Plato: Symposium

1. Plato is among the best stylists to write in any language at any time, and —as the saying goes— all of western philosophy is but as a footnote to the subtleties of his thought. We are lucky that a new textbook will make it possible for us to read a large part of his elegant, funny, and fascinating treatise, the Symposium. We thus here at the very beginning of our more advanced Greek studies will be reading one of the great works in the western literary tradition. That will allow us deeply interesting excursions into social context and intellectual history.
   

Greek: Review

1. Much of our focus must, however, remain on mastering Greek. We will need to be sure that every student in the class has a solid foundation as we make the turn from elementary to intermediate. To that end, we will review, at first systematically, and later as needed, the elements of Greek morphology and syntax. By the end of the semester, you will be considerably more assured in your ability to read Greek, and ready for fully advanced work.
   

Logistics

1. There will be brief written and/or oral assignments, and early on occasional quizzes. The quizzes will be designed to check understanding and to give you practice with the mode of testing. There will be two one-hour examinations, and a comprehensive final exam. Examinations will test your ability to understand and analyze passages read and discussed in class, with emphasis on thorough control over the Greek.
   

Graded material

1. Class work, quizzes, presentations, short written work        30%
   

2. One-hour examinations (2)                                        40%
   

3. Final exam                                                    30%
   

Textbook

1. Louise Pratt, Eros at the Banquet. Oklahoma. 2011.