Last updated: March 27, 2008

Classics Section  Major/Minor Programs in Classics at BGSU Romance and Classical Studies Bowling Green State University

Due Date: Tues. April 15. (Anything turned in after 5:30 PM will start accumulating late points.)

Description: A five page paper or equivalent project involving reading and research beyond the required course materials. (Double-spaced, 1 inch margins, 10-12 pt. font.) (Those in the Honors section will write a 10 pp. paper and present part of their research to the class.)

Necessary Elements: A bibliography of the reading(s) on which your paper is based. It doesn't have to be much (this is a very small project), but whatever you used in writing the paper should be in the bibliography (which should be on a separate page, and doesn't count as one of the 5 pages).

e.g.

Brutus, Marcus J. I Popped a Cap in C Juli C (True Confessions Press, 44 B.C.)

Shakespeare, W. Julius Caesar: The Lost Episodes (Opera Dubia Press, 1606)

 
Any time you refer to or quote from the work you should cite a page number (or equivalent).

e.g.

It was at this point that the assassins began to attack Caesar (Brutus, p. 222) not, as Shakespeare claims, when Caesar referred to Pompey as "a useless bucket of swill" (Shakespeare, Act 15, scene 32).

Topics: Anything that relates to the course subject (Roman history and society).

Roman Life papers might investigate social issues in the life of an important figure (e.g. Caesar or any of his assassins, Cleopatra VII, the Scipios, the Gracchi), or an episode in history (e.g. the proscriptions of Sulla, the siege of Masada). Don't write up a straight bio of the figure (or a narration of the historical episode); discuss, for instance, what Cleopatra's career can tell us about the role of women in Roman society, or what Julius Caesar's career indicates about how the Roman republic had changed (and would change), etc. Alternately, you could research a Roman social practice (e.g. omen-reading, manumission of slaves, shows or spectacles in the Roman world), compare some feature of ancient Roman life to modern life, review a novel (video game, movie, etc.) set in the Roman world. (But if you do a second review, remember the research requirement for the final paper: finding or renting the game, movie etc. does not constitute research.) If you would rather not do a paper and want to do something else entirely (e.g. a short piece of historical fiction; a work of art; an interpretive dance representing the Concordia Ordinum etc.), run the idea by me first. I'm not necessarily hostile to the idea, but I'll want to ensure it entails a reasonable amount of research.
 

Sources: Anything reasonably scholarly will do. In general, a book which gives you the evidence on which its assertions are based (e.g. citations of primary evidence) is scholarly. If it doesn't, it's not scholarly, even if it was written by a scholar. Children's books (e.g. Macaulay's fine City) won't do, unless you are specifically reviewing, say, books about Roman civilization directed at children. When in doubt about a source, consult me (via e-mail, phone or in person). Be especially cautious about internet sources: there is a great deal of misinformation masked as information on the WWW. (There are plenty of excellent sites, too, though.) Do not base your paper on an internet source without consulting me first. ("Is he serious?" you may be asking yourself. If I could show you all the papers I've given failing grades to because of bad internet sources, you wouldn't need to ask.)
 

A Final Warning: Don't plagiarise. I don't mean to sound paranoid, but the issue does come up from time to time. This is an informal writing assignment, but standards of academic honesty still apply. (See a brief description of plagiarism and its penalties in a PDF file downloadable from the BGSU Provost at this link.) If you're unsure whether something you're doing constitutes plagiarism ask someone (me, for instance, or someone at the writing center--a great resource whenever you're having trouble with a paper). There's no penalty for asking, whereas the penalties for being caught are fairly severe--ranging from a zero on the assignment to (in extreme cases) suspension or expulsion from the university.