Instructors:
Prof. Alexander Hollmann (海角网) (weeks 1鈥5)
hollmann@uw.edu: office hours W, 1.30-2.30 & by appointment, Denny M262E
Prof. Nektaria Klapaki (JSIS, Hellenic Studies) (weeks 6鈥10)
nklapaki@uw.edu: office hours M, 9:00-10:00 & by appointment, Thomson 225B
Course Description
How are Ancient and Modern Greece connected to each other? Partly real and partly invented, the bond between them can simultaneously be described in terms of revival and continuity, but also in terms of discontinuity, tension, appropriation and conflict. In the first half of the course we will look at some of the most distinctive features of and moments in Ancient Greek culture: the combination of competition and collaboration that gave rise to tyranny, oligarchy, and radical democracy, tragedy and comedy, athletic competition, and a much imitated style of art and architecture; how the Greeks presented themselves for generations to come in their literature, art, and architecture and saw themselves in relation to other peoples around them. In the second half of the course we look at Modern Greece and its relationship with Ancient Hellas: how has the heritage of Ancient Greece shaped Modern Greece? How have the excavations at Knossos and the debate about the Parthenon marbles impacted Modern Greek identity? How have Ancient Greek drama, myth and ritual been revived and to what end? What lies behind the modern (Greek) institution of the Olympic Games? How has the ancient Greek concept of democracy been used, appropriated, and abused?
We will explore primary texts and images both ancient and modern (poetry, history, novels, painting, sculpture, photography, and film) and a wide range of secondary readings in history, archaeology, literary criticism, cultural studies, and political science. There are no prerequisites.
Course Learning Objectives
- to become familiar with key features of Ancient and Modern Greek culture
- to study Ancient and Modern Greek self-perceptions
- to understand the ambivalent relation between Modern and Ancient Greece
- to familiarize themselves with the key aspects of modern Greek identity and the ideological processes whereby they were constructed
Course components
- Quizzes 1 and 2 (first half of course) (12.5% each = 25%)
- Midterm assessment 25%
- Quizzes 3 and 4 (second half of course) (12.5% each = 25%)
- Final assessment 25%
is the scale used to convert final grade from percentage to GPA.
Required Course Reading Material
- Johanna Hanink, The Classical Debt: Greek Antiquity in an Era of Austerity(Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press, 2017).
- Other assigned readings will be available through Canvas and as handouts in the class
Course Policies
Please come to class prepared to participate. This includes having read the readings assigned for the day and have considered the study questions (if these have been assigned).
All Powerpoint presentations shown in class will be posted on the website after the class. Because we will often be working on the content up until the time of the class we cannot undertake to post these before the class. Please note that Powerpoint presentations are only outlines and not a substitute for notes. If you miss a class, please ask a fellow student if you can copy their notes.
If you cannot comply with a due date on an assignment or assessment, please let us know as soon as you can.
Week 1
M Jan. 6 Introduction and Overview. Powerpoint and .
W Jan. 8 Bronze Age: Minoan and Mycenaean periods. Powerpoints and .
Week 2
M Jan. 13 Mycenaean to Dark Age. .
by Prof. Nakassis "Orientalism and the Mycenaeans" and come to class prepared to discuss the study questions.
W Jan. 15 Dark Age to Archaic. Powerpoints and . .
(covering material through W. Jan. 15) released Th. Jan. 16 9.00am., due by Sat. Jan. 18 9.00am
Week 3
M. Jan. 20 NO CLASS: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
W. Jan. 22 Archaic period generally and in Athens. Powerpoints and .
Week 4
M. Jan. 27 Athens in Classical period. Read Hanink, 鈥溾 (The Classical Debt, pp. 32-69) and come to class prepared to discuss these . Powerpoints and .
W. Jan. 29 Athens in Classical period. Democracy. Powerpoint .
(covering material through W. Jan. 29) released Th. Jan. 30 9.00am, due by Sat. Feb. 1 9.00am
Week 5
M. Feb. 3 Athenian democracy cont'd. Powerpoint . Greeks and Others: Powerpoint . Hellenistic to Imperial period. Powerpoint . Please take a look at .
W. Feb. 5 Hellenistic to Imperial period cont'd. Powerpoint .
Byzantine (Eastern 海角网) Empire. Powerpoint .
released Sat. Feb. 8 9.00am, due by W. Feb. 12 9.00am
Week 6
M Feb. 10
Modern Greek Identity: Ancient Greece and Byzantium. From the Revival Model to the Continuity Model. 海角网tic Hellenism and Philhellenism.
Readings: Hanink 2017: 104-131, 139-147, 167-170
(for reference only)
Powerpoint presentation:
W Feb. 12
Historiography and Folklore Studies. Modern Greek folk songs and orality. The ritual lament.
Readings:
Powerpoint presentation:
Week 7
M Feb. 17: NO CLASS (President's Day)
W Feb. 19
Archaeology and Modern Greek Identity. Claiming the classical heritage for themselves. Lord Elgin and the Parthenon marbles. The Parthenon marbles debate today.
Readings: Hanink 2017: 1-8, 131-139
Powerpoint presentation:
Study Guide for Take-home Quiz 3
TAKE-HOME QUIZ 3: Th Feb 20 released 9am, due by Sat Feb 22, 9am
Week 8
M Feb. 24
Excavations in Knossos
Readings:
Powerpoint presentation:
W Feb. 26
Ancient Greek culture in modern Greece. Modern Greek drama. Tragedies on exile islands.
Readings:
Powerpoint presentation:
Week 9
M Mar. 3
Ancient Greek myth in modern Greek literature and culture. Neopagan revivals in modern Greece.
Readings: Hanink 2017: 182-186
Cavafy, "Ithaca"
Sikelianos 1996: 26-29, 98-105 (Aphrodite Rising)
Seferis 1995: 3-28 (Mythistorema)
Powerpoint presentation:
TAKE-HOME QUIZ 4: T Mar 4 released 9am, due by Th Mar. 7, 9am
Quiz 4 Study Guide:
W Mar. 5
The modern Olympics. Baron de Coubertin and the modern revival of the Olympics. The 1896 Olympics. Spyros Louis.
Readings:
Hanink 2017: 170-6
Powerpoint presentation:
Week 10
M Mar. 10
The 2004 Olympics: Greece between the local and the global.
Readings: Hanink 2017: 186-94
Powerpoint presentation:
W Mar. 12
Democracy today. Financial crisis and direct democracy. The Occupy Greece movement and the appropriation of ancient Greek heritage by Golden Dawn.
Readings: Hanink 2017: 195-271
Powerpoint presentation:
TAKE-HOME FINAL EXAM Sat Mar. 15, released 9am, due by W Mar 19, 9am