INQ-110 | Classical Athens and Us

Full Title: Classical Athens and Us

Topic Description:

What’s so interesting about the Greeks? What was “the high classical moment” in Athens? Why are so many of our buildings (and ideas) shaped according to the influence of ancient Greece? And, most centrally, how do we appraise our legacy from Classical Greece? As we read, think, and write critically, our goals will be: (1) to learn as much as we can about the Athenians and their way of life, for its own sake, as a topic rich with interest, and (2) to appraise the mixed legacy of Classical Greece. Topics of special interest will include democratic politics, the roles of men and women, slavery, ideas of sexuality, the Athenian legal system, myth and religion, the theatre, issues of war and peace, and concepts of heroism, of happiness, and of knowledge.

Counts as Global? No

Topic Approved: January 2009