Andrew Wolpert

Time and Location

Monday 3:30-6:30 PM Classics Library

Texts

Required

• MacDowell, D.M. 2003. Demosthenes Against Meidias. London: Duckworth Publishing.

Recommended

• Liddell, H.G., and Robert Scott, eds. 1945. An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, 7th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Smyth, H.W. 1920. Greek Grammar. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Additional Readings

• Links to readings for Weekly Assignments work off-campus only if you first “tunnel” into the campus network through VPN. Alternatively, you may access linked items via Ares.

• 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 to provide you a starting point for your own research.
• READING LIST for book reviews. Students will be assigned a book to review from this list by an electronic lottery/acclamation process.

Course Description

Study of Demosthenes 21 with particular attention to rhetorical methods of persuasion, the social dynamics of the disputing process, and the political and cultural impact of law on the Athenian democracy. Topics to be explored will include citizenship, authority, punishment, and ideology. In addition, students will gain a familiarity with new approaches to Greek law drawn from cultural studies, legal anthropology, legal studies, and political science.

Course Requirements

• Weekly Assignments typically consist of 20-25 sections of Demosthenes 21 and 40-50 pages of secondary literature.
• Class Participation (5%) based on attendance, participation in discussions, and translation of weekly assignments.
• Two Presentations (5% total). Each student will 1) give the class an overview of the book that s/he has selected for the book review and 2) present to the class his/her findings from work on the term paper.
• Two Hourly Examinations (25% each) on February 21 and March 21.
• One Book Review (10%), 1,000-1,500 words, of a scholarly work on law outside of the field of Classics, due at the time of the class presentation of the work.
• One Term Paper (30%), 4,000-5,000 words (not including footnotes, endnotes, and bibliography) due on April 25.  No extensions.
  • First Draft, due April 11 (10% reduction of grade on term paper if first draft is not handed in at the start of class; 5% reduction if first draft is incomplete)

Attendance Policy

Students are expected to attend all class meetings and complete all requirements on the specified dates. Exceptions will only be granted in the case of a student who has an acceptable reason for his/her absence as specified in the graduate catalog, fulfills the conditions described therein, and provides timely notification and documentation when necessary.

Grading Scale

A = 90-100
A- = 87-89.9
B+ = 84-86.9
B = 80-83.9
B- = 77-79.9
C+ = 74-76.9
C = 70-73.9
C- = 67-69.9
D+ = 64-66.9
D = 60-63.9%
D- = 57-59.9
E < 57

Weekly Assignments

January 10

• Dem. 21.1-20

• Andrew Wolpert and Konstantinos Kapparis, Legal Speeches of Democratic Athens: Sources for Athenian History (Indianapolis: Hackett, 2011), Introduction (to be handed out).

• Stephen C. Todd, “The Use and Abuse of the Attic Orators,” Greece & Rome 37 (1990): 159–78 (also available on Ares).

January 17: No Class (Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday)

January 24

• Dem. 21.21-40
• Michael Gagarin, “The Torture of Slaves in Athenian Law,” Classical Philology 91 (1996): 1–18 (also available on Ares).
• Student Report on Discipline and Punish by Foucault

January 31

• Dem. 21.41-60
• N. R. E.  “Hybris and Dishonour: I,” Greece and Rome 23 (1976): 177–93 (also available on Ares).
• ———-, “Hybris and Dishonour: II,” Greece and Rome 26 (1979): 32–47 (also available on Ares).
• Cairns, Douglas L. “Hybris, Dishonour, and Thinking Big,” Journal of Hellenic Studies 116 (1996): 1–32 (also available on Ares).
• Student Report on Blood Revenge by Boehm

February 7

• Dem. 21.61-80
• David Cohen, Law, Violence and Community in Classical Athens (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995) 87-118 (available on Ares).
• Gabriel Herman “Tribal and Civic Codes of Behaviour in Lysias 1,” Classical Quarterly 43  (1993): 406–19 (also available on Ares).
• Student Report on Between Venegance and Forgiveness by Minow

February 14

• Dem. 21.81-116
• Student Report on Order without Law by Ellickson

February 21

• Dem. 21.117-135
• Midterm 1

February 28

• Dem. 21.136-160
• Steven, Johnstone, Disputes and Democracy: The Consequences of Litigation in Ancient Athens (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999), 93-108 (available on Ares).
• Adriaan M. Lanni, “The Homicide Courts and the Dikasteria: A Paradigm Not Followed,” Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 41 (2000): 311–30 (available on Ares).
• Student Report on Bloodtaking and Peacemaking by Miller

March 7: Spring Break

March 14

• Dem. 21.161-190

March 21

• Dem. 21.190-end

• Midterm 2

March 28: Work on Paper

• Discussions on Paper Topics
• Student Report on Law and Literature by Posner

April 4: Work on Paper

• No Class
• Individual Meetings

April 11: First Draft Due

• Presentations

April 18: Work on Paper

• Presentations

April 27: Final Draft Due