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).