Revelations Great and Greek

1 Credit · Level: Undergraduate

This course examines how an American diplomat’s life experience illuminates the traumatic post-World War I Greek experience in Asia Minor and critical U.S. foreign policy choices America faced as it assumed great-power status. George Horton was a poet, best-selling author, humanitarian, classicist, philhellene, and diplomat who helped Muslim, Jewish, and Christian refugees and prisoners throughout his career until the Department of State punished him for reporting the genocides he witnessed. Each week students will read a chapter from Horton’s biography and then discuss his historical revelations, how they compare with mainstream historiography, and their significance then and now. Readings are augmented by primary source materials from the U.S. National Archives and Lauinger Library’s George Horton papers. No knowledge of Greek is required. All materials will be available in English.