Skip to Main Content

CLAS 2109: Self and Society: Prof. Ellis

Open Educational Resource (OER) created for the Classics 2019 sections.

Course Information

Fall 2022 SYLLABUS

CLAS 2109 The Self and Society Section TR11 and TR9

Boylan 2150- TR11: TTh 11:00 am-12:15 pm

TR9: TTh 9:30 am-10:45 am

Instructor: Kevin Ellis

Office Hours: Monday: 1:00 pm-3:00 pm & by Appointment

2408 Boylan (Classics Department Office)

Email: kellis@gradcenter.cuny.edu

Course Objectives

CLAS 2109 The Self and Society

3 hours; 3 credits. Critical examination of issues of the self in relationship to society both in ancient cultures and in contemporary life. Topics include reflection on the self and personal integrity, justice and responsibility, friendship, alienation and protest.

Goals addressed by this course

  • To develop the ability to think critically and creatively, to reason logically, and to express one’s thoughts orally and in writing with clarity and precision.
  • To understand the arts, histories and cultures of the past as a foundation for those of the present.
  • To be capable of integrating knowledge from different sources.

Course objectives

  • To use with accuracy and precision basic terms of literary analysis relevant to the texts read in class.
  • To read texts closely and critically.
  • To identify traditions and practices specific to ancient cultures and describe how they help shape the texts produced within those cultures.
  • To write interpretive prose which is clear and cogent.
  • To make articulate contributions to classroom discussion of texts.

Readings

Schedule

Class Meetings and Readings

Thursday, August 25 – Background and General Information

Tuesday, August 30 – Plato, Apology

Thursday, September 1 – Tacitus, Agricola

Tuesday, September 6 – Euripides, Medea, lines 1-823

Thursday, September 8 – Euripides, Medea, lines 824-end; Assignment #1 due

Tuesday, September 13 – Sophocles, Oedipus Rex, 1-700

Thursday, September 15 – Sophocles, Oedipus Rex, 701-end

Tuesday, September 20 – Sophocles, Antigone, 1-700

Thursday, September 22 – Sophocles, Antigone, 701-end; Assignment #2 due

Tuesday, September 27 – No Class, Rosh Hashanah

Thursday, September 29 – No Class (Conversion Day—follow Monday schedule)

Tuesday, October 4 – No Class, Yom Kippur

Thursday, October 6 – Aristophanes, Assemblywomen

Tuesday, October 11 – Ancient Roman Letters (selections from Seneca, Pliny, Cicero)

Thursday, October 13 – Ancient Roman Letters (continued); Assignment #3 due

Tuesday, October 18 – Homer, Odyssey 1-2

Thursday, October 20 – Homer, Odyssey 3-4

Tuesday, October 25 – Thucydides, Pericles’ Funeral Oration

Thursday, October 27 – Midterm Examination: Close Reading of a Poem

Tuesday, November 1 – Homer, Iliad 1-3

Thursday, November 3 – Homer, Iliad 4-6

Tuesday, November 8 – Homer, Iliad 7-9

Thursday, November 10 – Homer, Iliad 10-11; Assignment #4 due

Tuesday, November 15 – Homer, Iliad 12-14

Thursday, November 17 – Homer, Iliad 15-17

Tuesday, November 22 – Homer, Iliad 18-20

Thursday, November 24 – No Class, Thanksgiving

Tuesday, November 29 – Homer, Iliad 21-23

Thursday, December 1 – Homer, Iliad 24; Assignment #5 due

Tuesday, December 6 – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (selections)

Thursday, December 8 – Stoic Sampler (selections)

Tuesday, December 13 – Plato, Crito

FINAL EXAMINATION- (see syllabus for details)