The directions are simple: The first page of your assignment should be a cover page that has your name, the class, the date, and a single-space transcription of the passage/paragraph you are going to analyze in the center. Pick a paragraph in Plato that has a lot going on in terms of language, themes, form and content, and argument. Consult and incorporate the etymologies/notes in the back of the Bloom text when necessary. The next page is your single-spaced analysis of this passage. You need to analyze not just what the passage says but how it says it. Analyze the language, imagery, syntax, formal construction, and most importantly– its point in the dialogue as it relates to the whole argument of the book you are analyzing and what precedes it. I want you to make a specific argument about your passage and analysis– but also relate it to the larger argument of the text. It is very much in the spirit of Socrates– toggling back and forth from part (your passage) and whole (the entire text). Anything that you deem relevant not just about what the passage says but more importantly how it says what it says. This is a short exercise—no room for introductions or generalizations. You basically begin by diving right into the analysis of your passage. Make every word count and try and wrestle with the complexity of the passage you chose. Please proofread your single-spaced, tight, one page analysis for spelling, word variation, syntax, clarity, and detail. Again, you will do this three times in total analyzing both the Bloom and Badiou Republic. Your papers should be 3 or 4 max single-spaced pages not including the cover page. Thanks!!!!
-JMG
