Essays
Assessed Essay Deadline for TERM 2: 12 noon, Thursday 7 March 2019
Please refer to 'Bibliography' Section for relevant secondary literature
1. T.S. Eliot stated that “the past [is] altered by the present as much as the present is directed by the past”. Discuss with reference with theoretical discussions related to Receptions Studies/Classical Tradition (material from Week 1), AND with reference to at least two examples of reception of Antiquity seen in class.
2. Henry Chadwick stated that “If the Consolation contains nothing distinctively Christian, it is also relevant that it contains nothing specifically pagan either...[it] is a work written by a Platonist who is also a Christian, but is not a Christian work”. Discuss this statement with reference to Boethius’ life, cultural context and relevant passages from at least Book I of the Consolation of Philosophy.
3. In the Divine Comedy, Dante imitates, but also consciously and explicitly seeks to go beyond the models of Antiquity. How does he achieve this, and why? Discuss with reference to relevant passages from the Divine Comedy.
4. In what way is Petrarch’s attitude towards Antiquity innovative? Discuss with reference to at least the two Letters seen in class.
5. Compare and contrast the attitudes of Bessarion and Ficino towards paganism, with reference to the three texts seen in class.
6. In what way is Ficino’s attitude towards paganism ambivalent?
7. To what extent did Renaissance popes and Church reformers draw on the myth of ancient Rome to serve their own political agenda?
8. Is Sadoleto’s poem Laocoon really just a perfect imitation of the Laocoon sculpture? Discuss and provide a detailed analysis of Sadoleto’s poem.
9. Compare and contrast the approaches of Winckelmann and Warburg towards Antiquity.
Assessed Essays Deadline for TERM 1:
Monday 3 December 2018, by 12 noon.
Essay Questions are provided below together with a bibliography. Please note that the bibliography is by no means exhaustrive, and that you can find additional sources in the library catalogue and online resources.
Essay Questions:
1. To what extent was lovesickness a disease specific to the Renaissance?
M. Altbauer, Prescribing Love: Italian Jewish Physicians Writing on Lovesickness in the 16th and 17th centuries, Jerusalem, 2009
D. Beecher/M. Ciavolella Jacques Ferrand. A Treatise on Lovesickness (translated and edited, and with a critical introduction and notes by), Syracuse University Press, 1990
A. Gowland, The Worlds of Renaissance Melancholy. Robert Burton in Context, Cambridge, 2006
S. W. Jackson, Melancholia and Depression: from Hippocrates to Modern Times, 1986
R. Klibansky et alii, Saturn and Melancholy: Studies in the History of Natural Philosophy, Religion and Art, 1964 (tr. L. White, 1965)
M. A. Lund, Melancholy, Medicine and Religion in Early Modern England. Reading The Anatomy of Melancholy, Cambridge, 2010
C. Thumiger, A history of the mind and mental health in Classical Greece, 2017
2. Did melancholy in early modern literature exemplify the power of medical discourse?
L. Babb, The Elizabethan Malady, 1951
L. Dawson, Lovesickness and gender in early modern English literature, 2008
B. Gellert Lyons, Voices of melancholy. Studies in literary treatments of melancholy in Renaissance England, 1971
A. Gowland, The Worlds of Renaissance Melancholy. Robert Burton in Context, Cambridge, 2006
M. A. Lund, Melancholy, Medicine and Religion in Early Modern England. Reading The Anatomy of Melancholy, Cambridge, 2010
W. Schleiner, Melancholy, Genius, and Utopia in the Renaissance, 1991
3. Is it fair to call Robert Burton’s Anatomy of melancholy a ‘medical’ text?
A. Gowland, ‘Rhetorical Structure and Function in The Anatomy of Melancholy’, Rhetorica 19, 2001, 1-48
A. Gowland, The Worlds of Renaissance Melancholy. Robert Burton in Context, Cambridge, 2006
M. A. Lund, Melancholy, Medicine and Religion in Early Modern England. Reading The Anatomy of Melancholy, Cambridge, 2010
A. Wear, ‘Religious Beliefs and Medicine in Early Modern England’ in H. Marland/M. Pelling (eds), The Task of Healing: Medicine, Religion and Gender in England and the Netherlands, 1450-1800, 1996, 145-169
R. G. Williams, ‘Disfiguring the Body of Knowledge: Anatomical Discourse and Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy’, English Literary History 68, 2001, 593-614
4. To what extent were anatomical illustrations responsible for the success of Vesalius’ De humani corporis fabrica (1543)?
A. Carlino, Books of the Body. Anatomical Ritual and Renaissance Learning, (tr. J. and A. C. Tedeschi) 1999
A. Cunningham, The Anatomical Renaissance, 1997
S. Kusukawa, Picturing the book of nature : image, text, and argument in sixteenth-century human anatomy and medical botany, 2011
I. K. McLeod, ‘A historical enigma: The artist responsible for the illustrations of Andreas Vesalius's 'De humani corporis fabrica'.’ Pharos of Alpha Omega Honor Medical Society 59, 1996, 8-13.
Saunders, J. B. de C. M., and Charles D. O'Malley. The Illustrations from the works of Andreas Vesalius of Brussels, 1950.
