English 107: Syllabus & Texts

Fall 2008

Required Texts:

Homer, The Iliad (any translation is ok, but I'll be using the Penguin ed. Fagles text)
Ten Greek Plays (Bantam, ed. Hadas)
Classical Comedy (Penguin, ed. Segal)
Ovid, Metamorphoses (I'll be using the Oxford UP Melville text)
Selected handouts (provided by instructor)

Schedule of Assignments

    Note: Reading listed for each date should be done BEFORE class that day.
*means the reading will be provided in a handout.

Graded Assignments: You will have three short writing assignments this term: one on an epic simile, one on a play, and one on Ovid (see separate details below). Only the last is a formal paper, but anything you hand in should be checked for proper spelling (especially of names) and should be typed/word-processed. You will have the opportunity to have the formal paper draft peer-edited in class; in addition, I encourage you to take any of your written assignments to the Writing Center for feedback from the tutors - extra credit (+ 10 points to the 25% participation/quiz/etc.) given. Late papers will be penalized--no exceptions--as will Ovid papers without peer-edited drafts.

A timeline assignment, short reading quizzes (unannounced, about one a week) and in-class group discussion reports (all given points) will contribute 25% of the grade; quizzes & in-class cannot be made up if you are tardy or miss class (if you get hospitalized for pneumonia for two weeks, we'll work something out…). I don't take attendance formally, but the quizzes and in-class work assure that repeated absences (more than 3) will negatively affect your grade. Bluntly, unless you are regularly in class, on time, participating, with reading for the day done, it's impossible to get an "A" for the course.

Tests: a midterm and an optional final. The two will be similar in format, with [major] character identifications, definitions of terms [see Resources for list of terms], and short mini-essays. You will need to remember authors and titles. The final will cover works only after the midterm. Midterm 15% of the grade. Final can be used as extra credit to replace 10% of a grade below C on earlier assignments (not the Ovid paper) or on the midterm.

Epic Simile Assignment: Due 10/22, in class. We will begin work on this in class on 10/15, with me modeling an example. I will suggest likely passages, but you are also free to find your own (but not the one I model…). You will be expected to explicate one simile in excruciating detail in about 2 pages of coherent prose (paragraphs). Penalty for late papers: 2/3 of a grade (e.g., a "B" paper will become a "C+"). Level 2 writing; 15% of grade.

Euripides Assignment: Due 11/10, in class. Start reading Medea soon after we finish Homer, in order to be thinking about this assignment as we discuss tragedy. You will be writing a 2- to 3-page "letter to a sick classmate", which will teach the key elements of Medea, applying the concepts and information we cover with the other texts. This letter must be finished for 11/10, because you will be using it in class to discuss the play that day. Penalty for late papers: you will receive no higher than a "C". Level 2 writing; 15% of grade.

Ovid Assignment: Draft due 12/3 for peer review in class; revision due 12/8 at my office. You will examine one episode/story/set of stories from Ovid. This paper should be about 3 to 4 pages long. Penalty for no peer review: 10% "F" averaged with the paper grade at 20%. NO late papers accepted. Level 3 writing; 30% of grade.

NOTE: You will receive more detailed assignment sheets as the term goes on.