HUM 375.04 Biography of A City
ATHENS
Mondays 4:10
– 6:55 in
HUM 381
Instructor Information:
Instructor: Roland
S. Moore, Ph.D.
Office: HUM
577, Center for Modern Greek Studies
Telephone/email: (510)
872-6201 / rolandmo@pacbell.net
(prefer email contact)
Office Hours:
Mondays,
3-4 (x8-1892, HUM 577)
Course Description:
Athens
is an energetic city that may be seen as a time machine with many layers on
display -- from prehistory through classical, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and
modern eras. This interdisciplinary
course explores Athens chronologically and spatially by neighborhoods hosting
aristocrats, working class Athenians, immigrants, and tourists. We shall analyze the city as the result
of successive internal and external interventions related to politics, power,
economy, and aesthetics. Analytical approaches to the class range widely from
the social sciences to the humanities and include consideration of data from
archaeology, history, literature, city plans, maps, photographs, art, and
films.
Through
lectures from the instructor and guest lecturers, readings, slide-show
presentations, the course will revolve around a consideration of the following
thematic clusters:
Monuments of Ancient Athens and the
Ideal of the Polis
The Parthenon and the Elgin (Parthenon) Marbles, Past and Present
How and why these ideals, monuments and institutions not only captured but continue to capture the Western imagination from antiquity to modern times will be an essential question underlying our investigation. For example, what was the ParthenonÕs original function and how did that change through time? How was it perceived by ancient commentators and how do their perceptions contrast and compare with those of medieval and modern travelers and artists? What were the circumstances that led Lord Elgin to remove the Parthenon marbles and take them to Britain in the 19th century? What issues revolve around the current controversy over the Elgin marbles and GreeceÕs bid to have them returned? What ideological issues and practical concerns permeated the founding of the modern city of Athens? What constituted the ancient Olympics and what motivated their modern revival in the modern city of Athens? These are a few of the issues the course will explore.
Format: lectures, slides, videos,
discussion, student presentations
Required Reading:
See syllabus for complete list of readings:
Major
books and studies:
To
check the availability of books in SFSU's textbook store, you may consult:
http://sfsubookstore.com/catalog/advanced_text_search_result.php?keywords=2307420084
To
save money, you may also find them at used bookstores or online through sites
like http://allbookstores.com --
although be aware that media mail shipping may take weeks.
Four Required Books:
PARTHENON
Author:
Beard, Mary
THE
ARCHAEOLOGY OF ATHENS
Author:
Camp, John
FACING
ATHENS, ENCOUNTERS WITH THE MODERN CITY
Author:
Sarrinikolaou, George
A
TRAVELLER'S HISTORY OF ATHENS
Author:
Stoneman, Richard
Two Entirely Optional Books:
FRAGMENTS
OF DEATH, FABLES OF IDENTITY
Author:
Panourgia, Neni
MODERN
GREEK LESSONS
Author:
Faubion, James
Please note that most of the assigned readings are available in the J. Paul Leonard Library Reserve Book Collection or SFSU's iLearn electronic resources. A few are in the Reserve Book Room's electronic reserves, password protected. See http://eres.sfsu.edu/eres/coursepage.aspx?page=docs&cid=3077
Reserve books are listed at http://opac.sfsu.edu/search/p?SEARCH=Moore .
There are also separate class readings available in the files section for the MGS BIOGRAPHY OF A CITY: ATHENS HUM 375.04 class on SFSU's online iLearn system at https://ilearn.sfsu.edu/files/index.php?id=42125 .
Note that the readings listed for each week are to be completed prior to that lecture. Please write down one question you have based on the readings and bring it in to class to facilitate discussion.
Additionally, a course website is available at http://homepage.mac.com/rolandmoore/sfsu-ath/
Evaluation:
Midterm: 25%
Final
Paper (10 pages): 40%
Presentation: 25%
Attendance-Participation:
10%
Class Policies:
Attendance: 3 or more unexcused
absences will result in a grade of ÒCÓ or lower for the
Attendance/Participation portion of the grade. Instead of disappearing, please
keep in touch by email or phone, should extenuating circumstances prevent you
from attending class.
Examination, Paper and
Presentations: More details about these
will be discussed in class. Guidelines for presentations will be distributed
in-class a month before the respective due dates with a list of possible
topics/resources.
