Greek 412/512: Logophilia: Love, Language and Plato's Phaedrus

*Note: This is an old document. Many of the links are broken!*

Charioteer

Instructor:

John Bauschatz
Time/Location: M/W, 3:00–4:15; Modern Languages 202
Contact Info:

Office: Learning Services Building 215
Phone: (520) 621-7422 (office)
email: jbausch1@email.arizona.edu

OVERVIEW AND GOALS

Plato's Phaedrus is a seriously messed up dialogue. It begins with an enthusiastic recitation of a speech composed (allegedly) by the great Athenian orator Lysias on the subject of love—specifically the pederastic kind. This is then followed by not one, but two additional speeches on the same subject delivered on the spot by Socrates, who then decides that a lengthy discussion of rhetoric is in order. Along the way there is plenty of time to dredge up a number of familiar Platonic chestnuts: beauty, truth, the Forms, the soul, cosmology, the gods... even donkeys! (I told you it was messed up.)

Our main goal in this course is to make some sense out of the mess. It is my hope that by the end of the semester, each of you will be able to:

  • outline the main arguments of the Phaedrus and explain how the dialogue connects with, complements and even refutes other Platonic works;
  • situate the themes of the Phaedrus in the world of 4th century Greece (and, more specifically, Athens);
  • describe how Plato's/Socrates' views on rhetoric differed from those of contemporaries (like Lysias, Isocrates and Gorgias);
  • explain how well the Phaedrus reflects the goals/forms of rhetoric as illustrated by Socrates/Plato in the dialogue;
  • combine the first and second halves of the dialogue—as well as Socrates' two speeches on love—into a coherent whole.

PREREQUISITES

For undergraduates (Greek 412), the prerequisites are satisfaction of the mid-career writing assessment (MCWA) and successful completion of Greek 202; for graduate students (Greek 512), the prerequisites are three units of 400-level Greek.

READINGS

There are ***no required books*** for this course. I will expect you to get yourself a Greek text of the Phaedrus from someplace—the bookstore, the library, the internet, etc.—as well as a serviceable (i.e., dating to within the last 30 years and preserving the standard Stephanus page and section divisions) translation of the dialogue. I will post pdfs of the Greek selections we'll be reading (plus commentary on grammar, syntax, etc.) on the course D2L site.

Determined to buy something? I have ordered the following three books for the course. They should appear at the bookstore. Buy them from the bookstore if you like, or get them (likely) for (much) less elsewhere (amazon - Barnes & Noble - abe Books):

  • Plato. Phaedrus. 2005. Trans. C. Rowe. ISBN-10: 0140449744.
  • P. Ryan, ed. 2012. Plato's Phaedrus: A Commentary for Greek Readers. Oklahoma. ISBN-10: 0806142596.
  • H. Yunis, ed. 2011. Plato: Phaedrus. Cambridge. ISBN-10: 0521612594.

(Please note: The Ryan and Yunis books do effectively the same thing: i.e., provide you with Greek text and commentary. You will only want to buy ONE of them, if any. I would suggest that Ryan may be more of interest to those enrolled in Greek 412, and the Yunis book to the 512ers.)

You will also need a dictionary for this course. I'd buy this, if you don't already have it (I think I may have ordered it at the bookstore, but I don't remember):

  • H. G. Liddell and Robert Scott, eds. 1945. An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon Founded upon the Seventh Edition of Lidell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon. 7th ed. Oxford. ISBN-10: 0199102066.

Naturally, you'll want to have a basic Greek textbook at hand as a grammar reference. If you've moved beyond textbooks, get the following, a must for thorough study of the Greek language:

  • H.W. Smyth. 1983. Greek Grammar. Cambridge. Revised edition. ISBN-10: 0674362500.

I will have copies of all of the above available in my office for student use in the department during normal business hours (M–F, ca 9:30 a.m.–4/5 p.m.). If you see that the Library copies of any of these materials are checked out, please do NOT recall them before checking with me first (as I may be the person who checked them out!)

There are also a number of additional readings for the course, all of which will be available electronically (hyperlinked to this page or via D2L): see the course schedule (below) for details.

GRADING

Grading for the course will be based on the following breakdown:

Attendance (15%): How often you come to class (duh). Your grade for attendance = the number of hours you actually spend in the classroom / the total number of hours you're scheduled to spend in the classroom. There are no exceptions to this policy, but I will allow you to make up up to 2.5 hours (= 2 classes) of missed time. The only way to do this is a 1/1 time trade: i.e., you'll spend however many hours you missed—up to 2.5—in my office doing extra course-related work (which I will provide to you).

Participation (15%): The quality and quantity of your participation in class discussions. I expect you to actively engage in class discussions. To a degree, your participation will be forced, as I will call on you. But I also expect you to volunteer. If you do not, your grade will suffer.

