Question 1: Define historiography in your own words.
Question 2: Assess Bagnall, Roman Egypt, chapters 1-3, as a secondary source. Address the following topics:
1. Provide the full bibliographic citation for the work. Follow Chicago/Turabian style.
2. Is the work intended for an academic or a general audience? What are the implications of the audience for the author’s style and scope?
3. What is the main argument of the secondary source? For Bagnall, you may want to address each chapter individually.
4. What primary and secondary sources does the author use?
As you read chapters 1-3, look up the sources Bagnall cites after each section in the book’s bibliography. For this assignment, note the range and types of sources he cites.
You do not need to catalogue each source in your response but please do discuss the kinds of evidence that Bagnall relies upon. These sources may also be useful for you in your own research.
5. Does the author reveal any particular point of view or biases? Please identify them and consider what these may suggest about the weaknesses or strengths of the argument.
A book’s preface often will lay out the author’s personal motives for writing the book.
6. Consider the date and country of publication. Set the authors) very briefly into their own historical context.
How might a book in this moment of time differ from previous books? Keep your response here brief. We will address this more fully in the next class on the post-antique reception of Cleopatra.
7. Are there questions or topics that the author does not address? What can you think of that you wish had been included? Every author has to focus on specific issues in their research but these choices mean leaving out some important things. Are there omissions in Bagnall’s book that you consider important? What are they?
