Trial of Socrates Paper: Student Sample Analysis
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STUDENT 1 SAMPLE- MATHEW
Analysis for Historical Imagination:________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of re-enactment.
3- Mathew is one of the highest achievers in the class. His writing skills are well-beyond his peers. However, he struggled to fully commit to a “re-enactment”. Occasionally, he would approach the writing too academically, failing to understand the mindset of an Athenian. For example his introduction was presented in a historian’s perspective.
“In ancient Greece, the sciences and arts flourished under a democracy in one of the most famous city-states, Athens. One of the most major subjects that spread throughout Athens like a wildfire was philosophy. Philosophy was mostly able to prosper due to a single teacher, Socrates. Known for his wisdom and power in government, Socrates questioned society, authority, and noble men, making them doubt their position of power. It was because of Socrates annoying behavior in society that had him end up going to court, with accusations coming from multiple people”
While the above is all accurate information, he did not present it from the perspective of an Ancient Athenian.
2) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interpolation.
4-Mathew made an intellectual leap about the Socrates’ choice to remain in Athens during the thirty tyrants. He identified a possible motive for Socrates that was also extremely relevant at the time of the actual trial. The below excerpt demonstrates this interpolation technique and also highlights one of the few incidences in the paper when Mathew embraced his character as an Athenian Prosecutor.
“From this statement, it is clear that when darkness had covered Athens, and democracy died, Socrates continued to bask in his glory and success of destroying the Athenian democracy and society. Why did Socrates stay in Athens and not leave in a time of danger and evil? He stayed because he finally received what he questioned. His actions only revealed to the world how evil his intentions were and what an awful citizen of Athens he proved to be.”
3) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interrogation
4- Mathew quoted the Apology multiple times. He recognized that the source was biased and used quotes that helped his argument.
Analysis of Historical Empathy:__________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students clearly adopted a historical role different their own perspective. Rate 1-5 and explain why (with evidence).
3- While Mathew eventually adopted the character of an Athenian Prosecutor towards the end of his paper, a majority of his writing was academic in tone. He quoted the sources rather than use them as sources to build his own argument.
“ ‘When the Thirty Tyrants took power, they murdered or drove out of the city all who were of the democratic party. A few months later, the moderates who had originally supported the Thirty Tyrants began to flee…’ (An Interview with I.F Stone) According to this quote found in an interview with an ancient Greek expert, I.F Stone…”
Mathew included a thoughtful analysis that does not necessarily adopt a perspective different from his own. His extensive experience in academic writing may be hindering him in this creative writing assignment. That being said he does occasionally get into the character of an Athenian Prosecutor (See Historical Imagination Question 1)
2) The student’s historical role was bound to a historical context established by secondary and/or primary sources.
2- While Mathew occasionally adopted the character, he clearly struggled with confining his speech to the historical context. I emphasized in class how to limit a perspective to a context with an example, highlighting that an Athenian would not write about a person being ‘gay’ because their ideas of sexuality did coincide with our modern day understandings. Mathew did not use the sexuality argument but he did use anachronisms like “Father of Western Philosophy” and “Ancient Greece”. He discussed sources completely outside of the era. He specifically identified and discusseed the works of modern historian, IF Stone
3) Student demonstrated the ability to “distinguish between past perspectives and to shift from one another from a relatively detached point of view”
N/A- Students were not asked to do this in the writing
4) Student incorporates historically relevant evidence and facts.
4- Mathew’s facts and arguments were accurate, historically relevant and on point.
STUDENT 2 SAMPLE- AMELIA
Analysis for Historical Imagination:________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of re-enactment.
5- It is clear that Amelia attempted to adopt the role of an Athenian Prosecutor. She had a clear goal to prove Socrates’ guilt and attempted to use persuasive speech to spin her arguments. We had talked about the Greeks value of rhetoric and she clearly put some of those techniques in her own paper.
For example, in one portion of her argument, she grabbed the audience’s attention by appealing to an Ancient Athenian’s sense of piety to the gods. “The youth of today are our leaders of tomorrow. How can we allow a man who goes against the gods themselves to teach and associated with the still moldable brains of our young ones?”
2) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interpolation.
4- With limited sources, Amelia made educated guesses about what an Athenian Audience would be concerned with. “Socrates chose to tear apart a government that already had damage to it before. He chose to rip it from the roots, and its roots were the youth and religion.” Not only did Amelia touch on the idea of an unstable government and uncertain future, she also used an analogy that Ancient Greeks might understand and associate with
3) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interrogation
4- Amelia took advantage of the possible bias in Plato by questioning its validity in her argument.
