Looking Back, Moving Forward: Identities, Politics, and Truth-Making in Classical Antiquity (FYS)
CLST 130F
Fall 2022
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01
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The world of classical antiquity has been both celebrated and reviled for its role in shaping historical notions of who and what matters, and whose truths are passed into posterity. From politics and media to social identities and the creation of canon, this course will explore constructions of authority, power, and truth-making in the classical world and their echoes in modern life. How does democracy enfranchise some and marginalize others? Who has the "authority" to decide what is natural law, scientific truth, divine right? Is there a difference between truth-telling and truth-making in the stories we tell, the information we share, the art that we make?
This course will turn to a variety of materials from the ancient Greek and Roman world--including myth, literature, medicine, law, drama, archaeological sites, and monuments--to address these questions. Class, status, race, ethnicity, the marginalized "other," religion, civic identity, and the writing of history and science will emerge as central to ancient thinking and offer critical perspectives for reconsidering intersectional identities today. By looking systematically at different facets of the ancient world, we may come to a more nuanced understanding of injustices, inequities, and constructions of modernity through their ancient origins, and look critically at our current practices and perspectives. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA CLAS |
| Course Format: Lecture | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
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