HIST 131. Saints, Sinners, and Philosophers in Late Antiquity In Late Antiquity, pagans and Christians asked with particular intensity: How should I live? Those answering these questions successfully could become figures of authority and influence in their worlds. In this course we will explore what roles education; discipline of the mind and body; physical location and social status; and acts of power played in the making of a saint or philosopher. Was the best life achieved through material renunciation, psychological transformation, or both? What institutional forms fostered such a life? We will ask these and other questions of a wide array of primary sources while employing the insights of modern scholarship. 6 cr., HU, WR; HI, WR2, IS, Offered in alternate years. Fall—W. North

HIST 233. Cultures of Empire: Byzantium, 710-1453 Heir to the Roman Empire, Byzantium proved to be one of the most enduring and fascinating polities of the medieval world. Through written and visual evidence, we will examine the central features of Byzantine history and culture from the period of Iconoclasm to the Empire's fall to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, concentrating on the nature and function of imperial rule; Byzantine aesthetics and religiosity; Byzantium's relations with the Latin West and Islam; and the changing nature of the Byzantine thought world. No prerequisites, but History 131, 204 and/or Classics 229 will be useful preparation. 6 cr., HU, RAD; HI, IS, Spring—W. North

PHIL 270. Ancient Greek Philosophy: Knowledge and Skepticism Is it possible to know anything for certain? A skeptic denies that we are ever justified in claiming to know something. This class examines the debates in ancient Greek philosophy regarding the nature and justification of knowledge. Is knowledge relative to the perceiver? Is it possible that knowledge can be found in a transcendental realm of abstract forms? Or should knowledge be acquired by induction based on sense perception? Should we withhold our assent from everything that is less than certain? Readings from Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, Pyrrho and Sextus Empiricus. 6 cr., HU, WR; HI, WR2, Spring—A. Curran

PHIL 395. Aristotle on Being Human What is it to be human? Is there some form of life that is a distinctively human life and separates us from other animals? What sorts of beings are we, from a metaphysical point of view, and what kind of ethical, cultural and political life is necessary for us to flourish as human beings? In this seminar we investigate Aristotle’s view of what it is to live an authentically human life. Readings from Aristotle’s major works and modern criticisms and defenses of Aristotle’s ideas by Williams, MacIntyre, and Nussbaum, and others. 6 cr., HU, WR; HI, WR2, Fall—A. Curran

POSC 250. Ancient Political Philosophy In this course we will examine ancient political philosophy through the intensive study of Plato's Republic, perhaps the greatest work of political philosophy ever written. What is morality? Why should a person behave morally? Wouldn't it be more satisfying to be a tyrant? What is the best way of life? What would a perfect society look like? What would be its customs and institutions, and who would rule? What would it demand of us, and would that price be worth paying? These are some of the politically (and personally) vital questions addressed by the book. 6 cr., SS; HI, Not offered in 2011-2012.

POSC 254. Freedom, Excellence, Happiness: Aristotle's Ethics What does it mean to be morally excellent? To be politically excellent? To be intellectually and spiritually excellent? Are these things mutually compatible? Do they lie within the reach of everyone? And what is the relation between excellence and pleasure? Between excellence and happiness? Aristotle addresses these questions in intricate and illuminating detail in the Nicomachean Ethics, which we will study in this course. The Ethics is more accessible than some of Aristotle’s other works. But it is also a multifaceted and multi-layered book, and one that reveals more to those who study it with care. 6 cr., SS; SI, Offered in alternate years. Not offered in 2011-2012.

POSC 350. Herodotus and the Origin of Political Philosophy This course will be devoted to close study of Herodotus' Histories, a rich and delightful book that defies easy description. Herodotus has much to teach us about great questions of freedom and despotism, war and peace, and empire. He was also arguably the first great thinker to explore cultural diversity and the larger questions it raises, including questions of particularism versus universalism and nature versus convention. 6 cr., SS; HI, Offered in alternate years. Winter—L. Cooper