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Instructor |
H. Haskell |
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Office hours |
tba |
click here to go directly to assignments
General Course information
Both brilliant masters of public image, Alexander the Great of Macedonia and Augustus of Rome were spectacularly successful and powerful political figures. Their carefully crafted images were enhanced and transmitted through the media of the day: literary and historical works, inscribed dedications, sculpture, coins, and architecture. In addition, these rulers fostered state cults that approached personality cults. An appreciation of these ancient spin masters is especially relevant as we look at recent and contemporary political events, such as Indecision 2000, Decison 2004, California Mediacracy, and Presidential heroizing / demonizing in a time of short- and long-term international crises.
Both Alexander and Augustus inspired nearly visceral reactions that were at one extreme or another, strong loyalty bordering upon fanaticism on the one hand, utter hatred on the other. It was impossible to remain neutral. This bipolarity has extended even to modern scholarship, with some scholars seeing these rulers as enlightened despots, others as cruel tyrants.
The purpose of the course is to examine how these two superstar rulers acquired such images and learn how to look behind the images at the rulers themselves. We will consider how ancient written sources, monuments, coins, and sculpture drove images of power. We will read selected passages in translation from, e.g., Arrian for Alexander, Vergil and Livy for Augustus, and epigraphical evidence for each. We will also examine ancient buildings, sculpture, and coins that served to enhance the imperial image. Furthermore, contemporary and recent works on Alexander and Augustus will be read critically to enable the student to see how Classical scholarship itself, shaped by its own social and political contexts, has helped to reshape the very historical figures that they portray.
The FYS program focuses on developing the student's abilities in the following areas: reading, writing, critical thinking, research, informed discussion and creativity. Through this particular section the student will learn to assess critically and interpret an array of sources, both ancient and modern, and to synthesize seemingly disparate classes of evidence. In addition to common readings,students will work individually and in groups on specific topics, e.g. W. Tarn on Alexander the Great (Tarn is strongly in the pro-Alexander camp) or the Prima Porta statue of Augustus (visual references to divinity, shared motifs with Horace's carmen saeculare), and will learn how to evaluate and interpret such sources. You will, therefore, be engaged in research, critical reading, and critical writing.
While a small part of class time will be devoted to providing the basic background for Hellenistic Greece and early imperial Rome, most class time will be used for class discussion and for research project presentations.
In terms of the semester schedule, the course is loaded pretty heavily at the front end. We meet for many hours during Orientation Week, and have an optional session on Thursday evening, August 26 (Godfather II). Your first graded work (apart from class participation) is due on Tuesday, August 26, the first Tuesday of regular classes. This means that you will have feedback - a good thing! - on college level work very early in the semester.
Requirements
Examinations. There will be two during the semester, including the final. The first exam covers material relating to Alexander the Great and includes objective questions (for example, fill in the blank) and essays. The final contains objective questions relating to Augustus, and essay questions relating to material from the entire course, including Presentations #2 (see below). Please note that make-up exams are the rare exception, not the rule, and are allowed at the discretion of the instructor; such matters must be arranged in advance of the regularly scheduled exam time.Papers/Projects (Paper #1; Paper #2). There will be two short papers/projects. Paper #1 is to be about 5 pages in length. Paper/Project #2 may be a traditional paper or a multi-media presentation. A list of suggested topics will be provided by the instructor, although students may propose their own topics; student-proposed topics must be approved by the instructor in advance.
Presentations (Presentation #1; Presentation #2). Each student will prepare and present to the class two oral presentations. Students will work in groups or three or four. The first presentation will focus on Alexander, the second on a study of how a fall 2004 political race compares to image promotion of Alexander and/or Augustus. Students should make these presentations with computer support (e.g. web browser or Microsoft Powerpoint) or slides (the instructor will provide help with technological issues). Included in the documentation submitted separately to the instructor is to be an outline of each student's contribution to the project. Attendance is mandatory for all students at these classes and all material presented becomes course content for all students.
Diversity on Campus: An FYS Conversation. Early in the summer, you received a copy of a chapter from Dr. Richard Light’s book Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds (Dr. Light addresses first year students Monday afternoon, Sept. 16). Using this chapter on diversity as a starting point, first-year students and FYS faculty will talk about what it means to live and learn within a shared culture – Southwestern University – with those who have either similar or very different life experiences. Pick up your box dinner from the concourse of the McCombs Campus Center and report to FJSH (Science Building) 118, 5:30-7:00, Tuesday, August 17. Don’t forget to bring with you your informal, brief paper as outlined in an earlier FYS communication.
