CLAS 596a: Power and Statecraft in the Ancient World

CLAS 596a: Power and Statecraft in the Ancient World Professor Robert Schon Mondays 3:00 5:30 pm Harvill 315 Office: Learning Services Building 218 Telephone: 621-7420 Email: rschon@email.arizona.edu Office Hours: M/W 9:30 10:30 and by appointment Course Description: This class will investigate two fundamental questions of the human experience: 1) Why do rational, self-centered, people willingly give up certain individual liberties to live in the aggregated communities we call states? 2) What strategies do the leaders of states employ to keep them operating satisfactorily and to maintain their personal positions atop the hierarchies inherent in state level societies. Specifically, we will address these questions in the context of the ancient Mediterranean focusing upon Greece and Rome. The seminar will introduce students to a variety of theoretical approaches and will examine a number of themes in statecraft drawing upon specific case studies from antiquity. Required Texts: Black, Antony (2009) A World History of Ancient Political Thought, Oxford University Press. Ober, Josiah (2008) Democracy and Knowledge: Innovation and Learning in Classical Athens, Princeton University Press. Other readings are, or will be, available online. Grades: Grades will be based upon attendance and participation (15%), in-class presentations (30%), a 1,000-1,200 word book review (15%), and a 4,000-4500 word research paper (40%). Deadlines: All work is expected to be complete before the class for which it is assigned. Late written work will be penalized by 1/3 of grade for each day it is past due. That is, a paper that would have earned an A will receive a B if it is turned in 3 days late. Homework: All reading and written assignments should be completed BEFORE that day s class. In addition to the Core readings, which will be read and discussed by everyone, each student will be called upon to present a summary and lead a brief discussion of 10 1

articles or book chapters throughout the semester. These presentations should be approximately 15 minutes long. In addition, please provide the class with a 1 page handout that summarizes the main points of the text, including the author s thesis and the evidence they use to support it NO LATER THAN 9AM ON THE THURSDAY BEFORE THAT CLASS. In addition, you should provide a few questions for broader discussion. Book Reviews: You are required to read a write a scholarly book review of one recent book related to statecraft in the ancient Mediterranean. Your book must be approved before you engage in the review. Please meet with me before January 22 to select your book. Research Paper: You are required to write a 4,000-4,500 word research paper on a topic of your choosing related to this course. Again, be sure to meet with me before January 22 to discuss your interests. Your topic must be set by January 29. I expect to meet with you throughout the term to discuss your paper s progress. Attendance: Attendance is mandatory and any unexcused absence, since you will not be able to participate in the discussion, will cause a reduction in that portion of your grade. If you are going to miss a class, please let me know as soon as possible beforehand so that day s schedule can be adjusted accordingly. Schedule: Week 1: January 15 Brief meeting to discuss the course Review of the syllabus Read: F. A. Hayek (1945) The Use of Knowledge in Society, The American Economic Review 35: 519-530. Week 2: Tuesday, January 19? Prelude: Social Contract Theory Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan (Google Books) Chapters 13, 18, and 21. John Locke: Two Treatises of Government (Google Books) Book II: Chapters 1-3. Jean Jacques Rousseau: The Social Contract (Google Books) Book I, Chapters 1-9; Book II Chapters 1-6. In addition each one of you will be responsible to present a summary and lead a discussion of one chapter in The Social Contract Theorists: Critical essays on Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau, edited by Christopher W. Morris (e-book available via UA library) for about 15 minutes. You are only required to read the chapter that is assigned to you. I suggest, however, that you skim the other chapters so that you are prepared for discussion. 2

Hobbes Hobbes s War of All Against All, by Gregory Kavka (Aaryn) The Failure of Hobbes s Social Contract Argument, by Jean Hampton (Adam) Locke Locke s State of Nature, by A. John Simmons (Brooke) Political Consent, by A. John Simmons (Greg) Rousseau Rousseau, the Problem of Sovereignty and the Limits of Political Obligation, by John Charvet (Jon) The General Will, by Arthur Ripstein (Amy) Week 3: January 25: Defining States Gordon Childe (1950) The Urban Revolution, The Town Planning Review 21:3-16. Robert L. Carneiro (1970) A Theory of the Origin of the State, Science (New Series) 169:733-738. Michael Mann (1986) The Autonomous Power of the State, pp. 109-136 in States in History, edited by John Hall. Morton Fried (1967) The State, pp. 227-242 in Evolution of Political Society. Elman R. Service (1978) Classical and Modern Theories of the Origins of Government, pp. 21-34 in Origins of the State, edited by Ronald Cohen and Elman R. Service. Henry T. Wright (1978) Towards an Explanation of the Origin of the State, pp. 49-68 in Origins of the State, edited by Ronald Cohen and Elman R. Service. Ronald Cohen (1978) State Origins: A Reappraisal, pp. 31-75 in The Early State, edited by Henri J.M. Claessen and Peter Skalník. John F. Cherry (1984) The Appearance of Aegean States, Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society 30:18-48. Clive Gamble (1986) Hunter-Gatherers and the Origins of the State, pp. 22-47 in States in History, edited by John Hall. Week 4: February 1: Agency, Collective Action & Game Theory Jennifer L. Dornan (2002) Agency and Archaeology: Past, Present, and Future Directions, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 9: 303-329. Elinor Ostrom (2007) Collective Action Theory, pp. 186-210 in The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, edited by Carles Boix and Susan C. Stokes. 3

