CLAS 201-01: Classics Seminar: Tyrants, Assassins, and Demagogues: Seizing Power
in Ancient Greece (.5 Credit)
MEETING DAYS,
TIMES, AND PLACE:
TTh,
3:30-4:45, Wallace 115, for the
first half of the semester
INSTRUCTOR
INFORMATION:
Dr. Robert
Holschuh Simmons
Office:
21 Wallace Hall
Office Phone:
309-457-2378
E-mail:
rsimmons@monmouthcollege.edu
Office Hours:
Monday-Friday 11-11:50 AM, and by appointment.
PREREQUISITES:
None
FOR WHOM
PLANNED:
This course is
designed for anyone interested in the world of ancient Greece and/or in ways in
which Greeks rose to power that continue to resonate in the modern world.
While Classics majors and minors should find this course something for
which they are particularly well-prepared, thoughtful students in any major can
succeed in this course. It will be
particularly well-suited for students who are willing to be intellectually
active in their analysis of the works under study, and who can recognize the
implications of those analyses for our contemporary world.
COURSE
DESCRIPTION:
While
classical Athens gained fame as the world’s first democracy, it was not always
that way, and even when it was, that democracy was not always tidy.
Long before democracy took root in Athens, that city-state and many
others in Greece were dominated by tyrants, leaders who came to power by
unconstitutional means. One way to
remove a tyrant was to plot and carry out his death; one such assassination was
the step Athens took before moving into democracy.
After decades of that democracy, leaders called demagogues unsettled
elite Athenians by making their political appeals directly to common Athenians.
One result: two attempts to overthrow the democracy, one of which
resulted in a civil war. In short,
Greece in general, and Athens in particular, was a bastion of political
experimentation and turmoil, which we will study in this course.
The reading material will include segments of the histories of Herodotus
and Thucydides, the Old Oligarch’s
Constitution of the Athenians, and Aristophanes’
Lysistrata and
Assemblywomen.
The class’s culminating project will be a researched term paper.
This class can fulfill partial
requirements for a major in Classics,
Latin, or Greek.
One caution:
this course will be dealing with a
number of topics that were prominent parts of Greek life through the centuries,
some of which may make certain people uncomfortable.
Among things that may make some students uncomfortable about our
readings, video clips (if I end up showing any), and other ideas presented
and/or discussed in class are the following: violent behavior in the readings
and in some video clips (again, if I decide to show any); depictions of male and
female nudity in ancient vase paintings; portrayals of ancient slavery in our
readings; and ancient stereotypes of sexes and cultures that come up in
readings, which we will discuss in class.
While I will do my best to make our discussions inclusive, kind, and
academic, some of the content of this course may not be ideal for students who
are particularly sensitive to the sorts of matters mentioned above.
If you take issue with any of the material or discussions in this course,
please contact me.
STUDENT
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Upon
successful completion
of this
course,
students
should
be
able to do the following, and
more:
1)
Understand the Greek senses of tyranny and demagogy, and how those systems of
leadership came into place in ancient Greece.
2)
Examine
social, cultural, and historical factors influencing the institution and
development of tyranny and demagogy in ancient Greece.
3)
Know several of the primary sources (mostly written, but also some visual) from
which we can come to understand tyranny and demagogy in ancient Greece as we do,
and that depict challenges to and seizures of power in other ways as well.
4)
Analyze those primary sources in speech and writing to understand them as
documents of their times and cultural contexts.
5)
Explain
connections and overlaps between tyranny, demagogy, and democracy in the ancient
and modern worlds.
RELEVANT CLASSICS
STUDENT
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1)
Think critically about the Classical World, including knowing what questions to
ask and how to answer them.
3) Know the broad overview of Greek and
Roman history (the difference between
the Republic and Imperial periods, for example), the values prevailing within
each culture and period, and the factors that led to changes in the political,
social, and economic structures.
4) Be familiar with Classical
literature, including the major authors, genres, groupings, and relationship of
literature to history and culture.
5) Understand the role of Classics
in the modern world.
EVALUATION AND
GRADING:
PREPARATION
AND PARTICIPATION:
This will be a
highly active and interactive class.
We will be spending a lot of time talking and writing about the things we
have read and otherwise learned for, and in, class.
Thus it is critical that you be willing to take active part in class,
both intellectually and physically.
