Logistics
Course Textbooks
Plato: Phaedrus. Ed. Harvey Yunis. Cambridge Greek & Latin Classics. 2011. This should be available at the bookstore.
Translation. We will read several texts in translation. You can use the translation of your choice, but I'll mention I particularly like this one (a rewriting of Jowett, nicely done, and cheap), which contains many (not all) of the texts we will be reading in this course:
For a translation of all the works of Plato, the Princeton Bollingen translation (Plato: the Collected Dialogues, ed. Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns) is usually good (a collection of different translators). Harold Bloom (sic) has an interesting, if not always elegant, translation for the Republic.
If you are ready to buy a Greek text for Phaedrus or other works of Plato, the OCTs by John Burnet have aged well, and continue to be reliable for reading purposes. (Phaedrus is in volume 2 of the five Plato OCTs.)
For external texts to read in Greek, and for Plato’s works for which you do not have a Greek text, you can use the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (=TLG). Do not use Perseus, which is not well proofed and has other problems. The TLG also has a handy access to the LSJ, which is the dictionary you should now use.
TLG - enter through the library portal if you are off-campus, or use the VPN
Written Work and Evaluation
Most weeks will have a brief paper due on the Wednesday session. This will provide a vehicle for you to think hard about the materials, and put down some first thoughts on the current segment and its external intertexts (see schedule of assignments). These papers will be your “first thoughts” but they should not be notes or even a draft, but a carefully written and pondered result — a finished paper.
A final examination at the end will give you the opportunity to review the Greek and demonstrate your command.
Evaluation will be based on (1) written work, (2) final exam, (3) contribution and performance in class.