HUM 113: Between Democracy and Empire: The Ancient World (3 credits; 5 ECTS)
Course Description
What turns a free society into a dictatorship? How does a republic collapse under the weight of its own power? How do people dissent in authoritarian contexts? From the fiery debates of Athenian democracy to the iron fist of Rome’s emperors, this course digs into one of history’s most pressing questions: Why do people trade freedom for security?
Looking at a range of ancient histories, oratory, and poetry from Thucydides to Tacitus, we’ll explore:
- The creation of democratic institutions—how democracies and republics enshrine their values and negotiate them
- The slow rot of institutions—how laws get bent, norms break, and power concentrates.
- The cult of the strongman—how and why charismatic leaders exploit crises to seize control.
- The stories empires tell themselves—how literature justifies (or resists) tyranny.
Class will consist of a mix of historical and literary analysis, often centered around specific texts or cultural artefacts.
Texts
Ancient Greek Democracy, E. W. Robinson, 2004
Ancient Rome: A Sourcebook, M. Dillon and L. Garland, 2013
Instructors may provide a course packet with additional readings
Course Overview
Week 1. The pre-democratic polis
Week 2. Emergence of the Democratic State
Week 3. Democracy in Crisis
Week 4. The State in Crisis
Week 5: Alexander
Week 6: Alexander and the Hellenistic Kingdoms
Week 7. Between Myth and Truth: The Origins of Rome
Week 8. The Roman Republic
Week 9. The Problems of the Republic
Week 10. Civil War
Week 11. The death of the Republic
Possible field trip to the Temple of Augustus in Ankara
Week 12. The Epic Empire and the Pax Augusta
Week 13. Empire in Verse
Week 14. Imperialism and its discontents