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Campus | Bryn Mawr |
Semester | Fall 2020 |
Registration ID | GREKB201001 |
Course Title | Plato and Thucydides |
Credit | 1.00 |
Department | Classical Languages |
Instructor | Edmonds,Radcliffe |
Times and Days | MTh 04:10pm-05:30pm
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Room Location | |
Additional Course Info | Class Number: 2174 This course is designed to introduce the student to two of the greatest prose authors of ancient Greece, the philosopher, Plato, and the historian, Thucydides. These two writers set the terms in the disciplines of philosophy and history for millennia, and philosophers and historians today continue to grapple with their ideas and influence. The brilliant and controversial statesman Alcibiades provides a link between the two texts in this course (Plato’s Symposium and Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War), and we examine the ways in which both authors handle the figure of Alcibiades as a point of entry into the comparison of the varying styles and modes of thought of these two great writers. Suggested Prerequisites: At least 2 years of college Greek or the equivalent.; Through this course, students should improve their fluency with standard Attic prose and gain an appreciation of the complexities and nuances of Greek style in the texts of two of the greatest prose writers of ancient Greece, the philosopher, Plato, and the historian, Thucydides. Students should also increase their understanding of the cultural context in which these texts were produced, as well as of the scholarly tradition that has engaged with these texts for over two millennia. These two writers set the terms in the disciplines of philosophy and history for millennia, and philosophers and historians today continue to grapple with their ideas and influence. Plato’s Symposium (or Drinking Party) provides an engaging introduction to the philosophy of Plato in its depiction of Plato’s teacher, Socrates, discussing erotic love at an Athenian drinking party. The Symposium also reveals Plato’s mastery of the Greek language as he creates the speeches of a number of different individuals. The sixth book of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War is concerned with the beginnings of the Athenian Sicilian expedition, Athens’ greatest disaster in the Peloponnesian War. Approach: Critical Interpretation (CI), Writing Attentive; Haverford: A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts) (A), Humanities (HU) This course will be taught in-person if conditions permit, but students may also take the class remotely. Instruction will generally involve synchronous meetings during the allotted course time, with some asynchronous instruction as needed. |
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