Returning Looted Artifacts Essay. History Assignment

Essay Instructions:

• This Response Paper is worth 100 points, and counts as 25% of your final semester grade. Think of this as your mid-term exam.
• This assignment is intended to demonstrate your understanding of the material we studied so far, and to relate it to current events. It will also give you an opportunity to develop your skills in critical analysis.
• .• IMPORTANT: You must do your own work. Write in your own words. Do not just copy and paste.
• **DO NOT work with another student for this assignment.** THIS IS NOT A GROUP ASSIGNMENT.
• Any discovery of plagiarism or copying from another student will result in a "0" grade for the assignment.
• .• If you are unsure about what is plagiarism, you can check out this GMU website:
• https://oai.gmu.edu/mason-honor-code/what-is-plagiarism/ .
• • This assignment is due on Blackboard no later than 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 8.
• **NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED EXCEPT UNDER EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES AND WITH PERMISSION OF THE PROFESSOR.
• . • NOTE: This is an open book assignment. You can use your textbook, or the articles, slides or videos on Blackboard. DO NOT do additional research. This is NOT a research paper. It is your response to the article, and should demonstrate your understanding of the course material so far.
• .• .• Follow these steps:
• .• STEP 1
• Read this article: "British Museum to return precious artefacts looted from Iraq and Afghanistan"•
STEP 2
• Now, referring to the article, and material we have studied so far this semester (including the textbook or any material on Blackboard), type a 2-3 page, single-space essay to answer the following questions.
• You do not need to repeat the questions, but answer them in your essay IN YOUR OWN WORDS, in this order:
• .• (A) Tell us in this first paragraph that you are going to discuss this article:
• • What is the title of the article?
• Who wrote it?
• When was it published?
• Where was it published, or what magazine published it?
**Then tell us that you are going to give the historical background for the article, referring to what you learned in class..
.(B) Starting with the second paragraph, explain the main points of the article.
For example,
• What artifacts are going to be returned to Iraq and Afghanistan? List or describe them briefly.
• How old are these artifacts?
• Who is returning them? Where are they going to be kept now?
• When were they taken away from Afghanistan?
• What is "Circulating Artefacts"?
• How many illicit artefacts have been identified under this program?
.(C) Next, explain the historical background for this article. DO NOT DO ADDITIONAL RESEARCH.
This section should be at least half of your paper.
Refer specifically to what we studied in class (including the textbook or any material on Blackboard). DO NOT GOOGLE OR DO ADDITIONAL RESEARCH.
Please write in your own words but cite all specific information or quotations (see how to cite below).  .
INCLUDE THESE POINTS:
• Explain the main points about Buddhism that we discussed in class.
For example, Where did Buddhism start?
Who was the Buddha?
How did Buddhism spread from India to other countries like Afghanistan?
• Explain how Buddha was portrayed in sculpture after Alexander the Great reached Gandhara near India.
(You could mention the Vajrapani that we saw in the image of the Buddha sculpture)
What is the connection between Alexander the Great and how the Buddha was shown in sculpture?
• Where was Mesopotamia? What does "Mesopotamia" mean? What were some of the Mesopotamian kingdoms or empires? Be sure to mention that Mesopotamia is Iraq today.
• Describe what we learned in class about cuneiform. What is cuneiform? How did King Hammurabi use cuneiform to display his laws? What did these laws tell us about Babylonian society?
.(D) Summarize with a final paragraph giving your opinion.
For example,• Do you think stolen cultural artefacts should be returned to their home country? Why or why not?
(Optional) You could refer to this recent article in this section if you like.        "Should the UK return colonial artefacts?" (February 10, 2020) https://www.theweek.co.uk/103267/should-museums-return-their-colonial-artefacts
.• Describe an example that we discussed in class of cultural artefacts being sold or stolen, such as the Elgin Marbles or the Axum obelisk. This should be at least three sentences. Why would these countries want their artefacts back?
. • Do you think the "Circulating Artefacts" program is a good thing, and will it work?
• What do you think artefacts can tell us about ancient empires or kingdoms?
A PAPER WILL RECEIVE A HIGHER GRADE BY FOLLOWING THESE GUIDELINES:
• Make sure it is clear you have read the article.