Presentations (10% each, 20% total): Each student enrolled in Greek 412/512 will give two ca 10-minute presentations in class over the course of the semester. Each student enrolled in Greek 512 will do a presentation on a subject connected with our readings from the Blackwell Companion to Plato (ed. H. Benson, 2006) and will give a presentation on his/her final paper topic (see below); students enrolled in Greek 412 will lead two grammar and syntax review sessions. All presentations should be professional and rehearsed, and students should consult Appendix N on the Classics Department website for guidelines and suggestions. (There is also a list of more specific guidelines available on the course D2L page.) A schedule of presentations and presenters will be distributed in class by the beginning of the second week of the semester.

Hour Exams (10% each, 30% total): There will be three hour exams in this course. The first will occur on Wednesday, February 13; the second on Monday, March 25; the last on Wednesday, April 24. Each of the exams will focus primarily on translating a specified portion of Plato's Phaedrus (outlined in class) but also on providing grammatical, syntactic and general commentary. Students enrolled in Greek 512 will be required to write more difficult exams than those enrolled in 412. Do not miss the exams.

Final Paper (20%): In lieu of a substantial final exam, students will select a topic of their own choosing and write a final paper. Greek 412 students will write translations/ commentaries; Greek 512 students will write traditional term papers. Information on the formatting of the final paper can be found in Appendix M on the Classics Department website. When the final paper is handed in, it should include a completed copy of the Department's Checklist for Submitting Final Papers (Appendix O on the website). The final paper is due by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 10. No late papers will be accepted.

OTHER INFO

Surprise! Cheating is not allowed. If you cheat, and I find out, you will receive a grade of 0 for the assignment and other bad things will happen. (See the U of A's code of academic integrity.)

Office hours will be held M–Th, noon–1 p.m. in my office (#215) in the Classics Department (on the second floor of the blandly-named Learning Services Building). You are also welcome and encouraged to make an appointment to meet with me. Call, email or holler.

D2L: As mentioned above, students in GRK 412/512 will be expected to be familiar with D2L ("Desire2Learn"), the University's online course content management system. If you are unfamiliar with D2L, see the D2L homepage. As noted above, course readings will be posted on the course D2L page. Your grades will be posted there, as well.

Students with disabilities should contact the UA Disability Resource Center (520 621-3268) for any special needs or accommodations.

COURSE SCHEDULE

What follows is a sketch outline of the spring semester. Nightly reading assignments are due on the dates specified. ***Reading assignments in Greek are in boldface; those for students enrolled in Greek 512 are listed first; those for students enrolled in Greek 412 are listed second [in square brackets].*** All students are responsible for the readings in translation, in full. You will be held accountable for them at the beginning of each class, sometimes even with a degrading reading quiz! So read.

Check this page often. Readings and assignments are subject to change. I'll try to give a heads-up in class if a major shake-up is imminent. I'll also try to provide you with the readings at least one week in advance.
Week Monday Wednesday
1

1/7 no class: Winter Break

1/9 (1) Introductions

READ: Plato, Phaedrus (introduction/notes optional)

2

1/14 (2) Preliminaries

READ: Phaedrus 227a–229b [227a–228b]; Lysias 1 (introduction/notes optional)

PRESENTER (BAUSCHATZ): Circumstantial Participles

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 227a–228c1

1/16 (3) Lysias' Speech (1)

READ: Phaedrus 229c–231c [229c–230c]; Lysias 3 (introduction/notes optional)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 229c–230c4


3 1/21 no class: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

1/23 (4) Lysias' Speech (2)

READ: Phaedrus 231d–234a [231d–232e]; Demosthenes 61 (introduction optional)

PRESENTER (BAKER): Sequence of Moods; Purpose Clauses

PRESENTER (WALL): "Interpreting Plato," Christopher Rowe (here)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 231c7–232b1
4

1/28 (5) Transitions

READ: Phaedrus 234b–236b [234b–235a]; Plato, Lysis (introduction optional)

PRESENTER (BAUSCHATZ): Conditional Sentences

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 234b–235a2

1/30 (6) Socrates' First Speech (1): The Definition of Love

READ: Phaedrus 236c–238c [236c–237b]; Plato, Symposium (pp1–25; introduction optional)

PRESENTER (LUBRANO): "Plato on Eros and Friendship," C.D.C. Reeve (here)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 236b8–237c1
5

2/4 (7) Socrates' First Speech (2): The Selfish Lover

READ: Phaedrus 238d–240e [238d–239d]; Plato, Symposium (pp26–51)

PRESENTER (GANESAN): "Plato on Pleasure as the Human Good," Gerasimos Santas (here)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 238c9–239b1

2/6 (8) Transitions: The Divine Sign Strikes Back

READ: Phaedrus 241a–242e [241a–241e]; Plato, Apology (preface optional)

PRESENTER (SHAW): Independent Subjunctive and Optative

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 239b2–239e
6

2/11 (9) Socrates' Second Speech (1): Mad about Madness

READ: Phaedrus 243a–245a [243a–243e]; Plato, Ion (preface optional)

PRESENTER (ESPIRITU): Result Clauses

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 241c7–243b6

2/13 (10) Hour Exam #1

7

2/18 (11) Socrates' Second Speech (2): Soul, Gods and Forms

READ: Phaedrus 245b–247c [245b–246b]; Plato, Phaedo (pp460–490)

