This is the home page for Classics 32, Homer and Heroism.  The course meets on Mondays and Wednesdays  from 12:15 to 1:40  in 3109 Boylan.  We will be reading Homer's Iliad and Odyssey in their entirety.  I will also distribute xerox copies of excerpts from various works of scholarship.

In addition to the daily reading assignments and class discussion, there will be two papers (6-8 pp. each), a mid-term, and a cumulative final exam.

It is extremely important for everyone to attend every class and to contribute to our ongoing discussion of the issues raised by the works which we will be reading.  These discussions will be at the heart of the course.

In addition to class discussions, Classics 32 has an on-line discussion forum, where you can make comments and post questions.  This is an enhancement and supplement to--not a substitute for--classroom work.  We will conduct our cyber-class using software called Caucus, which you can access at http://caucus.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~caucus/caucus.html.  Each course has a separate “conference”; ours is called “Classics 32 Fall 2005.”

If you have not used Caucus before, please go to the on-line instructions to find out how to log on.  Help is available in the Library Cafe, and I will also be glad to help.  Just drop by the office or e-mail me.

The final grade will be computed as follows:  15% for each paper; 20% for the mid-term; 25% for the final exam; and 25% for class participation, including our on-line discussion. This means that if you cut class your grade will suffer severely.

My office is in 2407 Boylan.  Office hours: Mon. and Wed. 11-11:30 a.m. and 4:45-5:15 p.m., or by appointment.  Phone: 951-5814.  E-mail: hhansen@brooklyn.cuny.edu.
 
 

DATE     ASSIGNMENT                      TOPIC
 

Aug. 31	none	introduction: the Homeric Question singers and contests at Athens
Sep. 7	Iliad 1, 2	the wrath of Achilles; repetitions/variations: structural elements
Sep. 12	Iliad 3, 4	Zeus' deception and Agamemnon's test; "untimely" episodes; Thersites
Sep. 14	Iliad 5, 6	crisis of power; Paris and the pard; Helen and the gods; Priam and the Greeks
Sep. 19	Iliad 7, 8	divine reciprocity; woundings by Pandaros; Diomedes and Athena
Sep. 21	Iliad 9	patterns in the aristeia of Diomedes
Sep. 26	Iliad 10, 11	Hektor and Andromache: narrative expansion and a sense of doom Note:  Class discussion is running behind the posted assignments!
Sep. 28	Iliad 12, 13, 14	"spurious" lines in Iliad 8; apoina and poine in Book 9
Oct. 3	Iliad 15, 16	Is the Doloneia (Book 10) part of the original Iliad?
Oct. 11	Iliad 17, 18	decisions by Achilles, Patroklos, Nestor, and Hektor
Oct. 17	Iliad 19, 20
Oct. 19	Iliad 21, 22 preliminary Iliad paper due
Oct. 24	Iliad 23
Oct. 26	Iliad 24
Oct. 31	review
Nov. 2	mid-term
Nov. 7	Odyssey 1-2	the structure of the Odyssey; Telemachos' coming of age
Nov. 9	Odyssey 3-4	hospitality: Peisistratos and Nestor; Helen and Menelaos
Nov. 14	Odyssey 5-6,; final Iliad paper due	Kalypso; Nausikaa; Odysseus as a post-war hero
Nov. 16	Odyssey 7-8	Odysseus and Nausikaa; the songs of Demodokos
Nov. 21	Odyssey 9-10	the pattern of Odysseus' adventures
Nov. 23	Odyssey 11-12	Hades; homecoming
Nov. 28	Odyssey 13, 14, 15	constructing Penelope
Nov. 30	Odyssey 16, 17, 18
Dec. 5	Odyssey 19, 20, 21  outline of Odyssey paper due	tokens of recognition
Dec. 7	Odyssey 22, 23
Dec. 12	Odyssey 24	justice and kingship
Dec. 14	review for the final exam  Odyssey paper due	who was "Homer"?