Ancient Mesoamerica
ANT 315
Spring 2012
 

Guidelines for Research (Term) Paper
(Option 1)

The Basics:
Due:   April 9, 2012
Points:   Paper counts for 100/400 points, or 25% of your course grade
Page Length:  It must be between 15-18 (double-space typed) pages in length.  This is not negotiable.  Points will be deducted for papers that either fall short of or greatly exceed this length.  Use 1" margins all around.

Title Page: Create a separate first page that includes:

Name
Title of Paper
ANT 315 Ancient Mesoamerica
Date

DO NOT include this information on any other page of your paper, unless it is part of a running header or footer.

The Specifics:
Outline:  Creating an outline is very strongly recommended.  Outlines really help you to organize your ideas and sub-topics, and also allow you to visually chart or map where you’re starting and where you’re going.  They’re really easy to make, too.  Just do it.

Topic:  Topics can include any aspect of Mesoamerican cultures, time periods, cultural evolution, specific cultural attributes (social, economic, political, religious, etc), specific culture groups (Maya, Zapotec, Aztec, Olmec, etc), topical issues (emergence of agriculture, development of sociopolitical complexity, changing architectural traditions, etc) or cross-cultural comparisons.  Think of working from the general to the specific.  After you’ve chosen the topic (see above for possible topics), come talk with me during office hours and I will help you to develop your research into a focused project.  Remember, you will be summarizing and synthesizing information that’s already been published.  You’re not doing your own original research here – it's not a Masters thesis!

Sources:  There is no magic number of sources you need to use and cite, but you should aim for between 5 and 10, with 5 being the minimum.  If you use fewer than 5 sources you are just not able to get the breadth of information and variety of perspectives that you need to adequately complete a solid research paper.  While you may use Wikipedia as an initial source of information to get you started you may NOT cite it as a source for your paper.  Use authoritative sources only.  Again, come and talk with me because I can point you in the right direction source-wise.

Citing your sources:  When you relate general information you cite your source like this: (Walker 2007).  When you cite specific information from one particular paragraph/sentence then you also need to cite the page number, as well as the author and date of the publication, e.g. (Walker 2007:38).  This is standard anthropological/social sciences style.  If you are citing a source with more than two authors you'd cite it in the text like so (Walker et al. 2007:38).

References Cited:
Should look like this (click here)

Rough Draft:  Unless you’re into stress and lower overall quality of work, then you’ll want to have a rough draft of your paper pulled together at least two weeks before you turn it in.  You should turn in your rough draft to me for review no later than Monday March 26, 2012.  This is for your benefit.  I want to help you to finalize your paper by giving you suggestions, helping you tie up loose ends, etc. so that you can get the best grade possible.

NOTE: if you choose not to follow these guidelines points will be deducted from your paper.

Guidelines for Short Research Papers
(Option 2)

Short Paper 1

Indigenous Literature in Preconquest and Colonial Mexico
from
The Legacy of Mesoamerica: History and Culture of a Native American Civilization
by
Robert Carmack, Janine Gasco and Gary Gossen, 2007

 
You are to provide your own thoughts on the content of this paper based on your understanding and interpretations of the material presented in this chapter.  I am interested mainly in your own Thoughts and ideas, which means that I expect more than simply a re-statement of the main points your authors made in the chapter. 

The following questions are meant to guide your discussion, which will be 4-6 pages, double-space typed, in length.  Anything short of 4 pages will not be satisfactory, and will be graded accordingly.  You are to discuss the salient points of this paper by using the following questions and points as a guide, but you also have the latitude and are encouraged to use your own insights into the meanings of the content of the paper.  Be sure to come see me or contact me by e-mail or telephone if you have any questions.

• Explain how and why native texts are so important to our understanding of Mesoamerican life before the Spanish Conquest
• What kinds of information does Mesoamerican literature quite often convey about the precolumbian world?  In what ways does precolumbian literature differ from the western literature we’ve all grown up reading?
• Discuss some of the most distinguishing characteristics of Mesoamerican literature.  How is it structured?  What forms does it often take?
• A number of fundamental changes took place in the content and function of Mesoamerican texts from precolumbian to Spanish Colonial times.  Be sure to discuss these changes, and why they occurred
• You’re a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican scribe or writer.  What kinds of knowledge do you have to have in order to be a good writer?
• You’re a Spanish Colonial Period native writer, just as your father was, and his father was.  What kinds of issues are you dealing with in your writing?  How are you keeping your cultural history alive through your writing in the face of Spanish attempts to influence the content of your texts?

