Assignments

Assignments due by beginning of class on indicated days. Schedule subject to change at instructor's discretion.

Why?
19-Aug No assignment. Themes, materials, procedures. Why?
Greek tragedy. Patterns, relevance and relatability
21-Aug Sophocles: Antigone 1 = somewhat more than the first ½ of play, in the Penguin print edition, pp. 59-107. In other words, start from the beginning and read through Antigone's speech where she says she's being dragged away to punishment ("Land of Thebes, . . . They drag me away, now, no more delay," right before the chorus starts talking about "Danaë, Danaë. . . ."
  • First, read the Study Guide and note the Antgone 1 Guiding Question
  • Then read the assigned pages of the Antigone
  • Finally, go back and review the Guiding Question for the assignment. Think critically about it. Be prepared to share your thoughts in class. Keep in mind that this is an exercise not just in brainstorming but in critical thinking. We'll talk when we meet.
    • Study Guides, with text access, Guiding Question, and an introduction to the assignment, are always required reading.
26-Aug Sophocles: Antigone 2 (finish). Review the Study Guide; do the rest as per 21-Aug assignment, only this time, it'll be the Antigone 2 Guiding Question.
28-Aug Readings in Honig Antigone, Interrupted. Access web readings, Guiding Question, etc. via Study Guide.
2-Sep No class (Monday classes meet)
4-Sep Greek Tragedy: origins, ancient practice, ancient theory. Access web readings, Guiding Question, etc. via Study Guide.
9-Sep Euripides: Bacchae 1 (Signet-Penguin, pp. 395-430 = Kindle location 7858 "PROLOGUE" to location 8528, just before "THIRD CHORAL LYRIC" — basically, first half of play). Study Guide.
11-Sep Euripides: Bacchae 2 (pp. 430-456, i.e., rest of play). Study Guide.
16-Sep Aeschylus: Persians (Oxford, all). Study Guide.
18-Sep Two things:
  1. Quiz 1. [Study guide under preparation]
  2. Aeschylus: Agamemnon 1 (Penguin, pp. 103-132 = Kindle location 1957). Study Guide.
23-Sep No class (Rosh Hashanah)
25-Sep Aeschylus: Agamemnon 2. (Start Agamemnon's entrance, p. 132, chorus line "Come, my king." Read though to end of play.) Study Guide.
30-Sep Aeschylus: Libation Bearers (Penguin, all). Study Guide.
2-Oct No class (Yom Kippur)
7-Oct Aeschylus: Eumenides (Penguin, all). Study Guide.
Are we prisoners of fate — is that what tragedy is?
9-Oct Chapter 3, pages 12-16, in "Knowing and Not Knowing: How Oedipus Brings Down Fate," in: Critchley, Simon. 2019. Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us. New York: Pantheon Books. Text access via Study Guide (under preparation).
14-Oct Midterm exam on readings etc. through 7-Oct (not on the Critchley reading). Study Guide.
16-Oct Sophocles: Oedipus the King (Penguin, all). Study Guide.
21-Oct Sophocles: Oedipus at Colonus READ ALL. Study Guide.
Euripides' tragedies — is it tragedy?
23-Oct Euripides Medea (Signet, all). Study Guide.
28-Oct Euripides: Iphigenia at Aulis (Signet, all). Study Guide.
30-Oct Euripides: Hippolytus (Signet, all). Study Guide (in preparation).
4-Nov Euripides: Cyclops (Signet, all). Study Guide.
6-Nov Euripides: Alcestis (Signet, all). Study Guide.
Does tragedy help?
11-Nov Aristophanes: Frogs (print text, Focus/Hackett, all). Study Guide.
Roman tragedy: more of the same and completely different
13-Nov Seneca: Phaedra part 1 (Penguin). Pages 98-127. That's the beginning of play to partway through Act 2, just before the chorus that praises Hippolytus' beauty. Study Guide.
18-Nov Seneca: Phaedra part 2 (Penguin). Pages 127 (chorus on Hippolytus' beauty) to end. Study Guide.
20-Nov Seneca: Thyestes, all (Penguin). Study Guide.
25-Nov No class
27-Nov No class (Thanksgiving)
2-Dec Pseudo-Seneca: Octavia (Penguin, all). Study Guide.
Course wrap-up: Is tragedy pointless?
4-Dec Read the central chorus from Anouilh's Antigone, pp. 101-102. Be prepared to talk about the Guiding Question on the Study Guide, which includes text access and a guide to the final exam.
?? Final exam on readings, etc., 9-Oct through 4-Dec. Study Guide under preparation.

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© Andrew Scholtz | Last modified 26 August, 2025