Writing Assignments
Writing
assignments in this course ask you to go beyond merely repeating what you have already
learned. They are problem-solving
exercises designed to give you practice in transferable critical
thinking skills. ("Transferable" means that you will be able to use
the same skills in the workplace or in other areas of daily life.) The
information about antiquity you pick up from these exercises is really
incidental to their main objective of helping you learn to think better. I use
ancient texts as my materials, but I could as easily use business-school case
studies or legal briefs. By answering the questions below properly, you develop
reasoning strategies such as the following:
Extracting general
themes from an assemblage of miscellaneous and apparently contradictory
information
Understanding
a method of approach and applying it to new data
Learning to
think "outside the box" by putting yourself into an alien mindset
Deciding
what is crucial information and what is not
Deductive
reasoning
Noting
significant absences as well as presences ("the curious incident of the
dog in the night-time")
Observing
points of correspondence between phenomena found in disparate contexts
Seeing how
the same idea may be expressed in two different media (words and images)
You are asked to respond to the question in a set number of
words so that you will focus your attention on the point you need to make.
Sweeping generalizations and inflammatory rhetoric about the universal
oppression of women will profit you nothing. Read the question carefully,
understand what is being required of you (if you aren't quite sure, ask),
and then analyze the reading assignments, both primary texts and secondary
sources, with that question in mind. The answer won't be spelled out for you in
the assignments. Furthermore, you will be given much more information than you
need. But if you bring the above-mentioned skills into play, you should not
find these assignments difficult.
Please note: All
Contents:
Introduction to the
First Paper
Introduction to the
Second Paper
Introduction to the
Third Paper
Introduction to the
Fourth Paper
Introduction to the First Paper
Your first scholarly reading assignment
is a short excerpt from Lynn Meskell’s monograph Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt.[1]
In Chapter 5, “Love, Eroticism, and the Sexual Self,” Meskell
attempts to situate
Several papyri excavated at the workmen’s
Here is the actual question to which you
are to respond in your paper.
Question: Meskell
suggests that Egyptian love poetry, like wisdom texts, may in fact have been
used to train aspiring male scribes (p. 129). Since the love songs are products
of male fantasy, their representations of reciprocal desire between the sexes
would be acceptable even in a society that imposed strong constraints on actual
female behavior. Analyze the portrayal of the female object of the boy’s desire
in the “New Kingdom Love Poem” as a creation of male romantic fantasy. Keep Meskell’s remarks about the metaphorical aspects of sexual
imagery in art and poetry in mind. Illustrate your points by actual quotations
from the text (cite by line number).
Please
note: Questions posed
during the discussion group are designed to give you a better understanding of Meskell’s chapter. In your paper, however, do not merely
regurgitate your notes from the discussion group: you must take points made in
class a step further. Also, I’m not asking you to contrast the view of
sexuality or the representation of femininity in this text with portrayals in
tomb paintings or on the Turin Papyrus. Meskell
discusses the latter subjects in order to put
As I remark in my introduction to all the
writing assignments, one skill I try to teach you in this course, if you don’t
have it already, is how to distinguish what information is essential to your
response from what is not. Including inappropriate material just to pad out the
paper will be penalized.
New Kingdom Love Poem
(A woman speaks):
Come, my brother, swim to me!
The water is deep in my love
Which carries me to you.
We are in the midst of the stream,
I clasp the flowers to my breast 5
Which is naked and drips with water.
But the moon makes them bloom like the lotus.
I give you my flowers
because they are beautiful,
And you are holding my hand 10
In the middle of the water.
Introduction to the Second Paper
In
classical
The
Greeks, furthermore, had not one but two words relating to our notion of
“prostitution,” those based on the verb pernanai, meaning “to sell,” and those cognate with hetairein,
meaning “to be a companion.” The feminine nouns derived from each verb, porne and hetaira
respectively, are confusing in their application. Though the word porne is
out-and-out derogatory, while hetaira is euphemistic, they are supposedly complementary
alternatives, each limiting the function of the other: thus a porne does what a
hetaira
does not do, and vice versa. In comedy, however, the two categories are often
fused into one, and in court a speaker can refer to the same person by both
terms indiscriminately. Scholars have labored with difficulty to find a
distinction between them.
In
“A Purchase on the Hetaera,” a passage from his book Courtesans and Fishcakes[2],
ancient historian James Davidson uses modern anthropological theory to explain
the two terms, arguing that the porne is linked to commodity exchange, the hetaira to gift
exchange. You will have to read the excerpt closely to determine what he means
by each form of exchange. As he notes, the distinction between commodities and
gifts is fluid and subtle yet meaningful even in modern society.
