1) What is the function of "history" as found in your reading of the Sundiata and the Pre-Columbian Literatures of Mexico? Who are the "historians" and how do they record "events"? Pay close attention to the problem of oral versus written traditions, and how this might impact on any notion of "history". Furthermore, do not neglect the vexed issue of fact versus flction, the (mythological) world of "stories" versus the empirical study of "events". Is "history," here, the compilation of true events accurately recorded or something else? Be sure to be specific in offering the points supporting your thesis.
2)
"We can not neglect one fact-- that the pursuit of civilization is the pursuit of warfare, in all its sundry forms, and eventual dominance... as long as that supremacy' lasts."
"Poetry is violence wrought upon language... and the language that one speaks is the language of violence and, often, subjugation."
Do you agree or disagree with these statements? In formulating a thesis and a defensible argument look at the passages offered in the Pre-Columbian Literatures of Mexico which chronicle the Conquest. Contrast these poetic utterances with the story of Sundiata's creation of the Empire of Mali.
3) Perform a close reading of the pre-Islamic poem, "The Mu' allaqa of Labid". What are the central features of this poem that make it, on your reading, "pre-Islamic"? You might bear in mind the "expert testimony" of the translator, but your argument will, naturally, be confined to the narrow parameters of the course and the class readings. Consequently, in formulating your thesis and argument, you may draw on historical material as well as contrasting, "post-Islamic," material from the reader.