To do the best job in carrying out class activities, it will be important for
you to be well prepared for each class.
Thus a significant part of your grade will come from your participation
in class and your preparation for it.
Your grade in this category will be based on a combination of my
observations and notes and your own assessment of your performance in this area.
To help both you and me keep up with your preparation and participation
throughout the semester, you will have your own Preparation and Participation
(P&P) folder that contains a self-assessment instrument. At the beginning
of each class, you will write in a score for yourself for your level of
preparation for the class, and at the end of each class period, you will assess
your participation based on your engagement in class, the quantity and quality
of your contributions to class discussion, etc. I will review your
self-assessments and, if needed, alter them to reflect my assessment of your
participation based on observation and evidence. At one or more points in
the class, you may need to provide an overall assessment of your preparation and
participation based on your daily logs.
At the end of the term, I will average the daily scores, consider your
written assessments, and incorporate my own observations to determine your final
Preparation and Participation grade.
Attendance:
Because attendance is crucial to your success, and because our class meetings
are where a great deal of the course’s value comes, I will hold you to a high
standard of attendance.
You may
occasionally, however, need to miss a class for illness or other reasons.
Thus you will not be penalized
for your first two absences, whatever the reason for them.
If you miss more than two classes, however, your grade or status in the
class will be affected according to the following parameters:
Normally, the
two-absence cushion should account for matters outside of your control that
would keep you from attending class, so the third one, even if it could be
excusable on its own, serves as the consequence for classes missed previously
that were within your control, and it underscores the importance of your being
present: any absence, for whatever the reason, detracts from your learning in
the class. However, I recognize
that a person can, at times, run into circumstances that can keep her or him out
of class on several occasions without any fault on the student’s part.
If your first two absences were all due to debilitating or contagious
illness, family emergency, mandatory religious obligation, or participation in
an authorized College activity (for any of which I may require documentation), I
will not penalize you for a third absence either, if that also was precipitated
by one of those circumstances. For
absences beyond the first two that you believe should be excused, you should
contact me beforehand if you are in position to know about the absences in
advance (such as if you have a mandatory religious or College obligation); if
the absence is the result of an emergency, you should notify me within three
days of the missed class. Please
speak with me if you have a different reason for your absence that you think may
be excusable. I will be the sole
arbiter as to whether an absence will be considered excused.
Further details:
quizzes and In-Class Writing:
Because it is
critical that people are well-prepared for class in order for the events we will
do in class to work out, I will regularly have you either take a short quiz on
your reading or write for a few minutes in response to the reading; writing
assignments will generally be in response to questions that I have assigned
along with your reading. MISSED
QUIZZES AND WRITING ASSIGNMENTS MAY NOT BE MADE UP, unless you have missed such
an assessment for reasons that were fully justifiable and over which you had no
control. (I will be the one who
determines whether your circumstance justifies any mercy.)
However, I will drop students’ two
lowest scores, including missed assignments, in tabulating their final grade.
term paper AND SUPPORTING ASSIGNMENTS:
This is the
main assessment for this class. For
this analytical paper, you will go through several steps of idea-generating,
research, presentation of information from articles you have found, revision of
your paper, and feedback on it before submitting a final draft for assessment;
you will also need to present the findings of your final draft, in either a
formal or informal setting. The
process of feedback will include a group conference with peers and an individual
conference with the instructor.
Specific requirements and grading criteria for these will be handed out later in
the term.
Grade Breakdown:
Preparation
and participation
20%
Attendance
10%
In-class writing and quizzes
15%
Term paper and supporting assignments
55%
Percentage/Grade Equivalents:
93-100 = A
87-89 = B+
77-79 = C+
67-69 = D+ 59 and below
= F
90-92 = A-
83-86 = B
73-76 = C
63-66 = D
80-82 = B-
70-72 = C-
60-62 = D-
Required Texts
AND OTHER MATERIALS:
Herodotus,
The Histories, translated by Robin
Waterfield (Oxford, 1998).
Thucydides,
The Peloponnesian War, translated by
Steven Lattimore (Hackett, 1998).
Many more
texts that will be posted on Moodle.
course engagement expectations:
This course is scheduled to meet 2 days per week for 75 minutes each for seven
weeks. You should expect to spend on course reading, homework,
memorization, etc. approximately two hours outside of class for every hour in
class. Assigned activities may take each student a different amount of time to
finish; however, the weekly average for all students in the course for those
matters should be 7.5 hours. Intensive studying for exams and preparation
for your project will be in addition to the standard weekly preparation, but
will likely average out to an extra four hours per week.
