Print this week's syllabus
Home Page
Core 102
History and the Modern World
Roger Williams University
T,F 2:00-3:30:   T,F 3:30-5:00
CAS 207
Fall, 2001
Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph.D.
Office:  Feinstein College 110
Hours:  M, T, Th, F.9:00-10:00
or by appointment
Phone (401) 254-3230
E-mail:mswanson@rwu.edu
Week of September 10
Week of September 25 - 28
Week of September 18
This Week's Syllabus
For Tuesday, October 2

Read, in The Democratic Idea,
#5. "The Republican Constitution at its Height" (Polybius) pp.  15-18
#6. "On the Laws" (Cicero) pp.  19-24
Speaking of the Roman political system Polybius says "...it was impossible even for a native to pronounce with certainty whether the whole system was aristocratic, democratic, or monarchical" To understand him fully you'll need to make sure you know a little about what the terms, aristocracy, monarch, and democracy mean.  If you're not certain, don't run to a dictionary at the outset.  Rather, see if the context provides a clue.
Polybius describes what we might call a "mixed" system of government.  Three different agencies contribute... the consul, the Senate, and the people, organized into tribes and represented by tribunes.  Be sure you understand the roles and responsibilities of each agency.  Does Polybius give you any insight into why power was distributed in the way it was distributed
"On the Laws" by Cicero is presented as a dialogue, actually something of a "trialogue" with three characters.  Atticus sets up the topic for discussion and once he's preformed that function we see him no more.  Quintus acts as a straight man, feeding questions to Marcus, the philosopher of the law whose words make up the preponderance of the essay.  This is an ancient rhetorical device.  You encountered something similar in the writing by Euripides, but there is a subtle difference here.  Cicero uses the secondary characters rather like we use paragraph punctuation: to introduce a new idea or a qualification of an  old idea.  Use Quintus to help you stay organized as you think about what Marcus has to say.  Put most of your mental energy into understanding Marcus' ideas.  You've perhaps heard the riddle with no answer: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"  Cicero, through Marcus, looks at a similar conundrum.  Do the laws determine right and wrong, or does right and wrong determine the law?  Or, "Which comes first, right and wrong, or law?
For Friday, October 5

Read in The West in the World,
Appropriate sections of Chapter 4, which commences on page 113. 

How do you determine what is "appropriate?"  Start by considering that your objective is to develop a deeper understanding of Polybius and Cicero.  Then, use the technique described in last week's syllabus.
Week of October 9 - 12
Week of September 25 - 28
Week of October 23 - 26
Week of October 30 - November 2