Antiquity Schedule
NOTE: the questions printed here are tentative, and may be changed based on our particular class discussions.
| Wed. Aug. 29 | Gilgamesh, tablets
I-III Q: What do you think is the main function that the character of Enkidu serves in the story? In other words, why would the author of the epic think it's necessary to include that character? |
| Fri. Aug. 31 | Gilgamesh, tablets
IV-VIII Q: How are the gods portrayed in the epic so far? |
| Mon. Sep. 3 | Gilgamesh, tablets
IX-XI diagnostic essay due instead of daily question syllabus quiz |
| Wed. Sep. 5 | Herodotus,
Histories I.1-95 Q: What does Herodotus present as the single most important cause of the war between the Lydians and the Persians? (Be sure to consider the narrative as a whole.) |
| Fri. Sep. 7 | Herodotus,
Histories I.106-130, II.1-5, II.35-57 Q: Why do you think Herodotus is interested in the details of Egyptian life and culture? What kind of attitude(s) does he display in his discussion of them? |
| Mon. Sep. 10 | Herodotus, Histories
III.61-86, VII.1-60 Q: Based on the discussions of Darius and Xerxes, what qualities does Herodotus present as the most important to be a good ruler? |
| Wed. Sep. 12 | Herodotus, Histories
VII.100-107, VII.127-145, VII.175-239 Q: What is one main lesson that you think Herodotus is implying in his presentation of the battle of Thermopylae? |
| Fri. Sep. 14 | Herodotus, Histories
VIII.1-120, IX.114-122 Q: Here and throughout The Histories, how does Herodotus represent the relation between humans and the gods? |
| Mon. Sep. 17 | in-class writing workshop first paper due |
| Wed. Sep. 19 | Euripides, Medea,
all Q: In what ways are Medea's grief and rage made to seem sympathetic and justified? |
| Fri. Sep. 21 | Euripides, Medea,
re-read all Q: Is Medea triumphant at the end of the play? |
| Mon. Sep. 24 | Euripides, The Bacchae,
all special assignment instead of daily question rewrite due |
| Wed. Sep. 26 | Euripides, The Bacchae,
re-read all Q: What (if anything!) do you think is the real tragedy of this play? |
| Fri. Sep. 28 | Plato, Euthyphro,
all Q: Why doesn't (can't?) Euthyphro come up with an acceptable definition of piety? participation self-evaluation due |
| Mon. Oct. 1 | Plato, Symposium,
172a-199c Q: Which speech so far do you think is the most correct? If it were true, in what ways would life be good for a lover? In what ways might life be bad? |
| Wed. Oct. 3 | Plato, Symposium,
199c-212c Q: How could Socrates' view avoid the problems that could arise for a lover if the view you chose for Monday's question were true? |
| Fri. Oct. 5 | Plato, Symposium,
212c-223d Q: Is it better to be Socrates or Alcibiades? Why? Who would you rather be? |
| Mon. Oct. 8 | NO CLASS - FALL BREAK |
| Wed. Oct. 10 | Tanakh, Genesis
1-11 Q: How is God represented in the text so far? second paper due |
| Fri. Oct. 12 | in-class writing workshop |
| Mon. Oct. 15 | Tanakh, Genesis
12-22 special assignment instead of daily question rewrite due |
| Wed. Oct. 17 | Tanakh, Exodus
1-23 Q: How does the covenant through Moses compare and contrast with one of the earlier covenants, either through Noah or Abram/Abraham? |
| Fri. Oct. 19 | Tanakh, Job
1-31 Q: What is the essence of Job's complaint? What is the essence of his friends' response? |
| Mon. Oct. 22 | Tanakh, Job
38-42 Q: How does God's response address Job's complaints? |
| Wed. Oct. 24 | Oxford Bible,
Luke 1-12 special assignment instead of daily question |
| Fri. Oct. 26 | Oxford Bible,
Luke 13-24 Q: For Luke, what is important about Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection? |
| Mon. Oct. 29 | Oxford Bible,
Romans, all Q: For Paul, what is important about Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection? |
| Wed. Oct. 31 | Oxford Bible,
Romans, re-read all Q: If salvation is open to everyone and guaranteed for no one, then how can it be that the Jews are God's chosen people? participation self-evaluation due |
| Fri. Nov. 2 | Apuleius,
The Golden Ass, books 1-3 Q: We read a number of examples of characters narrating and interpreting stories. How do those impact our own relation to the overarching story that Lucius is narrating to us? third paper due |
| Mon. Nov. 5 | in-class writing workshop |
| * 7:00
p.m. Maxey Aud. |
lecture
by Prof. Keith Bradley (Notre Dame): "The Universe of Love in The Golden Ass" |
| Wed. Nov. 7 | Apuleius,
The Golden Ass, books 4-6 Q: What is any one important thematic connection between the story of Cupid and Psyche and the overarching story of Lucius? In other words, why would Apuleius have included the (very long) story of Cupid and Psyche? |
| Fri. Nov. 9 | Apuleius,
The Golden Ass, books 7-9 Q: Considering the whole story so far, what benefit does Apuleius derive from the literary devide of having Lucius turned into an ass? rewrite due |
| Mon. Nov. 12 | Apuleius,
The Golden Ass, books 10-11 Q: Is Book 11 meant to be taken seriously, or is it further comedy / satire? |
| Wed. Nov. 14 | Perpetua, Perpetua's
Passion , secs. 1-10 Q: In our discussion of the Binding of Isaac, we distinguished between interpretations that emphasize God as a tester and interpretations that emphasize God as a provider. Which of those conceptions best matches Perpetua's account of her own experiences - or is there some other conception that matches it better? |
| Fri. Nov. 16 | Perpetua, Perpetua's
Passion , secs. 11-21 Q: The ancient editor states that one of the goals of the text is to "serve the edification of humankind" (1.1). What do you think is one main lesson that the text is offering, which might be applicable even for someone not facing persecution? |
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| Mon. Nov. 26 | Augustine, Confessions,
books 1-3 Q: What is Augustine's view of the nature of sin? Why is it such a big deal that he stole the pears? (Note: those are surely connected!) |
| Wed. Nov. 28 | Augustine, Confessions,
books 4-6 Q: For Augustine, is friendship more of a positive or a negative influence overall? |
| Fri. Nov. 30 | Augustine, Confessions,
book 7 Q: According to Augustine, how could an all-good and all-powerful God have created a world in which there seems to be so much evil? |
| Mon. Dec. 3 | Augustine, Confessions,
books 8-9 Q: Who is ultimately responsible for Augustine's conversion? |
| Wed. Dec. 5 | Augustine, Confessions,
book 10 Q: Summarize Augustine's overall view: what does it take to achieve salvation? participation self-evaluation due |
| Fri. Dec. 7 | SEMESTER WRAP-UP |
| ** FINAL ESSAY due Wed. Dec. 12 by 4:00 p.m. ** |
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