The time estimates for the course thus break down as follows:
In class activities
2.5 hours
Homework, review of course material, and class preparation
5.0 hours
Intensive studying and preparing for the term paper (averaged out)
4.0 hours
Average per week:
11.5 hours
class behavior Expectations:
To maintain a
classroom environment in which everyone can learn, please show the respect and
courtesy to others that you would expect in turn.
Here are a few of the ways in which you can show respect and courtesy:
·
Be in your
seat on time for class, and remain for the duration of each class.
·
Have a
notebook, pen, and relevant materials out and ready to use throughout class.
·
Be ready to
answer questions about the day’s homework and other relevant subjects, to work
on in-class assignments individually and with peers, and to share your work in
small groups with the whole class.
·
Remain quiet
while I or others in class are speaking.
·
Show support
for those who speak in class by your demeanor and body language.
·
Focus on the
content of the class, not on personal electronic devices; all such items should
be turned off and packed away during class, unless they are being used for class
matters, in a way that is not distracting to your classmates or me.
·
You may eat
and drink in class, but only if it is not distracting to other students or me.
E-mail Courtesies:
When sending
me e-mail, please observe the following courtesies:
·
Begin the
message with a salutation of some sort (Dr. Simmons, Prof. Simmons, Mr. Simmons,
etc.).
·
Include a
reasonably accurate subject line.
·
Capitalize and
punctuate where appropriate, and proofread to make sure that you are
communicating clearly.
·
At the end of
the message, please identify yourself by the name by which I know you (first
name or nickname).
I will get
back to you as soon as I can.
Sometimes a response will be immediate; on other occasions it may take me
several hours, and quite possibly a full day if you write late in the day, at
night, or on a weekend, if I need to give some thought to a response before
providing one, or if I simply have other things I need to get done before I can
get to e-mails.
Special Needs:
Anyone who has
a special need that may require some modification of seating, testing, or other
class requirements should see me as soon as possible.
I will be pleased to make the appropriate arrangements in consultation
with you. Depending on the
modification, you may need to be registered with Disability Support Services.
Disability
Support Services:
If you have a
disability or had academic accommodations in high school or another college, you
may be eligible for academic accommodations at Monmouth College under the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Monmouth College is committed to equal
educational access. Students with
disabilities can apply for accommodations at the Teaching and Learning Center
(TLC). The TLC is located on the 2nd floor of Poling Hall. For more
information, call 309-457-2257 or connect online at
http://ou.monmouthcollege.edu/life/disability-services/default.aspx.
Academic honesty:
From the Monmouth College Academic Honesty Policy: “We view academic
dishonesty as a threat to the integrity and intellectual mission of our
institution. Any breach of the academic honesty policy – either intentionally or
unintentionally – will be taken seriously and may result not only in failure in
the course, but in suspension or expulsion from the college. It is each
student’s responsibility to read, understand and comply with the general
academic honesty policy at Monmouth College, as defined here in the Scots Guide,
and to the specific guidelines for each course, as elaborated on the professor’s
syllabus.
“The following areas are examples of violations of the academic honesty policy:
“Please note that this list is not intended to be exhaustive.”
The complete Monmouth College Academic Honesty Policy can be found on the
College web page by clicking on “Student Life” then on “Student Handbook” in the
navigation bar on the top of the page, then “Academic Regulations” in the
navigation bar at the left. Or you can visit the web page directly by
typing in this URL: http://www.monmouthcollege.edu/life/residence-life/scots-guide/academic.aspx.
In this course, any violation of the academic honesty policy will have varying
consequences depending on the severity of the infraction as judged by the
instructor. Minimally, a violation will result in an “F” or 0 points on
the assignment in question. Additionally, the student’s course grade may be
lowered by one letter grade. In severe cases, the student will be assigned
a course grade of “F” and dismissed from the class. All cases of academic
dishonesty will be reported to the Associate Dean, who may decide to recommend
further action to the Admissions and Academic Status Committee, including
suspension or dismissal. It is assumed that students will educate
themselves regarding what is considered to be academic dishonesty, so excuses or
claims of ignorance will not mitigate the consequences of any violations.
