ISI Faculty Resource Center

The following books are available at the bookstore and should be purchased by every student enrolled in this course:

1. Four Texts on Socrates: Plato's Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, and Aristophanes' Clouds, ed. and tr. Thomas G. West and Grace Starry West (Cornell): 978-0801485749
2. The Complete Greek Tragedies: Euripides Five (Chicago): 978-0226307848
3. M. M. Austin & P. Vidal-Naquet, Economic and Social History of Ancient Greece (California): 978-0520042674
4. Aristotle, The Politics, ed. and tr. Peter Simpson (North Carolina): 978-0807846377
5. Aristotle and Xenophon on Democracy and Oligarchy, ed. J. M. Moore (California): 9780520029095
6. Xenophon, The Persian Expedition, tr. Warner & Xuequin (Penguin): 978-0140440072
7. Plutarch, Lives of the Noble Greeks (Oxford): 978-0192825018
8. Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges, The Ancient City (Dover): 978-0486447308
9. Paul A. Rahe, Republics Ancient and Modern: The Ancien Régime in Classical Greece (North Carolina): 978-0807844731
10. Adam Ferguson, An Essay on the History of Civil Society (Cambridge): 978-0521447362
11. Mack Walker, German Home Towns (Cornell): 978-0801485084

• In the course of the term, students enrolled in History 393-01-07FA: will be expected to take two preliminary examinations and a final and to write two typed, double-spaced, 1500-word papers. The first preliminary examination will be held in class on the Wednesday of Week VI; the second preliminary examination will be held in class on the Wednesday of Week XI. The first paper will be due at 9 a.m. on the Monday of Week XIII; the second paper will be due at 3 p.m. on the Friday of Week XV. Topics will be assigned at least one week prior to the date each paper is due. Completed papers should be placed in my pigeonhole outside Kendall 214: Submission as an e-mail attachment is not acceptable. To avoid difficulties that may arise if a paper is somehow misplaced, students are expected to photocopy their papers before turning them in and to retain a copy for their own records.

• This will be a discussion course, not a lecture course. Classroom attendance is not mandatory but students absent from class or otherwise unwilling or unable to participate in the discussion will be penalized. Late arrival for class will not be tolerated. Each student is expected to have done the assigned reading for each and every class on time; each student is expected to have written out for each and every class two questions of significance to which the reading has drawn attention. From time to time, in an utterly arbitrary fashion, these questions will be collected, read, and graded.

• Students arriving for class who have not done the reading and do not have the pertinent questions in hand will be asked to leave class on that day. To compute the term grade, the instructor will average the examination grades, the paper grades, and a grade assigned for participation in discussion. In assigning each student a grade for participation in discussion, he will take into consideration both whether the student has arrived in class with the required questions written out and the quality of those questions. I grade on a scale from 0 to 100 and assign letter grades in the following fashion: A (90-100); B (80-89); C (70-79); D (60-69); F (0-59). Although I do not fix a curve, my grading practices require both excellence and consistent effort to gain the grade A. Average work gets the average grade: a C. As indicated on the last two pages of this syllabus, in grading your papers, I will pay close attention to style as well as to content. In judging the substance of what you have to say in your papers and your examinations, I will pay close attention to two questions: whether you have mastered the information presented, and whether you have demonstrated a critical, historical understanding of that information. The examinations are designed to enable me to answer these two questions.

• In ordinary circumstances, no incompletes will be given, and no make-up examinations will be administered. Any student found guilty of plagiarizing or of cheating on any examination will be given a failing grade in the course and will be reported to the proper authorities. Such behavior can result in dismissal from the College. It is the student’s responsibility to know and to abide by both the college’s Academic Honor Policy (spelled out in detail in the college catalogue) and the College Honor Code: A College student is honorable in conduct, honest in word and deed, dutiful in study and service, and respectful of the rights of others. Through education the student rises to self-government.

