Herodotus/Historical Writing
Herodotus and the Writing of History Dubbed ‘the Father of History’ by Cicero, Herodotus saw himself as presenting the results of an investigation in order to preserve human achievements, grant them renown, and above all to explain why the Greeks and Persians came to fight one another. We will read the whole of Herodotus’ Histories, considering the place of story-telling, ethnography, and divine intervention in explaining the past, and exploring how Herodotus’ inquiry spawned historical writing. Ancient and modern discussions about historical writing will supplement the central text.
"Human prosperity never remains constant." “The saddest aspect of life is that there is no one on earth whose happiness is such that he won't sometimes wish he were dead rather than alive.” "“After all, no one is stupid enough to prefer war to peace; in peace sons bury their fathers and in war fathers bury their sons.”
I loved this class and I really didn't do as good as I wanted to. I thought Professor Chaplin was such a kind soul and very passionate teacher. It was mostly discussions on reading and 4 big papers. She loved to help you out when you need to on papers as well. Great person, hard grader.
Professor Chaplin is an amazing teacher - discussions are fun and interesting, and she is clearly interested in all of the subject matter. The reading is long and sometimes convoluted, but as a whole the book is quite interesting. Grading on papers is difficult, but it is fair and reflective. 10/10