Classics Source Analysis Paper

Source Analysis Instructions

1-2 pages / 12 pt. Times New Roman / 1-inch margins
30 pts. / 10% of the final grade each

For each Source Analysis, students will choose an “object” to analyze from materials studied in class or other approved objects (see Due Dates and Topics below for specific instructions on choosing your object[s]).
For each object, students will answer the following questions in essay form, supporting their answers with direct observation of the source:
1. What can you tell about the object’s:
a. Maker/Producer/Author
b. Intended audience
c. Genre
2. To what context(s) could the object be related?
3. What specific secondary sources (scholarship) might help in the study of this object? [Find at least one such source]
4. What questions does the object leave unanswered and what further research could you do to fill in these gaps?
This is not intended to be an outline of your paper. You may answer the questions in any order you wish in a narrative form. See page 2 for a complete rubric.

Due Dates and Topics
3/12 Source Analysis 1: Commemorative Inscription
3/19 Source Analysis 2: Red-Figure Pottery
3/30 Source Analysis 3: Ekphrastic Epigram
4/11 Source Analysis 4: Catullus Epigram
Submit each source analysis to Blackboard by 11:59 PM on the due date.
It is your responsibility to verify that your files have uploaded successfully.

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Source Analysis Rubric

_____ / 5 Paper is free of grammatical and spelling errors
_____/ 5 Paper meets all length and format requirements
1-2 pages double spaced / 12 pt. Times New Roman / 1-inch margins /
PDF or .docx/.doc file
_____/ 10 Paper includes at least two direct observations about the primary source object

_____ / 10 Analysis: paper adequately addresses all aspects of the prompt (see page 1)

WORDS TO THE WISE:

• Be conscientious about your use of an object. Every time you make an observation about it, ask yourself, “what specific evidence supports this idea?” Do not make wild assertions; think of yourself as a lawyer presenting concrete evidence before a court.

• Be wary of broad generalizations. Avoid open-ended assertions about “what ‘the Ancients’ thought / believed / did” and focus instead upon the sources themselves and whether they form a consistent picture.

• Respect historical differences. Resist the conclusion that “the Ancients were just like us”: in important respects this is demonstrably not the case.

• Avoid moralizing. Historical understanding requires us to put ourselves in the shoes of people with differing values and attitudes than our own. It does not require us to endorse (or to condemn) those values and attitudes, but rather to place them in context.

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