• Incapacitating illness or serious family problems (such as the sudden death of a close relative) are the only grounds excusing a late paper. I will ask to see written evidence that you were under the care of a physician or the equivalent (such as an obituary). If you cannot complete your work on time, you must contact me before the work is due. Leave a note, e-mail me, or call. Unexcused lateness in completing work will result in a penalty of one-half of a letter grade per day.

 

The Greek City

Week I: 20-25 August

1. No Class: Registration

2. Introductory Meeting:

• Rahe, Republics Ancient and Modern Prologue
• Fustel de Coulanges, Introduction, Book First
• Poetry and the Critique of Philosophy

Week II: 27-31 August

1. Plato's Apology of Socrates; Fustel de Coulanges, Book Second 2; Fragments of Xenophanes (Handout)

• Aristophanes, The Clouds
• Philosophy and the City

Week III: 3-7 September

1. Labor Day: No Class

2. Plato's Apology of Socrates

• Fustel de Coulanges, Book Third I-VIII
• Religion and the Polis

Week IV: 10-14 September

1. Euripides, The Bacchae

2. Austin/Vidal-Naquet Part I, Chapter 1; Part II, Chapter 1

• The Origins of the Polis

Week V: 17-21 September

1. Austin/Vidal-Naquet Part I, Chapters 2-3; Part II, Chapters 2-3

• Fustel de Coulanges, Book Third: IX-XVII
• Sparta: I

2. Austin/Vidal-Naquet Part I, Chapter 4; Part II, Chapter 4

• James Madison, The Federalist No. 10 (on reserve)
• Rahe, Republics Ancient and Modern Chapters 2-3

Week VI: 24-28 September

1. Plutarch, Lycurgus (in Lives of the Noble Greeks)

• Fustel de Coulanges, 216-231, 239-253, 261-270, 309-320, 335-343

Rahe, Republics Ancient and Modern Chapter 5

2. First Preliminary Examination

• Sparta: II

Week VII: 1-5 October

1. Aristotle, The Politics Book II

• Xenophon, The Politeia of the Spartans (from J. M. Moore)
• Plato, The Republic 543a-553e, tr. Bloom (on reserve)

2. Adam Ferguson, An Essay on the History of Civil Society Part I: Sections II-VI, VIII-IX; Part III: Sections V-VIII; Part IV: Sections I-IV; Part V: Sections III-V; Part VI: Sections II-IV

• Rahe, Republics Ancient and Modern Chapter 6
• Athens: I

Week VIII: 8-12 October

1. Austin/Vidal-Naquet Part I, Chapter 5; Part II, Chapter 5

2. Rahe, Republics Ancient and Modern Chapter 7

• Fustel de Coulanges, 231-234, 253-257, 270-275, 304-8.
• Athens: II

Week IX: 15-19 October

1. Plutarch, Life of Solon (in Lives of the Noble Greeks)

• Aristotle, The Constitution of Athens I-XXVIII (in J. M. Moore)
• Xenophon, The Constitution of the Athenians (in J. M. Moore)

2. Plato, The Republic 553e-569c, tr. Bloom (on reserve)

• Thucydides Book I, para. 68-71, Book II, para. 34-65 (on reserve)
• Fustel de Coulanges, 320-328
• The Primacy of Politics