PRESENTER (DUFFY): "The Platonic Soul," Fred D. Miller, Jr. (here)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 245b1–245e2

2/20 (12) Socrates' Second Speech (3): Recollection and Reincarnation

READ: Phaedrus 247d–249e [247d–248d]; Plato, Phaedo (pp491–521)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 246d5–247d6

 
8

2/25 (13) Socrates' Second Speech (4): Beauty and its Effects

READ: Phaedrus 250a–252c [250a–251b]; Plato, Meno (pp28–48; introduction optional)

PRESENTER (SPANNE): "Plato on Recollection," Charles Kahn (here)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 247d7–e4; 248c3–249c5

2/27 (14) Socrates' Second Speech (5): Horsing Around

READ: Phaedrus 252d–254d [252d–253c]; Plato, Meno (pp49–68; introduction optional)

PRESENTER 1 (BAKER): Temporal Clauses (not with heôs, mechri, prin or este)

PRESENTER 2 (BAUSCHATZ): Genitive Absolute

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 252d–253c2
9

3/4 (15) Socrates' Second Speech (6): The Right Way to Love

READ: Phaedrus 254e–257a [254e–255e]; Plato, Charmides (pp1–28)

PRESENTER (GRANTHAM): Fear Clauses

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 255d6–256d5

3/6 (16) Transitions: The Right Way to Write

READ: Phaedrus 257b–259a [257b–258a]; Plato, Charmides (pp29–56)

PRESENTER (TULLEY): "Plato on Language," David Sedley (here)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 257b7–258d3
10

3/11 no class: Spring Break

3/13 no class: Spring Break
11

3/18 (17) Rhetoric (1): Who Needs the Truth?

READ: Phaedrus 259b–260e [259b–260a]; Plato, Gorgias (pp23–60; introduction optional)

PRESENTER (BAUSCHATZ): "Plato's Method of Dialectic," Hugh H. Benson (here)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 259b3–260c6

3/20 (18) Rhetoric (2): Scientific and Unscientific Speaking

READ: Phaedrus 261a–262d [261a–261e]; Plato, Gorgias (pp61–98)

PRESENTER (BAUSCHATZ): Indirect Statement

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 261a1–262b5
12

3/25 (19) Hour Exam #2

3/27 (20) Rhetoric (3): Arrangement

READ: Phaedrus 262e–264d [262e–263c]; Plato, Gorgias (pp99–136)

PRESENTER (BAUSCHATZ): "Platonic Definitions and Forms," R.M. Dancy (here)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 262e–264b2
13

4/1 (21) Rhetoric (4): Divisions and Collections

READ: Phaedrus 264e–266d [264e–265c]; Plato, Gorgias (pp137–171)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 264e–265e3

4/3 (22) Rhetoric (5): Preliminaries and Elements

READ: Phaedrus 266e–268e [266e–267d]; Plato, Gorgias, Appendix A (pp173–197)

PRESENTER (GRANTHAM): Temporal Clauses with heôs, mechri, prin and este

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 266e–267d
14

4/8 (23) Rhetoric (6): The Nature of Things

READ: Phaedrus 269a–270e [269a–269d]; Plato, Gorgias, Appendices A–C (pp197–220)

PRESENTER (ESPIRITU): Articular Infinitive

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 269a–270b

4/10 (24) Rhetoric (7): Know Your Audience

READ: Phaedrus 271a–272e [271a–271e]; Aristophanes, Clouds (pp3–33; introduction optional)

PRESENTER (HULME): "Problems for Forms," Mary Louise Gill (here)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 271a–272a2
15

4/15 (25) Transitions: Saying "Hello!" to the Probable, "Goodbye!" to the Truth

READ: Phaedrus 273a–274e [273a–273e]; Aristophanes, Clouds (pp34–67)

PRESENTER (REID): "Plato and Hellenistic Philosophy," A.A. Long (here)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus nihil –ouden

4/17 (26) Written Texts: The Elixir of Reminding

READ: Phaedrus 275a–277a [275a–275e]; Aristophanes, Clouds (pp68–100)

PRESENTER (PIRES): "Platonic Influence in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Philosophy," Sara Ahbel-Rappe (here)

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 275a–275d2
16

4/22 (27) Conclusions/Evaluations

READ: Phaedrus 277b–279c [277b–278a]; Isocrates 10 and 13 (introductions optional)

PRESENTER (SHAW): Supplementary Participles

GREEK COVERED IN CLASS: Phaedrus 275d3–276d

4/24 (28) Hour Exam #3

17

4/29 (29) Paper Presentations

PRESENTERS: Reid, Tulley, Hulme, Duffy, Spanne

5/1 (30) Paper Presentations

PRESENTERS: Wall, Pires, Lubrano, Ganesan

18 5/6 no class: Final Exams

5/8 no class: Final Exams

***Final Paper due at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 10***

U of A | Classics | Bauschatz