Help outside of class:
You should not
hesitate to talk with me about any difficulties you are having—this course is
challenging, and I want to help you do the best you can at it.
Speak with me as soon as you are having trouble; letting a problem fester
is likely to make it worse. Also,
there is help available at the locations below.
Teaching &
Learning Center:
The
Teaching and Learning Center offers FREE resources to assist Monmouth College
students with their academic success. Programs include Supplemental Instruction
for difficult classes, drop-in and appointment tutoring, and individual academic
coaching. The TLC is here to help students excel academically. TLC services are
not just for struggling students, but can assist all students to get
better grades, practice stronger study skills, and manage time.
Visit Kam
Williams (Director
of Academic Support Programs and Student Disability Services)
and Rita Schwass (TLC secretary) at the TLC on 2nd floor Poling Hall
from 8am-4:30pm or online at
http://ou.monmouthcollege.edu/academics/teaching-learning-center/.
Kam can be reached at
klwilliams@monmouthcollege.edu
or 309-457-2214, and Rita can be reached at
rschwass@monmouthcollege.edu
or 309-457-2213.
Like the TLC on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Monmouth-College-Teaching-and-Learning-Center/203117166403210?ref=aymt_homepage_panel.
Writing Center:
The Monmouth College Writing Center offers unlimited, free peer tutoring
sessions for students at Monmouth College. Peer writing tutors work with
writers from any major, of any writing ability, on any type of writing
assignment, and at any stage of their writing processes, from planning to
drafting to revising to editing. It is located on the 3rd floor of the
Mellinger Teaching and Learning Center, and we are open Sunday-Thursday 7-10pm
and Monday-Thursday 3-5pm on a first-come, first-served basis. No appointment
necessary! Learn more about the Writing Center at its website:
http://blogs.monm.edu/writingatmc/writing-center/.
Speech Tutors:
Speech Tutors are available on a limited basis in the Writing Center to work
with students who are preparing for a presentation in any course. Speech Tutors
can help fine-tune thesis statements, review outlines, suggest organizational
strategies, provide feedback about visual aids, help students develop ways to
manage speech anxiety, and watch speech practice sessions. For information
about tutor availability, visit the Writing Center’s website at http://blogs.monm.edu/writingatmc/writing-center/.
Schedule of Assignments:
Note:
The assignments below are due on the
days on which they are listed. If
there is no other instruction given, you are to do the following:
·
Information on
the syllabus is subject to change throughout the term.
I will alert you of any changes, and I will give substantial changes to
you in writing.
Day 1
(Tuesday, January 17)
Assignments
due today:
·
Introduction
to the class and one another
·
Learn
the Greek lowercase alphabet, including letters’ names and soun
Day 2
(Thursday, January 19)
Persian
autocrats to Greek tyrants
Assignments
due today:
·
Herodotus,
The Histories:
·
pp. 1-16
(1.1-33),
·
pp. 22-23
(1.53),
·
p. 39 (1.86,
first two sentences),
·
pp. 204-206
(3.80-82),
·
pp. 24-28
(1.59-64), and
·
Thucydides,
The Peloponnesian War pp. 11 (1.17)
and 60-61 (1.126).
Day 3
(Tuesday, January 24)
Greek tyrants
Assignments
due today:
·
Herodotus,
The Histories :
·
pp. 338-341
(5.92),
·
pp. 189-192
(3.48-53),
·
pp. 363-365
(6.34-39), and
·
pp. 323-324
(5.55-56).
·
Thucydides,
The Peloponnesian War:
·
pp. 332-336
(6.53-59).
·
Herodotus,
The Histories:
·
pp. 325-327
(5.62-65) and
·
pp. 327-332
(5.66, 69-76, 78).
Day 4
(Thursday, January 26)
Athenian
political history and reform
Assignments
due today:
·
Pseudo-Aristotle’s The Constitution of
Athens:
·
pp. 141-142
(Glossary) and
·
pp.
