Module 3: Respond to one reading source (200 words minimum) and then to at least two other student posts (15 points/5 pts/5 pts). At least 300 words total are expected (add word count). As before, I’ve offered some starting throughts.

NOTE: the original materials/links for Discussion Boards are not always posted here but are always in the module, so when that’s the case, go there to read them.

Write directly in the typing field. Always title your post with the name of the program/article, so people know at a glance your focus (i.e., “Cyrus Cylinder,” “Archaeologist Strikes Gold,” etc.). I might award a point for clever and relevant links, but please – no tired memes or tweets, and absolutely nothing cruel or off-color.

Option #1: Cyrus Cylinder – How a Persian monarch inspired Jefferson

After reading, you should be able to answer at least one of these questions:

• What two key historical figures are discussed in the article, and what’s their connection
• How and why is the Cyrus Cylinder important to the kinds of freedom enjoyed in liberal Western-style democracies such as Britain and the United States?
• What are its specific connections to American history, and given contemporary politics (see recent US-Iran news stories, for example), why is it fitting – and ironic – that it should have toured the United States?

Option #2: Archaeologists strike gold in quest to find Queen of Sheba’s wealth

After reading the article page, you should be able to answer at least three of these questions:

• How was the lost mine rediscovered, and by whom? What is the image of the queen in popular culture, and what is the source?
• Why was the queen’s wealth important to that connection? What is an example of such influence in art?
• What was the relationship between Sheba and ancient Israel? (Hint: read the Module page and watch Heritage.)