Richard E. Blanton and Lane Fargher (2008) Chapters 2 & 3 (pp. 5-24) in Collective Action in the Formation of Pre-Modern States (ebook). Robert Axelrod and William D. Hamilton (1981) The Evolution of Cooperation, Science 211: 1390-1396. Week 5: February 8 Introduction to Ancient Political Thought I Antony Black (2009) Chapters 1-7 (pp. 1-129) of A World History of Ancient Political Thought. Week 6: February 15 Introduction to Ancient Political Thought II Antony Black (2009) Chapters 8-13 (pp. 130-239) of A World History of Ancient Political Thought. Week 7: February 22: Mycenaean Greece- Power and Monumentality Katharina Schreiber (2009) Metaphor, Monumentality, and Memory: The Imagery of Power on the Ancient Landscape, pp. 73-79 in Polities and Power, edited by Steven E. Falconer and Charles L. Redman. Elizabeth DeMarrais et al. (1996) Ideology, Materialization, and Power Strategies, Current Anthropology 37: 15-31. Robert Schon (2007) Chariots, Industry, and Elite Power at Pylos, pp. 133-145 in Rethinking Mycenaean Palaces II, edited by Michael L. Galaty and William A. Parkinson. Kent Flannery (1998) The Ground Plans of Archaic States, pp. 15-58 in Archaic States, edited by Gary M. Feinman and Joyce Marcus. x2 James C. Wright (2006) The Social Production of Space and the Architectural Reproduction of Society in the Bronze Age Aegean during the Second Millenium B.C.E., pp. 49-74 in Constructing Power: Architecture, Ideology, and Social Practice, edited by Joseph Maran et al. Christopher Mee and William Cavanagh (1984) Mycenaean Tombs as Evidence for Social and Political Organization, Oxford Journal of Archaeology 3: 45-64. John Bennet (1999) Pylos: The Expansion of a Mycenaean Palatial Center, pp. 9-18 in Rethinking Mycenaean Palaces, edited by Michael L. Galaty and William A. Parkinson. 4

Paul Halstead (1999) Towards a Model of Mycenaean Palatial Mobilization, pp. 35-42 in Rethinking Mycenaean Palaces, edited by Michael L. Galaty and William A. Parkinson. William A. Parkinson (1999) Chipping Away at a Mycenaean Economy, pp. 73-85 in Rethinking Mycenaean Palaces, edited by Michael L. Galaty and William A. Parkinson. Week 8: March 1: Remembrances of States Past Walter Donlan (1997) The Relations of Power in the Pre-state and Early State Polities, Ch. 4 (pp. 39-48) of The Development of the Polis in Archaic Greece, edited by Lynette G. Mitchell and P.J. Rhodes. Kurt Raaflaub (1989) Homer and the Beginning of Political Thought in Greece, Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy 4: 1-25. Kurt Raaflaub (1997) Politics and Interstate Relations in the World of Early Greek Poleis: Homer and Beyond, Antichthon 31: 1-27. Bring a copy of the Iliad, Odyssey, and Sophocles s Antigone. Week 9: March 8: The Archaeology of Athenian Democracy John Mc K. Camp (1994) Before Democracy: the Alkmaionidai and Peisistratidai, pp. 7-12 in The Archaeology of Athens Under the Democracy, edited by William D.E. Coulson et al. T. Leslie Shear (1994) Ισονοµους τ Αθηνας εποιησατην : The Agora and Democracy, pp. 225-248 in The Archaeology of Athens Under the Democracy, edited by William D.E. Coulson et al. Carol C. Mattusch (1994) The Eponymous Heroes: The Idea of Sculptural Groups, pp. 73-82 in The Archaeology of Athens Under the Democracy, edited by William D.E. Coulson et al. Reinhard Stupperich (1994) The Iconography of Athenian State Burials in the Classical Period, pp. 93-104 in The Archaeology of Athens Under the Democracy, edited by William D.E. Coulson et al. H. Alan Shapiro (1994) Religion and Politics in Democratic Athens, pp. 123-130 in The Archaeology of Athens Under the Democracy, edited by William D.E. Coulson et al. Robin Osbourne (1994) Democracy and Imperialism in the Panathenaic Procession: The Parthenon Frieze in its Context, pp. 143-150 in The Archaeology of Athens Under the Democracy, edited by William D.E. Coulson et al. 5

