Aims of the course:
- To explore the era in which a fundamental shift took place in the way humans saw themselves and the universe
- To examine the causes of that shift, the form that it took, and how it profoundly affected intellectual life
- To examine certain aspects of Athenian intellectual life in detail, especially architecture, theatre, politics and philosophy
Course content overview:
- The course will engage with ancient texts to show how ideas such as empiricism developed, using the words of those contemporary writers and thinkers at the heart of the intellectual revolution.
Schedule:
Orientation Week: 7-13 April 2025
Teaching Weeks: 14 April-18 May 2025
Feedback Week: 19-25 May 2025
Teaching Week 1 - Troy and the Trojan war/Understanding the Greek Gods
Learning objectives:
- To provide an understanding of a different belief system.
- To provide an understanding of how myths are formed and their social purpose.
- To provide an introduction to the Homeric texts.
Teaching Week 2 - Greek Warfare/Persia and the Greeks
Learning objectives:
- To gain a rough idea of Greek physical and political geography.
- To gain an understanding of the role of Miletus in sparking the intellectual revolution.
- To join a debate on the importance of warfare in the social and intellectual sphere.
Teaching Week 3 - Geography of Ancient Greece/A quick guide to the fifth century Agora
Learning objectives:
- To provide an understanding of how the Athenian democracy functioned.
- To gain some familiarity with the works of Plato and Aristophanes.
- To join a debate on whether direct democracy was a product or cause of the fifth century intellectual revolution.
Teaching Week 4 - The creation of the theatre
Learning objectives:
- To gain an appreciation of the ancient theatre and ancient Greek playwrights such as Euripides and Sophocles.
- To gain an understanding of the idea of Hellenism.
- To have understood the origins of historiography.
- To debate the extent to which Greek ideas were imported from Africa, Persia and the Levant.
Teaching Week 5 - Getting dressed in Ancient Greece
Learning objectives:
- To gain an appreciation of the conflict between the political and religious establishment and new and disruptive ideas.
- To gain an understanding of the Greek judicial system and the empirical weighing of evidence.
- To gain an appreciation of the contemporary limits to the intellectual revolution.
- To be introduced to rhetorical techniques.
- To have drawn extensively on the material studied earlier in the course.
Certificate of Participation
A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/assignments for the duration of the course.
What our students say:
“Maty is incredibly knowledgeable. He is great for interjecting with an anecdote relating to the classical world. My favourite part of the course are the fun, interesting and memorable facts, that usually come from going on slight tangents in either the seminar or the forums.”
“This is the third on line course I have taken with Maty Matyszak. Whenever my schedule permits, I look forward to taking additional courses with him. He does a superb job of preparing and presenting material. He is excellent at presenting a variety of pertinent sources and asking intriguing questions. He has a tremendous depth of knowledge of the material.”
“The tutor was excellent as always and guided his pupils to inquire and think with the Socratic method. He demonstrated a philosopher’s equanimity and tolerance, graciously acquiescing to his student’s popular demand for a complete restructuring of an entire seminar - meaning much extra work for himself. This is teaching at its finest, flexible, encouraging inquiry, even dissent if founded on solid argument and leading by example.”
""I said he had designed the course in an exemplary way with a light but expert touch. I have taken courses at other places which simply do not run as well as this one. Part of the excellence of the course is the interaction with fellow students. The tutor facilitated this, did not get in the way and the student contributions were first rate! I suspect someone vets the applications. If so, they do a good job!"