Class participation/Attendance. Students are expected to attend class. Lectures/ discussions are not re-runs of assignments. The grade for preparation/class participation will be based upon attendance and upon participation in class discussion; class discussion means "quality" and not necessarily "quantity." Class discussion also reveals to a certain extent preparation. Participation in Presentations will also affect this grade.
In class, students should feel free to express their own opinions on various matters related to the course and to ask questions. Students' interpretations need not necessarily be the same as those of the instructor. As long as interpretations are based upon reasoned assessments of the evidence (literary, historical, archaeological), they are as valid as the instructor's.
This concept has been reinforced through cooperative work of SU students and faculty, which resulted in a provision of the SU Academic Rights for Students. It bears repeating here:
Faculty members should encourage free thought and expression both in the classroom and out. Students are entitled to disagree with interpretation of data or views of a faculty member and reserve judgment in matters of opinion, but this disagreement does not excuse them from learning the content of any course for which they are enrolled or from demonstrating skills and competencies required by a faculty member. Students should be evaluated solely on academic performance.
Note: Make-up exams, presentations, and late papers are the exception, and not the rule, and permission will not be granted automatically. Make-ups must be arranged with the instructor in advance of the regularly scheduled time, and will be given (or not) at the discretion of the instructor.Accommodations for students with disabilities: Southwestern University is committed to assisting students with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations may be made once a student has registered his/her disability and has the appropriate documentation on file with the Office of Academic Services on the third floor of the Cullen Building. Professors must be notified of the accommodation at least two weeks before the accommodation is necessary or as soon as reasonably possible. For more information, contact Deb McCarthy at 863-1536.
Final Grades
The plus and minus grading system, in effect at Southwestern, will be used for final grades. Semester % averages will translate to the following letter grades:
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Assignment (to be completed by class time that day) |
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| August 16 |
Historical background |
P. Green, Alexander of Macedon (summer reading) |
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| August 17 |
Honor Code Module. Caldwell-Carvey Foyer |
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| August 17 Tuesday 5:30-7:00 |
Diversity on Campus: An FYS Conversation. FJSH 118 | Pick up box dinner in McCombs Concourse and report to FJSH 118 at 5:30. Bring your informal, brief paper (1-2 pages) that addresses the following questions (the paper will be shared anonymously with your classmates and will not be a graded assignment):
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| August 18 Wednesday 9-12 |
Sources; Ancient Interpretations of Alexander: Literature I Registration Module |
Austin, Introduction; Borza, Intro. to Wilken, Source Problem; WSJ 5/7/99 | |
| August 20 |
1:30, Writing Center module. |
Arrian, Introduction |
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| August 24 |
9:30, Diversity & the SU Learning Experience module. |
Paper #1 |
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| August 26 |
Student presentations (Alexander) Contemporary views "Godfather II", Cullen 22, 7 to 9:20 PM (optional) |
Burstein, The Hellenistic Period in World History |
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| August 31 |
Student presentations (Alexander) Contemporary politics in Greece (Macedonia); US |
Andronikos, 218-224 |
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| September 7 |
Historical background |
Howe & Howe, The Ancient World , 232-245 (on SLC library reserve, under P. Haskell) |
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| September 9 |
9:30, Interncultural learning module Sources; Ancient Interpretations of Augustus: Literature I |
Suetonius, Life of Augustus;Vergil, Aeneid (selections) |
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| September 14 |
Ancient Interpretations of Augustus: Literature II |
Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus (selections) Paper #2 rough draft (optional) |
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| September 16 |
Ancient interpretations of Augustus: Ancient Iconography I |
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| September 21 |
Ancient interpretations of Augustus: Ancient Iconography II |
Paper / Project #2 |
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| September 23 |
Scholarship |
Ronald Syme, The Roman Revolution, Introduction |
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| Student presentations (Fall 2004 race - Alexander/Augustus) |
Pat Southern, Augustus, Chapts. 8-9 |
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| September 30 Thursday 9:30-10:45 |
Student presentations (Fall 2004 race - AlexanderAugustus) | ||
| Student presentations (Fall 2004 race - AlexanderAugustus) |
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| October 7 |
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