INQ-120 | Leisure/Pleasure Ancient Greece

Full Title: Leisure and Pleasure in Ancient Greece and Rome

Topic Description:

How the Ancient Greeks and Romans spent their leisure time and engaged in entertainment can tell us much about the values they had, not only about leisure and entertainment, but also about society and culture. This class will investigate several forms of Greek and Roman entertainment--sports, food and dining, and sex--in order to consider these questions: How did living a good life connect to pleasure and entertainment? What can we learn about value systems from Greek and Roman leisure activities? And how do the insights we gain from studying these ancient societies help us to understand how our own values shape and are shaped by our choices of entertainment? Specific areas of inquiry include the ethics of combat sports and killing for entertainment, how social rank and/or gender affects access to leisure, and the multiple conceptions of sexuality.

Counts as Global? No

Topic Approved: December 2010