writing three - plato and hellenism

8/3/2019 Writing Three - Plato and Hellenism

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THIRD WRITING ASSIGNMENT

HARD COPY DUE IN CLASS ON NOVEMBER 1. TURN IT IN COPY BY 12

NOON THE SAME DAY.

I. Preliminaries

A. Writing

1. Pay attention to the rules of the 5-7 sentence, 3-part introduction:

a. About three sentences of pure objective data - the what, when, where,

the who. Here introduce the text, the texts, or the general categories

from which your answers will be drawn.

b. Two or three sentences where you deal with the question that arises

out of this data. Here you are asking SO WHAT (Never forget the question you

are being asked!)

c. A final sentence that offers your answer to that question in 1, 2, 3,

form - these are “thesis elements”2. Keep everything simple

3. Towards the object of simplicity, write shorter rather than longer sentences,

avoid clauses and weak verbs (“is,” “was”)

B. Form

1. Cover sheet with a separate cover sheet for each question

It should NOT include your name, but should include the following:

a. The question you are answering; the word count, title if any. When

answering two questions, repeat this form for the second question

2. Blank comment sheet at end of question; you do not have to have twocomment sheets when answering two questions, but you must keep the questions

entirely separate.

3. ONE name page only at the very end. Only here, no where else in

then paper should you identify yourself. Use your student number as well.

4. STAPLE all this together for the hard copy.

C. Original Work

The first purpose of this assignment is to prove you have read the texts,

thought about the material, attended lectures, and paid attention. (If you have

missed class or need refreshing, you must surely get someone else’s notes). The

second is to prove you can whip what you have learned into a coherent, logicalform. The assignment makes no assumptions about what you argue. It

presupposed no absolute right or wrong answer. Your writing must, however, be

your own. Do not use ANY sources beyond the class texts and lectures. Use

nothing from the web or jiffy readers.

II. THE QUESTIONS. CHOSE ONE (1) FROM EACH OF THE FOLLOWING



CATEGORIES. WRITE AROUND 700 WORDS ON EACH.

CATEGORY 1. THE PLATO/REPUBLIC QUESTION

Chose 1

Option 1:

How does Plato’s definition of different political systems (oligarchy,

timocracy, tyranny, democracy, etc) relate to or arise out of his general

assumptions and values in The Republic?

Option 2:

Discuss Plato’s “tri-partite definition of the soul” and define how it relates to

general assumptions in The Republic.

Option 3:

Plato discusses four ways of knowing - in effect four different things that goon in the brain: 1) understanding; 2) thought; 3) belief and 4) Imagination. What

does this hierarchy mean and how does it relate to other arguments in The

Republic?

Option 4:

How does The Republic relate direction to the circumstances of the late

5th/early 4th century with particular relations to politics/polis order/

CATEGORY 2: LECTURE AND OTHER READINGS QUESTION

Choose 1

Option 1:

Based on the appropriate texts ( The Trojan Women, The Clouds, The

Republic, “Gaugamela”), define the three or so most important changes (or

phenomena) in the Greek world in the period.

Option 2:

The “Hellenism” lecture offered a variety of starting and ending dates for the

culture that emerged after the Peloponnesian Wars (431-404). What does thischronology suggest about the nature of Hellenism?

Option 3:

Hellenism reflected both change and continuity from “high” Greek culture.

Focusing on particular phenomena or institutions, discuss how the changes help

define the very nature of the Post-Peloponnesian World.



Option 4:

Based on The Clouds and The Trojan Women, discuss the three or so most

critical changes that took place in Athenian society with the Peloponnesian Wars.

writing three - plato and hellenism

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