CLASS 282: Paper One

Due date

M March 10

Assignment

In Book Six of his history, the ancient historian Polybius gives an analysis of the Roman constitution. Read paragraphs 3-18 and 57-58 (you can of course read the rest, but this isn't necessary). Your assignment is to write a three- to four-page paper discussing the theoretical basis of his interpretation. You are to describe the conceptual model that Polybius uses to understand the development of constitutions in general and to indicate how he applies this model to the Roman constitution in particular. Be sure not to simply summarize what Polybius says. Instead, try to lay out the analytical framework as a whole and to interpret the thought process that underlies his interpretation of the Roman constitution.

In citing the text, you should refer to paragraph number (the larger number at the start of each paragraph), and the specific sentence number(s) of the quoted material (note that the first sentence of each paragraph isn't specifically marked, as it is obvious number 1). Hence, the first sentence of the preserved text ("In the case of those...") is cited as 2.1, and the next sentence ("For there is no...") is 2.2. (Strictly speaking, these should be 6.2.1 and 6.2.2 with the 6 indicating Book Six, but since that's all we're reading, indication of the book isn't necessary for our purposes.)

Important notices

Bear in mind the following.
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