History Project - Historical Biography? (1 Viewer)

[Langrepa]

Im thinking of doing a historical biography for my major work, but dont know what the essay is supposed to talk about???? should it just be a history of the personalities life? or is it all historiography and interpretations surrounding the person???? i dont know what to do and its due in 3 days! If anyone did this for theirs or knows how to answer this can anyone help?

 

[waterfowl]

Leaving it a bit late aren't you?

I did a biography of sorts - my essay focused on a certain personality.
For History Extension it would be very stupid to just do a straight out biography, you would need to present the interpretations of different historians and what they thought about this person. Perhaps focusing on a particular character trait or event would help.
I, for example, asked the question of wether my personality was crazy, or well educated and cunning.

 

[RyddeckerSMP]

Try and do an analysis rather than just a simple description as well.......

 

[Langrepa]

yeah thats what I thought, but the person im doin (Pericles) doesnt really have any perspectives on him from any historians, i cant find any. it suks theyre all just talking about how good he was an stuff, theres just no controversy or pespective to talk about, are there any good libraries or resources around that have heaps of stuff on personalities like views, and interpretations?

 

[Plebeian]

Fisher Library at the University of Sydney is an excellent history library; you could also try the library at Macquarie University if you live at all north.

Are you sure there aren't differing views of Pericles? I thought some sources considered him to just be an opportunist who used Athenian revenues from the Delian League to prop up his own populist political agenda.

The final stage in transferring government to the entire citizen body was the reform program enacted by Pericles. He pursued a populist agenda, because as Aristotle suggests that he needed “to win popular favour to counteract…Cimon’s wealth”. The most notable measure was the introduction of salaries for all public offices, including jurors, in 457. This measure, as Bury suggests, “naturally won him popularity with the masses” because it had the effect of providing employment as jurors. Plato, however, criticises that “Pericles made [the Athenians] lazy, cowardly, talkative and greedy” by giving them such undemanding employment; indeed, the lengths to which Ephialtes and Pericles dismantled permanent offices meant that much of the state was controlled by men lacking skill or qualification. This situation was exacerbated when public offices (apart from the strategoi) became chosen by lot, giving all citizens an equal chance of serving. However, it was a popular political move, as was Pericles’ support of a highly imperialistic foreign policy, including the establishment of cleruchies in Athenian subject states, which enriched Athens and enabled commoners to receive allotments of land, boosting their social status. Pericles thus exploited the “sharply widened cleavage” (Plutarch) between the populist and aristocratic parties to gain personal political power, by supporting democratic causes.