Ancients and Moderns

3 Credits

Are we better than the Ancient Greeks and Romans? What do we owe them, and how have we surpassed their achievements? What does it mean to define ourselves as “modern” in contrast to classical antiquity? These and related questions are the focus of this course, which explores the ancient-modern dynamic in Western culture from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment. Readings will include selections from such writers and thinkers as Homer, Aristotle, Vergil, Petrarch, Erasmus, Bacon, Hobbes, Milton, Swift, and the American Founding Fathers.