Kirk Ormand

CLAS 103:  History of Greece

King 105c; x8394

 

Office Hours:  T 11-1; W 2:30-4:30; and by appt.

Fall, 2002

 

Purpose:  In this course we will survey the history of ancient Greece, covering roughly 3000 years.  Although traditional military and political history will have its share in this class, we will also consider (perhaps more than is usual) social, cultural, and family history.  Needless to say, there is too much material to discuss in great depth, and by necessity we will focus to a large degree on the archaic (700-500 BCE) and Classical (500-323 BCE) periods.

 

Because the discipline of western History has it roots in classical Greece, we will also spend some time and energy discussing what history is, and what its methods, limits, goals, achievements are.  We will be particularly concerned with the problem of sources, both for time periods where written sources are scarce (e.g. the Bronze age) and for marginalized classes of people in better-documented periods (e.g., slaves, women, and resident aliens).

 

Grading:  Your final grade will be determined as follows:

1) Three very short papers.   I drop the lowest grade, and the remaining two are each 25% of your grade.

2) Midterm: 20%

3) Final: 20%

4) Attendance and active participation in discussion: 10%

 

Papers: Due to the large number of students in this class, I will be rotating the paper assignments (1/3 of you will have papers due in any given week).   This makes timely completion of your papers crucial.  Late papers will be graded down one step (A to A-; A- to B+, etc.) for each day late.  If you know that you cannot meet a paper deadline, please try to negotiate an extension with me ahead of time.  Your odds will be better the earlier you start the negotiation process, relative to the deadline.

 

Attendance:  For the duration of this semester and for the purposes of this class, we are a community of scholars.  Please plan to attend every class session.  Please also consider that reading the assignment before class is an integral part of attending. Note: If you miss a class, it is your responsibility (not mine) to make sure that you learn what you missed.  Tests will cover material from the reading and from lecture/discussion, at my discretion.

 

Academic Honesty:  In the unlikely event that a student is found to have engaged in academic dishonesty (cheating, helping other students to cheat, plagiarism) he/she will automatically fail the course.  I will also report the transgression to the Honor Board, who may enact further penalties.  If any student is unclear as to what may be considered plagiarism, cheating, etc., please speak to me about it.

 


Syllabus

 

Sept. 4

Introduction; Syllabus; Some thoughts on what constitutes History, and what is unique about ancient History

 

6

Ancient Greece Ch. 1, pp.1-20; Herodotus Bk.1, sections 1-25 (pp. 3-12)

 

9

Ancient Greece ch. 1, pp. 21-end; Plutarch Theseus

 

11

E. Vermeule, from Greece in the Bronze Age, section 1 (available on E-res)

 

13

E. Vermeule, from Greece in the Bronze Age, section 2

 

16

Classes cancelled in observance of Yom Kippur

 

18

Ancient Greece, ch.2

 

20

Morris, from Archaeology as Cultural History (available on E-res), pp 195-238

Paper 1 Due

Athenians

23

Morris, from Archaeology as Cultural History, pp. 239-end; Blundell, Women in Ancient Greece, Part I pp.47-62

 

25

Ancient Greece, ch. 3

 

27

Ancient Greece, ch. 5

Paper 1 Due

Spartans

30

Herodotus, Bk 1, section 26 to end; Bk. 5, sections 63-end

 

Oct. 2

Plutarch, Solon

 

4

Osborne, Archaic & Classical Greek Art, ch. 2

Paper 1 Due

Thebans

7

Blundell, Women in Ancient Greece, Part II

 

9

Herodotus, Bk. 6

 

10 (Thurs)

Talk by Carolyn Dewald @ 4:30.  Extra credit for attending.

 

11

Plutarch, Themistocles; World-famous scholar Carolyn Dewald will join our class today.

Paper 2 Due

Athenians

14

Herodotus, Bk. 7

 

16

Herodotus, Bk. 8

 

18

Midterm

 

21-25

No Class – Fall Break

 

28

Thucydides, Bk. 1

 

30

Ancient Greece Ch. 6

 

Nov. 1

Ancient Greece Ch. 7

Paper 2 Due

Spartans

4

Halperin, from One Hundred Years of Homosexuality (E-res)

 

6

Osborne, Archaic and Classical Greek Art, Ch. 8

 

8

Lefkowitz & Fant, Women’s Lives in Greece and Rome (E-res); Blundell,, Women in Ancient Greece, Part III, pp. 95-130

Paper 2 Due

Thebans

11

Aristophanes, Acharnians

 

13

Ancient Greece, Ch. 8

 

15

Thucydides II 34-55 (Pericles’ Funeral oration; The Plague)

Paper 3 Due

Athenians

18

Thucydides III:36-50, 69-85;  IV:27-41, 102-108

 

20

Thucydides V:6-11, 84-116;  281-290, 350-355 VI:1-93,

 

22

Thucydides VII:10-18, 55-57, 71-87 VIII:1-14, 40-41, 51-103

Paper 3 Due

Spartans

25

Plutarch, Pericles

 

27

Aristophanes, Lysistrata

 

29

Class Cancelled – Day after Thanksgiving

 

Dec. 2

Osborne, Ch. 9

 

4

Ancient Greece, ch. 9

 

6

Blundell, Women in Ancien tGreece, Part III pp. 130-170

Paper 3 Due

Thebans

9

Ancient Greece, Ch. 10

 

11

Ancient Greece, Ch. 11

 

13

Achieve closure; Truth revealed.

 

14-16

So called “Reading Period”

 

Tuesday, Dec. 17,

7:00 pm

 

Final exam