Analysis for Historical Empathy:__________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students clearly adopted a historical role different their own perspective. Rate 1-5 and explain why (with evidence).
5- I know from my discussion with Amelia that she was very pro-Socrates. It was therefor impressive to see her adopt an opposite viewpoint and argue for that perspective so passionately.
2) The student’s historical role was bound to a historical context established by secondary and/or primary sources.
4- Amelia attempted to re-create language and arguments that would resonate with an Athenian audience. However, she did reference the modern historian, IF Stone, once.
3) Student demonstrated the ability to “distinguish between past perspectives and to shift from one another from a relatively detached point of view”
N/A
4) Student incorporates historically relevant evidence and facts.
3- Amelia utalized the traditional compelling arguments of the defense. However, her defense against the corruption of the youth charge lacked historical detail. Mentioning the deeds of Critias and Alcibiades would have both bolstered her stated argument that Socrates was a corrupting and dangerous influence
STUDENT 3 SAMPLE- TAMARA
Analysis for Historical Imagination:________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of re-enactment.
2-Tamara did not fully adopt a specific Athenian voice. While she was assigned to the prosecution, she also included arguments for the defense. For example, she was on the right track in the introduction “As the prosecution, I find this man guilty. He is guilty of Impiety…”. However, at the end of her paper, Tamara presented an argument that clearly damaged the argument of her adopted role, “Socrates is wiser than any of the others, because he is aware of his own ignorance and they are not”
2) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interpolation.
1- Tamara listed arguments stated in the sources. She did not make any intellectual leaps where there were holes in the sources. For example, as part of the prosecution she should have argued that the case stories of Critias and Alcibiades suggest that Socrates had a corrupting, or possibly an anti-democratic influence.
3) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interrogation.
1- Tamara did not interrogate the validity of the Apology. As part of the prosecution, attacking the source’s bias could have only helped her case. Instead, her arguments were lifted directly from The Apology. She did not necessarily recognize that she needed to refute the arguments of the source. I would guess that her mistake came from misreading or not fully comprehending the text itself.
Analysis for Historical Empathy:__________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students clearly adopted a historical role different their own perspective. Rate 1-5 and explain why (with evidence).
2- I know that Tamara believed in Socrates' innocence, so her prosecution role clearly differed from her own perspective. However, her paper’s arguments were unsupported by evidence and/or logic. They were listed rather than explained. In one instance, Tamara quoted a portion of The Apology that merely reiterated that fact Socrates was accused of a crime. In the conclusion, Tamara ended with a sentence about Socrates’ wisdom that clearly supported the opposing side.
2) The student’s historical role was bound to a historical context established by secondary and/or primary sources.
2- Tamara attempted to create a formal “Athenian” tone but she occasionally used phrases that interrupted the argument. For example, “Socrates would ask people so many questions that their heads would mentally blow up”. The quote refers to a brief clip we watched on the Socratic method. I would have liked to see her use an analogy or metaphor that would be suited for an ancient Athenian audience.
Tamara, as well as about 4 other students, focused on Socrates’ sexuality as a way to imply guilt. While we talked about Socrates possible sexual relationships with some of his male students, I emphasized that this aspect of his life was not necessarily a concern of the Athenian jury. The possibility that Alcibiades and Socrates had a romantic relationship was only important in that the relationship demonstrated Socrates’ possible intellectual influence over Alcibiades. The intellectual influence could have encouraged him to defect to Sparta. Tamara, however, did not make that connection. “He says he loves Athens but did things to disgrace it. He was involved in a love relationship with one of his students. The most famous one of them all is Alcibiades.” She instead attempts to defame Socrates on the basis that he was possibly gay.
3) Student demonstrated the ability to “distinguish between past perspectives and to shift from one another from a relatively detached point of view”
N/A
4) Student incorporates historically relevant evidence and facts.
2- Tamara incorporated historically relevant evidence and facts but did not thoughtfully analyze the information. Her incorrect use of The Apology implies that she misunderstood the text. To successfully incorporate the evidence she would have needed to highlight The Apology as an inaccurate text, and primarily emphasize the arguments of IF Stone.
FULL GROUP ANALYSIS
Analysis for Historical Imagination:________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of re-enactment.
