Department of Ancient History & Classics
Trent University
AHCL 1000Y(The Trojan War and its Legacy)
2010/2011
I. INSTRUCTORS
Course Co-ordinator:
Professor Ian C. Storey
Champlain College G 13
(705)-748-1011 x.7355
istorey@trentu.ca
Office hours: Monday 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Teaching assistants:
Madeline Holder
Champlain College
madelineholde@trentu.ca
Office hours: TBA
Department:
Other TAs will
be announced.
Ms Kathy Axcell
Champlain College G 15
(705)-748-1011 x.7848
kaxcell@trentu.ca
II. COURSE DESCRIPTION
The story of the Trojan War, the ten-year-long campaign by the Greeks against the
great city of Troy, ostensibly to recover a king’s wayward wife (Helen), has become
one of the great stories of Western culture. The events before, during, and after that
conflict have been the subject of epic poems, prose essays, dramas both serious and
comic, historical fictions, fantasies, comic books and graphic novels, vase paintings,
murals, sculpture, operas, feature-length movies and TV mini-series. The names of
Achilles and Hector, Odysseus (a.k.a. Ulysses) and Aeneas, Paris and Helen, Penelope
and Cassandra have become a familiar part of our cultural heritage, as have
expressions such as “Achilles’ heel”, “Trojan horse”, or “odyssey”.
The story of Troy has appealed to all ages of Western civilisation, and each
society has re-interpreted Troy in its own image. When the first Roman emperor,
Augustus (reign: 27 BC to AD 14), sought to establish a foundation myth for Rome,
he commissioned a Roman poet, Vergil, to create a national epic (The Aeneid) that
connected Rome to the events of the war at Troy. This would be Rome’s answer to
the Greek national poet, Homer, and his classic epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The
Middle Ages made the little-known story of Troilus and Cressida into a mediaeval
romance of love and chivalry. In the 1930s Jean Giraudoux used the Trojan story to
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parallel the rush of the nations of Europe towards an inevitable war in his play, The
Trojan War Will Not Take Place. In 1970 the Greek film-maker Cacoiannis turned
Euripides’ play Trojan Women into a film beneath which lurked the war in Vietnam.
The course will introduce students to the war against Troy, and through that
material to the study of ancient history and classics. We shall begin with classical
literature as our knowledge of the War depends on reading and interpreting works
that were meant to be heard and read. We shall be reading the three major epic
poems from the classical world that tell the story of the Trojan War: Homer’s Iliad
and Odyssey (8th c. BC, written originally in Greek) and Vergil’s Aeneid (1st c. BC,
written in Latin). We shall introduce also the field of classical archaeology through
examinations of the physical remains of Troy (and other sites of the late Bronze
Age), and shall examine the historical background of the late Bronze Age (14001100 BC), against which the poems are set, and the late Archaic Age (750-720 BC),
when Homer created his version of a traditional story. Finally we shall introduce
students to the new field of classical reception, i.e. how later ages re-used the
familiar material to speak to the issues of their own time.
III. MEETINGS
Lectures:
Mondays, from 5:00-5:50 p.m.
Wednesdays, from 11:00-11:50 a.m.
Wenjack Theatre
Wenjack Theatre
NOTE: As the Wenjack Theatre is a large room, holding twice the size
of the class, students are requested to sit in the front half of the
lecture room. This will make seeing and hearing much easier, for
both students and the instructors.
Seminars: Students will attend one seminar roughly every two weeks.
Each time slot is divided into A-weeks and B-weeks.
Monday 6:00 to 6:50 p.m.
Monday 7:00 to 7:50 p.m.
Wednesday 12 noon to 12:50 p.m.
Wednesday 1:00 to 1:50 p.m.
Wednesday 2:00 to 2:50 p.m.
Wednesday 3:00 to 3:50 p.m.
Wednesday 4:00 to 4:50 p.m.
DNA B 106
DNA B 106
Gzowski 105
Gzowski 345
Gzowski 345
Champlain G
Gzowski 345
Students may register for a particular seminar by going on-line to
MyLearningSystem, to the page for AHCL 1000, beginning on September
8th. Instructions will be found under “Tutorial Sign-up”. Seminars are
capped at 15 students. Please make sure that you can attend the time-slot
you select, as the system will not allow you to change your choice. If you do
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need to make a change, the instructor will be available at the “Seminar Swap”
on Friday 10 September, from 1:00 to 3:00 in the lower level of Gzowski
College.
NOTE: Regular attendance at all lectures and seminars is expected.
AHCL 1000 is not a course that can be done “at a distance”. Students
who miss a class should endeavour to borrow notes from a classmate,
since lecturers will not post or lend their notes.
