For direction on analyzing a work of art, consult the writing guidelines
from the Department of Art History http://www.skidmore.edu/academics/art/ArtHistory/paperwriting/standards.html
3. The historical sweep
of Evolving Canon 1 gives us the opportunity to re-evaluate the first epic hero
we encountered, Odysseus. Analyze how the presentation of Odysseus changes according
to different historical texts and contexts: The Odyssey in its classical
context, the medieval lens of Dante's Inferno, and the Renaissance
perspective of Pico della Mrandola.
4.
In her LS 2 course "The Debate about Women in the Middle Ages," Skidmore
Professor Kate Greenspan analyzes the "enduring impact" the medieval
debate about women had on "Western ideas about gender and authority."
Analyze the conflicting veiws of gender and authority in the Middle Ages
as represented in The Book of Margery Kempe, the Griselda stories,
and "The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale."
5. Select a seminal passage from any of the
works from the second half of the class and argue its significance
by analyzing it closely and rigorously within the ever broadening contexts of
the work itself: first closely
consider the passage in itself, then the passage in the context of its large
unit/chapter, and finally the passage in relation to the entire text.
6. A topic of your choice: I must
approve all individual topics by no later than Friday, XXX.
Topics for
Paper #2