Andrew Wolpert

Fall 2008

Announcements

Be sure to check regularly the course e-Learning page for any announcements.

Course Description

An examination of the political, social, and cultural institutions of the Athenian democracy, with particular attention to recent scholarly methods, approaches, and theories.  Topics include the origin and development of the Athenian democracy; political organizations and social structures; democracy and economic production; gender, sexuality, and citizenship; democratic discourse and ideology; and democracy and the arts.

Required Texts 

• Cohen, David, Law, Violence and Community in Classical Athens (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).
• Davidson, James, Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens (New York: HarperPerennial, 1999).
• Hansen, Mogens H., The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes: Structures, Principles, and Ideology (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999).
• Hurwit, Jeffrey, The Acropolis in the Age of Pericles (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).
• Ober, Josiah, Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens: Rhetoric, Ideology, and the Power of the People (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990). [For instructions on how to access this ebook, see reading assignment for Sept. 16.]
• Raaflaub, Kurt, Josiah Ober, and Robert Wallace, Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece (Berkeley: University of California, 2007). Note: You may need to purchase the hardcover edition (ISBN: 978-0520245624) since the paperback edition is not yet widely available.

Additional Readings

• Articles are available on Ares (“Course Reserves” via Smathers Libraries).  Web links to library resources are accessible off-campus only if you use the UF VPN or Library Proxy.
• BIBLIOGRAPHY (useful to consult as you begin research for your term paper).  This list is not exhaustive nor is it expected that you will be able to read all items during the course of the semester; rather it is intended to show you the main questions and topics on the Athenian democracy that are currently under investigation and provide you a starting point for your own research.

Course Requirements

• Two Mid-Term Examinations (30% each): October 7 and November 18
• Participation in online discussions (15%)
• Term Paper, 10-15 pages, double spaced, one-inch margins (25%)
  • First Draft Due November 25
  • Second Draft Due December 2
  • Final Draft Due December 9 (by 11:59 PM Eastern Time)
    • There will be a 5% deduction in the letter grade for every half hour that elapses after the deadline for the final draft.

Weekly Discussions

Class meeting time is scheduled for Tuesday, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time).  The first class meeting will be Tuesday, Aug. 26; the time/day may change, if necesssary to accommodate student schedules.

Preparation and Participation

Please read the assigned material before the class meets.  The first meeting will be Tuesday, Aug. 26, 8:00 EST.  Participation in the weekly discussion is mandatory and graded; however, students may post comments and questions at any time in the week after the ‘class’ and before the next ‘class’.  Live participation in the weekly ‘class’, when I will be logged on and supervising the discussion, is highly recommended but not required.

Location of Weekly Discussions

To participate in weekly discussions, you will need to access the course’s webpage on e-Learning.

Conduct

Please note that any message posted in discussions can be read by anyone in the course.  At all times, you are expected to write in a polite and respectful manner.

Assignments

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 Graduate Catalog.

Grading Scale

A = 90-100%
B+= 87-89.9%
B = 80-86.9%
C+ = 77-79.9%
C = 70-76.9%
D+ = 67-69.9%
D = 60-66.9%
E < 60%

Schedule

August 26: Introduction

September 2: History of Athens

• Hansen, Athenian Democracy, chapters 2-3
• Aristotle, Athenian Constitution, 1-41

September 9: Origins of the Athenian Democracy

• Raaflaub, Ober, and Wallace

September 16: Athenian Political Instiutions

• Hansen, chapters 6–12
• Hansen, “The Political Powers of the People’s Court in Fourth-Century Athens,” in O Murray and S. Price, eds., The Greek City from Homer to Alexander (Oxford 1990) 215–43 (available on Ares)
• Ober, 141–48, 299–304 (available on Ares)

September 23: Mass and Elite

• Ober 1, 3-7 (available on Ares)

September 30: Law and Violence

• Cohen

October 7: First Mid-Term Examination

• Writing Guidelines (available on Ares)
• Essay Questions
• Mid-Term is due at 8:00 PM on October 7, 2008.  Please email it to me at wolpert@ufl.edu
• There will not be a discussion for the evening of October 7.  There will, however, be a discussion thread open from Oct 1-Oct.6 for you to post any questions on the format of the take-home exam.

October 14: Slavery

• Finley, M.I., “Was Greek Civilization Based on Slave Labour?” Historia 8 (1959) 145–64 (available on Ares)
• Osborne, R., “The Economics and Politics of Slavery at Athens,” in A. Powell, ed.,The Greek World (London 1995) 27-43 (available on Ares)

• Jameson, M.H., “Agriculture and Slaves in Classical Athens,” Classical Journal 73 (1977/78) 122–45 (available on Ares)
• Wood, E.M., “Agricultural Slavery in Classical Athens,” American Journal of Ancient History 8 (1983) 1–47 (available on Ares)

• Gagarin, M., “The Torture of Slaves in Athenian Law,” Classical Philology 91 (1996) 1–18 (available on Ares)

October 21: Women

• Cohen, D., “Seclusion, Separation, and the Status of Women in Classical Athens,” G&R 36 (1989) 3–15 (available on Ares)
• Hunter, V., 1989. “Women’s Authority in Classical Athens: The Example of Kleoboule and Her Son (Dem. 27-29),” Echos du monde classique / Classical Views 8 (1989) 39–48 (available on Ares)
• Hunter, V., “Gossip and the Politics of Reputation in Classical Athens,” Phoenix 44 (1990) 299–325 (available on Ares)
• Foxhall, L., “Women’s Ritual and Men’s Work in Ancient Athens,” in R. Hawley and B. Levick, eds., Women in Antiquity: New Assessments (London 1995) 97–110 (available on Ares)
• Johnstone, S., “Cracking the Code of Silence: Athenian Legal Oratory and the Histories of Slaves and Women, in S. Joshel and S. Murnaghan, eds., Women and Slaves in Greco-Roman Culture (London 1998) 221–35 (available on Ares)
• Wolpert, A., “Lysias 1 and the Politics of the Oikos,” CJ 96 (2001) 416–24 (available on Ares)

October 28: Food, Sex, and Drinking

• Davidson, Courtesans and Fishcakes

November 4: Democractic Architecture

• Hurwit, The Acropolis in the Age of Pericles

November 11: Veterans Day

November 18: Second Mid-Term Examination

November 25: First Draft Due

December 2: Second Draft Due

December 9: Final Draft Due