Andrew Wolpert

Fall 2011

Time and Location

M W F Period 4, FLG 220

Course Description

Participatory democracies first appeared in Greece some 2,500 years ago, flourishing for centuries, until they were replaced by monarchies and empires.  Although democracy was reinvented in the modern period, direct democracy was considered too radical and too impractical to implement.  It was an interesting experiment, but better left in the trash can of history.

This course offers students the opportunity to reconsider our assumptions about participatory democracy.  Through a study of the political, social, and cultural institutions of the democracy of ancient Athens, we will consider the strengths and weaknesses of this unique form of government.

Topics include the origin and development of the Athenian democracy; political organizations and social and economic structures; war and imperialism; freedom of speech and intellectual dissent; gender, sexuality, and citizenship; democratic discourse and ideology; and democracy and the arts.

We will try to answer the problems at the root of Greek democracy:

• What caused restrictive forms of government to yield to popular pressure and become democratic in spite of elite opposition?
• How was it possible for ordinary Athenian citizens to be actively involved in setting political policy?
• What impact did democracy have on art and literature?
• Was ancient democracy based on slave labor, the exclusion of resident aliens, and the restrictions imposed on Athenian women?

Required Texts

• Aeschylus, The Oresteia, tr. by R. Lattimore (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969). [You may substitute this edition with any other translation of theOresteia.]
• Adkins, Arthur W.H., and White, Peter, eds., The Greek Polis: University of Chicago Readings in Western Civilization, Volume 1 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986).
• Thorley, John, Athenian Democracy (London, Routledge, 2004).
• Wolpert, Andrew, and Kostantinos, Kapparis, Legal Speeches of Democratic Athens: Sources for Athenian History (Indianapolis: Hacket Publishing Company, 2011). [Multiple copies of this sourcebook will be placed on reserve for those who prefer not to buy it. Carey’s Trials from Classical Athens (also on reserve) includes the following speeches: Antiphon 6, Lysias 1, Demosthenes 54, 59.]

Additional Readings

• Required books are on reserve in Library West.
• Articles are online on Ares (the “Course Reserves” weblink from Smathers Libraries).
• Web links to library resources are accessible off-campus only if you use the UF VPN or the Remote Login.
• If you still have difficulty accessing Ares off campus, try Dr. Wolpert’s incredibly simple and easy to use instructions or contact Course Reserves: (352) 273-2520 or eres@uflib.ufl.edu

e-Learning

• Lecture notes and grades are available on e-Learning.
• All other materials pertaining to the course are available either on the course’s home page (i.e., the webpage you are presently viewing) or course reserves (Ares).

Course Requirements

• Attendance: 100 points. Attendance will be taken at 30 class meetings. Students will receive 3.8 points per meeting (i.e., total of 114 points) in order to accommodate approximately four unexcused absences (e.g., a minor cold that does not require medical treatment, a flat tire, a family obligation that is not an emergency, etc).
• Four Quizzes: 100 points (25 points each). Use a number 2 pencil for all quizzes. Students with an acceptable explanation, appropriately documented, will be allowed to make up missed quizzes on December 5 (see Attendance Policies in Undergraduate Catalog).
• Three Exams: 800 points.

1. 1. 1. Wednesday, October 5 (200 Points).
      2. Wednesday, November 9 (250 points).
      3. Wednesday, December 7 (350 points).

• This course has no pre-requisites and is intended for students interested in classics, history, political science, or political philosophy.
• Study aids are not permitted during quizzes and exams.

Grading Scale

A = 93-100
A- = 90-92.9
B+ = 87-89.9
B = 83-86.9
B- = 79-82.9
C+ = 75-78.9
C = 72-74.9
C- = 69-71.9
D+ = 66-68.9
D = 62-65.9%
D- = 60-61.9
E < 59

 

Schedule

PART 1: History of Athens

Monday, August 22: Introduction

Wednesday, August 24: Lay of the Land

• Handout, “Spelling” (available on Ares)
• Hansen, Mogens, “Evidence,” in The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes: Structure, Principles, and Ideology (Oxford 1991) 4-26 (available on Ares)
• Optional: Foxhall, Lin, “Environments and Lanscapes of Greek Culture” in A Companion to the Classical Greek World (available on Ares)

Friday, August 26: From Cylon to Pisistratus

• Thorley, pages 6-22 (Chapter 2)
• Aristotle, Constitution of Athens, sections 1-19, pages 228-43 in Adkins & White, Greek Polis #16

Monday, August 29: Cleisthenes

• Thorley, 23-28 (Chapter 3 up to “Council of 500 [Boule])”
• Aristotle, Constitution of Athens, sections 20-21, pages 243-45 in Adkins & White, Greek Polis #16
• Herodotus 5.69-73 (in Adkins & White, Greek Polis #7, pages 42-43)

Wednesday, August 31: Later Reforms

• Thorley, pages 53-60 (Chapter 4)

Friday, September 2: Origins of the Democracy

• Ober, Josiah, “Athenian Revolution of 508/7 B.C.: Violence, Authority, and the Origins of Democracy,” in Cultural Poetics in Archaic Greece, edited by Carol Dougherty and Leslie Kurke (Oxford 1993) 215-32 (available on Ares)
• Raaflaub, Kurt, “Power in the Hands of the People: Foundations of Athenian Democracy,” in Democracy 2500?, edited by Ian Morris and Kurt Raaflaub (Dubuque, IA 1997) 33-62 (available on Ares)

Monday, September 5: Labor Day (No Class)

 

PART 2: Politics

 

Course Policies

• Students are expected to complete all requirements on the specified dates and will not be granted an alternate date unless they have an acceptable reason for their absence as specified in the undergraduate catalog, fulfill the conditions described therein, and provide timely notification (see Attendance Policies in Undergraduate Catalog).
• For each unexcused absence, there will be a 1% reduction in the final course grade.
• Use of mobile phones and computers are prohibitted during class.  Refusal to comply will result in immediate dismissal from the classroom.
• Students are required to be honest in their coursework. Any act of academic dishonesty will be reported to Student Judicial Affairs, and may result in failure of the assignement in question and/or the course.  See Honor Code.
• Students seeking special accomommodations, need to submit such requests to the Disability Resource Center prior to the deadline of the scheduled requirement, and preferably as early in the Semester as possible.  For further information, see the Disability Resource Center.

• Students facing difficulties completing the course or who are in need of counseling or urgent help may call the on-campus counseling center: 352-392-1575, or the student mental health center: 352-392-1171.