East Hall 220
T 7:30-9:45
Mr Lehmann
Office Hours: 11:00-12:00 TTh
East Hall 210, 677-5218
clehmann@usd.edu clehmann.org
This graduate seminar on Alexander the Great will direct students' attention to the biography of one of history's most fascinating individuals and the host of historical, biographical, and historiographical problems associated with his life and times and with the persistence of the Alexander myth even into the twenty-first century. In addition, though they need not have expertise in the ancient and modern languages of classical scholarship, students will learn the highly specialized set of research skills used by classical philologists and historians. They will become familiar with the major problems associated with his biography and Nachleben, and they will learn critically to evaluate the principle sources and the modern scholarship.
After the initial meeting, students will present the results of their analysis of particular problems. The instructor will assign those problems to each student on a weekly basis, identifying essential sources and bibliography. The presentations will be oral but accompanied by a one-page handout consisting of an outline of the presentation and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources. Each student will prepare five of these presentations, which together count for 50% of the final grade.
Each student will prepare a research paper of some 25-30 pages addressing comprehensively most of the problems discussed in the seminar, including those presented by the other students. At the final meeting (28 April) each student will summarize his or her results. The final written version of the paper is due at the end of that week (1 May).
All written work will conform to Chicago Style; see K L Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th ed (Chicago: Univ of Chicago Press, 2007), or The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed (Chicago: Univ of Chicago Press, 2010).
The Alexander Historians
Methodology: the Eunuch Bagoas
Methodology: Alexander and Rome
Methodology: Alexander and the Jews
Alexander's Bildung: the Macedonian Background
Alexander's Bildung: the Greek Background
The Macedonian Monarchy
The Macedonian Army
The Achaemenid Empire
The League of Corinth
The Assassination of Philip/Alexander's Accession
Revolt of Greece 335
Imperial Government: the Greek Cities
Imperial Government: the Asian Peoples
Alexandria
Sources of Authority: Greek
Sources of Authority: Oriental
Fourth-Century Warfare and Siegecraft
Statistics: Size of Armies, Numbers of Casualties
Granicus
Issus
Gaugamela
The Indian Campaign
Alexander at Babylon, Persepolis, and Ecbatana
Alexander as General
Macedonian Discontent: Philotas/Parmenio
Macedonian Discontent: Callisthenes and the Pages
Macedonian Discontent: Harpalos and Cleomenes
Greek Discontent: Revolt of Agis
The Gordian Knot
Alexander's Divinity: the Oracle of Ammon
Alexander's Divinity: Divine Honors
Alexander's Aims
Alexander's Sexuality
Alexander's Vision of Unity andBrotherhood
Alexander's Last Plans
Death