Doug McFarland

Required Texts (available at OU bookstore):

Herodotus, Histories

Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War

Artistophanes, Staging Women

Livy, Annales 1-5

Ibn-Khaldun, Muqaddimah

Other materials will be provided by the instructor.

Grading:

Mid-term Examination: 30%

Research Paper: 30%

Final Examination: 30%

Attendance, Participation, and Quizzes 10%

Course Description and Outline:

While in broad terms the first year of the core sequence explores human subjectivity and the second pursues theories of communal organization, the third examines some formal structures and methods through which the social group remembers its cultural past.  We will be concerned, in short, not with what happened in the past but how it is preserved in the present.  We will, however, supplement this critique of “histories” with hard facts in order to provide a context for our theoretical inquiries.

 Part One – The Formation of Western Historiography in 5th Century Athens

Herodotus, selections from The Persian War

Thucydides, selections from The Peloponnesian War

Feminist Historiography and Ancient Athens:

Aristophanes, Three Plays

Simon De Beauvoir, “Patriarchal Times and Classical Antiquity” from The Second Sex

Part Two – History as Master Narrative in Ancient Rome (2 Weeks)

Livy, selections from The Annales Books 1-5

Part Three –Monotheism and Universal History (2 and 1/2 Weeks)

Hebrew Historiography: Judges (selections), 1 Samuel

Christian Historiography:

                  Augustine, selections from City of God

Gregory of Tours, selections

The Medieval Chronicle, selections

Part Four – The Breakdown of Universal Histories in Western and Islamic Culture:

The Islamic Enlightenment: Ibn-khaldun, selections from Muqaddimah            

The Protestant Reformation: Luther, Freedom of a Christian

Schedule:

Aug. 25 –Introduction

Aug. 30– Herodotus

   1 (1-91, 95-130, 141, 152-169), 2 (1), 5 (30-38, 49-51, 97-126)

Sept. 8 – Herodotus

                 6 (94-124), 7 (1-60, 100-end), 8 (1-18, 40-125)

Sept. 15 – Thucydides

                 1, 2  (34-65), 3 (36-85)

Sept. 29– Thucydides

              5 (84-end), 6 (8-32), 7 (20-87)

Oct. 4 – Simone De Beauvoir, Aristophanes (Lysistrate, Thesmophoria)    

              Turn in Examination

Oct. 13 – Livy

             1 (1-26, 49-60), 2, 3 (26-59)

Oct. 18– Livy

               4 (1-6, 12-20), 5

Oct. 27– Selections from Judges and I Samuel

Nov. 8 – Augustine, Gregory of Tours, Medieval Chronicle

Nov. 15–  Luther, Freedom of a Christian

                 Ibn-Khaldum (selections to be announced)

Nov. 22 – Research Paper Due

Dec. 1 Ibn-Khaldum –Final Examination Distributed

Dec. 8 – Final Examination Due

University policies concerning incompletes and absences will be followed.  The honor code will be enforced. See Bulletin pps. 70-71,77.

The  University policy regarding incompletes will be followed.  Please refer to the current bulletin for details.

Class attendance is essential.  If a student misses more than two weeks of class without a suitable excuse, the instructor may assign a failing grade.

The University Honor Code will be followed.  See page 77 of the Bulletin for details.  Please sign the honor code pledge on each test, paper, in-class essay, and quiz.

The Pledge:

I pledge that I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this assignment.

Signed:

Core III Reading Assignments

The Muqaddimah

Mon. Nov. 24

pp. 5-48, 91-111, 118-122

Mon. Dec. 2

pp. 123-142, 146-147, 149-170

Wed. Dec. 4

pp. 263-337, 340-343