Analyze the ITALIAN RENAISSANCE c. 1300-1550 — humanism, city-states (Florence, Venice, Milan, Rome), and the Medici family's patronage system
Exercise
Difficulty 4
~12 min
hist.g7.s.ex_19
Claim Evidence Warrant
Prompt
Write a 200-word claim-evidence-warrant essay 'Was Songhai's 1493-1591 golden age in dialogue with European Renaissance?' Cite Sankore University + Timbuktu manuscripts + trans-Saharan trade.
How it's presented
mode
text
Answer criteria
type
rubric essay
rubric
- points
- 3
- criterion
- Refusal of 'Africa had no writing/scholarship' framing
- points
- 3
- criterion
- Sankore + 700,000+ manuscripts cited
- points
- 2
- criterion
- Trans-Saharan trade network cited
- points
- 3
- criterion
- Connects to Italian Renaissance parallel
Hints
- Sankore had ~25,000 students vs. Paris ~10,000.
- Timbuktu manuscripts include math + astronomy + medicine + Sufi.
Misconceptions to watch
- Treating West Africa as isolated
- Ignoring 2012 manuscripts evacuation as continuity
Used in lessons