CLAS115 PO - The Politics of Persuasion in Democratic Athens

When Offered: Last offered spring 2019.
Instructor(s): B. Keim
Credit: 1

Argument was the beating heart of Athens’ radical democracy. Whether within the Assembly and law courts or out on the Street, Athenians were constantly arguing about their shared values and the political implications of those values. In this course we will read selections from contemporary authors (including Aristophanes, Thucydides, Xenophon, Lysias, and Demosthenes) as we explore the robust rhetoric and the real results of these democratic debates within classical Athens (ca. 594-322 B.C.E.). There will be a strong emphasis on critical engagement with texts and contexts drawn from across the Athenian experience as well as their modern scholarly reception. Letter grade only.

Satisfies the following General Education Requirement(s), subject to conditions explained in the Degree Requirements section of this Catalog:
Area 1; Speaking Intensive