Learning outcomes: Students gain knowledge of a series of theories, often contradicting one another, concerning the phenomenon of the polis-state as a congregation of peer citizens. At the same time, students have the opportunity to comprehend the particularities of the polis-state as a political institution, and thus to practice their analytical skills applying comparative methods in a historical perspective.
General Competences:
The ancient Greek city-state has been represented by many scholars as an exquisite example of social and political cohesion. Yet, many others point to ancient Greek sources proving that the city-state has harbored every kind of factionalism and conflict. In the course of this seminar all centripetal and centrifugal social tendencies in the polis-state are discussed, along with the philosophers’ attitudes, the problem of economic and social inequality, and the threat of violence. Religion, social mentality, and the idiosyncratic moral system of competitive values and of individualism consist some of the major axes of discussion
1) The prisoner’s dilemma and theories on social congregation
2) Society as result of necessity: “Egyptian archaeology”, Democritus and Protagoras
3) Political community as an end: Aristotelian teleology and political nature
4) City-state and its features: city identic with the citizen-body, society identic with the state
5) City-state and particularism
6) Friendship and strife: centripetal and centrifugal forces in the city-state
7) Moral codes of competitive and cooperative values in ancient Greece
8) Pillars of social discrimination: nobility, wealth, and moral excellence
9) Social analysis: social “class”, “order”, and “status”
10) Economic and social developments in ancient Greece: “household economy”, monetization and “capitalism”
11) Social discrimination in Greek sources: history of concepts and the evolution of social nomenclature
12) Society and polities, civil strife and political stability in the city-state
13) Separatism and cosmopolitism in ancient Greek political theory
Delivery: | Face to face | |
Use Of Information And Communications Technology : | Powerpoint presentations, use of electronic platform (eclass). | |
Teaching Methods: | Activity | Semester workload |
Lectures | 39 | |
Study and Analysis of Bibliography | 131 | |
Essay writing | 80 | |
Course total:
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250 | |
Student Performance Evaluation: |
Final essay writing in Greek |
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