Kinship and Community: Ancient Texts and Modern Theories

Semester and Year	SP 2013
Course Number	IDSEM-UG1739
Section	001
Instructor	Bruce King
Days	Mon,Wed
Time	4:55 PM - 6:10 PM
Units	4.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement	HUM, PREMOD

Description

What is the relation of the family to larger structures of community and of state? Do kinship bonds provide a model for those of community or must they be superseded in the interest of a more enlightened state? To what degree do contemporary aspirations for gender equality entail a radical renovation of our understanding of the family? We consider these questions through a close reading of ancient texts, from the Greek and Judeo-Christian traditions, which we read in conjunction with some contemporary thinkers on kinship and the state. Primary readings include: Aeschylus Oresteia , Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus and Antigone , Euripides Ion , Plato Republic 5 , Aristophanes Ecclesiazusae , Longus Daphnis and  Chloe , Genesis and Exodus , Paul Letter to the Galatians , Martyrdom of Perpetua , Shakespeare Measure for Measure , John Henry Noyes Bible Communism ; theoretical texts include: Freud Totem and Taboo , and selections from Engels, Lévi-Strauss, G. Rubin, P. Clastres, and J. Butler.

Course Type

Interdisciplinary Seminars (IDSEM-UG)