Paper Topics | Spring 2018 | Paper 3
Paper Due: Saturday, April 14, at 5:00 PM in your conference leader's Eliot Hall mailbox. Select one of the topics below. Length 6-8 pages (1500-2000 words).
1. In “On Duties,” Cicero claims that the truly good action is both right and advantageous. He argues that far from standing in opposition to each other, the right and the advantageous are in fact complementary: what is right is advantageous, and what is advantageous is right. Or, as he puts it, “… bad actions can never be of advantage, because they are always morally wrong; goodness, being morally right, is invariably advantageous.” Choose two examples that Cicero uses to support this position. How does he attempt to resolve tension between what is right and what is advantageous? What weaknesses can you find in his analysis?
2. The catalogue of Turnus' allies in Book 7 of the Aeneid culminates in the description of the Volscian warrior Camilla. Consider Camilla's role in the epic: how does she compare to other characters in the poem and how does she contribute to its broader themes? Does she resemble any characters in Homer's Iliad?
3. At the beginning of his history, Livy writes: “The special and salutary benefit of the study of history is to behold evidence of every sort of behavior set forth as on a splendid memorial; from it you may select for yourself and for your country what to emulate, from it what to avoid, whether basely begun or basely concluded,” (Preface, p. 4). Consider Livy’s characterization of Romulus, Horatia (I.26), OR Lucretia. Based on a close reading of Livy’s representation, to what extent is this character intended to be a positive example or a negative example? What issues in Roman society and/or politics are the actions of this character attempting to address?
4. The concepts "same" and "different" seem simple enough, but turn out to be quite complicated in Ovid's Metamorphoses: as characters are transformed from one state into another, conceptions of identity and the self are challenged. Choose one story from the Metamorphoses and explore how identity is constructed and represented. Does physical transformation correspond to psychic transformation? To what extent is the character the same or different and how does the text represent this?
5. Virgil and Ovid both work self-consciously in the genre of epic, actively engaging Homeric conventions. Focusing on either the Aeneid or Metamorphoses, discuss how Virgil or Ovid adheres to and redefines epic tradition. Would you argue that the Roman author continues the tradition of Greek epic, or disrupts and reworks it? In your discussion, address one or two specific epic convections and analyze specific passages from the text.
6. As Ellen Millender discussed in her lecture, Augustus adopted imperial power within the political framework of the Roman republic. Focusing on Augustus’ self-presentation in Res Gestae and representations of imperial authority in either Virgil’s Aeneid or Ovid’s Metamorphoses, discuss how the authors grapple with the tension between republican and imperial ideals in depicting Augustus’ excellence.
7. Write your own essay topic. If you choose this option, it is necessary to have your conference leader approve your topic before you start working on it.