CLST 273-WI / WSGS 297-WI: Classical Tragedy with a focus on Women's Studies and Gender Writing Intensive Fall Semester 2010 Dr. Jacqueline Long

Writing Exercise 3 & 4

Goals

• To identify a recently-published work of Classical scholarship informed by the concerns and methods of women's studies and gender studies, which develops its argument from the text of one of the plays focused on in this course: practice skills of research
• To understand the article's or chapter's argument and summarize its points concisely: practice skills of analysis and exposition
• To test the article's or chapter's argument against your own reading of the same play, and to modify or extend its conclusions for yet better understanding: practice skills of critical thinking
• To present your own analysis in the form of a persuasive scholarly essay: practice skills of writing

The approach:

• Writing Exercise 3 - due Friday 19 November
  1. Use library and other scholarly resources such as L'annee philologique, Brill's New Pauly, The Oxford Classical Dictionary, bibliographies in our texts and the books placed on Reserves for this course, and Diotima so as to identify recently published articles or book-chapters that focus on plays we are reading in this course and bring to bear the concerns and methods of women's studies and gender studies scholarship on a particular problem of Classical literature. In order to insure that the study approaches the text on its own terms, not anachronistically, stick to articles published in Classical journals or books publishers place on their Classical lists; in most instances the author will be identified as holding a degree in Classics or Greek and Latin Philology, or holding an academic appointment in a college or university department of Classics. In order to insure that the scholarship is up-to-date in its perspectives and methods, stick to articles and books published between 1985-2010.
  2. Read the articles or chapters you have identified and pick one that is solidly grounded in its understanding of Classical evidence and women's studies/gender studies research and (most important) of the greatest interest to you.
  3. Analyze the article's or chapter's argument: take it apart. How does the study identify the problem it is addressing? What evidence and what reasoning does it use to solve the problem? What results does it achieve?
  4. To hand in on Friday 19 November, write out a brief synopsis of the article or chapter, clearly presenting the results of your analysis. The synopsis should take approximately 3 pages, word-processed in double-spaced, 12-point Times Roman. Write in paragraphs of concise sentences that maximize informativeness for verbiage. Doublecheck Dr. Makowski's checklist and the discussions of Strunk and White so as to make sure you are writing clearly and correctly. "Paper-title" will be the bibliographic citation of the article or chapter you are analyzing.
• Writing Exercise 4 - due Friday 10 December
  1. Take your analysis of your article or chapter back to the text of the play, and build. Where can you take the scholar's findings further? How can you argue, using the text of the play and the models of analysis we have pursued through the semester, so as to refine or extend the article's or chapter's conclusions and arrive at an even better understanding of the play?
  2. Construct your arguments from the evidence your play presents and relevant comparisons (if any) from our other plays and discussions. Make sure you can show how the evidence of what the plays say and clear reasoning prove your points.
  3. Proofread.
  4. To hand in on Friday 10 December, write up your original scholarly response to your article or chapter as a persuasive 6-8 page essay (word-processed in double-spaced, 12-point Times Roman). Write in paragraphs of concise sentences that maximize informativeness for verbiage. Include passage-reference citations for each time you refer to the text of a play, by quotation or paraphrase. Insure accuracy. Doublecheck Dr. Makowski's checklist and the discussions of Strunk and White so as to make sure you are writing clearly and correctly.

Revised 7 November 2010 by jlong1@luc.edu
http://www.luc.edu/classicalstudies/