GREEK 463 A: Hellenistic Greek Literature

Greek 463 Diogenes Laertius

Spring 2022

MW 2:30-4:20

Sav 141

Instructor: James J. Clauss, Department of Classics

Office: Denny Hall M262F (difficult to find); tel. 543-2266 (department office phone)

E-mail: jjc@uw.edu

Office Hours: zoom by appointment

Holidays: Monday, May 30

Required Texts:

Pamela Mensch (tr.) 2018. Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Diogenes Laertius. Oxford.

Resources:

Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar Harvard University Press 1920 (on-line at Hathi Trust Digital Library: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001181313)

H.G. Liddell and R. Scott, Greek-English Lexicon is available on line at:

Logeion: https://logeion.uchicago.edu/lexidium

The Perseus Project: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.04.0057

The Perseus Project also has the text of Diogenes Laertius, with morphological and lexical help.

The Loeb Classical Library is available through the UW Library: http://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/classics

For the Prologue, see page 7 under Diogenes Laertius, for the lives of Thales and Solon, see page 6.

Oxford Classical Dictionary, Oxford: OUP 4^th ed. 2012 (3^rd ed. revised 2003), also at the UW Library: http://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/classics

Goals of the Course:

• To increase facility in reading Greek prose by building vocabulary and familiarity with Greek morphology (forms), grammar and syntax.
• To read one of the very important books in the history of Greek philosophy that survives intact.
• To learn about some of the most influential Greek philosophers whose writings, which in most cases are not extant, set the conversation for later European and American natural and moral philosophy thanks to their preservation Diogenes Laertius. For this class, we will read the Preface (Proemium) and the lives of Thales and Solon.

Grade:

Midterm (May 3): 25%

Final (Tuesday, June 7, 2:30- 4:20): 25%

Oral Presentation: summary and evaluation of one of the essays in the back of the book: 10%

Final Paper: (5-6 pages; due Friday of the last week of class): 20%

Participation: 20%

The topics of the final paper will emerge during the quarter. Note that, depending on your level of exposure, you may not complete class assignments. Read as much as you can in Greek and the rest in English. Your ability to read will improve as we move through the readings.

Schedule of Readings:

                        Monday          Wednesday   

Week 1            Intro                1.1-3

Week 2            1.4-8                1.9-11

Week 3            1.12-16            1.17-19

Week 4            1.20-24            1.25-27

Week 5            1.28-32            1.33-35

Week 6            Midterm          1.36-38

Week 7            1.39-43            1.44-46

Week 8            1.47-51            1.52-54

Week 9            1.55-59            1.60-62

Week 10          Holiday           1.63-67

Important UW policy-related things to know:

• The UW's Religious Accommodations Policy:“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.).”
• The UW's Student Conduct Code: "The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/."(Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.)
• Access and Accommodation: Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu.  (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions.  Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS.  It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

• Academic Integrity: University of Washington students are expected to practice high standards of academic and professional honesty and integrity as outlined here:http://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf (Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.)
• UW COVID face covering policy: UW COVID-19 Face Covering Policy(Links to an external site.)