Policy on Plagiarism: Plagiarism occurs when a
student misrepresents the work of another as his or her own. Plagiarism may consist of using the
ideas, sentences, paragraphs, or the whole text of another without appropriate
acknowledgment, but it also includes employing or allowing another person to
write or substantially alter work that a student then submits as his or her
own. Any assignment found to be
plagiarized will be given an "F" grade. All instances of plagiarism in the College of Humanities
will be reported to the Dean of the College, and may be reported to the
University Judicial Affairs Officer for further action. (Quotation taken from
"College of Humanities Plagiarism Resources,
http://www.sfsu.edu/~collhum/plagiarism.html )
Accessibility
policy:
I
wish to make this course as accessible as possible to students with
disabilities or medical conditions that may affect any aspect of course
assignments or participation. You
are invited to communicate with me at the outset of the course or at your
discretion about any accommodations that will improve your experience of or
access to the course. You can also
contact the Disability Resource Center at 338-2472 (Voice/TDD).
Dr.
Moore HUM
375.04 Fall
2008
INTRODUCTION, UNIT ONE: MONUMENTS OF ANCIENT ATHENS
Week 1 Sept. 8
Athenian geography, topology, and
prehistory
Lecture, discussion: The deepest layers
Screening: Athens Subway: Modern Marvels
Reading:
Stoneman Chapters 1-2; Camp Ch 2-3;
Paul Reuber, "Athens: Ticket to Ride" (iLearn)
Optional: Pages 2, 4 and 5 of June 20, 2008 Athens Plus
(Weekly publication of The International Herald Tribune & Kathimerini),
downloadable at
http://wwk.kathimerini.gr/kath/entheta/extra/AthensPlus/20-06-2008.pdf
Week 2 Sept.
15 The Athenian Agora through time
Discussion of relations between peasants and merchants, and
the marketplace of ideas.
Screening: The Athenian Trireme (from the SFSU instructional television department AV collection AV #89088 - Video Cassette Ð "The Athenian Trireme").
Reading:
Stoneman Chapters 3-4; Camp Ch 4
Optional:
"DNA examination of ancient dental pulp incriminates
typhoid fever as a probable cause of the Plague of
Athens" by Manolis J. Papagrigorakis, Christos Yapijakis,
Philippos N. Synodinos, EfÞe Baziotopoulou-Valavani, International Journal of Infectious Diseases (2006)
http://maagar.openu.ac.il/opus/static/binaries/forum/bank192%5Ctyphoidfever-greece_0.pdf
Week 3 Sept.
22 Classical Athens: Democracy, Peloponnesian Wars
The Ideal of the Polis
Screening: "You Are There: The Death of Socrates" (available at MAC if you missed it, listed under my last name), Ancient Greece: Journey Back in Time," and one other short video clip.
Readings:
Diana Burton, Public memorials, private virtues: women on
classical Athenian grave monuments
(iLearn)
The Funeral Oration of Pericles, in Thucydides' History
of the Peloponnesian War. Download directly from
http://www.classicpersuasion.org/pw/thucydides/thucydides-passages.php?pleaseget=2.35-46
Optional reading: "An Introduction to the Athenian Democracy" by Christopher Blackwell on the Demos website:
http://www.stoa.org/projects/demos/home and specifically:
http://www.stoa.org/projects/demos/democracy_overview.pdf
Week 4 Sept. 29 Ancient Sites, From Hellenistic to Medieval and Byzantine to Post-Renaissance Perceptions
Hellenistic to Roman Athens; Walk around the Acropolis
Video: Nova: Secrets of the Parthenon (available at MAC if you missed it, listed under my last name)
Readings:
Mary Beard, The Parthenon, Chs. 3-4
Camp Ch 5-6, Stoneman Ch 6-8
Optional reading: Molly Mackenzie, chapter of Turkish Athens(iLearn)
Optional reading: "Whose Genius Loci?: Contrasting
Interpretations of the Sacred Rock of the Athenian Acropolis" by Argyro Loukaki (iLearn)
Week 5 Oct.