• Demonstrate that you have thought about the article and what we studied earlier in the semester, analyzed and compared them.  • If you quote anything in the article, or use specific information (including the textbook), you must cite it. For this short paper, you can insert the author's name, or the textbook and page number in parentheses, at the end of the passage or paragraph.
For example:
The British Museum is working with the UK Border Force. (Forrest)
OR
After his death, Alexander's generals divided up his empire. These are the Hellenistic states. (Strayer, p. 103) OR pp. 134-136 if you refer to more than one page..
• You do not need a "Sources Cited" page or a bibliography.
• Conclude with a thoughtful opinion. You should give specific examples or reasons to back up your opinion.
• In other words, you will present a lot of information but it will be well organized, concise, and to the point.
..STEP 3
Click on "Response Paper #1 Submission" above.
Then click on "Text Submission" and paste your paper text in the box. Please DO NOT type your answers in the "Comments" section.
BE SURE TO CLICK ON "SUBMIT"!
.NOTE: You will be asked to click in the box to allow your answer to be submitted to Global Reference Data. It is optional.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Choosing a Good Research Topic
Name
Tutor
Institution
Date
Returning Looted Artifacts
The article 'British Museum to return precious artifacts looted from Iraq and Afghanistan' was written by Adam Forrest on Monday 8 July 2019 and published by the 'Independent' in the UK. This paper will analyze and give a historical background of the article. According to this article, the artifacts that should be returned to Iraq and Afghanistan include a series of Buddhist sculptures. These included nine heads sculptured in some soil with a representation of Buddha, the turbaned leaders of meditating bodhisattvas, the bald head of a monk, and three other heads, which one of them is Vajrapani, the spiritual guide of Buddha. These artifacts date between the fourth and sixth centuries AD. They had to be taken back by The British Museum, after some permission from the Afghanistan museum. They were looted during the most recent conflicts. The "Circulating Artifacts" started by the British government had the antiquities authorities, collectors, dealers, and law regulators that brought back the loot to Egypt and Sudan through the help of Cultural Protection Fund. This project was launched in March 2018 and is an initiative that safeguards against the looting of artifacts. The number of illicit artifacts that have been looted is nearly 700. This essay focuses on the background of Buddhism, started by Siddhartha Gautama over 2,500 years ago in India.
Buddhism has about 470 million followers, scholars who consider Buddhism a famous sect in the world. This practice was most prevalent in both East and Southern Asia and has since seen the influence grow in some parts of the West. A Buddha, whose meaning is "one who is awake" was an ordinary person who, through his insights, became an inspiration to many. This religion spread throughout India with the influence of the missionaries who traveled to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and other parts of Southwest Asia through to Afghanistan. Some other influences came with scholars, trade, emigration, and communication networks. Both the Greek artists and craftsmen managed to represent human form in stone and metal. This explains why they had the first representation of Buddha in human form, both in rock and metal, even on coins when they reached Gandhara near India. Consequently, Mesopotamia, which originated from Greek, meaning 'between two rivers' was a historical area situated in the eastern Mediterranean and bordered with the Zagros Mountains and the Arabian Plateau. Some of the kingdoms of Mesopotamia included Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Chaldeans (Babylon), and Babylon.
Cuneiform, a type of writing used in the ancient Middle East, has origins from both Latin and Middle French, which describes it as a "wedge-shaped." It dates back to the early 18th century. Cuneiform was the most widespread and historically used type of writing in the ancient Middle East. Various Kingdoms used this type of writing, particularly King Hammurabi of Babylon. He used the cuneiform to write down his laws, which hoped to prevent vendetta and blood feuds by stating the crime and what would ensue in case one broke those laws. King Hammurabi ensured through these laws that he granted his people what they desired, which made him be d...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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Returning Looted Artifacts Essay. History Assignment

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