History 499/599: Alexander
the Great, Fall 2004
Prof.
Michael Dixon TuTh
3:00-4:15
Office: LA 3020 LA
1018
Office
Phone: 465-1093
Course
Web Page: http://www.usi.edu/libarts/history/mdixon
e-mail: mdixon@usi.edu
Office
Hours: M 12:00-1:00, W 1:00-2:00, Tu 9:00-10:00, Th 1:30-2:30 and by
appointment.
Course Description:
Alexander the Great is one of the most important yet most enigmatic individuals from antiquity. All of our sources for his life are late and derivative. The absence of primary sources contemporary with Alexander’s lifetime, therefore, has made historians’ task of understanding Alexander a difficult one. This problem has resulted in varying interpretations of Alexander from both ancient and modern historians. He has been interpreted as an enlightened monarch with ideals of unity and brotherhood of mankind as well as a ruthless murderer and terrorist. We shall examine closely all of the ancient sources for Alexander (literary, epigraphic, numismatic, sculptural, etc.) and attempt to evaluate these interpretations, reconstruct his career and assess its impact. A greater emphasis will be placed upon what we know about Alexander and how, than what Alexander did. Careful analysis of these sources will allow us to understand better the problems associated with Alexander as well as the diverse opinions about him.
We shall explore his Macedonian background and the
origins of the Persian expedition, his campaign throughout the Persian Empire
and
Course Objectives:
Students are required to gain a
sophisticated understanding of both the ancient and modern historiographical
traditions concerning Alexander the Great.
Students must comprehend Quellenforschung
and its value as we attempt to understand better the source tradition for
Alexander the Great. Additionally,
students will be expected to evaluate Alexander’s motivations for the
conquest of the
Since this course is a senior seminar in history, students are expected to employ the skills they have acquired throughout their academic careers.
Course Requirements:
Attendance in this class is mandatory. If a student must miss the class, it is his/her responsibility to notify the professor in advance. More than two absences during the course of the semester will result in a deduction (one point per class) from the attendance/participation grade. It is not enough to show up in class. Students must come to class prepared to discuss the material assigned for that day. Participation in class is an extremely important component of the course. Students must write a final paper of no less than twenty pages. Each student should begin to think as early as possible about the topic of his/her final paper and should discuss possibilities frequently with the professor. A two-page proposal with bibliography will be due in class during the eighth week of the semester. The final two weeks of the course will be devoted to presentation of student research. Each student is required to give a twenty-minute presentation of the results of his/her research and this will be followed by a question and answer session. The presentations are designed to improve the quality of the final paper and feedback from the professor and other students should be taken very seriously. In addition to the final paper, students must also complete two short writing assignments. The first short paper will be a brief analysis (3-4 pages) in which you analyze one event from Alexander’s campaign and elucidate the differences in each of our extant accounts. The second short paper will be to locate two reviews of books on Alexander (not on the reading list) and write a short summary (2-3 pages) of the authors’ conclusions. We shall discuss in class each of the two short writing assignments. Grades will be determined according to the following scale:
Attendance/Participation: 25%
Source Analysis Paper 15%
Book Review Paper 10%
Proposal/Bibliography 10%
Final Paper 40%
Required Books:
Additional Primary Sources:
·
Arrian, Indica. [Loeb
Classical Library, Arrian, vol. 2].
·
Diodorus Siculus, Book 17.
[Loeb Classical Library].
·
Plutarch. Life of Alexander. [Loeb Classical Library].
·
Strabo [Loeb Classical Library].
Supplemental
· Badian, E. 1960. “The Death of Parmenio,” Transactions of the American Philological Association 91: 324-338. [JSTOR]
·
Baynham, E. 1998. Alexander the Great. The Unique History of Quintus Curtius Rufus.
·
Bosworth, A.B. 1988. From Arrian to Alexander: Studies in Historical Interpretation.
·
Andrew Stewart. 1993. Faces
of Power: Alexander’s Image
and Hellenistic Politics.
Grade Scale:
A: 90-100 C: 70-76
B+: 87-89 D+: 67-69
B: 80-86 D: 60-66
C+: 77-79 F: 59 and below
USI considers academic dishonesty (defined by the
Dean of Students as cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, interference with
another student’s work, or facilitating academic dishonesty) to be a
serious misconduct and subject to disciplinary measures up to and including
expulsion from the university. These infractions and the penalties are
explained further at the Dean of Students’ website: http://www.usi.edu/stl/section_changes.asp.
