Classical Studies 226F: Epic Poetry (Dr. Suksi)

 

Research Essay (due Friday Dec. 2, 2005)

 

Due Date

 

Essays handed in after December 2 will be penalized at the rate of 3% per day, including weekends.

 

Length

 

Essays should be at least 2000 words (approx 8 pages in length), excluding footnotes or endnotes and bibliography. 

 

Formatting

 

Either MLA or Chicago Style is acceptable, but the formatting must be consistent.  If you are uncertain of the styles, handouts are available at the Weldon Library, or at http://www.lib.uwo.ca/help/index.php?id=35#3.

 

Consultation

 

By November 7, students must submit an initial proposal, including:

 

1.     Tentative Title

2.     Principal question you will address. This should be well defined and should lead to a thesis statement in your final draft.

3.     Research method (how will you investigate your topic?)

4.     Provisional bibliography: try for a minimum of 6 sources, including books and journal articles. Do not use websites unless you have checked them with me first. I have put a selection of books on 3-day reserve at Weldon, but there are many more books available in the stacks.

 

        Initial proposals will not be accepted after November 7.

 

Evaluation

 

Initial proposal:                                                           10%

Content, including analysis and argument:                  40%

Spelling and Grammar:                                               10%

Writing style, including structure:                               10%

Research, including sources:                                       30%

 

 

 

 

Suggested Topics

 

These are general topics. You will need to refine them considerably.

 

1. The meaning of death in the Iliad and the Odyssey.

2. VirgilŐs use of Greek epic models.

3. Fate and the gods in Greek and Roman Epic.

4. Cunning intelligence in the Iliad and the Odyssey

5. Reciprocity in Greek epic.

6. The role of women in Greek and Roman epic.

7. Ritual and religion in Greek and Roman epic.

8. Oral epic composition.

9. The evolution of the heroic code in Greek and Roman epic.

10. A comparison of the heroes Achilles, Odysseus, and Aeneas.

11. Story-telling within Greek and Roman epic.

12. Ecphrasis in Greek and Roman epic.

13. Stock scenes in Greek and Roman epic.

14. VirgilŐs relationship to Augustan propaganda.

15. Xenia in the Odyssey.

16. Fathers and sons in Greek and Roman epic.

17. Violence in epic.

18. Funerals in Greek and Roman epic.

19. Oral vs. literary epic.

20. A topic of your choice, subject to approval.

 

 

Plagiarism

 

Students must write their essays and assignments in their own words. Whenever students take an idea or a passage from another author, they must acknowledge their debt both by using quotation marks where appropriate and by proper referencing such as footnotes or citations. Plagiarism is a major academic offence (see Scholastic Offence Policy in the Western Academic Calendar).

All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity to the commercial plagiarism detection software under licence to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between the University of Western Ontario and Turnitin.com (http://www.turnitin.com).