Humanities 110

Paper Topics | Spring 2008 | Paper 2

Your conference leader will determine the format and length of this paper.
Due Saturday, March 29th by 5 p.m., in your conference leader's Eliot Hall mailbox.

1. In what ways does Tacitus think that the private lives of the women of the imperial family are a matter of public importance? Use at least three examples from the Annals in your answer.

2. In his letter on suicide, Seneca suggests that in controlling our deaths, we control our lives. How does Seneca's conception of suicide compare to the function Tacitus assigns to suicide in the Annals? Focus on two or three descriptions of suicide (for example, Seneca in Annals 15.62-64; Epicharis in Annals 15.57; Petronius, Annals 16.18-20; Lucan, Annals 15.67).

3. Choose one book that we read from Ovid's Metamorphoses and think about how Ovid organizes that particular book as a whole. You might consider, for instance, how one tale leads to the next, why Ovid includes the stories in the order he does, and/or whether there are particular themes or issues that run throughout the book. What does the sequencing of the book lead us to understand about the nature of metamorphosis?

4. Focusing on not more than two scenes from each book, compare and contrast the role of rape in Livy and Ovid.

5. The Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii was named by archeologists for its exquisitely painted "Initiation Chamber" at front right part of the villa (room #5). The wall paintings in this room appear to depict an initiation ritual that prepared girls for their lives as married women. Dionysus plays a central role in this transformation. Using the photographs of this room at <http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/hum110/paper-topics/2007-08/pompeii/> present an argument about the social and cultural function of the room. Your analysis should include a close reading of at least two of the panels and should explain both what you think this sequence is doing in a wealthy villa in Pompeii in general, and what its role was in this house in particular. (Why, for example, is this sequence in a room towards the front of the house and not in a room farther back?)

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.