3- Mathew is one of the highest achievers in the class. His writing skills are well-beyond his peers. However, he struggled to fully commit to a “re-enactment”. Occasionally, he would approach the writing too academically, failing to understand the mindset of an Athenian. For example his introduction was presented in a historian’s perspective.
“In ancient Greece, the sciences and arts flourished under a democracy in one of the most famous city-states, Athens. One of the most major subjects that spread throughout Athens like a wildfire was philosophy. Philosophy was mostly able to prosper due to a single teacher, Socrates. Known for his wisdom and power in government, Socrates questioned society, authority, and noble men, making them doubt their position of power. It was because of Socrates annoying behavior in society that had him end up going to court, with accusations coming from multiple people”
While the above is all accurate information, he did not present it from the perspective of an Ancient Athenian.
2) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interpolation.
4-Mathew made an intellectual leap about the Socrates’ choice to remain in Athens during the thirty tyrants. He identified a possible motive for Socrates that was also extremely relevant at the time of the actual trial. The below excerpt demonstrates this interpolation technique and also highlights one of the few incidences in the paper when Mathew embraced his character as an Athenian Prosecutor.
“From this statement, it is clear that when darkness had covered Athens, and democracy died, Socrates continued to bask in his glory and success of destroying the Athenian democracy and society. Why did Socrates stay in Athens and not leave in a time of danger and evil? He stayed because he finally received what he questioned. His actions only revealed to the world how evil his intentions were and what an awful citizen of Athens he proved to be.”
3) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interrogation
4- Mathew quoted the Apology multiple times. He recognized that the source was biased and used quotes that helped his argument.
Analysis of Historical Empathy:__________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students clearly adopted a historical role different their own perspective. Rate 1-5 and explain why (with evidence).
3- While Mathew eventually adopted the character of an Athenian Prosecutor towards the end of his paper, a majority of his writing was academic in tone. He quoted the sources rather than use them as sources to build his own argument.
“ ‘When the Thirty Tyrants took power, they murdered or drove out of the city all who were of the democratic party. A few months later, the moderates who had originally supported the Thirty Tyrants began to flee…’ (An Interview with I.F Stone) According to this quote found in an interview with an ancient Greek expert, I.F Stone…”
Mathew included a thoughtful analysis that does not necessarily adopt a perspective different from his own. His extensive experience in academic writing may be hindering him in this creative writing assignment. That being said he does occasionally get into the character of an Athenian Prosecutor (See Historical Imagination Question 1)
2) The student’s historical role was bound to a historical context established by secondary and/or primary sources.
2- While Mathew occasionally adopted the character, he clearly struggled with confining his speech to the historical context. I emphasized in class how to limit a perspective to a context with an example, highlighting that an Athenian would not write about a person being ‘gay’ because their ideas of sexuality did coincide with our modern day understandings. Mathew did not use the sexuality argument but he did use anachronisms like “Father of Western Philosophy” and “Ancient Greece”. He discussed sources completely outside of the era. He specifically identified and discusseed the works of modern historian, IF Stone
3) Student demonstrated the ability to “distinguish between past perspectives and to shift from one another from a relatively detached point of view”
N/A- Students were not asked to do this in the writing
4) Student incorporates historically relevant evidence and facts.
4- Mathew’s facts and arguments were accurate, historically relevant and on point.
STUDENT 2 SAMPLE- AMELIA
Analysis for Historical Imagination:________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of re-enactment.
5- It is clear that Amelia attempted to adopt the role of an Athenian Prosecutor. She had a clear goal to prove Socrates’ guilt and attempted to use persuasive speech to spin her arguments. We had talked about the Greeks value of rhetoric and she clearly put some of those techniques in her own paper.
For example, in one portion of her argument, she grabbed the audience’s attention by appealing to an Ancient Athenian’s sense of piety to the gods. “The youth of today are our leaders of tomorrow. How can we allow a man who goes against the gods themselves to teach and associated with the still moldable brains of our young ones?”
2) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interpolation.
4- With limited sources, Amelia made educated guesses about what an Athenian Audience would be concerned with. “Socrates chose to tear apart a government that already had damage to it before. He chose to rip it from the roots, and its roots were the youth and religion.” Not only did Amelia touch on the idea of an unstable government and uncertain future, she also used an analogy that Ancient Greeks might understand and associate with
3) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interrogation
4- Amelia took advantage of the possible bias in Plato by questioning its validity in her argument.
