Ancient Reflections in a Time of Modern War

Semester and Year	SP 2011
Course Number	IDSEM-UG1451
Section	001
Instructor	Laura Slatkin
Days	Wed
Time	3:30 PM - 6:10 PM
Units	2.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement	HUM

Notes/Restrictions

Course meets 1/26 - 3/9 only.

Description

In this class we will explore ancient Greek attitudes toward war, as represented in epic, drama, and historiography. Among the topics we will consider are: rhetoric and rationales for and against war; war and social cohesion; war and empire; the stakes of civil war; war and gender; the social costs of war; the implications for our contemporary situation. Readings may include, Homer, Iliad ; Aeschylus Seven Against Thebes ; Euripides, Iphigeneia in Aulis and Trojan Women ; Aristophanes, Peace ; Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War ; and 20th century mediations on the problematic of war, such as Elaine Scarry, The Body in Pain ; Jonathan Shay, Achilles in Vietnam ; Simone Weil, The Iliad , or the poem of force.

Course Type

Interdisciplinary Seminars (IDSEM-UG)