2010 Spring CLST 136S-01
Bulletin Course Description Law of Greece and Rome from the birth of the Greek polis and Rome's Twelve Tables to the Digest of Justinian. Coverage within the chronological boundaries via survey, case-studies, or a combination of both. Topics might include murder trials, political trials, civil law and procedure, family law, delict, religious "laws," oratory, and others. Instructor: Sosin
(Instructor named in bulletin description above may not be current. For current instructor, see listing below.)
Title GREEK AND ROMAN LAW Department CLST Course Number 2010 Spring 136S Section Number 01 Primary Instructor Sosin,Joshua D Prerequisites
Synopsis of course content
NOTE: you don't need to know anything about law or about Greek history to learn and profit and have fun in this course.
This course is an introduction to ancient Athenian law. We shall read real court speeches from real trials. Topics will range from homicide to commerce and banking, from citizenship to assault, from slavery to inheritance, from religion to sexuality, from literary representation to judicial torture.
We shall explore, through in-class discussion, the theory and practice of Athenian law, aspects of social, economic, political, and cultural history as visible from the surviving court speeches, the relationship between Athenian law and Athenian democracy.
The class will collaborate on a web-based research project.
Textbooks
D. M. MacDowell, The Law in Classical Athens (1978); ca. $20
The rest of the readings via PDF, online.
Assignments
1 or 2 Short presentations
Group research project
Exams
1 quiz
no final exam
Term Papers
No term paper, but group web-based research project
Grade to be based on
Participation
Research project
Short presentation
Quiz
Additional Information
This is a brand new course, part of a roster of all new CLST courses. I am really excited to roll it out.
Whether you are planning to go to law school, interested to learn about 'public policy' in an alien and distant culture, keen to think about legal aspects of social, cultural, political, or religious life, or just want to learn a bit of ancient history through a neat lens, this should be a fun and fruitful course!
