CLASS 3676

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  • Schedule of Classes - January 9, 2020 9:13AM EST
  • Course Catalog - January 9, 2020 9:14AM EST

CLASS 3676
Ancient Political Thought

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2019-2020.

Ancient political debates about democracy, empire, and justice appear in late fifth-century BCE Athenian dramatic, historical, and philosophical literatures composed against the backdrop of the 27-year Peloponnesian War over the control of Greece (which Athens lost). Reading selected tragedies of Euripides, comedies of Aristophanes, and philosophical dialogues of Plato, in combination with the history of Thucydides, this course retraces, explores, and interrogates these texts' complex, provocative, and surprisingly relevant arguments for and against the pursuit of equality (democracy), security (war and imperialism), goodness (aretê from "excellence" to "virtue"), and fairness (justice), and their often unexpected results in practice. All the readings for this course are in English and there are no prerequisites.

When Offered Fall.

Breadth Requirement (HB)
Distribution Category (KCM-AS)

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Syllabi: none

  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: GOVT 3736

  • 4 Credits Graded

  • 16722 CLASS 3676   LEC 001

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