Friar John of Pian de Carpine and William of Rubruck each provide a description of a Mongol court. In an essay of 600 to 1200 words, explore their descriptions to make an argument about cross-cultural interactions in the premodern world. In the end, you should persuade your reader, through your thoughtful analysis of the historical evidence, that the Mongol empire shaped cross-cultural exchange and interaction in critical ways. When organizing your ideas and drafting your essay, follow these guidelines: 1. Build your analysis using the course materials. The basis of your essay should be the primary source material found at the end of Unit 10 under “Unit 10 Resources.” By all means, take the ideas and evidence offered in the videos (and please note that we have provided transcripts of the videos as well.) This information will provide context for the primary resources. *DO NOT base your observations on other evidence that you locate on the web or elsewhere. Remember, a big part of this essay is showing us your mastery of the course material we have assigned.* 2. After reviewing the material from Week 10, use both primary sources to make a persuasive case for the Mongol empire’s role in shaping cross-cultural exchange and interaction. While you want to show that you understand the larger trends in the material, take the time to explore in depth these specific sources. 3. When you refer to specific historical evidence (which should be something you do frequently throughout the essay), indicate, in parentheses, the location in the course materials of the evidence. 4. Do not simply copy what we (or anyone else) have said. If you do, use quotation marks to indicate that the words were written by someone else and be sure to indicate your source for the quotation in parentheses
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