191. Great Books. Open to Honors freshmen
only. No credit granted to those who have completed or are enrolled in Gt.
Bks. 201 or Classical Civ. 101. (4). (HU).
Great Books 191 will survey the classical works of ancient Greece. Among
the readings will be Homer's Iliad and Odyssey; a number of
the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes; Herodotus'
Histories; Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War; and
several of Plato's dialogues. The course format is two lectures and two
discussion meetings a week. Six to eight short papers will be assigned;
there will be midterm and final examinations. Great Books 191 is open to
freshmen in the Honors Program, and to other students with the permission
of the Director of the Great Books Program. Cost:2 WL:3 (Cameron)
201. Great Books of the Ancient World. No credit granted to those
who have completed or are enrolled in Gt. Bks. 191 or Classical Civ. 101.
(4). (HU).
We are, perhaps more than we suspect, shaped in our habits of thought
and action, by our Western heritage. Our roots lie in Greece, Rome, and
Israel, and our knowledge of who we are depends in large part on our knowledge
of those forces which have helped form us. What meaning does it have for
my life, for example, that I know I have to die? With this question we approach
Homer's Iliad and the Exodus of the Hebrew Bible. Whether in Thucydides'
portrayal of the struggle between Athens and Sparta or in the tragic drama
of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, or in Plato's investigation of the
meaning of life in the Socratic dialogues, or in Rome's struggle for eternal
peace, it is always the dark mystery of human existence which fuels man's
desire to know who he is. Students will be evaluated on the basis of class
participation, two or three short papers, midterm, and final exam. (Paslick)