Class meetings: Tuesday and Thursday 9:00 - 10:20 am, Rhode Island Hall Room 008

Instructor: Sylvian Fachard

Email: Sylvian_Fachard@Brown.edu

Office Hours: Thursdays, 1-3, and/or by appointment.

Office: 214

Course Description:

What do Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Dante, James Joyce, Brad Pitt, several computer viruses, a very large asteroid, and countless sports teams have in common? They were all inspired by the Trojan War. From Heinrich Schliemann to the movie Troy, the story of the Trojan War has been told and retold, used and abused since long before it was first written down by Homer up until today. In this course we will explore the Trojan War through archaeology, art, and mythology of the Greeks and Romans and the popular imagination of everyone else from antiquity through today. Students will read ancient and not-so-ancient stories, explore archaeological sites, real cities, and imaginary places as they figure out what “really” happened: Where did these events take place? Did Homer’s Trojan War really take place? What links might there have been between the end of the Bronze Age in the Aegean and the time of Homer? This first-year seminar will engage the archaeology of Troy from a number of perspectives, with the ultimate goal being to contextualize the events and the place in such a way that students will emerge from the course with a contextualized view of Troy, the Trojan War, and its place in Western culture.

WEEK 1:  INTRODUCTION

WEEK 2:  HOMER’S ILIAD AND THE TALE OF TROY.

WEEK 3:  A DIVINE CAST: GODS, GODDESSES, HEROES, WARRIORS, MEN AND WOMEN.

WEEK 4:  DIGGING FOR THE TRUTH: THE DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION OF TROY.

WEEK 5:  LOOKING FOR THE ATTACKERS: THE MYCENAEAN WORLD.

WEEK 6:  THE CATALOGUE OF SHIPS AND THE GATHERING OF THE ACHAEAN FLEET.

WEEK 7:  TROY, THE HITTITES AND HISTORICAL REALITY.

WEEK 8:  IMAGES OF WAR: THE TROJAN WAR IN EARLY GREEK ART.

WEEK 9:  THE TROJAN WAR IN CLASSICAL GREECE.

WEEK 10:  ON THE FOOTSTEPS OF ACHILLES: ALEXANDER THE GREAT, KINGS, TOURISTS AND ROMAN EMPERORS.

WEEK 11:  THE MYTH OF TROY IN ROME: FROM THE ENEID TO THE ILIAS LATINA.

WEEK 12:  TROY IN EUROPEAN HISTORY, ART AND LITERATURE: FROM THE CRUSADES TO SHAKESPEARE.

WEEK 13:  MODERN PERCEPTIONS OF TROY: IDENTIFYING WITH GREEK AND TROJAN HEROES.

WEEK 14:  TROY IS ETERNAL.

Prerequisites: None. This course is a First-Year Seminar.

Course requirements:  This course is designed to be interactive and to give students opportunities to engage in class discussions and to present their own work, ask questions, and otherwise participate in a lively intellectual environment throughout the semester. All students are expected to attend class regularly, actively participate in class discussions, and complete all of the readings and assignments outlined in the syllabus by the date assigned.

Syllabus

Assignments are available on the Troy Rocks Private Forum. 

Readings for the course are available on the Troy Rocks Private Forum.