Course Schedule and Catalog
Course Schedule - Spring Semester 2027
Meeting location information can now be found on student schedules in ESTHER (for students) or on the Course Roster in ESTHER (for faculty and instructors).Additional information available here.
Meeting location information can now be found on student schedules in ESTHER (for students) or on the Course Roster in ESTHER (for faculty and instructors).Additional information available here.
PLST 204 001 (CRN: 26704)
LIBERAL TRADITION
Long Title: THE ROOTS OF THE LIBERAL TRADITION: CIVIC SPEECH AND CITIZENSHIP IN ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME
Department: Politics Law Social Thought
Instructor: Yunis, Harvey
Meeting: 1:00PM - 2:15PM TR (11-JAN-2027 - 23-APR-2027)
Part of Term: Full Term
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Language of Instruction: Taught in English
Method of Instruction: Face to Face
Credit Hours: 3
Course Syllabus:
Course Materials: Rice Campus Store
Restrictions:
Must be enrolled in one of the following Level(s):
Undergraduate Professional
Visiting Undergraduate
Undergraduate
Section Max Enrollment: 6
Section Enrolled: 0
Total Cross-list Max Enrollment: 12
Total Cross-list Enrolled: 0
Waitlisted: 0 (Max 198)
Current members of the waitlist have priority for available seats.
Enrollment data as of: 2-NOV-2026 6:30AM
Final Exam: Scheduled Final Exam-OTR Room
Description: The city-states of ancient Greece (5th – 4th c. BCE) and the Roman Republic (3rd – 1st c. BCE) were political communities in which individual citizens necessarily played active and crucial roles in the formation and direction of the state. Citizens undertook these functions by utilizing the opportunities to address the citizen body, to listen along with fellow citizens to public, communal speech, and thereby to deliberate with fellow citizens to make official, binding communal decisions. This course focuses on the institutions and contexts of citizen speech, dialogue, deliberation, and decision-making. It considers the theoretical frameworks for citizen speech as put forward by leading contemporary thinkers. It looks at specific, famous cases in both Greece and Rome; and it assesses what citizenship meant in these contexts. The course concludes with a look at citizenship and civic speech in the Roman Empire (1st c. BCE – 2nd c. CE) and at certain paradigms of citizenship in modern, western-style democracies. Readings for the course are selected from the ancient primary sources for this subject matter, all in English translation. The course is conducted as a combination of lectures and seminar-style discussion. Students will submit two papers and offer one oral presentation during the semester. Cross-list: CLAS 204.