CIE100: Common Intellectual Experience - Sappho Writing Prompt (10 Points)

Assignment Goals

The goals of this assignment are:

1. To reflect upon the course texts in preparation for thoughtful discussion
2. To organize thoughts into a concise and cohesive response to a targeted question
3. To consider multiple viewpoints about ideas

The Assignment

In this writing prompt, you will consider the questions below and respond by writing a letter addressed to the author, equivalent in length to a 1-2 paragraph response. In the letter, respond to the reading in your own voice, quoting the text at least once in support of what you say, and raise one respectful counterargument, supported by a quote, that the author would have to answer. Submit your letter through Canvas before the start of class.

UDL choice: this genre is the default for this reading, but you may swap in any of the five response genres (analytic, letter, dialogue, marginalia+aphorism, or the Four A’s) as long as the quote and counterargument requirements are met.

Struggling with the reading itself? See the guide: How to Read Hard Texts in CIE.

Writing Prompt

1. Reflect on the fragments and incomplete nature of Sappho’s work. How does this affect your interpretation of her poetry? In what other ways do we interpret or interpolate our understanding in light of incomplete information?

2. Most of Sappho survives only as fragments quoted by others or recovered from torn papyrus, and yet her voice still reaches us. Choose a fifteen second fragment of a song or video that went viral out of context, and compare its survival to Sappho’s: what does the fragment preserve of the original, what does it destroy, and who controls what survives?

Submission

Submit a word processed or PDF document.

Please refer to the Style Guide for code quality examples and guidelines.