Assignment task: May you read/watch/listen to the following items:
"The Code of Hammurabi" / NBC News Learn video
"Code of Hammurabi" / Wikipedia entry
"The Code of Hammurabi" / Translation by L.W. King (Read at least the introduction, enough of the codes to get the gist, and the epilogue. Click embedded links in the translation as needed for definitions, context, etc.)
"The Code of Hammurabi" / Essay by Jenny Slate
May you answer the following questions:
1. Do you consider this code to be literature? Why or why not? (Or is it more complicated than a yes/no answer?) How do you define literature?
2. What do you wonder, think, and/or feel about Hammurabi's code?
3. What previous knowledge about the code or its cultural context do you have? Is it something you've ever encountered or studied?
4. What's your reaction to Jenny Slate's response to Hammurabi's code? Where do you agree/disagree with Jenny Slate and why?
5. Do you see any implications for Jenny Slate's response on the ways that it is possible to respond to world literature?