The main objective of this assignment is provide students with an opportunity to develop the skill of critical thinking, which, according to the Montclair University General Education Program website,1 includes: “the ability to correctly evaluate their own arguments as well as the conclusions of others. This skill involves the application of healthy skepticism, determination of factual errors, and the detection of problems and/or inconsistencies in logic and reasoning.” In a 1000-word essay, students will analyze the core ideas of an influential ancient Greek text (in translation), evaluate its significance, forms of reasoning employed in the text, validity of the logic, ideas and concepts presented in the text. Students will form their own opinions and conclusions about the ancient Greek text based on such evaluation. Instructions: Consider the excerpt from the History of the Peloponnesian War of Thucydides (the Melian Dialogue, Thuc. 5.84-116). Analyze the main concepts and ideas presented in the text according to the specific guidelines below. Evaluate the validity of the arguments presented in the text. Support your arguments with concrete examples from the text.

Topic: THE REALPOLITIK2 OF THE MELIAN DIALOGUE: JUSTICE VS. EXPEDIENCY.

General guidelines: Reread the Melian Dialogue in Thucydides 5.84-116. Imagine that you are an Athenian who attended a popular assembly in 416 BCE. The Athenian envoys have just reported on the course and results of the negotiations with the Melians. Imagine yourself going to the podium to defend one of the two opposing claims:

either The Athenians’ demand that Melos should become a part of the Athenian Empire is fully justified, it is the right course for the Athenians to force Melos into submission;

or The Athenian arguments explaining their right to establish dominance over the Melians are flawed; it is not proper for the Athenians to force Melos into submission.

Be sure to refer to the specific arguments made by both parties, as presented in Thucydides. What are these arguments exactly? Are they valid or flawed in some way? Do the Athenian demands bear witness to disintegration of morals and democratic values of Athens or are they justified (at least to some degree), considering the circumstances? Remember, there is no right or wrong choice here.

Formal requirements:

(1) You must write on the topic provided above. (2) Read this carefully. Do not quote extensively to use up space. This will lower your grade. Rely on

paraphrases or brief quotes, only where appropriate. When quoting, provide references not to the page

1 https://goo.gl/MgYeJ6 2 According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a system of politics based on a country’s situation and its needs rather than on ideas about what is morally right and wrong.

numbers, but to the specific places in the text, e.g., Thuc. 5.84 (this means: Thucydides, book 5, section 84. Sections are numbered in the text that I have provided. We have only one work of Thucydides, so specifying “History of the Peloponnesian War” is not necessary every time.)

(3) Minimum: 1000 words; maximum: 1100 words. (4) Deadline: Sunday, December 1, by 11:59pm. (5) Submit a .docx or .pdf file on Canvas.

(6) Read this carefully. You must demonstrate a close familiarity with the assigned fragment in Thucydides. No other research is expected. I encourage you to express your own ideas rather than rely on somebody else’s interpretations. For this particular assignment, using any type of outside sources will negatively affect your essay and your grade.

Grading criteria are in accordance with the requirements of Montclair University’s GenEd program and are outlined at the bottom of this document: https://goo.gl/uFyqyy .

Grading rubric:

EFFORT: 20% ORIGINALITY&THESIS: 20% ENGAGEMENT W.TEXT: 20% GUIDELINES&RELEVANCE: 20% ORGANIZATION&LOGIC: 15% LANGUAGE&GRAMMAR: 5% TOTAL: 100

Note on plagiarism: I shall watch very closely for any attempts at plagiarism. All borrowings must be acknowledged. If you borrow ideas from printed or Internet resources, please acknowledge such borrowing, even if you are not quoting them directly. Please be aware that writing down the words narrated in a documentary or any other digital media without proper acknowledgment is still considered plagiarism. Please note that if you borrow someone else’s work without proper acknowledgment, it is still considered plagiarism even if you now and then change the original words for their synonyms (=the words with the same meaning) or change sentence structure.