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World History Project - Origins to the Present

Course: World History Project - Origins to the Present > Unit 3

Lesson 8: Comparing the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty | 3.7

READ: Babatha (Graphic Biography)

Babatha was a Jewish woman living in the Roman Empire who disputed custody of her son and ownership of property under Jewish and Roman law.

The Graphic Biography below uses “Three Close Reads”. If you want to learn more about this strategy, click here.

First read: skimming for gist

This will be your quickest read. It should help you get the general idea of what the graphic biography will be about. Pay attention to the title, headings, images, and layout. Ask yourself: what is this graphic biography going to be about?

Second read: Understanding content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. You should also spend some time looking at the images and the way in which the page is designed.

By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

Where was Babatha born and who ruled this region for most of her life?
Babatha was in court a lot. What was she fighting for?
What kind of law did Babatha use to support her arguments, and how did she later change her strategy?
To what degree was Babatha successful?
How does the artist use art and design to distinguish between Roman law and Jewish law in the balloons in the center panel of the page?

Third read: Evaluating and Corroborating

In this read, you should use the graphic biography as evidence to support, extend, or challenge claims made in the course.

At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions:

How does this biography of Babatha support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about communities and their impact on the people who lived in them during this period?

Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to read! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished reading .

Babatha (Graphic Biography)

Writer: Lindsay Chrisman

Artist: Liz Clarke

Babatha was a Jewish woman living in the Roman Empire who disputed custody of her son and ownership of property under Jewish and Roman law.

Download the Graphic Biography PDF here or click on the image above.

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Carlos Hernandez Maldonado
Posted 8 months ago. Direct link to Carlos Hernandez Maldonado's post “How did the compact impac...”
How did the compact impact peoples lives.
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sbusisocis1
Posted a year ago. Direct link to sbusisocis1's post “babatha was a jewish”
babatha was a jewish
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