Classical Studies 2902B
Information about in-class Practical Exercise on Sources and Studies
This will all happen on Thursday, 18th March, 2010: the in-class Exercise will be written during the regular class hour in Talbot College 309 and Talbot College 304: those who wrote the mid-term test in 309, please go to 309 again; those who wrote in the other room, please go to 304. (Notices will be posted on the doors of both classrooms.)
In-class Exercise: the idea here is that students will research a number of topics for an exam-type session and that the Instructor will, on the day in question, chose one of these topics for the students to write on.
There are two topics to be prepared:
What is wanted is a “report” on what you think about the topic to be chosen on 18th March: it can take any form or have any lay-out that you deem appropriate. For example, it could be in tabular form with a “For” the proposition column and an “Against” the proposition column, with a series of sub-headings and even sub-sub headings in each column. OR it could be a series of numbered paragraphs, each with a clearly-marked topic. (And no doubt other formats will occur to you as you work on the material: this is entirely up to you.)
Students should not expect to produce more than three to four sides of “normal” sized handwriting during the in-class session: quality is much better than mere quantity! However, responses regarding the two topics should have been carefully researched and thought through beforehand.
One small file card (3 X 5 inches) of notes, hand-written, on one side only (and no special magnifying glasses will be allowed for reading them!) will be allowed for each of the two topics, and both cards, if used, must be submitted inside the exam booklet when your report is turned in at the end of the 50-minute session. (This file-card aspect is, of course, completely optional: if you don’t want to bother with it, then don’t do it.)
Researching the topics: what is listed below is a minimum number of sources for each of the topics. You are urged to explore further, probably most efficiently on-line on the Internet, though you should be aware that the quality or reliability of material on the Internet is not guaranteed! However, there are reference works (such as The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd edition, 1996, available in the reference section of the Weldon Library; and if anyone reads German, there is the very valuable work called Der Neue Pauly) and other printed materials, which can be found through careful use of the Weldon Library Catalogue. You should also use our course textbooks, including particularly Romm, for basic information.
For specific topics:
Please try to digest this material—and raise in class any questions you may have.
CLM 27th February, 2010