Course Description
Examination of the role of rhetoric in the political systems of democratic Athens and republican Rome through readings from ancient speeches and ancient rhetorical theory. It especially considers the relationship between rhetoric and civic engagement and the influence of ancient rhetoric on modern democratic discourse.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will complete an independent research project
on a topic of their own choosing. This project will require (1)
extensive research in primary sources beyond the readings
assigned for undergraduates, (2) analysis of trends in
contemporary scholarship, and (3) an original argument based on
integrating and synthesizing a wide range of primary and
secondary material. Graduate students will also prepare an in-
class presentation of their research and lead the rest of the
class in discussion.
Athena Title
Rhetoric and Democracy
Graduate Prerequisite
Permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Students gain a deeper understanding of democratic institutions and democratic values. 2. Students read a wide assortment of ancient rhetorical texts by authors including Thucydides, Demosthenes, Plato, Isocrates, Quintilian, Livy, Cicero, and Tacitus and learn to recognize their influence on democratic discourse. 3. Students learn to appreciate the importance of visual rhetoric in democratic societies by studying the sculptural program of the Parthenon, a selection of Athenian vase paintings, and the electoral graffiti from Pompeii. 4. Students learn to think critically about civic engagement in democratic societies by comparing ancient and modern responses to common challenges, including how citizenship should be defined, what education should consist of and how democracies should conduct their foreign policy. 5. Students learn how to use fragmentary evidence to study ancient cultures and ancient values. 6. Students improve their written communication skills through in-class essays, formal papers, and essay-based examinations.
Topical Outline
I. The Rhetoric of the Athenian Democracy funeral orations assembly speeches forensic speeches women and rhetoric slaves and rhetoric visual rhetoric anti-democratic rhetoric II. Rhetorical Theory Plato, Isocrates, Quintilian III. The Rhetoric of the Roman Republic factional rhetoric and compromise treason and rhetoric electoral rhetoric debate in the senate rhetoric and tyranny