GrandmotherPaper

Introduction: Wally Cordes, the Eponymous Hero of the University of Arkansas Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center, says that a good way to see if you really understand something is to pretend that you are explaining it to your grandmother. The final Special Learning Opportunity in CLST 1003 will be such a test.

Assignment: Pretend to be yourself (this should not be difficult – for most students). Write a letter to your grandmother in which you tell her about something that you liked learning in the last weeks of the semester- from the three plays we read of Aeschylus and of Aristophanes, and/or the three last chapters we read of Biers’ Archaeology of Greece (Chapters 6, 7, and/or 8). You should tell her about your favorite… something, and include your “thoughtful thoughts” about it.

Contents: Your letter will include:

o Greetings and chitchat about your family (keep this short, please),

o An explanation of where Greece is, and a brief description of it

o A description of your favorite thing(s) from the course, and your thoughtful thoughts about them. “thoughtful thoughts” about your topic may include WHY you like this, or WHY you are interested in it or why it excites you to learn about it. You may tell your grandmother the relevance it has to your own family, your own life, and/or tell her about the ideas it stimulates in your mind. Here you might also include modern parallels that occur to you, or any analogies that you think will help your grandmother understand what you are talking about. Make sure you can put your topic into language she can understand, and to cite sufficient quotations.

o At least three (3) quotations, to help your grandmother understand the topic more clearly.

Quotations: Students will include at least three short but significant quotations from their source material, but no quotation should be more than two lines long when written them in a blue book. When quoting from a text, be sure to use quotation marks, and make it clear whose quotation it is, and its context, so Grandma knows that you are quoting someone’s book, and can understand how it fits in with the rest of the work.

Letter Length: Minimum Letter Length: Two blue-book pages. Maximum Length: Four blue-book pages.

Open-Book Policy: Students may use a textbook in class, but may use no notes. Nothing may be written in the books. Underlining and plain bookmarks are acceptable. The teacher will look at all books. Students who attempt to use any non-textbook written or electronic materials during the examination will receive a grade of 0.

Tips: Student writing will be relevant, accurate and well considered. Correct grammar and spelling will improve your papers, and make Grandmother happy, too.

You should be sure to show that you understand what you are talking about, and give your Grandmother sufficient information to put your topic in a context that she can understand. For instance, if you are telling about your “Favorite Red Figure Vase Painting,” you will need to tell her about red and black-figure vases and how they differ, about the relevant mythology or cultural context, and about the kind of pots that have this decoration. If you are telling her about your “Favorite Temples from the Classical Period,” you should explain to her some of the architectural terms that will help her to understand what you are talking about. If you are telling her about your “Favorite Tragedy Based on a Cursed Argive Family,” you will need to fill her in about the details of the House of Atreus, the Trojan War, and other things that will make the subject intelligible. If you are talking about your “Favorite Prophetess Doomed Never to be Believed,” you need to explain the story of the Trojan War, how Cassandra’s family finds itself on the losing side, and how she ends up at Agamemnon’s palace in Mycenae. If you decide to talk about your “Favorite Greek Comedy Satirizing Socrates,” you need to let her know something about Greek Comedy, the Sophists, Athens at the end of the Peloponnesian War and Greek Comedy. Explain some of the jokes in the play. [Delicately tell her that sex and scatology are common in this genre. She can take it.] If you are talking about your “Favorite Character Addicted to Jury Service,” you need to explain the Athenian jury system, the importance of pay for jurors, and the general outlines of Greek Comedy.

Choosing a topic: You may use your interests to guide you. What did you like reading? What do you want to go back and review? What do you want to explore further? Here are a few ideas — you choose whatever you like. You do not have to do any of the following topics; they’re just to get you thinking about the assignment.

o My favorite period in Greek Art

o My favorite Greek buildings

o My favorite Greek Comedy

o My favorite matricide, and his trial and acquittal

o My favorite buildings on the Acropolis at Athens

o My favorite Agora

o My favorite Greek Tragedy

o My favorite Tragic Trilogy

o My favorite Greek Sculptures

o My favorite play involving a ghost of a murdered queen

o My favorite play involving a man whose son locks him in his own house

o My favorite play involving a man who creates a new kingdom in the sky, run by birds

o My favorite types of Greek vases

o My favorite Greek coins of the Archaic and Classical Periods