[Note: Some of the formatting information below is taken over from the first paper assignment. There are also some additions, so please take the time to review this material before handing in the paper]

Due Date

The paper is due in lecture on Tuesday, November 25. [Note that this is the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week].

Topics

Please write on ONE of the following topics:

1). Beginning in the archaic period, Greek-speakers increasingly start to draw distinctions between themselves and non-Greeks—the people they referred to as "barbarians" (barbaroi). For this topic you are asked to analyze the portrayal of barbarians in three works: the assigned selections from Herodotus, Euripides's Medea and Aristophanes's Acharnians. How do these works portray barbarians? What traits do their authors highlight as characteristic of non-Greeks? How do the authors use these barbarian characters to comment on their Greek characters, or Greek identity in general? Do they use barbarians merely as negative foils to display the virtue and courage of Greek characters? Do Greeks always emerge as admirable from these encounters?

Note: Be careful (especially in Aristophanes) not to confuse barbarians (non-Greeks) with citizens of Greek states other than Athens. The question asks only about the first group, although you may bring in the author's attitude to non-Athenians if it helps shed light on the basic Greek/barbarian contrast. Be aware that not all of these authors will necessarily provide equal amounts of evidence for Greek/barbarian interaction.

2). A notion basic to Greek culture is the term metis, an OOTUGW (OneOfThoseUntranslatableGreekWords) which is variously rendered "craftiness," "wiliness," "cleverness" or "cunning intelligence." A person who possesses or displays metis is someone who achieves his or her goals not by brute force but in other ways—including, often, the use of deceptive speech—and thereby evokes the grudging admiration of others. (For instance, a Greek might see Brer Rabbit or former President Clinton as possessing metis). For this topic you are asked to discuss the ways that metis manifests itself in at least three of the following works: the Odyssey, the selections from Herodotus assigned for class, Euripides's Medea, Aristophanes's Clouds. What characters display metis in these works? How? Are their actions approved or disapproved of by other characters? by the author or narrator? If there are differences (e.g. character X is admired for his/her trickiness, while character Y's deceptions evoke disapproval), how are these differences to be accounted for? Note that your discussion should focus on specific episodes that illustrate metis. If you wish to cite character X as embodying or possessing metis, you must give specific examples of how s/he uses it to gain specific ends.
 

Length and Format
 

• Your paper should be at least seven pages double-spaced, in a font no bigger than 12-point Palatino and with standard margins. (Papers longer than seven pages are fine).
• Please include a one-sentence abstract in italics at the beginning of the paper (separate from the paper itself), stating the central argument or thesis.
• Your paper should also have a title that gives the reader some idea of your topic and thesis.
• Quotations of three lines or less should be included within the text. If the quotation is in verse (= Homer, Euripides and parts of Aristophanes), mark the end of the line with a "/". Verse or prose quotations of more than three lines should be set off from the text and indented. Lines of poetry should be quoted as they appear in the text (i.e. as poetry, not prose!).
• References for quotations should be in parentheses following the quotation.
• References to Homer should be to poem (abbreviated Il. or Od.), by book and line number (e.g. "Il. 14.236-8"), NOT by page number.
• References to Aristophanes should be by title (Ach. or Clouds) and the line number in the margins. For example, the last line of Clouds would be cited as "(Clouds 1511)."
• References to Herodotus and Euripides should be by page number.
• We will assume you are using the translations assigned for this class unless you indicate otherwise in a footnote and give an appropriate citation.
• As with the first paper, do quote evidence to support your claims, but don't waste space by quoting more than you need.
• Grammar and spelling matter—just as they do in resumés, cover letters, publicity materials, business documents and any other form of writing in which you want to make a good impression on the person reading your work.
• Please don't forget to number your pages.
• Please write out and sign the honor pledge in full (don't just write "pledged"). You may modify the pledge if appropriate (e.g. if you have received help from the Writing Center or if religious beliefs require you to state or affirm rather than pledging).

Other Guidelines & Suggestions
 

• It's very important that you justify your statements by citing evidence from the text. Lack of evidence is the single most common problem in student papers, especially first-year papers.
• Resist the temptation to psychoanalyze or speculate about the feelings or motivations of imaginary people. Achilles, Odysseus, Medea, Lysistrata and their colleagues are fictional characters; they have no existence outside the works in which they appear. We know only what the work tells us about them, or what we can reasonably deduce from the author's statements.
• Bear in mind that you're not being asked to write a definitive statement about the whole of Greek culture--just about one feature of it as illustrated in a small number of works. Avoid extravagant generalizations that can't be supported in a seven-page paper ("Throughout human history ..." or "The most important concept in Greek cuture is ...").
• You do not need to use secondary sources for this paper. If you do, they should be cited appropriately. You'll find helpful information about citation practices and avoiding plagiarism at this site. If you have doubts or questions, check with your section instructor.

• Remember that we'll grant extensions of up to 48 hours automatically—you don't even have to give us a reason—as long as you ask in advance. [Note that in this case 48 hours from the due date means Thanksgiving Day].
• Because of the size of the class, we can't accommodate requests to rewrite papers that have already been read and graded. But both of us are happy to talk to you about your paper while it is in progress and/or read drafts if you would like us to do that.
• You can also make use of the Writing Center. You'll find them most helpful if you have something to bring along with you—a draft, partial draft, or even just an outline. Discussing your paper with a writing tutor is not a violation of the Honor Code, although as with any help, you should acknowledge it in a footnote. (If you do visit the Writing Center, I'd also appreciate hearing about your experience. Did you find it helpful? Would you recommend it to others?)