Reed College
Reed College

Humanities 110

Introduction to the Humanities

Paper Topics | Fall 2016 | Paper 2

Paper Due: Saturday, October 8, at 5:00 PM in your conference leader's Eliot Hall mailbox
Length: 1,500-2,000 words

The topics for paper two ask you to think comparatively about some of the texts/objects we have encountered so far this semester. In writing this essay, it is important that you be specific about the points of comparison. You do not need to fully describe each text/object about which you write. Instead, think carefully and critically about each text/object and include in your essays only those details that are integral to your comparative analysis. Build from analysis of each text/object to construct your argument. Select one of the topics below.

  1. As with Enkidu and Gilgamesh in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Sinuhe and the two voices in “The Dialogue of a Man and His Soul" are in part concerned with facing human mortality. Compare the ways in which mortality is treated in The Tale of Sinuhe and “The Dialogue of a Man and His Soul."

  2. The concept of the “other” is usually associated with what is culturally, socially or geographically foreign, different, strange or unfamiliar; in other words, to what is not perceived as part of a given “us”. How is this “us” constructed or represented in Exodus and in The Tale of Sinuhe? And, conversely, how is an “other” constructed or represented as different from this “us”? What purpose does this differentiation between “us” and “other” serve in these texts?

  3. The relation between the divine and the human is a central concern in various texts we have read. How is this relation represented in The Book of Job or Exodus? And how does this Biblical text differ from or compare to the representation of this relation in one other non-Biblical text we have read (for instance, in Gilgamesh or The Tale of Sinuhe)?

  4. Esther is a Jew living under Persian rule. Sinuhe, for his part, is also living under foreign rule after his exile from Egypt. How do their experiences compare? How are they different? What are the challenges faced by those living as minorities in these cases and how are their identities affected? Can you draw any conclusions about the concept of identity given these two examples?

  5. Material objects and landscapes can represent or reinforce social order and ideals. With this in mind, consider and compare the pyramid complexes and cemeteries at Giza and the description of the tabernacle in Exodus 25-27, 36-39. The pyramids are known from archaeological and architectural evidence, while the tabernacle is known only from a textual description; both, however, are places of intense social and religious meaning. What kind of information does each type of evidence provide, and how does the type of evidence affect interpretation? What sorts of ideals are encapsulated in these objects/places? How are these ideals expressed? What can these differences tell us about these ancient societies?