The Trial of Socrates
In Life and Death of Democracy, John Keane writes: "Well into the sixteenth century, all writers were lukewarm about or downright hostile towards the Athenian experiment. They presumed that the origins of democracy could be forgotten with impunity, and they did so by . . . branding Athenian democracy a misguided political formula for disorder, contempt for law, and foolish injustice to wise figures like Socrates."
Were such negative feelings about democracy justified by what Athenians did to Socrates? As best you can using the available evidence, answer this question by explaining why Socrates was put on trial, found guilty and executed in 399 B.C.
As much as you can, use primary documents to support your answer. Be sure to cite the sources of evidence, especially direct quotations from sources, in footnotes. Be careful not to overstate the certainty of your argument. Good historians know and are careful to acknowledge the limitations of their evidence. Thus, they often use "hedging" language such as "may," "might," "suggest," "appear," "seem," "possibly," "perhaps," to convey uncertainty about their knowledge of the past. (Note that above, I wrote: "use primary documents to support your answer," not "prove your answer."). You also need to use secondary sources. For an explanation of the difference between primary and secondary and HOW TO USE THEM, read this.
The paper should begin with an introduction that makes clear to the reader the topic and its location in time and space; the question you are asking of that topic; and your answer to that question (i.e., the thesis or argument).
Organize the paper into discrete segments--paragraphs with topic sentences and concrete supporting evidence. I recommend that you have a total of at least five paragraphs.
Your paper should be about 750-1,200 words in length (and include a word count in your heading after your name), double spaced. Use 1-inch margins and 12-point type--preferably Times New Roman font. Be sure to include a title. Submit via canvas.
If you want additional help writing a history paper, point your browser to writing help tab on my website.
Research Component: There's probably enough material in the assigned readings to write a good paper on the topic, but you will also be required to do some additional research and have some practice using the library's LIBGUIDES. EXPECT TO BASE YOUR PAPER MOSTLY IN MATERIAL WE STUDIED IN CLASS. RESEARCH IS JUST TO ADD IN AN EXTRA FACT OR BIT OF INFORMATION. Here is a link to the
The paper will need to include BOTH footnotes and a bibliography. There is no limit to how many additional sources you can use, but there is a minimum of two sources that you found via the libguide.
You may or may not find information to help you answer the question, but you should use footnotes to cite the source of factual information, quotations, and ideas borrowed from other historians.
The paper should also have a bibliography. Here is the Bibliographic information for the photocopied handouts I gave you: John Keane, The Life and Death of Democracy, New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2009. When citing material from the other handout packet, cite the Author (if available), "Title," in Documents on the Trial of Socrates, Exeter, History 203, 2020. You will need to list these sources both in your bibliography and when appropriate in the footnotes.
I encourage you to use the options for contacting reference librarians via text, chat, or email.