Week X: 22-26 October

1. Rahe, Republics Ancient and Modern Chapter 1

2. Aristotle, The Politics Book I

• Citizenship

Week XI: 29 October -2 November

1. Aristotle, The Politics Book III

2. Second Preliminary Examination

• Man as a Political Animal: I

Week XII: 5-9 November

1. Xenophon, The Anabasis (The Persian Expedition) I-III

2. Xenophon, The Anabasis (The Persian Expedition) IV-V

• Man as a Political Animal: II

Week XIII: 12-16 November

1. Xenophon, The Anabasis (The Persian Expedition) VI-VII

2. Fustel de Coulanges, Book Fifth

• Politics and Moral Education: I

Week XIV: 19-23 November

1. Austin/Vidal-Naquet Part I, Chapter 6; Part II, Chapter 6

• Rahe, Republics Ancient and Modern Chapter 4

2. Thanksgiving Break: No Class

• Politics and Moral Education: II

Week XV: 26-30 November

1. Austin/Vidal-Naquet Part I, Chapter 7; Part II, Chapter 7

2. Aristotle, The Politics Book IV

Week XVI: 3-7 December 1

1. Aristotle, The Politics Book V

• Rahe, Republics Ancient and Modern Epilogue

2. No Class: Final Exams Begin

• The Final Reckoning

Week XVII: 10-14 December

1. The Final Examination: Thursday, 6 December, 1:00 p.m., Lane 123

 

GRADING CRITERIA FOR PAPERS

The following are guidelines that I will follow in grading your papers.

In order to earn an A, a paper has to satisfy all of the following criteria:

• A It must demonstrate a solid understanding of the meaning and significance of the pertinent historical evidence or document(s), a mastery of the arguments advanced in the lectures and discussions and in the reading assigned, and a grasp of other pertinent elements present in the evidence or the text(s) under scrutiny. It must embody a relevant, coherent, and well-argued response to the material under examination. It must evidence an understanding of the subtle points in the reading and a sustained effort to think critically about them. It must demonstrate sensitivity to conceptual nuances and counter-arguments introduced in the reading and discussions. It must contain very, very few (if any) misspellings, grammatical errors, or other mechanical problems. Grades lower than an A (90-100) signify a failure to satisfy any one (or more) of the above criteria. Lower grades will be assigned according to the following guidelines (any one of the following will be sufficient reason for assigning the corresponding letter grade or number grade within the range designated): B (80-90), C (70-80), D (60-70), F (under 60).

• B No major misunderstanding of the reading, but some minor misunderstandings: vagueness, imprecision, minor errors of interpretation, insufficiently critical treatment of the evidence, etc. Some weakness in the response: dogmatic or uncritical assertion, begging the question,

blurring some distinctions, irrelevancy, invalidity, inconsistency, missing the point slightly, considering only weak counter-arguments. Understood the main points of the reading, but evidenced only adequate effort in thinking critically about them. Some insensitivity to issues raised in the readings. More than one or two misspellings, grammatical errors, or other mechanical problems. Clearly did the reading, but not with full attention and care.

• C Some major misunderstandings of the claims, arguments, or conceptual distinctions advanced in the reading or discussion. A response that is in significant ways irrelevant, incoherent, or poorly argued. Attributing to the authors claims they explicitly deny, or which contradict other of their views. Attributing to authors conclusions that do not follow from their views. Failure to give a critical response: failing to consider counter-arguments found in the readings; mere summary or description instead of analysis; assertion instead of argument; uncritical assessment of evidence.

Quite a number of misspellings, grammatical errors, or other mechanical problems. One or more sentences that are incomprehensible as written. Unclear how much work was put into the assignment, or whether all of the reading was completed. May have just picked up arguments from class and a superficial reading.

• D Partial failure to address the requirements of the assignment. Unacceptable brevity. Little awareness demonstrated of the structure and significance of the major arguments contained in the reading. Partial ignorance of the pertinent evidence. Inadequate understanding of the pertinent evidence. An unacceptable number of misspellings, grammatical errors, or other mechanical problems. An unacceptable number of sentences that are incomprehensible as written. Clearly an inadequate amount of effort put into the assignment.

• F More or less complete failure to address the requirements of the assignment. Gross ignorance of the pertinent evidence. Completely uncritical treatment of the evidence. Virtually no awareness demonstrated of the structure and significance of the major arguments contained in the reading. Insulting brevity. An insulting number of misspellings, grammatical errors, or other mechanical problems. Little or no genuine effort put into the assignment. A number grade of “0” will be given to papers that are not handed in at all. F for course: Plagiarized work.