IV. REQUIRED TEXTS
Homer, The Iliad (tr. Fagles)
Homer, The Odyssey (tr. Fagles)
Vergil, The Aeneid (tr. Fitzgerald)
Other translations may be used, but these are the versions that will be cited
in lectures and seminars, and from which passages on the examinations will
be set.
V. COURSE ASSESSMENT
Seminar attendance & participation (10% each term)
On-line quizzes (5% each term)
Library Assignment
Report & Analysis
Essay
Mid-year Examination
Final Examination
20%
10%
10%
15%
15%
15%
15%
VI. SEMINARS
Seminars will meet on ten occasions during the year – schedule given below.
The purpose is to foster discussion in a smaller group (12-15 students) about
points and themes in the three required texts, to allow students to ask questions
or raise matters for clarification. The seminar is not intended to be a minilecture by the instructor – it is YOUR time to participate. Grades in this portion
of the course will be determined by both attendance and participation.
Before each meeting, readings and questions will be e-mailed to members of the
group. Please come to the seminar with your thoughts on these topics, and have
either a comment or a question for the group. If you have to miss a tutorial, you
may with the leader’s permission attend another group. If this is not feasible,
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your seminar leader may allow you to submit a three-page summary of the
readings and questions, but no more often than once each term.
Seminar 1: A-group: week of September 20-24
B-group: week of September 27-Oct. 1
TOPIC: Iliad books 1-6 (especially 1, 2 [first half], 3)
Seminar 2: A-group: week of October 4-8
B-group: week of October 11*-15
* Groups scheduled for October 11 will meet on October 18.
TOPIC: Iliad books 9, 14, 16, 18
Seminar 3: A-group: week of November 1-5
B-group: week of November 8-12
TOPIC: Iliad 22-24
Seminar 4: A-group: week of November 15-19
B-group: week of November 22-26
TOPIC: Research and Essay skills
Seminar 5: A-group: week of November 29-Dec. 3
B-group: week of December 6-10
TOPIC: Domestic themes: Iliad 3, 6, 24; Odyssey 1-4
Seminar 6: A-group: week of January 17-21
B-group: week of January 24-28
TOPIC: Odyssey 5-12
Seminar 7: A-group: week of Jan. 31-Feb. 4
B-group: week of February 7-11
TOPIC: Odyssey 13-24, especially books 13, 19, 22-23
Seminar 8: A-group: week of Feb. 28-March 4
B-group: week of March 7-11
TOPIC: Aeneid 1-4, especially books 1 and 4
Seminar 9: A-group: week of March 14-18
B-group: week of March 21-25
TOPIC: Aeneid 5-8, especially 6 and 8
Seminar 10: A-group: week of March 28-Apr. 1
B-group: week of April 4-8
TOPIC: Aeneid 12
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VII. ON-LINE QUIZZES
Students will complete twelve (12) short, ‘open-book’ multiple-choice quizzes on
the MyLearningSystem web-site. Each quiz may be taken at any time from the
beginning of term until the cut-off time for each quiz (11:59 on the relevant
Friday, essentially every other week -- see below). There is no time limit for the
quiz – only that they must be completed by the Friday deadline.
Extensions CANNOT be granted for the quizzes. Students are advised not to
leave things to the last day. If there is a problem, please contact the IT
department: it@trentu.ca. The instructors have no control over the system.
QUIZ 1: cut-off date – 24 September @ 11:59 p.m. – Iliad books 1-6
QUIZ 2: cut-off date – 8 October @ 11:59 p.m. – Iliad books 7-12
QUIZ 3: cut-off date – 22 October @ 11:59 p.m. – Iliad books 13-18
QUIZ 4: cut-off date – 12 November @ 11:59 p.m. – Iliad books 19-24
QUIZ 5: cut-off date – 26 November @ 11:59 p.m. – Essay skills questions
QUIZ 6: cut-off date – 10 December @ 11:59 p.m. – Odyssey books 1-4
QUIZ 7: cut-off date – 21 January @ 11:59 p.m. – Odyssey books 5-12
QUIZ 8: cut-off date – 4 February @ 11:59 p.m. – Odyssey books 13-18
QUIZ 9: cut-off date – 18 February @ 11:59 p.m. – Odyssey books 19-24
QUIZ 10: cut-off date – 11 March @ 11:59 p.m. – Aeneid books 1-4
QUIZ 11: cut-off date – 25 March @ 11:59 p.m. – Aeneid books 5-8
QUIZ 12: cut-off date – 8 April @ 11:59 p.m. – Aeneid books 9-12
VIII. EXAMINATIONS
Each examination will consist of gobbet identifications (identify and comment on
passages from the ancient texts), image identifications (identify and comment on
certain visual images that were presented in class), and an essay question.
