Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Course Description
This course investigates the relationship between urban architecture and political, social, and cultural history of Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. It surveys and analyzes archeological and literary evidence, including the sanctuary of Athena on the Acropolis, the Agora, Greek houses, the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, plays of Sophocles and Aristophanes, and the panhellenic sanctuaries of Delphi and Olympia.
Required Books
Hurwit, Jeffrey M. The Acropolis in the Age of Pericles. Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN: 9780521527408.
Samons II, Loren J., ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Pericles. Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780521003896. [Preview with Google Books]
For additional readings, please see the Readings section.
Online Resources
Athenian Agora Excavations, the website of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, who have been responsible for excavating the Agora for many decades now.
JSTOR, the scholarly journal archive, including several relevant classical studies and archaeology journals.
The Perseus Digital Library has a wealth of information relevant to our subject: ancient texts and translations, extensive photo archives of an impressive range of sites, and plenty of secondary material.
The Stoa Consortium, ‘A Consortium for Electronic Publication in the Humanities’, with links to many projects of interest.
Assessment
ACTIVITIES | PERCENTAGES |
---|---|
Class Participation This grade will be based on the following:
|
20% |
Response Paper (3 at 10% each) | 30% |
In-class Test | 20% |
Research Project | 30% |
For further detail on the response papers and the research project, please see the Assignments section.
The Writing and Communication Center
The Writing and Communication Center offers free one-on-one professional advice from lecturers who are published writers about all types of academic, creative, and professional writing and about all aspects of oral presentations.
Policy on Plagiarism
Plagiarism - the use of another’s intellectual work without acknowledgement - is a serious offense. Students who plagiarize will be liable to receive an F in the subject; and the case will be forwarded to the Office of Student Citizenship. Full acknowledgement for all information obtained from sources outside the classroom must be clearly stated in all written work submitted and in all oral presentations, including images or texts in other media as well as materials collected online. All ideas, arguments, and direct phrasings taken from someone else’s work must be identified and properly footnoted. Quotations from other sources must be clearly marked as distinct from the student’s own work. For further guidance on the proper forms of attribution, consult the style guides available in the Writing and Communication Center, and Academic Integrity at MIT: A Handbook for Students.
Policy on Late Submission of Papers / Projects
Unexcused late submissions will incur a penalty of one partial grade step (e.g. from A- to B+) for each day late. Only serious and documented circumstances will be accepted as excuses (e.g. serious matters of health or other personal emergencies).