HIST 3500 - Ancient Greece and the Hellenistic World (WI)

The Greeks. Why and how did the ancient Greeks invent democracy, citizenship, freedom of speech, history, philosophy, theater, and naturalistic sculpture? In this course we will follow the Greeks’ story across the first millennium BCE, focusing on the interplay between Greek political and cultural innovation and the hard realities of economics, politics, and war. We will pass from the Greeks’ early struggles against giant, threatening empires to their own imperial triumphs and efforts to live in the multicultural world they made. This course will use a wide variety of primary source materials ranging from pottery to ancient law cases. We will also practice a variety of innovative learning approaches, including the adoption of a particular Greek character as your perspective on writing exercises and exams throughout the course.

Prerequisites & Corequisites: Prerequisite: HIST 2900 with a grade of “C” or better, or instructor approval.

Credits: 3 hours

Notes: The course requires varied writing assignments and is designated a 3000-level writing intensive course in the Department of History.