Prospectus

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MA Seminar Greek Literature: Isocrates. Un-Platonic Philosophy, Politics and Education

Course
2009-2010

Description

To us, the ideas of (Plato’s contemporary) Isocrates on the values of civilized society have the appeal of the common sense and the ring of the familiar. In his own time, his ideas on discourse as the pivotal instrument in education and politics were a matter of dispute, as appears from his diligent efforts to distinguish his own practice as a teacher of rhetoric from that of ‘the sophists’. It is part of the irony of history that the prominence of his highly successful school was eclipsed by the more outspoken claims of Plato’s Academy, whereas Isocrates’ concept of rhetorical culture remained en vogue through Roman and Renaissance culture till modern times.

In this seminar we will concentrate on Isocrates’ self-presentation in his fictional apology (the Antidosis) and the (fragmentary) manifesto Against the Sophists. Students will investigate the rhetoric of Isocrates’ efforts to characterize his position (involving a comparison with the argument of Plato’s Apology of Socrates, and the semantics of political/ethical terminology in the context of 4th century Athens), the consistency and the significance of his thought, his alleged role in Panhellenic politics, and the ‘Nachleben’ of his views on leadership and education.

Teaching method

Seminar

Admission requirements

This course is open to (research)master students in Classics.

Course objectives

Students will tesitfy to being able, both individually and as a member of a team, to analyse the discourse of Isocrates’ self-presentation within the intellectual debate of 4th century Athens, to identify and characterize the moral and political issues involved, and to give an assessment of the relevance of these issues for moral philosophy and political thought of Roman antiquity, the Renaissance, or modern times.

Course load

10 ects (can also be taken for 5 ects)

Required reading

Isocrates Vol. II, with an English Translation by George Norlin, Cambridge (Mass.)/ London 11929, 1982 (Loeb CL).
(Also useful are: Vols. I, Norlin 11928, 1991 and III, La Rue van Hook 11945, 1986)

Test method

– active participation (20 %)
– oral presentation (40%)
– paper (40%)

Time table

Timetable MA Classics

Information

Dr. M.van Raalte (m.van.raalte@hum.leidenuniv.nl)

Registration

Please enroll in U-twist, choose “GLTC” in the administration list:
http://www.ulcn.leidenuniv.nl/content_docs/inloggen/inloggen_u-twist.htm

Blackboard

Blackboard will not be used.

Remarks

  • total studyload 280 hours – hours spent on the seminar: 28 uur – time spent on the study of literature and preparation for oral presentations 132 hours – time for writing a paper 120 hours (including reading and investigation)