Description: A 1000 word (minimum) essay about Ovid and mythology. (Use standard manuscript format, e.g. double-spaced lines, 1 inch margins, 10-12 pt. font, etc. Remember: when double-spacing, do not put extra space after a paragraph break, or allow your word processor to do so. Yes, I take points off for this.)

Technical Details: Submit it to me via Canvas. (See the Canvas assignment for the due date.) Don't email me the essay, or send it to me via carrier pigeon, or Pony Express etc.

Necessary Elements: You need to argue some position that connects Ovid and his book to mythology and/or to Greek and Roman culture generally. You do not need to do research for this essay, and I don't encourage you to do so (as odd as that may sound). (The trouble is, what many people mean by "research" is "Google something instead of reading the assignments". A real research project should be made of sterner stuff, and this class isn't set up to support it.)

Your grade will depend on how well you understand Ovid and the myths we've studied in this course (and how well you show me that you do). You don't need a bibliography for the paper, but if you cite or quote anything except the assigned translation of Ovid, you should tell me where the words come from (as specifically as possible). When you quote Ovid, it should be from Lombardo's translation; if you quote a general book on classical mythology, it should be Tatlock's text. If Tatlock and Ovid both tell a story, go with Ovid (because she got her version from Ovid, and primary evidence is better than secondary evidence). You can use your lecture notes for the class, but don't base your paper on them: it has to be about Ovid, not about Pfundstein.

 Remember, this is a paper about Ovid's Metamorphoses: that's all you should need to write your paper. I'll also ding your grade for bad info from a bad source so a.) don't use an outside source unless you need one, and b.) check it with me before you write your essay.

This Is A Big Deal, So Read This: Cite the source of anything you quote or paraphrase, and always cite as specifically as possible. For a modern book (e.g. Tatlock) this means page numbers. For an epic (like Ovid) this means book and line numbers. If you don't know what I mean by this, ask me what I mean by this.

Topics: I don't want to limit you but among the things you could discuss are: whether Ovid believes in the religion that generated his mythology; whether the book is meant to praise Augustus and his family or satirize them; whether Ovid changes Greek myths for the benefit of his Roman audience (or vice versa); whether the gods in Ovid's epic are jerks or not (and why); what the nature of heroism is in Ovid's epic; which myths in Ovid were most interesting and which were least; whether (or how) Ovid would change his myths to appeal to a modern audience; whether Ovid's version of mythology is immoral, amoral, or moral (and according to whose morality); whether the visual components of the course tell a fundamentally different version of myth than Ovid does--and, if so, why; what impact Ovid had on later tellings and retellings of mythology, especially in other media; etc. Especially etc. You can write about whatever you want as long as you anchor it securely in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Be wary of using a topic that requires you to write at length about an outside source: this should be a paper about Ovid. Pick a topic you can write a few detailed pages about. You can write more than 1000 words if you want to, but don't write less.

BG Perspectives Stuff: