The work itself may be in any medium of the student's choosing — visual, auditory, textual or a combination of these.  Students should select media that plays to their creative strengths.

This project is conceived as a solo venture, but students may collaborate with other students if they choose.  Note, however, that group projects may have extra requirements so that Professor Curley can assess both individual and collective contributions.

The completed works will be presented on the last day of class.  There will be food, friends, and a chance for students to see what their peers have been up to.  Outstanding entries may be selected for presentation at this year's academic festival.

Several milestones will help keep the project on track.  All, with the exception of the final presentation, are due via email on Friday evenings by 11:00 p.m.

Proposal (October 5)

In at least three full paragraphs, describe your project (its medium, subject, and scope) and   discuss both why this project appeals to you, and why you feel you are qualified to do it.  Finally, offer an eight-week schedule (starting October 17) for implementing your proposal.

Some suggestions before you write your proposal:

1.  It might be easiest to choose a medium (or media) first.  Students who paint, draw, sculpt, or have some other artistic talent or passion, should probably opt for the visual.  Students who sing or play an instrument should opt for the musical.  Students who love to write should opt for the textual.

2.  Next choose your subject, or what will you present in your medium?  Will you retell the Iliad?  Will you venture in between books of the Odyssey?  Will you show what happens ten years after Odysseus' return?  The choice is yours.  The only stricture is that your subject must clearly be Homeric;  that is, one should be able to see the genesis of your project in either text.

3.  Finally think about the scope of your project.  What can you reasonably accomplish in two months?  Be ambitious, but not overly so.  Note that Professor Curley may advise students to do less or more, depending on his assessment of your preliminary ideas.

Project update 1 (November 2)

Offer a narrative of where you are with your project, describing how much have you accomplished thus far in relation to your proposed schedule.  Describe any challenges you have faced, and how you met them.  If your project has changed in medium, subject, or scope, describe these changes, and why they have occurred.

In addition, please provide supporting evidence for your narrative.  If doing a visual project, attach images of your progress to date;  if your project is auditory, mp3s;  if your project is textual, a draft.

NOTE:  In the case of video or audio files, you may opt to direct Prof. Curley to a file-sharing site (like Flickr) instead of emailing them as attachments.

Project update 2 (November 30)

Offer a narrative of where you are with your project, following the format of project update 1 and with supporting evidence.

Final version (Wednesday, December 12, in class)

In this, our last class of the semester, students will present the polished-to-perfection versions of their projects (or portions thereof, as reasonable).

Also due is a three-page reflection paper that includes the following:

• A description of your project;
• How you feel your project reinvents Homer;
• How your project resonates with other reinventions of Homer that we have encountered this term.

The following web sites might be helpful when developing your project:

Writing in Classics.  A series of pages developed by Skidmore's Classics Department.  Good advice on every step of the process, from thesis to bibliography to final draft.

The Skidmore Guide to Writing.  More trustworthy advice, especially on matters of grammar and formatting.

ILLiad, Scribner Library's InterLibrary Loan service.  Allows students to request articles, essays, and books outside of the Library's holdings.  NOTE:  No student requests will be processed after Monday, November 19.

Searchable index of journals held by Scribner Library (print and electronic).

See the Web Resources Page for other research and reference tools.