Jenifer Neils (1994) The Panathenaia and Kleisthenic Ideology, pp. 151-160 in The Archaeology of Athens Under the Democracy, edited by William D.E. Coulson et al. Gregory R. Stanton (1994) The Rural Demes and Athenian Politics, pp. 217-224 in The Archaeology of Athens Under the Democracy, edited by William D.E. Coulson et al. Week 10: March 15: Presentation of Book Reviews Week 11: March 22: The Athenian Experiment Part I Josiah Ober (2008) Chapters 1-4 (pp. 1-167) of Democracy and Knowledge. Week 11: March 29: The Athenian Experiment Part II Josiah Ober (2008) Chapters 5-7 (pp. 168-280) of Democracy and Knowledge. Week 12: April 5: An Athenian s Viewpoint: Plato s Statesman Plato s Statesman (Google Books) Skim Machiavelli s The Prince for relevant comparanda. Week 13: April 12: The Roman Republic Andrew Lintott (1999) The Constitution of the Roman Republic, pp. 1-39; 191-232. Ch. 5 The Assemblies (pp. 40-64) Ch. 6 The Senate (pp. 65-93) Ch. 7 The Higher Magistrates and the Pro-Magistrates (pp. 94-120) Ch. 8 Tribunes, Aediles, and Minor Magistrates (pp. 121-146) Ch. 9 Criminal Justice (pp. 147-162) Ch. 10 The Influence of Society and Religion (pp. 163-190) Week 14: April 19: Augustus Augustus: Res Gestae Divi Augusti (Available online in numerous languages) Excerpts from The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus, edited by Karl Galinsky. (Note: If you wish to present a different chapter from this volume, please see me) Walter Eder (2005) Augustus and the Power of Tradition, pp. 13-32 in The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus, edited by Karl Galinsky. 6

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill (2005) Mutatas Formas: The Augustan Transformation of Roman Knowledge, pp. 55-84 in The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus, edited by Karl Galinsky. Greg Woolf (2005) Provincial Perspectives, pp. 106-129 in The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus, edited by Karl Galinsky. Richard Beacham (2005) The Emperor as Impresario: Producing the Pageantry of Power, pp. 151-174 in The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus, edited by Karl Galinsky. Dianne Favro (2005) Making Rome a World City, pp. 234-263 in The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus, edited by Karl Galinsky. L. Michael White (2005) Epilogue as Prologue: Herod and the Jewish Experience of Augustan Rule, pp. 361-387 in The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus, edited by Karl Galinsky. Week 15: April 26: The Roman Empire Clifford Ando (2000) Imperial Ideology and Provincial Loyalty in the Roman Empire, pp. 1-48. Ch. 4: The Communicative Actions of the Roman Government (pp. 73-130) x2 Ch. 5: Consensus in Theory and Practice (pp. 131-174) Ch. 6:The Creation of Consensus (pp. 175-205) Ch. 7: Images of Emperor and Empire (pp. 206-273) x2 Week 16: May 3: Final Reports Other Policies: Incompletes: The University s policy on incomplete grades is given in the General Catalog. Note that a grade of I may be given when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. Students with Special Needs: If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send Professor Schon official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet during office hours to discuss how this course s requirements may impact your ability to participate fully. 7

Problems: If you require clarification of any aspect of this syllabus or if you are experiencing problems with the course please see Professor Schon as soon as possible. Turnitin.com: If you decide to take and continue in this course, you are agreeing to submit your papers online, when so instructed, through a plagiarism-prevention program called turnitin.com. When you set up your individual account with Turnitin for this class, make sure you understand and consent to all the terms that the program provides you at that point. You should note that Turnitin, always without your name and any personal information, will retain your paper as part of their data-base so that students who plagiarize from it can be detected. Because of this program, the vast majority of you who do their own work and cite their sources of information properly will not have to compete with students who commit undetected plagiarism. Anyone who has questions or problem with Turnitin may talk privately about these with the instructor. Academic Integrity: Students engaging in academic dishonesty diminish their education and bring discredit to the academic community. Students shall not violate the Code of Academic Integrity and shall avoid situations likely to compromise academic integrity. Students shall observe the generally applicable provisions of this Code whether or not faculty members establish special rules of academic integrity for particular classes. Students are not excused from complying with this Code because of faculty members failure to prevent cheating. You may find the University s Code of Academic Integrity at: http://web.arizona.edu/~dos/uapolicies/cai1.html Conduct: Students are expected to show respect to themselves, their classmates, and the course instructors. Disruptive behavior including, but not limited to, talking, the use of personal stereos, mobile phones (including text messaging), making excessive noise, or eating malodorous food, during lecture is prohibited. Minor violations will result in a grade penalty. Major violations will be handled according to university policy. You may find the University s Code of Conduct and policy on disruptive behavior at: http://web.arizona.edu/~dos/uapolicies/scc5308f.html You may also find the University s policy on threatening behavior at: http://policy.web.arizona.edu/~policy/threaten.shtml Note: Everything in this syllabus is subject to change with the exception of the grade and attendance policies. If such changes do occur, they will be made in writing with suitable time for adjustments. 8