147-171—start at the beginning of Section II, and stop before Section XXVIII
Monday,
January 30
·
Optional, but
worth extra credit if you attend and write a one-page summary/response:
·
“Medieval Maritime Networks: Tracing Connections in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea,”
Michelle Damian, Assistant Professor of History, Monmouth College
(mdamian@monmouthcollege.edu)
·
7:30 P.M.,
Pattee Auditorium, CSB
Day 5
(Tuesday, January 31)
The Athenian
demos,
oligoi, and demagogues:
Assignments
due today:
·
Pseudo-Aristotle’s The Constitution of
Athens p. 171, Section XXVIII,
·
pp. 19-26 of
the section of the Introduction to the Old Oligarch’s
Constitution of the Athenians that
are in the packet I’ve uploaded for you,
·
The whole
(brief) text (in English) of the
Constitution (pp. 37-57, only the odd-numbered pages), and
·
The brief
snippets of Euripides’ tragedies
Suppliant Women and Electra to
which the author of the introduction refers.
Day 6
(Thursday, February 2)
The elite
reception of Athenian demagogues
Assignments
due today:
·
Thucydides’
The Peloponnesian War:
·
pp. 106-107
(2.65—stop after the second sentence in the last paragraph of 107, which ends
“administration of the city”),
·
pp. 145-149
(3.36-3.40),
·
pp. 152-154
(3.47-49),
·
pp. 199-200
(4.21-23),
·
pp. 200-206
(4.26-33),
·
pp. 207-208
(4.36-39),
·
pp. 254-255
(5.2-3), and
·
pp. 256-260
(5.6-11).
Day 7
(Tuesday, February 7)
Demagogues in
Athenian life
Assignments
due today:
·
Aristophanes,
Knights lines 1-972 (pp. 220-349)
Day 8
(Thursday, February 9)
Demagogues in
Athenian life:
Assignments
due today:
·
Aristophanes,
Knights lines 973-1408 (pp. 349-405)
Friday,
February 10
·
Optional, but
I would be happy to see you there:
·
Cider with
Classics: Lupercalia/Valentine’s Day/Homecoming from abroad edition
·
3-4 PM,
Wallace 102
Day 9
(Tuesday, February 14)
From Cleon to
the 400
Assignments
due today:
·
Excerpts from
the following works (specific pages/lines are given with the discussion
questions, and the readings, other than Thucydides, are posted on Moodle):
·
Euripides’
Hippolytus,
·
Euripides’
Hecuba,
·
Aristophanes’
Lysistrata,
·
Pseudo-Aristotle’s Constitution of the
Athenians, and
·
Thucydides’
History of the Peloponnesian War.
Day 10
(Thursday, February 16)
From the
aftermath of the 400 to the aftermath of the 30
Assignments
due today:
·
Excerpts from
the following works (specific pages/lines are given with the discussion
questions, and the readings are posted on Moodle):
·
Euripides’
Orestes,
·
Euripides’
Iphigenia in Aulis,
·
Aristophanes’
Frogs,
·
Aristophanes’
A Parliament of Women,
·
Xenophon’s
Hellenica,
·
Lysias’
Against Eratosthenes, and
·
Pseudo-Aristotle’s Constitution of the
Athenians.
Day 11
(Tuesday, February 21)
Assignments
due today:
·
Hand in a
brief overview of your plan for your paper, a list of the primary sources you
intend to use, and an annotated bibliography of three secondary sources you have
read that could be useful to your topic.
·
In class, in a
two-three-minute period, present highlights of one of those sources that could
contribute to your paper.
Day 12
(Thursday, February 23)
Assignments
due today:
·
Bring
five copies of a coherent, organized
draft of your paper that is at least 1000 words long (though it could be a full
draft, if you would like it to be).
·
In class, this
paper will be critiqued by two or three of your peers (as you will critique
peers’ work), and you will hand a copy of it in to me.
Monday,
February 27
·
Optional, but
strongly encouraged, and attending the talk is worth extra credit (I don’t even
need you to write a one-page summary/response):
·
7:30 PM in
Pattee Auditorium: talk by Dr. Kathleen Coleman (Harvard University) on
gladiators (“Defeat in the Arena”)
Day 13
(Tuesday, February 28)
Assignments
due today:
·
No full-class
meeting; sign up for individual 30-minute paper conferences with Prof. Simmons
Day 14
(Thursday, March 2)
Assignments
due today:
·
Bring in
complete, polished drafts of term papers, with all supporting materials, for
peer critique.
Friday, March
3
Assignments
due today:
·
Hand in the
final drafts of your term paper, with all supporting materials.
·
Present on the
term paper for two to three minutes after lunch at my house.