Analysis for Historical Empathy:__________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students clearly adopted a historical role different their own perspective. Rate 1-5 and explain why (with evidence).
5- I know from my discussion with Amelia that she was very pro-Socrates. It was therefor impressive to see her adopt an opposite viewpoint and argue for that perspective so passionately.
2) The student’s historical role was bound to a historical context established by secondary and/or primary sources.
4- Amelia attempted to re-create language and arguments that would resonate with an Athenian audience. However, she did reference the modern historian, IF Stone, once.
3) Student demonstrated the ability to “distinguish between past perspectives and to shift from one another from a relatively detached point of view”
N/A
4) Student incorporates historically relevant evidence and facts.
3- Amelia utalized the traditional compelling arguments of the defense. However, her defense against the corruption of the youth charge lacked historical detail. Mentioning the deeds of Critias and Alcibiades would have both bolstered her stated argument that Socrates was a corrupting and dangerous influence
STUDENT 3 SAMPLE- TAMARA
Analysis for Historical Imagination:________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of re-enactment.
2-Tamara did not fully adopt a specific Athenian voice. While she was assigned to the prosecution, she also included arguments for the defense. For example, she was on the right track in the introduction “As the prosecution, I find this man guilty. He is guilty of Impiety…”. However, at the end of her paper, Tamara presented an argument that clearly damaged the argument of her adopted role, “Socrates is wiser than any of the others, because he is aware of his own ignorance and they are not”
2) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interpolation.
1- Tamara listed arguments stated in the sources. She did not make any intellectual leaps where there were holes in the sources. For example, as part of the prosecution she should have argued that the case stories of Critias and Alcibiades suggest that Socrates had a corrupting, or possibly an anti-democratic influence.
3) Students demonstrated the historical imagination concept of interrogation.
1- Tamara did not interrogate the validity of the Apology. As part of the prosecution, attacking the source’s bias could have only helped her case. Instead, her arguments were lifted directly from The Apology. She did not necessarily recognize that she needed to refute the arguments of the source. I would guess that her mistake came from misreading or not fully comprehending the text itself.
Analysis for Historical Empathy:__________________________________________
The below criteria are rated on a scale of 1-5 and included narrative explanations.
1= being did not demonstrate the skill
5= being exceeded expectations in their ability to demonstrate the skill.
1) Students clearly adopted a historical role different their own perspective. Rate 1-5 and explain why (with evidence).
2- I know that Tamara believed in Socrates' innocence, so her prosecution role clearly differed from her own perspective. However, her paper’s arguments were unsupported by evidence and/or logic. They were listed rather than explained. In one instance, Tamara quoted a portion of The Apology that merely reiterated that fact Socrates was accused of a crime. In the conclusion, Tamara ended with a sentence about Socrates’ wisdom that clearly supported the opposing side.
2) The student’s historical role was bound to a historical context established by secondary and/or primary sources.
2- Tamara attempted to create a formal “Athenian” tone but she occasionally used phrases that interrupted the argument. For example, “Socrates would ask people so many questions that their heads would mentally blow up”. The quote refers to a brief clip we watched on the Socratic method. I would have liked to see her use an analogy or metaphor that would be suited for an ancient Athenian audience.
Tamara, as well as about 4 other students, focused on Socrates’ sexuality as a way to imply guilt. While we talked about Socrates possible sexual relationships with some of his male students, I emphasized that this aspect of his life was not necessarily a concern of the Athenian jury. The possibility that Alcibiades and Socrates had a romantic relationship was only important in that the relationship demonstrated Socrates’ possible intellectual influence over Alcibiades. The intellectual influence could have encouraged him to defect to Sparta. Tamara, however, did not make that connection. “He says he loves Athens but did things to disgrace it. He was involved in a love relationship with one of his students. The most famous one of them all is Alcibiades.” She instead attempts to defame Socrates on the basis that he was possibly gay.
3) Student demonstrated the ability to “distinguish between past perspectives and to shift from one another from a relatively detached point of view”
N/A
4) Student incorporates historically relevant evidence and facts.
2- Tamara incorporated historically relevant evidence and facts but did not thoughtfully analyze the information. Her incorrect use of The Apology implies that she misunderstood the text. To successfully incorporate the evidence she would have needed to highlight The Apology as an inaccurate text, and primarily emphasize the arguments of IF Stone.
FULL GROUP ANALYSIS