Following
this introduction, I have provided two passages from ancient texts that bear on
the meanings of the words porne and hetaira. The first is from Xenophon’s
Recollections of Socrates (3.11.4–6),
in which Socrates quizzes the famous beauty Theodote
about how she earns her living. The second is taken from Apollodorus’
speech accusing Neaera, the consort of Stephanus, of illegally living with her lover as his
citizen wife, although she was in fact a foreigner, and passing her children
off as Athenian citizens. (Remember that Pericles’
citizenship law was still in force. There were stiff legal penalties for posing
as a citizen woman in order to marry a citizen man.) Here is the question I
will expect you to address in your papers:
Question: Keeping in mind Davidson’s distinction between commodity
and gift exchange, explain in what way the woman in each passage of these two
ancient texts is recognizably characterized as a porne or a hetaira. Illustrate your points
by actual quotations from the text (cite by passage number).
[4] At this point Socrates noticed that she [Theodote] was sumptuously dressed, and that her mother at her side was wearing fine clothes and jewelry; and she had many pretty maids, who also were well cared for, and her house was lavishly furnished.
“Tell me, Theodote,” he said, “have you a farm?”
“Not I,” she answered.
“Or a house, perhaps, that brings in money?”
“No, nor a house.”
“Some craftsmen, possibly?”
“No, none.”
“Then where do you get your supplies from?”
“If someone, being a friend of mine, wants to do me a
favor,” she said, “this is my living.”
“Much more conveniently, I assure you, than the spiders.
For you know how they hunt for a living: they weave a thin web, I believe, and
feed on anything that gets into it.”
(18) [Neaera] was one of seven little girls bought when small children by Nicarete, a freedwoman who had been the slave of Charisius of Elis, and the wife of Charisius’ cook Hippias. Nicarete was a clever judge of beauty in little girls, and moreover she understood the art of rearing and training them skillfully, having made this her profession from which she drew her livelihood. (19) She used to address them as daughters, so that she might exact the largest fee from those who wished to have dealings with them, on the ground that they were freeborn girls; but after she had reaped her profit from the youth of each of them, one by one, she then sold the whole lot of them together, seven in all: Anteia, Stratola, Aristocleia, Metaneira, Phila, Isthmias, and the defendant Neaera.
Introduction to the Third Paper
The genre of Hellenistic epigram is
unique in numbering women as well as men among its earliest practitioners.
Three female epigrammatists are recognized as particularly influential: Erinna, Anyte, and Nossis. We
have already met Anyte, a native of Tegea in
The essay you have been asked to read,
Below you are given two other poems of Anyte not discussed by Greene. The first is an illustration
of the poet’s interest in funerary themes: it speaks of the grief of the little
girl Myro as she buries two insect pets, a
grasshopper and a cicada. The second describes a votive painting of children
who have hitched a goat to a cart and are driving it around a temple precinct
(possibly that of the god in whose honor the painting was dedicated). Taken at
face value, both poems can be read simply as instances of Anyte’s
preoccupation with children, presumably a “natural” theme for a woman poet. In
each case, however, we can also find additional confirmation of Greene’s
remarks on Anyte as “female Homer,” as well as my own
observations on her “introspective” approach to her subject. In your paper, you
will be asked to identify examples of those elements.
Question: Taking the epigrams in order,
first identify one or more thematic allusions to epic and explain what those allusions
add to the poetic meaning. Then point out how the speaker is entering into the
subjectivity of the individuals she describes. Finally, in your conclusion,
describe the effect of this combined use of heroic tradition and empathy.
Specify epigram you are citing and give line number, e.g., “In line 4 of epigram 1…”. Cite Greene’s article by page number. You need not cite my lecture notes or my comments in the “Epigrams by Women from the Greek Anthology” reading.
- For her
grasshopper, nightingale of ploughed land,
and her oak-dwelling cicada Myro built a common tomb,
a maiden who shed a virginal tear, for Hades,
hard to persuade, had carried off both her playthings. - Putting
purple reins upon you, goat,
and a noseband around your shaggy mouth,
the children train you in horse racing around the god’s temple
so that you may bear them kindly as they enjoy themselves.
Introduction to the Fourth Paper
In your previous papers, you were asked to discuss representations of female figures in ancient literature. This time around, I would like you to focus your attention upon factual circumstances affecting real women. Your earlier submissions required application of the methods of literary criticism; this paper asks you to take a historical approach to evidence. Those are the two categories of analysis most frequently used in studies of women and gender in antiquity, and they are often employed together. For the purposes of this course, however, we will use them independently of each other.
From the period of the Old Kingdom in Egypt (3000
Select one carefully defined cultural factor affecting women for which we have appropriate evidence and analyze the different way it operated in at least two different locations or historical periods, and discuss possible consequences for women in each situation.
