Ancient Mediterranean Studies
Course Atlas for Fall 2008
ANC MED 101 – Introduction to Ancient Mediterranean Studies
Instructor: TBA MAX: 30
This course offers an introduction to the great range of ancient cultures that flourished around the Mediterranean Sea thousands of years ago. We will read the poems, stories and letters written by ancient Egyptians, Hittites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Greeks and Romans to learn how these cultures adapted in many different ways to the rich Mediterranean environment. We will also examine the abundant art, architecture and artifacts that these cultures left behind them as material testimony to how they led their lives. Themes covered in the class will include the growth of the first cities, states, and empires; the development of writing and the first written histories; and the impact of the exchange of ideas and materials across the Mediterranean.
ANC MED 202S: Literature and Traditions - Socrates on Trial
Instructors: Bracht Branham/ Steven Strange, TuTh 11:30 -12:45 MAX: 18
Content: This course will focus on the notorious "Socratic Question" - who was the historical Socrates? What did he stand for, and how did he practice philosophy, which he founded? Last but not least, why did the citizens of Athens sentence him to death? We will explore the representations of Socrates in the writings of Plato, Xenophon, and old Comedy, and will conclude with a reenactment of Socrates' trial and a screening of Roberto Rossellini's 1970 film about Socrates. The course will involve both philosophical and literary approaches.
Note: This course satisfies GER requirement IV.4 as well as the upper-level seminar requirement.
Particulars: In-class essays, oral presentations, and participation, final exam
Texts:
Cooper, ed. Plato: Complete Works
Waterfield, ed. Xenophon's Conversations of Socrates
Aristophanes, Clouds, transl. K. McLeish (to be distributed)
Stone, The Trial of Socrates