had military experience (no evidence of his 'campaign')
  
• accused of hagiography/eulogy (ignored Cleitarchus because he criticised Alexander)
  
• tried to copy Xenophon

Thinking about these strengths and weaknesses, if you had to write an essay about Arrian's strengths and weaknesses:

• What EVIDENCE would you produce to support each of these assertions?
  
• What EXPLANATION would you make to explain HOW these factors made his history strong/weak?

[MrJohnDClare]

Lesson 4b - Mon 1
Please type up all three answers on the Arrian worksheet and post on this thread in time for me to mark them for Thursday's lesson.
Thank you.

Please remember also that by Thursday it would be really good if you could have finished:
1. reading the textbook
2. reading the Arrian texts
3. your overview timeline-summary of the life of Alexander, mentioning all the key events in his life.
These things need finishing or the backlog will be beginning to accumulate out of control.
Well done.

[MrJohnDClare]

I wasn't sure if when it said in the 18 mark question, 'refer to your own knowledge', it meant:::;

• Make separate points entirely from your own knowledge (e.g. he had military experience thus was reliable).
  
• Or just to use your own knowlegde to support points mainly infered from the text.

For this kind of question (the 3c question) the markscheme makes it very clear that it wants you to make points using knowledge beyond the given source.
(And it is clearly wanting detail, and lots of it.)

PS got your answers; will mark and return on Thursday.

[MrJohnDClare]

Whilst we're thinking about the reliability of Arrian and Plutarch, here are some underpinning issues:

• Is knowledge of the past ever certain?
  
• To what extent does emotion play a role in an historian’s analysis? Is (historical) objectivity possible?
  
• Why do accounts of the same historical event differ? Whose history do we study?
  
• What determines how historians select evidence and describe/interpret or analyse events?
  
• What problems are posed for the study of history by changes in language and culture over time?
  
• Can history be considered in any sense “scientific”?

If you find these more general 'epistemological'/philosophical issues interesting, you may be interested to study this webpage.

[MrJohnDClare]

I was absent yesterday so therefore I was forced to do the questions at home. I dont know about David but he might have some problem posting the answers onto here since the forum is blocked on the school computers (I think it is, but I'm not 100% sure).

Well done - it has been a hard task for you.
I'll look into the school computers/blocking issue.

[MrJohnDClare]

Lesson 5a - Thu 4
(I will start by giving you back your marked essays.)

If you want to prepare for this lesson, you could start reading the translation of Plutarch in preparation for...
A introduction to the historian Plutarch - his sources, his methods, his motivation and his reliability.


Lesson 5b - Fri 3
Plutarch: his methods and his motivation - sourcework (i.e. the first two sourcework exercises on the second side of the Plutarch fact/worksheet).
Plutarch: his reliability (i.e. the third exercise on the second side of the Plutarch fact/worksheet).
Please type up all three answers and post on this thread in time for me to mark them for Thursday 19th's lesson

[MrJohnDClare]

Feedback from lesson 5a:

1. Strengths of Plutarch

• Greek
  
• lived in the historically significant town of Chaeronea
  
• trained as a philosopher
  
• Archon of Chaeronea, Roman citizen, ambassador and maybe procurator
  
• priest of the oracle at Delphi
  
• experienced writer
  
• used a wide range of sources available
  
• aware that some of his sources were unreliable
  
• interesting because interested in his subects
  
• "a master of style, rhetoric and biographical technique"

2. Weaknesses of Plutarch

• he manipulated his content material to fit his world-view of life as a battle between good and evil
  
• he manipulated his content material to force parallels between Alexander and Caesar
  
• Bosworth said he "distorts the historical record to achieve a literary and moral effect"
  
• Hershbell proved that he tweaked quotes to meet his need
  
• he focussed on character not events in order to make moral judgements
  
• he focussed on character not events and this sometimes obscures what was happening
  
• he can only be as reliable as his sources
  
• he was "fanatically biased in favour of the Greeks"
  
• he pioneered what has come to called 'heroic' history, with its focus on the achievements of individuals
  
• ultimately his history is a (subjective) interpretation

Thinking about these strengths and weaknesses, if you had to write an essay about Plutarch's strengths and weaknesses:

• What EVIDENCE would you produce to support each of these assertions?
  
• What EXPLANATION would you make to explain HOW these factors made his history strong/weak?