J. Sawday, The Body Emblazoned: Dissection and the Human Body in Renaissance Culture, 1995.
5. To what extent was mental illness seen as a female rather than male problem in early modern and modern times?
L. Appignanesi, Mad, Bad and Sad. A history of women and the mind doctors from 1800 to the present, 2008
L. Dawson, Lovesickness and gender in early modern English literature, 2008
H. King, The disease of virgins. Green sickness, chlorosis, and the problems of puberty, 2004
R. Porter, Madness. A brief history, 2013
C. Thumiger, A history of the mind and mental health in Classical Greece, 2017
6. To what extent can interdisciplinary approaches help us interpret the long-term practice of 'medical cannibalism' in Europe?
B. A. Culkin, Consuming grief. Compassionate cannibalism in an Amazonian culture, 2001
L. Noble, Medicinal Cannibalism in Early Modern English Literature and Culture, 2011
R. Sugg, Mummies, Cannibals and Vampires: The History of Corpse Medicine from the Renaissance to the Victorians, 2015
***For this topic, you can build up your bibliography by attending (part or all) the conference on cannibalism (17 November at Warwick, organised by Giulia Champion) and researching any paper topic that has inspired you. Programme here.
General guidance on essay writing
1. Presentation: Marks will be awarded for good English expression; marks will be deducted for poor presentation, including poor grammar and spelling. Marks will be awarded for correct presentation of footnotes and bibliography
2. Clarity of analysis: Marks will be awarded for work which is organised coherently on the basis of arguments and deducted for work which is incoherent or presents a mass of amorphous material. The case the student is arguing should be clear to the assessor in every paragraph - don't fall automatically into a chronological arrangement of your material, or a line by line examination of a text, unless you are making a specific point, narrowly argued, about development or change over time.
3. Primary sources: Marks will be awarded for good use of a range of ancient texts and other materials – inscriptions, images, coins, archaeology etc. - and deducted for unsubstantiated arguments and opinions. Marks will be awarded for pertinent quotation and for thoughtfulness about its usefulness as evidence. Don’t use quotations of primary materials or images merely as illustrations. Think about what contribution they make to your argument, what role they play as evidence, where the producers of the text or artefact are 'coming from'.
4. Secondary sources: Marks will be awarded for isolating the main issues and debates in modern scholarship on the subject. Marks will be deducted for overdependence on a single unquestioned modern authority. Think also about where modern scholars are 'coming from', e.g. by reading reviews of their work from the websites of JSTOR, Bryn Mawr Classical Review, or Project Muse.
5. Originality and Sophistication: Marks will be awarded for thoughtfulness, well-founded scepticism and original ideas which attempt to surpass the issues and debates found in modern discussions in order to take the argument in a new direction.
Refer to the departmental essay-writing checklist in order to help ensure that you meet these criteria.
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/classics/students/advice
Plagiarism
Plagiarism, defined as ‘the attempt to pass off someone else’s work as one’s own’ is a variety of cheating or fraud. It is taken very seriously by the University and students who are caught can suffer penalties which are extremely detrimental to their career. If in doubt about what constitutes plagiarism, please consult the online tutorial at
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/its/servicessupport/eassessment/jiscpds/avoidingplagiarism2/
To avoid any confusion however you should take special care with two things:
1: Cite the sources you are using
2: Use quotation marks for the quotes you are quoting.
Avoiding plagiarism
All written work produced for assessment must be entirely yours. Your work will often use material covered in lectures and seminars, but your work must demonstrably be your own representation of that material. You must not quote from other people’s work word-for-word without acknowledging this by use of “quotation-marks”. If you present someone else’s thoughts, words, or other work as your own, then you will have committed plagiarism. In general it is poor practice to scatter quotations from other scholars throughout your essay; you should attempt to rephrase what other people have said in your own words, and then also include a reference to the source of your ideas in a footnote. When taking notes from journals and books, make sure that you indicate clearly in your notes, using quotation marks, if you’re copying directly word-for-word. This will ensure that you do not inadvertently reproduce someone else’s words in your essay. In general, however, the best practice is to paraphrase and analyse as you read and make notes so that your notes do not simply copy out chunks of other people’s work. You should also avoid referring to what a lecturer has said without finding out for yourself on what his/her ideas are based. You may cite primary sources on handouts.
Rules for avoiding plagiarism
Good study technique, writing style and correct referencing of quotations will help you to avoid unintentional plagiarism. If you follow these simple rules you will always be safe:
· Always take down a detailed reference for each text that you read and take notes from.
· While copying quotations, make sure you clearly mark them as quotations in your working notes.
· Gather and use your own examples whenever you want to support a particular view.
· Ensure that all quotations are surrounded by quotation marks.
Ensure that your references can be used to locate the original source text.
Feedback:
Essays should be returned to students within three working weeks or at the beginning of the following term. The marked copy of an assessed essay is retained by the Office. Copies of cover sheets and other comments can be made available to students once marks have been finalized and recorded. Essays will be handed back individually, when there will be a chance to discuss them. It is essential that students attend these tutorials. Keep a copy of your essay, and re-read it before your feedback session. You will also find it helpful when re-reading your essay to complete the departmental ‘Essay checklist’ template, which can be found online, and which will help you to understand how you can improve your work:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/classics/students/advice