HIS 2505H - THE GOLDEN AGE OF ATHENS: POLITICS,SOCIETY, AND CULTURE (Honor’s Crse)

credits: 3.0
This course serve as an Honors elective in the Honors Program as well as an elective for the History and Classical Studies Majors. Periclean Athens, also known as the Golden Age of Athens, describes 5th Century B.C. Athens, when the Greek city-state experienced cultural flowering and enlightenment. It is a time when the famous plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, or Euripides were performed, when the Athens was adorned with magnificent temples and other political structures, when democracy was established and when Socrates walked the Agora expounding his wisdom. This course examines the state and society of Athens at its peak, discussing such topics as: Athenian democracy in practice; the role of religion and women, family and marriage in Athenian society; Classical drama; the art and architecture of Periclean Athens and its political significance. Athenian state and society during the Golden Age is explored using literary, historical and artistic evidence. Objectives: A) Demonstrate their knowledge of basic literary, philosophical, social, and cultural developments through the interpretation of texts, artifacts, and historical events; B) Understand the different literary genres of drama, philosophy, and historiography; C) Develop strategies on how to read and/or interpret historical and literary texts and artifacts from ancient Athens, such as art objects, material remains, monuments, and inscriptions; D) Appraise information in primary sources so as to appreciate the values of the ancient Greek culture; E) Analyze the influence of the Age of Pericles (of Athens) and the cultural legacy of Fifth Century Greece on modern perceptions of the ancient world. Method of Instruction: Lecture and discussion. Method of Evaluation: Quizzes, Short written assignments, Midterm, and Final Research paper. Meets *WEP Distribution Requirement. PREREQUISITE: ENROLLMENT IN THE HONORS PROGRAM or Permission of the Instructor.