Plato's Apology

Semester and Year	SP 2013
Course Number	IDSEM-UG1727
Section	001
Instructor	Laura Slatkin
Days	Wed
Time	3:30 PM - 6:10 PM
Units	2.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement	HUM, PREMOD

Notes/Restrictions

Course meets 1/30- 3/13 only.

Description

‘Corrupting the youth’ of Athens? Virtue in action? Threat to the body politic? Model citizen? Plato’s Socrates presents a conundrum for ancient and modern thought. In his brilliant dialogue, the Apology , Plato recreates Socrates’ defense of himself at his trial in 399 BCE for (among other things) ‘corrupting the youth’ of his city. The Apology sits at the intersection of law, politics, philosophy, religion, erotics, and pedagogy. In this course, we read the Apology  closely, exploring it as philosophical reflection, courtroom oratory, literary text—and as gripping drama. Supplementary readings address: intellectual milieu, historical and political context, questions of genre.

Syllabus

IDSEM-UG1727

Course Type

Interdisciplinary Seminars (IDSEM-UG)