It is your responsibility to read this site and comply with its requirements.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students found guilty of plagiarism may
be expelled from the University or fail the course. As stated in the
“Plagiarism is literary burglary. At its worst it involves an outright
intent to deceive, to pass off another’s work as a student’s
own. When someone borrows another
writer’s words, ideas, or sequence of ideas, the borrower must acknowledge
the borrowing, with an attribution and in-text citation. The only exceptions are information in
the public domain (ex.
Students found guilty of academic dishonesty in this
course will receive a grade of zero for the paper or examination on which they
have violated this policy. The
professor reserves the right to impose a more severe penalty if the student has
been found guilty of academic dishonesty previously.
If you have a disability, you are encouraged to register
for disability support services in the
Withdrawal from
the Course
If you complete the procedure for a Withdrawal from this
class beginning with the first day of the term through the ninth week of the
term (August 30–October 29, 2004) you will receive a ‘W’ for
the course. If you complete the
procedure for a Withdrawal during the tenth week of class through the last day
of classes before the final exam (November 1–December 10, 2004) you will
receive the grade ‘W’ if you are passing at the time you drop the
course. However, if you are failing at the time you drop the course, you will
receive a grade of “F.”
Weekly Topics and
(Unless otherwise instructed, all reading must be completed by the Tuesday of each week).
Week
One, 31 August-2 September: Introductions
Bosworth
1988: 5-23, 295-300.
Week
Two, 7-9 September: The Court Tradition
Arrian. The
Campaigns of Alexander, Books 1-3
Week
Three, 14-16 September: The Court Tradition
Arrian. The
Campaigns of Alexander, Books 4-7
Week
Four, 21-23 September: The Vulgate Tradition
Q.
Curitus Rufus. The History of Alexander the Great, Summary of lost Books 1 and 2,
Books 3-6
Week
Five, 28-30 September: The Vulgate Tradition
Q.
Curtius Rufus. The History of Alexander the Great, Books 7-10
Week
Six, 5-7 October: The Vulgate Tradition
Yardley
and Heckel 1997. Justin’s Epitome
of the Philippic History of Pompeius
Trogus,
Week
Seven, 12-14 October: Epigraphical and other Literary Sources
Heisserer
1980: 8-13, 36-45, 79-81, 118-125, 142-154, 169-173, 182-185, 205-210,
219-229. [These pages include a
number of inscriptions that relate directly to the reign of Alexander the
Great. All are translated into
English].
Billows
2000. “Polybius and Alexander Historiography,” in Bosworth and
Baynham.
Week
Eight, 19-21 October: Alexander and Modern Historiography
Badian
1958a; Badian 1958b; Badian 2000.
Proposal
and Bibliography due 19 October
Week
Nine, 26-28 October: Alexander and Modern Historiography
Bosworth
1988. Conquest and Empire.
Week
Ten, 2-4 November: Alexander and the Elephant Medallions
Holt
2003. Alexander the Great and the Mystery
of the Elephant Medallions.
5
November – Release of “Alexander the Great”
Week
Eleven, 11 November: Alexander and Modern Historiography
9 November – NO CLASS, Assessment Day
Read
the following articles from Alexander the
Great in Fact and Fiction:
Flower, Fredricksmeyer, Carney
Week
Twelve, 16-18 November: Representations of Alexander
Palagia,
“Hephaestion’s Pyre and the Royal Hunt of Alexander,” in
Baynham and Bosworth 2000: 167-206.
Stewart
1993: 130-150 (Alexander Mosaic); 270-277 (Tomb II Hunt Scene); 290-306 (Alexander
Sarcophagus)
Week
Thirteen, 23 November: Alexander and Near Eastern Sources
Shahbazi
2003: 5-38
Van
der Spek 2003: 289-346.
25
November – NO CLASS, Thanksgiving Recess
Week
Fourteen, 30 November-2 December
Student
Presentations
Week
Fifteen, 7-9 December
Student
Presentations
14
December, 3:00-5:00: Final
Examination. Final Papers due.