Week of September 11, 2000

For Tuesday, September 12


Read,
     In Greer and Lewis,  Chapter 2.

The sections on the Greek City-State are the most important here.  Be sure you understand the contrast between the Spartan and Athenian ideals.  Do the authors indicate, through choice of  language, any particular bent towards the one system or the other?  To what do the authors attribute the decline of the City-State?  Does this suggest any lesson for American democracy today?
You will also want to pay some attention to the sections on philosophy and history.  These will put the readings from Idea of Democracy into context.
I will also spend some time talking about a particular kind of statement, an assertion.  For our purposes we'll be considering an assertion to be a statement of fact... a reality statement, if you will.   It is important to make distinctions between statements about reality and explanations of reality.  Either can be true or false.

For Friday, September 15

Read:
in Idea of Democracy, #3 Euripedes, The Suppliants p. 9,  plus a handout with a second version of the same text.

First, I want you to read and compare the two versions.  How can we explain the differences between the two?  What does this difference suggest about the nature of  history and historical studies? 
Second, following up on our exercise concerning identifying assertions.  I'd like to you to create a little chart:  Two columns, one entitled Assertions of the Theban Messenger and the other Assertions of Thesius.  Organize these assertions so that you can see where Thesius responds directly to the messenger.  Which assertions does he answer indirectly, or not at all?  What assertions does he make concerning the virtues of "democracy" and the vices of "tyranny"?

Read also,
in Idea of Democracy, #2, Pericles Funeral Oration, pp. 5-8

This essay needs to be put in the context of the material from Greer and Lewis.  The underlying comparison is between the Athenian and Spartan systems, and we need to understand Pericles' assertions about the values of "Athenianism".  As a little exercise to your imaginations, re-read this section, substituting in your mind (or maybe in pencil in the essay) any reference to Athens or Athenians with a reference to America or Americans.  Would Pericles feel at home here?  how or how not?  How should we react to Pericles' claims to cultural superiority?  
The Parthenon:  for many Americans of the 19th century, The ruins of Classical Greece provided a potent icon for Democracy.  Many American buildings were modelled upon it.  Indeed, many American towns and cities took their names from Greek City-States.  For some examples of Amrican buildings inspired by the Parthenon, click "continue". 
Week of September 11, 2000

For Monday, September 11, 2000

One page paper  "Democracy" due                            

Read,
     In Greer and Lewis,  Chapter 2.

The sections on the Greek City-State are the most important here.  Be sure you understand the contrast between the Spartan and Athenian ideals.  Do the authors indicate, through choice of  language, any particular bent towards the one system or the other?  To what do the authors attribute the decline of the City-State?  Does this suggest any lesson for American democracy today?
You will also want to pay some attention to the sections on philosophy and history.  These will put the readings from Idea of Democracy into context.
I will also spend some time talking about a particular kind of statement, an assertion.  For our purposes we'll be considering an assertion to be a statement of fact... a reality statement, if you will.   It is important to make distinctions between statements about reality and explanations of reality.  Either can be true or false.

For Thursday, September 14

Read:
in Idea of Democracy, #3 Euripedes, The Suppliants, p. 9,  plus a handout with a second version of the same text.

First, I want you to read and compare the two versions.  How can we explain the differences between the two?  What does this difference suggest about the nature of  history and historical studies? 
Second, following up on our exercise concerning identifying assertions.  I'd like to you to create a little chart:  Two columns, one entitled Assertions of the Theban Messenger and the other Assertions of Thesius.  Organize these assertions so that you can see where Thesius responds directly to the messenger.  Which assertions does he answer indirectly, or not at all?  What assertions does he make concerning the virtues of "democracy" and the vices of "tyranny"?

Read also,
in Idea of Democracy, #2, Pericles Funeral Oration, pp. 5-8

This essay needs to be put in the context of the material from Greer and Lewis.  The underlying comparison is between the Athenian and Spartan systems, and we need to understand Pericles' assertions about the values of "Athenianism".  As a little exercise to your imaginations, re-read this section, substituting in your mind (or maybe in pencil in the essay) any reference to Athens or Athenians with a reference to America or Americans.  Would Pericles feel at home here?  how or how not?  How should we react to Pericles' claims to cultural superiority?