HONORS SECTION: CLASSICAL
STUDIES 1003
ILLUSTRATION: The lusty goddess of the Dawn, Eos, is in
love with the handsome Trojan prince Tithonus. She wants him a lot. Do you
think she’ll catch him? (Red-Figure Attic oenochoe, attributed to the Achilles
Painter, c. 460-450 BCE. Louvre, Paris.)
The Honors Section of CLST 1003 will
be an enriching and fun complement to the regular class. It will allow students to interact with their professor more closely than a three-hour course normally allows, and to pursue something meaningful.We will work on projects that will take us into closer touch with ancient Greek literature, language and history.
This summer I was a program scholar for “Ancient Greeks/Modern Lives,” a national program in 100 libraries and cultural centers in the United States. Our theme was “The Returning Warrior,” something that is very meaningful to our country as we cope with a growing number of veterans of our wars abroad. I gave an introductory lecture on this subject last May (https://sites.google.com/site/combatveteransgreekliterature/), and then led discussions of the Odyssey and several Greek tragedies, focusing on the relevance of ancient experiences to modern vets, with the object of seeing what we can learn from the Classics and how we can use ancient Greek texts as a basis for discussion of our own returning warriors.
Ancient Greek literature is a useful tool to help understand the struggles of modern war veterans because ancient war veterans, who knew from firsthand personal experiences what it was like to fight and be away from home for long periods of time, composed most of it. Their anxieties and struggles, expressed in ancient epics and tragedies, resonated with their audiences, which were mostly made up of combat veterans. The actors on the Greek tragic stage were mostly combat veterans, too. When we read these classics, many of us relate to these universal experiences, and none more so than our own veterans.
Readings
We will meet with the regular class, and on certain days will meet as an Honors Section — without the other students. Honors students will read the Odyssey and Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, as assigned for class. We’ll also read a fascinating essay my sister in law showed me this summer: “What to Pack When You’re Bound for Bagdhad” by Jason Armagost [Journal of War, Literature & the Arts vol. 18 (2006) pp. 121-141]. It is a memorable, gripping short essay on war and literature. You can access it on line here: http://www.wlajournal.com/18_1-2/armagost.pdf
We’ll meet to discuss this essay on Friday, September 7 at 3:30 (our regular class time on Mondays and Wednesdays).
Our next readings will be from three books:
1) Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character, by the psychiatrist Jonathan Shay (1994) on Vietnam vets with PTSD, and how they parallel war experiences as depicted in the Iliad.
2) Odysseys in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming, also by Jonathan Shay (2002), on the problems that Vietnam vets have had in re-integrating into society, with parallels with the Odyssey.
3) From Melos to My Lai: War and Survival, by the Classicist and Vietnam ve tLawrence A. Tritle (2000), on parallels between ancient and modern battle experiences.
The professor will provide copies of these books. Students will work in pairs, looking at parts of these books. For example, each pair might read one book, but concentrate on 1/3 of one of the books in their presentation to the class. We’ll work out the division of work early in the semester.
Schedule.
We will meet at the end of the first day of class in our classroom for the last ten minutes of class. Then, I would like us to meet as an honors group three times.
One time in September (9/7)
Once in October (10/26), and
Once in November (11/16).
PRESENTATIONS:
Pairs of Honors students will make 10-minute presentations to the class during the last two class meetings. You may choose to talk about anything you have learned from your readings and discussions this semester.The professor will help students with these projects.
PAPERS
Each student will write a short paper about the subject of their presentation, based on their readings for the semester. The professor will help students with these projects.
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