Description of Course
The sudden institution of democratic courts in
Athens 2500 years ago spawned a novel species of speech. Since by law each citizen spoke for himself
before juries of hundreds of his peers under time restraints, successful speakers needed to learn how to narrate their case economically and conceive of broadly attractive arguments while maintaining maximum clarity. By
the Roman period changes in courts and law called for new strategies, but the
Athenian model speeches, written down and savored for centuries, continued to be studied.
With the dawn of the Roman imperial period, in which rhetorical education became the norm
for all citizens, authors developed speech before a jury as a metaphor for all
transactions in life, a tradition which Christian Rome inherited and applied to
its own needs. This course will
focus on several specific speeches from each of these historical developments
in an attempt to become familiar with the origins of legal speech and its
application to education. But more
important than historical discovery will be the opportunity for students to enter into this tradition of
clear, persuasive language as they focus on improving their own writing and
speaking.
Requirements
Each student will be expected to read
all assigned texts carefully and participate frequently and effectively in
class discussion. Students will
compose six papers of increasing challenge and length while
also working on a short, eight minute oral presentation to be given near the
end of the semester. Finally,
students will demonstrate their mastery of the course material and methods by
passing a midterm and final exam.
Grading
Class Participation: 10 percent
Papers: 40 percent (each page worth roughly 2 percent of final grade)
Midterm: 15 percent
Oral Presentation: 20 percent
Final: 15 percent
Assignments and Daily
Schedule
August 23: Introductions
Part 1: Birth of (ancient) eloquence in Athenian courts: Lysias 1
Aug 25: read Lysias 1 and recreate prosecution
Aug 27: previous history of law (read Early Courts handout and Gortyn Law Code) -- discuss how humans come to law; define law and courts (writing assignment 1: compose 1 pager/250 words as prologue for prosecution using Lysias' proem as your model)
Aug 30 reconstruct basics of legal system and courts from details in Lysias 1
September 1: read article on legal background
Sept 3: read/discuss Wasps (on electronic reserve)
Sept 6: writing assignment 2: choose a detail from the narrative and explain its position in the speech while employing the understanding of Athenian law and courts gained in the previous week's reading (2 page paper due)
Sept 8: prepare a chronology of the main narrative in Lysias 1 and ponder why Lysias ordered the events as he did
Sept 10: read and critique article by Porter "Adultery by the Book" (on electronic reserve)
Sept 13: read and critique article by Gagarin "Telling Stories in Athenian Law" (on electronic reserve)
Sept 15: Lysias conclusion: how effective? what mixture of "law" and "persuasion"? how do law and persuasion interact (constitution also)?
Part 2: Youth of eloquence in Roman courts: Cicero Pro Archia
Sept 17: read the Pro Archia and recreate the prosecution
Sept 20: Roman myth and justice: early Roman law/courts (read The Twelve Tables)
Sept 22: recreate courts from evidence in Cicero's speech (these resources may help: an overview of Roman juries and an exhaustive catalog of all trials in the Late Republican period)
Sept 24: Roman Constitution: read Polybius Book 6 on the Roman Constitution
Sept 27: read selection on legal education in the De Oratore
Sept 29: choose detail and explain why Cicero placed it there in his speech (3 pager due)
October 1: read and critique W.M. Porter's article "Cicero's Pro Archia and the Responsibilities of Reading" on electronic reserve
Oct 4: Cicero conclusion: how effective was the Pro Archia? how do law and persuasion interact here? how different (better?) from Athenian law?
Oct 6: review for midterm
Oct 8: MIDTERM EXAM
Part 3: Middle Age of eloquence in Roman parlors: Tacitus Dialogus and Seneca Epistle 114
Oct 13: read Tacitus' Dialogus and critique one argument (reports on historical figure list also)
Oct 15: read and critique Luce's "Reading and Response in Tacitus' Dialogus" (on electronic reserve)
Oct 18: Documents of Roman Imperial Law (read Imperial legal documents -- 2 pager explicating one detail in a document)
Oct 20: LIBRARY RESEARCH SKILLS FOR FYS: MEET IN LIBRARY
Oct 22: Research reports on aspects of Classical Roman Law (4 groups 10 min. report each)
Oct 25: read Seneca's Epistle 114 and bring in modern example to illustrate point
Oct 27: discussion: what is role of courts in this letter? (should have scheduled first meeting with speech center by now)
Oct 29: discussion: how does the court work as a metaphor for life in Rome? psychological strategy?
November 1: choose a detail and explain why Seneca placed it there in his letter(5 pager)
Nov 3: read and critique Rudich's "Introduction from Dissidence and Literature under Nero" on electronic reserve
Nov 5: concluding discussion on Roman imperial eloquence
Part 4: Retirement of eloquence in Christian education: Augustine De Doctrina Christiana
Nov 8: read De Doctrina book 4 and take stance opposed to Augustine
Nov 10: discussion: role of court metaphor in Christian eloquence
Nov 12: Research Paper Due (7 pager researching some point raised earlier in class)
Nov 15: Late Roman Law: Nicea and Canon Law
Nov 17: Oral Presentation Day 1 (6 8-min. talks based on research paper)
Nov 19: Oral Presentation Day 2 (5 8-min. talks based on research paper)
Nov 22: Oral Presentation Day 3 (5 8-min. talks based on research paper)
Nov 29: Late Roman Law: Theodosian Codex
December 1: concluding discussion on Augustine and effect of Christian law on eloquence
Dec 3: concluding review and discussion
Dec 14: FINAL EXAM (9 AM)
Texts
S.C. Todd (translator), Lysias, U. of Texas Press, 2000.
D.H. Berry (translator), Cicero: Defense Speeches, Oxford U. Press, 2000.
H.P. Benario (translator), Agricola, Germany and Dialogue on Orators, Hackett, 2006.
R. Campbell (translator), Seneca: Letters from a Stoic, Penguin, 1969.
R.P.H. Green (translator), Augustine: On Christian Teaching, Oxford U. Press, 2008.
Course Policies
Last edited: August 31, 2010