“Cultural factor” means any one specific legal provision, social practice, or custom with a direct bearing on women’s lives that is known to have taken diverse forms in different places and periods. Choose a topic that can be easily discussed in a three- or four-page essay, one for which enough evidence is available to allow you to comment on the likely consequences for women living under each set of circumstances. Examples might include: property administration; inheritance; the situation of the “heiress”; dowry; forms of marriage; laws on marriage, divorce, adultery; etiquette surrounding public mention of women; demographics; women’s role in religion; functions of priestesses; constructions of motherhood; female labor roles; female education. If you’re unsure about the feasibility of writing on a particular topic, please ask me.
One criterion for an above-average grade on this paper will be the quality of the detailed information you provide. I expect you to cite Robins, Pomeroy and/or selections from course packet readings and also encourage you to find appropriate materials on DIOTIMA or consult library resources. Again, you must cite the text from which quotations or ideas are taken. Demonstrating your thorough understanding of the cultural phenomenon you chose is very important. However, please note, I am not asking you to give me a global picture of the lives of ancient women. Omit irrelevant or completely peripheral material. I would not expect to find, say, information about provisions for heiresses at Gortyn in a paper on the religious activities of elite Egyptian women.
Another key criterion will be the depth and thoughtfulness of your evaluation of probable consequences for women. I hope you are aware by now that a social trend leading to greater autonomy for women is not necessarily altogether good, if it leaves them economically vulnerable. Again, keep in mind that “women” does not mean only elite women; where appropriate, I expect you to take class and economic circumstances into account. For example, a paper on the situation of the heiress that failed to recognize different sets of consequences for rich and for poor women would be incomplete.
Finally, people who have had difficulty organizing their essays might take the following advice to heart. You could structure the present paper very effectively in this way: a one-paragraph introduction in which you define the particular factor you have chosen, a first section in which you compare the forms it took in each cultural context, a second section in which you analyze how women might have been differently affected, and then a last paragraph summing up your conclusions. Devote approximately one page to each one of the two sections in the body of the paper. No, you don’t have to observe that scheme, but it would probably be the easiest way to proceed.
Again, please feel free to e-mail or meet with me or with the graduate
assistant before writing this paper and ask whatever questions you may have.
Extra Credit Paper Guidelines
This voluntary project is for
students wishing to earn extra credit to apply to their writing grade. The
deadline is Wednesday, December 10.
Since this is an extra credit assignment, there will be no predrafts
or rewrites and no extensions will be given. Late papers will be returned
ungraded. Please follow these guidelines carefully.
A video of the 1999 Hallmark Hall of Fame production Cleopatra has been placed on ERes and is available as a streaming video. It can be
loaded and viewed both on- and off-campus. However, accessing it from off-campus
does involve downloading software and following rather complicated directions.
I am not an expert in streaming video technology, so I can’t help you if you’re
having problems—please contact the ERes staff.
Quick-and-dirty alternative: rent it from Blockbuster or Casa Video.
The producers unfortunately did not employ a classicist as script
consultant. There are grievous errors of historical fact in the film, many
involving matters discussed in this course. Your assignment is to identify one
erroneous point having to do with issues of women’s lives, sex and/or gender in
antiquity and then write a paper of between 750 and 1000 words explaining how
the film got it wrong.
Imagine that you are writing to the producers of Cleopatra to set them straight (in case they decide to do a sequel,
or…?). So you must cite passages from
your textbooks, assigned readings, lectures, and, if you wish, outside sources
that will establish the credibility of your critique. Make your case as strong
as possible by bolstering it with scholarly opinion. You can’t just rant and
call them morons; they’ll throw your paper in the waste basket.
Here are the ground rules:
1.
We’ll stipulate (as the lawyers say) that all the
Romans in the film speak fluent koine Greek and all the Egyptians and Greeks in the film
speak fluent Latin, so everyone understands each other. This is a storytelling
convention going back to Homer. And, actually, Cleopatra did speak several
languages, including demotic Egyptian—she was the first Ptolemaic ruler to
learn it.
2.
The erroneous point must be relevant to the course material. Classics majors will be startled
to see Julius Caesar’s nephew Octavius (later Caesar Octavianus) sitting in the Senate in 44 B.C.E., when
actually he wasn’t technically old enough to do so—and not living in Rome at
the time. This is clearly a distortion of history, but not a matter of sex or
gender, so it doesn’t count.
3.
Also on reserve are the Flamarion
and Grant biographies of Cleopatra and Macurdy’s Hellenistic Queens. You are strongly
advised to consult at least one of them.
4.
Grading. Only three
grades will be given: “A,” “B,” and “no credit.”
·
Papers that are poorly written, badly documented,
and incoherent—first-draft papers tossed off at three in the morning, or the
equivalent—will receive “no credit.” Your writing grade won’t be hurt, but why
did you bother?
·
To receive a grade of “B,” papers must be
adequately written and offer a solid and well-documented critique of the point
in question.
·
To
receive an “A,” papers must be very well written, accurately referenced, and
demonstrate above-average critical
thinking.
5.
Grades
of “A” and “B” will be averaged in with your other writing grades.