Take-home Option for
Exam
II
Section
A: due 9:25 a.m.
Section
B: due 2:00 p.m.
(in
both paper and electronic form)
Directions:
Option 1: write
three 600-900 word essays on three of the topics given below
Option 2: write
two 900-1200 word essays on two of the topics given below
NB: Make sure you give
good examples (not just quotes) to back up your theses and cite
correctly, giving page numbers, line numbers, book numbers, etc. as
appropriate.
Topics:
1. Historians
are interested in the ways that literature reflects the social norms of
the times. Keeping this in mind, examine male/female relationships in
the Antigone and the Lysistrata and discuss what
they may reveal
about Athenian society of the times, using class notes and Pomeroy
157-161 (4th
edit) as the benchmark for Athenian society (if writing on #3, you
can't write on this topic).
2. George F. Will recently noted that an underlying assumption within
the US is a belief that "a particular kind of civic order -- democracy,
representation, the rule of law, a large sphere of privacy and
individual autonomy -- is right for the fulfillment of human nature" ("Grand
Delusions," Washington Post, Sept 30, 2004: registration required). Compare and contrast the
Spartan and Athenian systems (as they existed in the fifth century)
based on his four points and determine which is most like the US based
on those four.
3. Greek drama is composed of both tragedy and comedy. Compare and
contrast the two using specific examples from the Antigone and the Lysistrata. Also discuss how Greek
and modern drama are both different and similar (if writing on #1, you
can't write on this topic).
4. If President Bush (George W.) were alive in ancient Greece (as an
Athenian or as a Spartan), would he more likely be successful as an
Athenian or a Spartan? Make sure you answer why and why not.