Humanities 110

Paper Topics | Fall 2009 | Paper 3

Due Saturday, November 14, 5 p.m., in your conference leader's Eliot Hall mailbox.
Maximum Length 1500 words

1. Compare the representations of the demos (or the people) in Sophocles' Oedipus and Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War

2. Compare the representation of mythical conflicts between order and disorder on one set of metopes lining the Parthenone.g., the Amazonomachy, the Centarauromachy or the Gigantomachyto Sophocles' treatment of challenges to the city-state's order in either Antigone or Oedipus. How do these visual and literary representations treat the confrontation between the social order and that which it seems to exclude? What sort of resolution/s, if any, do they project?

3. In what ways does Thucydides' account of the Sicilian Expedition draw on Athenian Tragedy? What is the significance of these resonances? Be sure to support your idea of Athenian Tragedy with specific examples.

4. Thepseudo-Xenophontic Constitution of the Athenians offers evidence that Athens' political system genuinely puts the power over the city in the hands of the demos, or people. Is there evidence in Thucydides' History that such a political system was, in fact, responsible for the Athenians' failures in the Peloponnesian war?

5. Herodotus famously argued that democracy was the foundation of Athenian military prowess: "Athens went from strength to strength, and proved, if proof were needed, how noble a thing equality before the law is, not in one respect only, but in all; for while they were oppressed under tyrants, they had no better success in war than any of their neighbours, yet, once the yoke was flung off, they proved the finest fighters in the world. This clearly shows that, so long as they were held down by authority, they deliberately shirked their duty in the field, as slaves shirk working for their masters; but when freedom was won, then every man amongst them was interested in his own cause" (Histories, 5.78). Would Thucydides agree?

6. In consultation with your instructor, devise a topic of your own.

In addition to consulting with your conference leader, you can get help with all stages of the writing process from peer tutors at the Writing Center. You can find links to the Writing Center hours on the Drop-in Tutoring Schedule website. Extra tutoring help will be available in the week leading up to paper due dates.