6 Byzantine
Athens
Athens from Roman times to Greek Independence
Readings: Camp
Ch 7; Stoneman Ch 9-10
Short video on the development of Ancient Greek Drama featuring ruins of theaters from all over the Greek world.
Week 6 Oct.
13 Ancient
Sites, Victorian-Modernist Perceptions
Guest Lecture: Professor Martha Klironomos On Early 20th
Century Women Travelers to Greece (Painters/Photographers)
Reading:
John Pentland Mahaffy, Rambles and Studies in Greece
(excerpts) (iLearn)
Sigmund Freud, ÒA Displacement of Memory on the
AcropolisÓ(eres.sfsu.edu)
Virginia Woolf, excerpts from her diary (eres.sfsu.edu)
Week 7 Oct.
20 THE
PARTHENON & THE ELGIN (PARTHENON) MARBLES
Slide-Show Lecture on the Parthenon:
Guest Lecturer: Professor Andrew Stewart
UC Berkeley, Dept. of Art History and Classics
Reading:
Mary Beard, The Parthenon, Chs. 1-2
(Bookstore, Reserve Book Collection)
Liana Giannakopoulou, Perceptions of the Parthenon in Modern Greek Poetry
(iLearn)
DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF CLASS: PLEASE HAND IN ONE OR TWO SENTENCES ON YOUR PROPOSED PAPER TOPIC.
Week 8 Oct.
27 Midterm (based on course readings,
lectures)
Presentations [The role of the automobile in contemporary Athens]
Week 9 Nov. 3 The European Grand Tour and the Romantic TravellersÕ
Rediscovery of Greece ;
The Elgin (Parthenon) Marbles Controversy
Issues of Cultural Property
Guest
Lecture: Ed Luby, Assoc. Prof., Museum Studies, SFSU: The Elgin Marbles
Reading:
Mary Beard, The Parthenon, Chs. 5-6;
William St. Clair, Lord Elgin and the Marbles, (selected
chapters) (eres.sfsu.edu)
C. Hitchens, The Elgin Marbles: Should They be Returned to
Greece? (excerpts) (eres.sfsu.edu)
Elizabeth Marlowe, Cold War Illuminations of the Classical
Past: 'The Sound and Light Show' on the Athenian Acropolis (iLearn)
Optional readings on eres.sfsu.edu: Artifacts are Safer in Western Hands
(Wilson, A. N.); Greece Embarks on Global Hunt for Stolen Art (Smith, H.);Ideas and Trends: Did Lord Elgin Do Something Right? (Tierney, J.); Major Museums Affirm Right to Keep Long-Held Antiques (Bohlen, C.) Return the Parthenon Marbles; The Fine Art of Returning Art.
Week 10 Nov.
10 Cityscapes: Modern Athens
Video Screening: film-clips from modern cinema
Reading:
Bastea, Eleni, The Creation of Modern Athens,
(Bookstore (optional); Reserve Book Coll.):
selected chapters
Optional Reading: Stavros Bozos, National Symbols and
Ordinary PeopleÕs Response: London and Athens, 1850–19141 (iLearn)
Stoneman Ch 11, 12
Bjorklund, Ulf:Armenians of Athens/Istanbul" (iLearn)
Presentations [Foreign influences on Athenian art, architecture, or fashion; Ancient or modern Athens through the lenses of literature, art, photography, or painting]
Week 11 Nov.
17 Lecture: Immigration to Athens from the Greek countryside and from abroad
Screening: Remainder of "A Matter of Dignity" (Directed by Michael Cacoyannis, starring Elli Lambetti).
Reading: Sarrinikolaou Chaps 1-5
Susan Buck Sutton, "Family and Work: New Patterns for
Village Women in Athens." (iLearn)
Optional: Gabriella Aspraki, "'Out of love for our
village': Karagatsiot Voluntary Associations" (iLearn)
Final paper draft due at the start of class Nov. 17 (even
if just an outline, turn in something).
Presentations [Historical preservation as a challenge to architects in Athens]
Week 12 Nov.
