Commentary

This paper not only provides a commentary on the papers of the other panelists but also raises questions about the appropriate pedagogy employed in teaching modern university students. Intensive source criticism is a means of training students to assess evidence on a microcosmic scale, thereby determining the validity of ancient evidence about what happened in antiquity. Countering that approach is the study of larger historical issues—such as the impact of Alexander's conquests on the history of Europe and Asia—or the development of analogies between ancient and modern warfare in the Middle East. These pedagogical techniques are not mutually exclusive.