Course Description

• 

• 

• 

Class Meetings: Monday & Wednesday 9:30 – 10:45

Location: Brooklyn College

Instructor: Elizabeth Mellen

Email: elizabethmellen@gmail.com

Office: TBA

Office Hours: By Appointment

Course website: https://tedspring.commons.gc.cuny.edu

Course Description

Introductory study of ancient cultures through close reading of a variety of texts; most sections will focus on Greece and Rome, but some may explore other classical traditions such as those of England, France, and the United States. Attention to such questions as literary genre, material and performance contexts, gender, political institutions, religion, philosophy, models of culture and the creation of a classical tradition. Practice in close reading and communication by means of critical writing, class discussion and other methods, such as collaborative group work. (Not open to students who have completed Core Studies 1, 1.1, 1.2, or CORC 1110.)  Prerequisite: None.

In this course, students will engage with some of the major works in Western literature that portray the tension between the ruled and the rulers. This relationship between the people and the king, queen, emperor, sovereign, or president is one that dominates Western political and cultural history. Over the course of the semester, students will read and analyze Greek tragedy and epic poetry along with works from the early Renaissance up to the modern era. The selection of readings is organized around the theme of the individual’s ability to exercise free will under a tyranny, democracy, or empire. The focus of the reading and writing assignments will be on the interaction between the ruled and the rulers and the ways in which these interaction bolster or undermine hierarchy.