The examination schedule will be published about halfway during each term.
Students who wish to observe cultural or religious holidays during an
examination period must notify the Office of the Registrar in writing by Friday
1October. Exam dates are firm cannot be moved to accommodate work or travel
plans. Trent University does not schedule make-up examinations.
IX. ASSIGNMENTS
Further details of the assignments and the detailed grading scheme for essays
will be posted on MyLearningSystem.
(1) Library assignment – due Friday 1 October. Value: 10%.
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(2) Report & analysis – due Friday 19 November. Value: 15%.
(3) Essay – due Monday 28 February. Value 15%.
Length: 8 pages (c. 2500 words), not including title page, notes, and
bibliography.
Topics will posted on MyLearningSystem for AHCL 1000 in the first week of
second term.
Essays must be double-spaced, with a title page, bibliography, either
footnotes or endnotes, and numbered pages (do not number the title page).
Footnotes and bibliography must be consistently formatted and follow the
style set out in the document “Essay Formatting Style” (in the essay folder on
MyLearningSystem).
Essays deal with a problem arising from some aspect of the ancient
material. Imagine that you are entering a debate or seeking the answer to an
intriguing question. Thus merely narrating the events of an ancient text is
not scholarship – the instructors already know what happened in the Iliad or
the Odyssey. The key word is “analysis”. Pose the question or the problem,
summarise the issues and approaches to a solution, add your own discussion,
and then present your conclusions.
Essays MUST demonstrate use of both primary material (the ancient
poems) and secondary discussions (the modern critics). You are expected to
seek out, read, and cite from book chapters or journal articles, many of which
are available on line. Website and encyclopaedic entries (such as Wikipedia)
or on-line data bases are NOT acceptable secondary sources. There are some
that are acceptable (e.g, Perseus), but check with your seminar leader. Quite
a number of heavily used items have been placed on reserve.
Essays are to be submitted to your seminar leader. The default
method of submission is through the Essay Drop-box on MyLearningSystem,
but your seminar leader will inform you of their preference. Essays
submitted on line should be a Word document, in either .doc or .docx (.rtf is
also allowed), but please DO NOT submit .pdf documents, as they cannot be
edited by the instructor.
NOTE: If your instructor prefers submission by hard copy, papers may be
handed in at the lecture or seminar, or to the drop-box outside the
Department office (CC G 15), but no later than 4:00 p.m. on the due date.
Please DO NOT disturb the Departmental Assistant to hand in your paper;
just put it in the drop-box yourself.
All paper are due on the date indicated. Late work will be penalised at the
rate of 5% per day, and no paper will be accepted after seven days beyond
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the due date. At this point a grade of 0 will be entered. Extensions will be
granted only for exceptional and properly documented circumstances,
and must not be requested on the actual due date. Failure to organise your
work schedule or meet deadlines will NOT be considered an exceptional
circumstance. In order to be fair to all students, make-up or bonus
assignments are not available.
X. MYLEARNINGSYSTEM (sometimes known as “WebCT”)
This service is available for all students through MyTrent. Log into your
MyTrent account, and click “MyLearningSystem” in the menu on the upper
left. When you reach the home page for AHCL 1000, you will find a variety of
links and folders to assist you with the course:
• a copy of the syllabus
• announcements and matters of ‘housekeeping’ within the course
• illustrative material from the lectures
• an essay folder, with a document on formatting essays, suggested
bibliographic links, and an explanation of the essay grading scheme
• the folder for on-line quizzes
• a calendar of lectures and due dates for quizzes and assignments
• a link to the Departmental policy on Student Academic Conduct
XI. STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Successful participation in this course (or indeed in any course at Trent)
involves regular attendance at lectures and seminars, doing the assigned
readings, the timely completion and submission of the assignments, and
appropriate preparation for the examinations. If you encounter difficulties
or if you need assistance at any time, it is your responsibility to contact your
seminar-leader or the instructor as early as possible, and in any case before
the deadlines. Remember: IF YOU RUN INTO TROUBLE, THE WORST
THING YOU CAN DO IS NOTHING. A word of advice: last year in the course,
only three students managed to pass the course who did not submit the
essay.
All electronic communication devices (cell-phones, pagers, beepers,
blackberry) must be turned off before entering a classroom. Laptops may be
used for taking notes, but all sounds must be muted. Students found using
laptops for on-line surfing, doing e-mail, or playing games will be asked to
turn them off.
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CONTACT: Most of the frequently raised issues in the course will be dealt
with in the syllabus or on the AHCL 1000 page in MyLearningSystem. Start
there if you have any questions. If you do need to raise something with an
instructor, in the first instance contact your seminar leader. They will pass
the matter on to the course instructor if it is outside their purview. Contact
Professor Storey only if he is your seminar leader.