Short Paper 1 is due no later than 31 January 2012.  It is to be turned in at the end of class, stapled.  Papers turned in late will be graded one letter grade lower.  Turn it in on time!

Short Paper 1 is worth 35 points

Short Paper 2

The Religious Traditions of Mesoamerica
from
The Legacy of Mesoamerica: History and Culture of a Native American Civilization
by
Robert Carmack, Janine Gasco and Gary Gossen, 2007

You are to provide your own thoughts on the content of this paper based on your understanding and interpretations of the material presented in this chapter.  I am interested mainly in your own thoughts and ideas, which means that I expect more than simply a re-statement of the main points your authors made in the chapter.

The following questions are meant to guide your discussion, which will be 4-6 pages, double-space typed, in length.  Anything short of 4 pages will not be satisfactory, and will be graded accordingly.  You are to discuss the salient points of this paper by using the following questions and points as a guide, but you also have the latitude and are strongly encouraged to use your own insights into the meanings of the content of the paper.  Be sure to come see me or contact me by e-mail or telephone if you have any questions regarding this topic.

• If Mesoamerica is at least partly defined on the basis of shared sets of beliefs then why is it so difficult for scholars to make broad generalizations about Mesoamerican belief systems?
• Discuss the core components of Mesoamerican spirituality, including what they are, how they are manifested (what’s the evidence we have for these currently), and, if possible, describe the functions or roles these play in the spiritual health of Mesoamerican peoples.
• Describe the roots or initial beginnings of organized religious traditions in Mesoamerica.  How did these traditions begin and what factors (social, economic, political) influenced their development?
• In your assessment of Classic and Postclassic Period Mesoamerican religious traditions, what differences, similarities and/or continuities do you observe?  In what ways did the fundamental character of Classic Period (and earlier) religious traditions change and/or remain the same through Postclassic times?
• Describe the concept of religious syncretism and discuss how this was and is still manifested in Mesoamerican religion.

Short Paper 2 is due no later than 9 March 2012.  It is to be turned in at the end of class, stapled.  Papers turned in late will be graded one letter grade lower.  Turn it in on time!

Short Paper 2 is worth 35 points

Short Paper 3

The Colonial Period in Mesoamerica
from

The Legacy of Mesoamerica: History and Culture of a Native American Civilization
by
Robert Carmack, Janine Gasco and Gary Gossen, 2007

You are to provide your own thoughts on the content of this paper based on your understanding and interpretations of the material presented in this chapter.  I am interested mainly in your own thoughts and ideas, which means that I expect more than simply a re-statement of the main points your authors made in the chapter.  The following questions are meant to guide your discussion, which will be 4-6 pages, double-space typed, in length.  Anything short of 4 full pages will not be satisfactory, and will be graded accordingly.  You are to discuss the salient points of this paper by using the following questions and points as a guide, but you also have the latitude and are strongly encouraged to use your own insights into the meanings of the content of the paper by Carmack et al.  Be sure to come see me or contact me by e-mail or telephone if you have any questions regarding this topic or your paper.

After their arrival, the Spanish instituted various social and economic policies on native Mesoamericans that were designed to impose systems of colonial ‘order’ on native populations.  All of these were ultimately aimed at supporting Spanish colonial officials and the Spanish colonists themselves.

• Discuss the nature of these social and economic policies, defining what they were, how they were implemented, and how they affected native groups in various ways in Mesoamerica.
• Describe the types of changes that took place in Mesoamerican religious life following the imposition of Christianity.  Discuss the characteristics of the process of evangelization that Spanish friars, priests, and missionaries followed in order to secure to conversion of native groups to Catholicism.  Based on what you’ve learned from this reading packet, do you believe that Mesoamericans were ‘spiritually conquered’?  Why or why not?
• In some ways certain aspects of Mesoamerican social life remained intact following Spanish contact, but in other ways social life was altered rather dramatically.  Address both the continuities and radical changes in Mesoamerican social life during the Spanish Colonial Period.  What changed, and what stayed virtually the same?

Short Paper 3 is due no later than 9 April 2012.  It is to be turned in at the end of class, stapled.  Papers turned in late will be graded one letter grade lower.  Turn it in on time!

Short Paper 3 is worth 30 points