24 Thanksgiving
Break Week – No class
Week 13 Dec. 1 Cityscapes: Modern Athens
Screening: Discover Greece: The Real Athens
Reading:
Sarrinikolaou Chaps 6-10
Stoneman Ch 13, 14
Renee Hirschon, "Under One Roof: Marriage, Dowry, and
Family Relations in Piraeus" (iLearn)
Presentations [Peloponnesian Wars and Greek War Technology; Athena as a cult figure (the Panathenaia)]
Week 14 Dec
8 The Olympic Games: Ancient Games, Modern Revival
Lecture: Olympic Athens 1896, 2004
Screening: Brief clips from Olympics
documentaries and opening ceremonies
Reading: Historical background to the Olympic games
Alexander Kitroeff, Wrestling with the Ancients, Modern
Greek Identity and the Olympic Games
(selected chapters) (iLearn)
Jamie Verenis, "Spiridon Loues, the Modern FoustanŽla,
and the Symbolic Power of Pallikari‡ at the 1896 Olympic Games (iLearn)
Christiane Weber et al., Urban development in the Athens
metropolitan area using remote
sensing data with supervised analysis and GIS
Optional Reading: Giving Gifts (and Then Taking Them Back): Identity, Reciprocity and Symbolic Power in the Context of Athens 2004 by Rodanthi Tzanelli (iLearn)
(iLearn)
Presentations [Olympic aftermath; Athenian music trends]
Week 15 Dec.
15 Conclusion of Course
Screening: Athens: In Search of the Lost City
Presentations [Translation of Athenian Democracy to Colonial America].
Final paper due at the beginning of class
"2008 Greek
Festivals in San Francisco Bay Area" from Mary Ann Karonis:
September 5-7
Friday: 5pm to 10pm; Saturday 11am to 10pm; and
Sunday: Noon to 8pm
Santa Cruz Greek
Festival
Prophet Elias
Orthodox Church
223 Church
Street, Santa Cruz
Music: The Spartans
Free Admission
831.429.6500
www.propheteliassantacruz.org
September 5-7
Friday &
Saturday: Noon to 11pm; Sunday: Noon to 8pm
Stockton Greek Festival
St. Basil Church
920 W. March
Lane, Stockton
Admission:
$2.00; Children (12 & under):
Free with an adult
209.478.7564
http://gosaintbasil.org/2008/07/12/st-basil-greek-festival-2008-in-stockton-ca/
September 12-14
Friday: 5pm to
11pm; Saturday: Noon-11pm; Sunday: Noon-8pm
Concord Greek
Festival
St. Demetrios
Church, Concord
Music: Fotia
Admission:
Adults, $5.00; Seniors, $3.00; Children under 12, Free
925.676.6967
www.stdemetrios.ca.goarch.org
September 20 & 21
Saturday: 11am
to 9pm; Sunday: Noon to 6pm
Santa Rosa
Glendi
90 Mountain View
Avenue, Santa Rosa
Music: Edessa on Saturday and Mediterranean
Soul for Sunday
Admission:
$10.00; Children (12 & under):
Free with an adult
707.584.9491
http://saintseraphim.com/parish/?page=glend
September 20
& 21
Saturday: Noon to 9 pm; and Sunday: 11am to 7pm
Modesto Greek
Festival
Annunciation
Church
313 Toka Avenue,
Modesto
Music: Aegeans
Admission: Adults Pre-sale tickets, $12; Adults at
the Door, $15; Kids under 12, $7.50
209.522.7694
www.goannunciation.org
September 26-28
Friday: 10am to
10pm; Saturday: Noon to 11pm; Sunday: Noon to 9pm
San Francisco
Greek Festival
Annunciation
Cathedral
245 Valencia
Street, San Francisco
Music: Friday, Mythos Band; Saturday, Fotia;
and Sunday, Spartans
Admission: Check website for free admission ticket
415.864.8000
www.annunciation.org
September 27
& 28
Saturday: 11am
to 10 pm; Sunday: 11am to 7pm
Saint Katherine
Greek Orthodox Church
9165 Peets
Street, Elk Grove
Music:
TÕadelphia
http://www.saintkatherine.org/
October 3-5
Friday: 9am to
5pm; Saturday: 11am to 9pm; Sunday: Noon to 7pm
Resurrection
Church of Castro Valley
20074 Center
Street, Castro Valley
Music: Mythos Band
Free Admission
510.581.8950
www.greekfestival.us
For a complete
list of Greek festivals throughout the U.S., visit http://www.yasas.com/greek-festivals.asp