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Classics 362: Intermediate Greek |
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Classics 362: Intermediate Greek |
Paper Project
This project provides you the opportunity to make use of your knowledge of Greek by engaging other scholars investigating a problem or question in the study of the Odyssey.
The first step involves finding a general area which interests you. Consider discussions we've had in class about either the Greek or English texts, or responses you've had yourself to various passages. Your topic may be linguistic, literary, historical, anthropological, or some combination thereof. Your first written assignment is a Brainstorming Exercise. Simply write for about a page on one of these topics, or on the relationships between a set of topics, so that you define for yourself and for me the arena of ideas in which you'd like to work for your paper project. This page in due in class Wednesday, March 28.
The second step is to narrow and refine your topic by investigating current scholarly research in that area. Use the library's Guide to Resources in Classics, your professor and peers to assist in finding materials. Keep track of other potentially useful bibliography, but your goal at this stage is to select one particularly intriguing article from an appropriate scholarly source and present a review of it. For your final paper, you should make use of three or more scholarly resources.
During class on April 6th or 9th, each student will present a Review of this one article or book chapter they have selected. This 15-20 minute review consists of two parts -- a summary and a critique. The summary should accurately convey the content of the paper. It should be comprehensive and balanced, easy for your listeners to understand and follow the author's line of reasoning. The critique is then your opportunity to comment upon the author's position, both in terms of evidence and persuasiveness of argument. Finally, you should conclude by giving some indication of how you will make use of this article in developing your own paper. Be certain to give a full bibliographic citation of your article at some point, and refer to the author of the article by name in your presentation.
A Narrative Bibliography is due in class on Friday, April 13. This type of bibliography has the traditional list of sources that you intend to use, but also contains a one page essay that gives a narrative account of your thought process as you have been exploring these resources and the questions and problems they address within your selected field. You should include both external details (what you read, how you found it, who you talked to) and internal, mental details (what you were thinking about, how your ideas changed as a result of the reading). It is not critical to reach a final position -- the reader is interested in your process, not the final product. Describe how new ideas led you to reformulate your interest, expand or narrow your focus, etc.
A Project Proposal is due in class the following Monday, April 16. The 1-2 page proposal should answer the following questions: 1. What research problem or question do you intend to address? 2. Why is this an interesting question? Why is it problematic? Why is it significant? 3. How far along are you in your thinking and research? What do you expect to discover? Are you ready yet to formulate a thesis statement? If so, what is it?
The Final Paper will then be an essay defending a position on the question you have investigated. Use the introduction to engage your reader's interest in the problem; introduce the topic, and explain why the question is both significant and problematic in the study of the Odyssey. Your introduction should close with a statement of your own position on the problem at hand. The body of your essay will then be your defense of this position made as persuasive as possible through appropriate analysis and argumentation, including effective use of evidence and the appropriate attribution of ideas to the scholars whose work you have investigated. Your job is to present your own analytical thinking about a question or problem in the text, but you should relate your views to others who have addressed the same or similar questions.
Your paper is due for peer review in class on Friday, April 20. Please bring four copies of your draft to class. In class on the Monday following, we will discuss each paper for 15 minutes in accordance with peer review guidelines to give constructive feedback to the author.
Final papers are due on the last day of class, Monday, April 30. Late paper policy: if a paper is not turned in by the designated time, one letter grade will be deducted from the one otherwise earned. For every additional day the paper is late (24 hrs.), another letter grade will be deducted.
Remember that the point of being able to read Greek in the original is to appreciate and understand ancient Greek writings at a whole different level than those unable to read Greek. The paper project is thus in many ways a culmination of your quest to learn the language over the last two years. Use this project to prove to yourself and to others what a worthwhile journey this has been.
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