Instructions: Write an essay responding to one of the prompts below. You do not need a title page or bibliography, but all submitted essays should have your name typed in the document at the top of the page along with the prompt number you are responding to. Essays should be 4-5 pages double spaced with reasonable margins and 12-point font. Essays should have a thesis that is clearly identifiable in the introductory paragraph. Use evidence from the text Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali to support your argument. Include direct quotations and use a proper citation method. If you are a History major, I encourage you to use Chicago Manual Style footnotes, but you may use any citation method as long as it is used correctly and consistently. If it is relevant, you may also cite lectures and secondary sources that I have assigned. No external sources may be consulted. Also, the bulk of your citations and direct quotations should come from the Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali text. Essays will be evaluated according to four categories: thesis, use of evidence, structure and mechanics. See the rubric on Blackboard for more details.

This is the questions that must be answered:

What kind of historical source is the text Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali and how should professional historians use it in their work? What does it tell us about 13th century Mali? What does it tell us about the period in which it was produced? Describe the texts provenance and make an argument about how it should inform a professional historians interpretation and evaluate its contribution to our understanding of precolonial West African history.