Course Requirements

REQUIRED TEXTS:
Homer, Iliad (Chicago, tr. Lattimore)
Hymn to Demeter (Johns Hopkins)
Homer, Odyssey (Harper, tr. Lattimore)
Aeschylus, Oresteia (Chicago, tr. Lattimore)
Sophocles, Oedipus the King (Chicago, tr. Grene)
Euripides, Bacchae (Chicago, tr. Arrowsmith)
Herodotus, The Histories (Penguin, tr. de Selincourt)
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War (Penguin, tr. Warner)
Aristophanes, Lysistrata (Focus, tr. Jeffrey Henderson)
Plato, Symposium (Hackett, trs. Nehamas, Woodruff)
The Bible: New Revised Standard (Oxford)
 
PARTICIPATION AND ATTENDANCE:
Attendance at class meetings is mandatory. Students who miss more than four classes for any reason will fail the course. Students should arrive on time, with notetaking materials and books, prepared to discuss the readings listed on the syllabus. If you come to class late and/or are unprepared for discussion, you will be counted as absent even if your body is in the room. If you are unable to attend class, you are responsible for the matieral covered on the day you were absent and should contact a classmate for notes.
 
OFFICE HOURS:
Three hours a week are set aside for students to meet with me to discuss material covered in class and ask questions about assignments, readings, or lectures. Although at some point in the semester students may be required to come in for a conference, I encourage you to come talk to me frequently as getting to know your professors is an important part of your college experience.
 

PAPERS AND EXAMS:
Study questions will be handed out the class before we begin a new text. You should use the study questions to guide your thinking about the assigned readings. Six times during the semster, students are required to submit a 2-page (500-750 word) answer to one of the week's questions, or an answer to a question of their own devising. This answer should be written as an academic essay, which includes an introduction with a thesis statement that clearly articulates the claim you will make in your paper, at least one body paragraph, and a conclusion. At least two papers must be submitted before the midterm, and at least two after it. Instead of a new topic, the sixth paper may be a revision of a previously submitted paper. Only one rewrite will be allowed per semester. 2-page papers are due in class on the day we discuss the reading. Late papers will not be accepted.

Students in this section will take a midterm, and all Lit. Hum. students are required to take a common final exam. The midterm will be modelled on the structure of the final exam, and is intended as preparation: we will discuss strategies for studying and test-taking during the semester. The final exam is Friday 18 December from 12:30-3:30: mark your calandars now.

Students are required to complete all written work in order to pass the course. There are no exceptions to this rule.

 
BREAKDOWN OF FINAL GRADE:
Participation and Attendance 20%
Short Papers (5 out of 6) 50%
Midterm 10%
Final 20%
 
PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is the intentional representation of someone else's thoughts or words as your own. It is a serious offense and, according to Columbia University policy, is punishable by failure of the course and potential expulsion from the University. Don't do it.