Please use ONLY your Trent e-mail account to send and receive
correspondence in this course, as the instructor may have blocked domains
such as gmail, hotmail, yahoo, simpatico, nexicom etc. Your official address
at Trent is your Trent e-mail account; please use only that account.
Any requests that you make to an instructor is much more likely to be
sympathetically received if it is written with proper punctuation and
capitalisation, and in grammatical English. Please do not write in netspeak.
XII. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating, is an extremely
serious academic offence, and carries penalties varying from a grade of 0 on an
assignment to expulsion from the University. Definitions, penalties, and
procedures for dealing with plagiarism and cheating are set out in Trent’s
Academic Integrity Policy. You have a responsibility to educate yourself –
unfamiliarity with the policy is not an excuse. You are strongly encouraged to
visit Trent’s Academic Integrity website to learn more – this can be found at
www.trentu.ca/academicintegrity.
XIII. ACCESS TO INSTRUCTION
It is Trent University’s intent to create an inclusive learning environment. If a
student has a disability and/or health consideration and feels that he or she may
need accommodations to succeed in this course, the student should contact the
Disability Services Office (BL Suite 109, 748-1721; disabilityservices@trentu.ca)
as soon as possible. The complete text can be found under “Access to
Instruction” in the Academic Calendar.
XIV. SCHEDULE OF LECTURES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Sept. 13
Sept. 15
Sept. 20
Sept. 22
Sept. 27
Sept. 29
Oct. 4
AHCL 1000: Troy & the Trojan War
Introduction to the Ancient World
The Nature of the Material Evidence
The Nature of the Literary Evidence
Homer & ‘Primary’ Epic
Helen & the Origins of the War
Travel & Sea-Faring
ICS
Hugh Elton
Sean Lockwood
ICS
ICS
ICS
Jennifer Moore
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8. Oct. 6
9. Oct. 11
10. Oct. 13
11. Oct. 18
12. Oct. 20
Schliemann I (‘boon’)
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Schliemann II (‘bane’)
Troy after Schliemann
Heroism in the Iliad
Jennifer Moore
---Jennifer Moore
Guest lecturer
ICS
13. Nov. 1
14. Nov. 3
15. Nov. 8
16. Nov. 10
17. Nov. 15
18. Nov. 17
19. Nov. 22
20. Nov. 24
21. Nov. 29
22. Dec. 1
23. Dec. 6
24. Dec. 8
Mycenae (and Pylos?)
The Hundred Cities of Crete
Michael Ventris& Linear B
The Gods of the Iliad
Greek Gods and Worship
The War from the Trojan Side
The Hittites, Kadesh& Chariots
The Fall of Troy
Crises of the Late Bronze Age
Kings and Aristocrats
Homer as ‘evidence’ for the Late Bronze Age
Nostoi
Sean Lockwood
25. Jan. 10
26. Jan. 12
27. Jan. 17
28. Jan. 19
29. Jan. 24
30. Jan. 26
31. Jan. 31
32. Feb. 2
33. Feb. 7
34. Feb. 9
35. Feb. 14
36. Feb. 16
Homer’s Odyssey
Heroism in the Odyssey
The gods in the Odyssey
Odysseus the wanderer
Colonial Expansion
Metamorphosis of a Monster
Troy on Greek Vases
The Persian Wars & Troy
Troy in Tragedy
On the Trail of Odysseus
Introduction to Rome
Vergil and ‘Secondary’ Epic
ICS
ICS
ICS
ICS
ICS
ICS
Sean Lockwood
ICS
George Kovacs
ICS
Jackie Tinson
ICS
37. Feb. 28
38. March 2
39. March 7
40. March 9
41. March 14
42. March 16
43. March 21
44. March 23
45. March 28
46. March 30
47. April 4
48. April 6
Troy in Etruscan Art
Heroism in the Aeneid
Trojan Rome
The gods in the Aeneid
Aeneas & Dido
Carthage
Vergil and Homer
The ‘two voices of Vergil’
Assault on Homer
Troy in Late Antiquity& Christian Epic
Troy in Mediaeval Culture
Troy in Modern Popular Culture
Sean Lockwood
ICS
Jennifer Moore
ICS
ICS
Jennifer Moore
ICS
Guest
ICS
Hugh Elton
Guest
George Kovacs
Hugh Elton
ICS
George Kovacs
ICS
Hugh Elton
ICS
Sean Lockwood
ICS
While Professor Storey will be the course co-ordinator and principal lecturer for
AHCL1000, one of the purposes of the course is that students will be hearing from as
many of the faculty in the Department as possible.