LLRN 102 helps students develop critical thinking and writing skills through an introduction to central texts from Ancient Greece that have become foundational narratives for Western culture. Classes will engage students in an interdisciplinary approach to cultural history. The learning objectives for this course include: strengthening close reading skills, developing strong skills in expository writing, and acquiring a precise vocabulary for historical and cultural studies.
Some of the topics under study:
- What is a hero? What are some avatars and uses of heroism? What kinds of cultural and political power and authority do heroes possess (or should possess)?
- How is political authority constructed? What are the limits of political power?
- What is expected of figures in leadership positions? What is their relationship with the political community they rule like? How should leaders and communities react to crises?
- How can we understand the tensions between an individual and their community? Between an individual, a family, a household, and the state? Between the sacred and the political, the godly and the human?
- What is the value of mourning and remembering and honoring the dead? Whose lives count and what lives are grievable and which ones are not? Whose lives are worth saving by those in a position to do so, and whose lives are considered to be expendable by those in power?
- What is a good life? How do we get to experience a live that is worth living? What is the role of love, friendship, and knowledge in living a good life?
- Teacher: Cordoba Antonio