Midterm Examination
Friday, September 28, 2007
[Illustration: Ionic Island Face Kantharos. 550 BCE. height 21 cm. Munich.]
In class, students will write one essay and explain several terms from the Classics in Our World presentations.
Essay: Text use in class is permitted, as follows: students may use Stanley Lombardo's edition of Hesiod, and William Biers' The Archaeology of Greece. Essays will be written in complete sentences, with proper English grammar, and correct spelling. Students will choose one essay topic from the two choices below.
The essays will be written in class, on the paper which the professor will provide. No notes are allowed, but you may put bookmarks in your texts to help you find the passages you wish to cite. You may practice writing your essay ahead of time, and prepare notes to remind yourself of what you want to say, but you may not bring any aids to class aside from the permitted texts. These texts may be marked, (i.e. highlighted and underlined), but may not contain notes. Students may consult any other materials which they find relevant to their topics as they prepare their essays (i.e. other books, web resources, lecture notes).
Classics in Our World: No notes will be permitted. Students will write about the original meanings and the modern meanings of five of the student reports on CLASSICS IN OUR WORLD given between August 27 and September 24 (the professor will designate which ones). To prepare for this, be sure to review your notes, check them for accuracy, and look up anything that you think you need to know in order to fill in any information you think you need. The aim here is to show: 1) the original significance and source of the words/phrases/concepts, and 2) what their meanings have become in subsequent years, including current times.
Choose one of the following essay topics.
Essay Choice #1; PERSES RESPONDS TO HESIOD.
Imagine that you are Hesiod's brother Perses, and that you have just heard a recitation of the Works and Days.
Write a response, being sure to refer to at least ten specific passages in Hesiod's poem. You may agree with some points, and disagree with others, or discuss them in any appropriate way. You may defend yourself, maintain your innocence, or decide that you agree with him and that you will mend your ways. You may refer to anything in the Works and Days, the Iliad, or the Theogony. Be creative; maintain a consistent character, and refer to the world around you to make your account realistic. Show that you understood what Hesiod was saying about you, your family, and your world.
Essay Choice #2: BRONZE AGE PALACE DISCOVERED.
Imagine that you are either Heinrich Schliemann or Sir Arthur Evans (choose one), and that you have just finished your last season of excavation at Mycenae or Knossos (the former for Schliemann, the latter for Evans).
Write a newspaper article for the New York Times explaining your major finds, and your theories about them. Why did you undertake your task? What is the significance of your discoveries for the history of art and culture? What do you theorize about the writing samples you found? What about Religion, Government? Military? Pottery? Figural Art? Language? Influence on others? Architecture? Relation to Myth and Literature? What year will your article appear? Include as much relevant information as you can. Be sure to mention at least ten important finds from your site. [It is permitted here to include information that appeared after the actual excavations by your archaeologist, if relevant.]