Course Details

Modern science and technology have so overwhelmed contemporary society that lost among the terabytes and google searches is a sense of our shared humanity, often threatened by the powers-that-be: wealthy oligarchs, powerful autocrats, brutal dictators, nationalistic institutions from whom the weak and the marginalized have no protection.  Ancient Greek and Roman writers and thinkers observed first-hand the near impossibility of speaking to power. Their observations, demonstrate that nothing has changed except for technology, but they can help moderns see that, unless we learn from the past, we will continue to repeat mistakes. During the seminar, students will examine ancient texts—literary, historical and cinematic—with the goal of learning how to communicate what we observe among the texts in various forms of public writing with the following objectives: 

• To develop an ability to write with greater clarity, concision, engagement and effectiveness and to acquire editorial skills that will help you achieve this goal.
• To reflect on what constitutes effective public writing and how such writing influences our perspectives.
• To gain a greater insight into what the humanities, in particular Classical antiquity, have to contribute to contemporary discussions of the difficulty of preserving our humanity in the face of political and technological power structures.