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College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Liberal Arts and Sciences College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Andrew Wolpert

Department of Classics

CLA 6930: The Athenian Democracy

Fall 2012

Time and Location klepsydra

W Period 8-10, 125 Dauer Hall

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.

Prerequisites

This graduate seminar is open to all graduate students in Classics and graduate students in related fields who have taken at least one undergraduate course on ancient Athens or ancient Greek history. Undegraduate may not enroll in the seminar without Dr. Wolpert’s consent.

Required Texts

Additional Readings

  • Required articles are available either through Sakai or Ares.
  • Required Books are on Reserve.
  • 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

  • Class Participation (20%)
  • Class Presentation (20%)
  • Term Paper (60%), approximately 15-20 pages, due on December 5

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: POLITICS

August 22: Introduction

August 29: Fourth-Century Athens

  • 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 Sakai)
  • Ober, 141-48, 299-304

September 5: Origins of the Athenian Democracy

  • Hansen, chapters 2-3
  • Raaflaub et al.

September 12: Democracy and War

  • Finley, M.I, “The Fifth-Century Athenian Empire: A Balance Sheet,” in Imperialism in the Ancient World, eds. P.D.A. Garnsey, P.D.A. and C.R. Whittaker. (Cambridge 1978) 103–26 (available on Sakai)
  • Millett, Paul, “Patronage and Its Avoidance in Classical Athens,” in Patronage in Ancient Society,  ed. A. Wallace-Hadrill (London and New York 1989)  15–47 (available on Sakai)
  • Pritchard, David, ed., War, Democracy and Culture in Classical Athens (Cambridge 2010), chapters 1-3, 9, 15 (to be circulated)

PART 2: SOCIETY

September 19: Mass and Elite

  • Ober, chapters 1, 3-7

September 26: Free and Slave

  • Finley, M.I., “Was Greek Civilization Based on Slave Labour?” Historia 8 (1959) 145–64 (available on Sakai)
  • Osborne, Robin, “The Economics and Politics of Slavery at Athens,” in Anton Powell, ed., The Greek World (London, 1995), 27–43 (availble on Sakai)
  • Jameson, Michael, “Agriculture and Slaves in Classical Athens,” CJ 73 (1977/78) 122–45 (available on Sakai)
  • Wood, Ellen, “Agricultural Slavery in Classical Athens,” AJAH 8 (1983) 1–47 (available on Sakai)
  • Gagarin, M., “The Torture of Slaves in Athenian Law,” CP 91 (1996) 1–18 (available on Sakai)
  • Hunter, Virginia,  Policing Athens: Social Control in the Attic Lawsuits, 420-320 B.C. (Princeton 1994) chapters 3, 6 (available on Sakai)
  • Ober, Josiah, “Quasi-Rights: Participatory Citizenship and Negative Liberties in Democratic Athens,” Social Philosophy and Policy 17 (2000) 27–61 (available on Sakai)

October 3: Women

  • Cohen, David, “Seclusion, Separation, and the Status of Women in Classical Athens,” G&R 36 (1989) 3–15 (available on Sakai)
  • Hunter, Virginia,  Policing Athens: Social Control in the Attic Lawsuits, 420-320 B.C. (Princeton 1994) chapter 1 (available on Sakai)
  • ———-, “Women’s Authority in Classical Athens: The Example of Keloboule and her Son (Dem. 27-29),” EMC/CV 8 (1989) 39-48.
  • Foxhall, Lin, “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 Sakai))
  • Johnstone, Steven, “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 in Dauer Hall)
  • Wolpert, Andrew, “Lysias 1 and the Politics of the Oikos,” CJ 96 (2001) 416–24 (available on Sakai)

PART 3: CULTURE

October 10: Food, Sex, and Drinking

  • Davidson
  • Winker, John, “Laying Down the Law: The Oversight of Men’s Behavior in Classical Athens, In D. Halperin, J.J. Winker, and F.I. Zeitlin, eds., Before Sexuality: The Construction of Erotic Experience in the Ancient Greek World (Princeton 1989) 171–209 (on Ares)

October 17: Drama

  • Winkler and Zeitlin, chapters by Winkler, Zeitlin, Goldhill, Lissarrague, Henderson
  • Rhodes, P.J. “Nothing to Do With Democracy: Athenian Drama and the Polis,”JHS 123 (2003) 104–19.
  • Mills, Sophie, “Affirming Athenian Action: Euripides’ Portrayal of Military Activity and the Limtis of Tragic Instruction,” in David Pritchard, War, Democracy and Culture in Classical Athens (Cambridge 2010) 163–183 (to be circulated)
  • Konstan, David, “Ridiculing a Popular War: Old Comedy and Militarism in Classical Athens,” in David Pritchard, War, Democracy and Culture in Classical Athens (Cambridge 2010) 184–200 (to be circulated)

October 24: Art

  • Coulson, W.D.E., Palagia, O., Shear, T.L., Shapiro, H.A., Frost, F.J., eds., The Archaeology of Athens and Attica under the Democracy (Oxford 1994) chapter by Osborne  (to be circulated)
  • Boedeker, D., and Raaflaub, K.A., eds., Democracy, Empire, and the Arts in Fifth-Century Athens (Cambridge, MA 1998) chapters by Morris, Csapo and Miller, and Hölscher (to be circulated)
  • Neils, Jennifer, The Parthenon Frieze (Cambridge 2001) 173–201

PART 4: TERM PAPER

October 31: Topics

  • Discuss Research

November 7: Outline

  • Discuss Drafts

November 14: First Draft Due

  •  Presentations

November 28: First Drafts Returned

  • Presentations and Individual Meetings

December 5: Final Draft Due

  • Presentations

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).
  • For each unexcused absence, there will be a 5% 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.