TTh 9:15 - 10:30 Olin 124 Prof. J. C. Fant

office hours: MW 10- 12, & by appmt office 246a Olin (enter 237) cfant@uakron.edu, x8069 www.uakron.edu/csaa/sports

Athletic contests and public games have always been central to human societies and closely reflect their values. The power of sports is emphasized by power of the myths surrounding them. The fact that we eagerly believe that ancient Greek games were purely amateur tells us much about our own society. The Greeks, on the other hand, saw success in the games as worThany sacrifice because their society assigned status in zero-sum hierarchies. Roman games, generally stereotyped as spectator sports and as evidence of cruelty and inhumanity, in fact reenact the construction of order and justice in society. The violence was in fact essential but rare, symbolic, and anything but gratuitous. Romans indulged passionately in personal athletics but not in the public settings. Thus sports hold up a mirror to societies and offer an ideal point of entry into the analysis of deeper social issues.

This semester I aim to convey three things to you: 1) detailed knowledge about the ancient Olympics and about Roman gladiatorial spectacles, 2) a sense of how these connect with modern culture, and 3) a critical approach to understanding another culture on its own terms.

4 factual quizzes (through CBT) 40%

2 midterms, 25% and 15% 40%

Final investigation 15%

participation in class discussions 5%

(no final exam)

The quizzes will be administered by Computer Based Testing (323 Carrol Hall) and will be available during their hours for a five-day period for each test (Friday-Thursday; the Lab is closed on Sunday; check their hours). Make reservations to avoid long waits at busy times: at cbt.uakron.edu. If you do not take the quiz during that period and have not made prior arrangements with me, makeups are available only in cases of documented emergenices. Two attempts will be allowed for each quiz; the higher grade will be recorded. But attempts must be on different days; if attempts are on the same day, only the first grade will count.

Digital lectures files will be available ouotside of class only in the computer lab in the department office (Olin 237; enter, turn right and find the lab at the end of the long hall. The files will be on the desktops of two iMacs together on one table.). The computers there will be kept updated with lecture files as presented in class. The format of the files makes copying and printing them impractical

The two midterms are all essay in format and will be on topics developed in class lecture and discussion. They are not intended to be comprehensive, but the second will include topics that require drawing on some learning from the first section. They will be given in class, not through CBT.

The final investigation is an exploration of a topic of your choosing related to ancient athletics in the broadest sense. Part of the assignment is the selection of topic, but you should check (email is better than a word after class) it with me in advance to make sure it is feasible. It may be in traditional written format or one more artistic (again, check with me first). You may work in teams of up to three.

Participation in class discussions is a plus but not a requirement in such a large class. But themes developed in discussions are important for the midterm essays. The regular readings in Miller’s two books are the chief basis for class discussions..

Attendance is required and will be recorded each day by sign-up sheet; each unexcused absence over 3 may lower the final grade by 5 %. If you must miss a class, you should get notes from a classmate; in cases of excused absences, I will help you with the class notes. The multimedia files may be reviewed on computers in Olin 237 (down the long corridor); they will not be made available on the web or on disk.

Extra Credit. During the semester attend an announced lecture or other event, write a short report, and get one (1) % added to your final semester average. You may also get 1% for obtaining and summarizing a scholarly research article on ancient athletics (you must clear the article with me first; Internet articles are generally not acceptable), turn in your summary and a photocopy of the article.

Withdrawal:

My policy is to approve withdrawals after October 24 only in case of unforeseeable circumstances.

Communication: I expect to be able to communicate with you through your UA email address. If you do not have an email address or do not know what it is, contact the Technology Learning Support Center, at (330) 972-6888, Bierce Library, Room 69, tlsc@uakron.ed. Most outside email providers let you pull mail from other hosts, and in Campus Pipeline you can set up your UA account to forward mail to an outside address. I am happy to reply to any address you write from but mail to all students will be sent only to UA addresses. When you write me, please use a clear subject line so that I don’t do the usual 2 nonosecond spam delete when checking my mail. Please also make sure that your real name appears somewhere in the message, not just (for example) hotstuff@aol.com. I am reachable by email during standard business hours; I do notregularly check email at home in the evenings or on weekends.

S. Miller, Arete: Greek Sports from Ancient Sources. Berkeley and Los Angeles 1991.

S. Miller, Ancient Greek Athletics. Yale UP 2004.

A. Mahoney, Roman Spectacles. Focus 2001.

Koehne and Ewigleben, Gladiators and Caesars. Berkeley and Los Angeles 2000.

Plagiarism is an unacknowledged borrowing of words or ideas. When you use someone’s published thoughts, you must give credit to that author; when you use an author’s exact words, you must also "put them in quotation Movks" (or indent for longer quotations). The golden rule is to give credit where credit is due; there is no shame in acknowledging an intellectual debt to someone. But to justify quoting or paraphrasing someone else, something new should be said by you about the material quoted.

List bibliographical information of publications cited in the "References Cited" section at the end of an essay. Style of references are optional; clarity and consistency are essential. Author, title, place, date of publication, and page numbers are minimum requirements. For web sites, give title, full address, date seen by you, and if at all possible, find out who the author is (undergrad, professor, official, etc.). Further guidance on preparing research papers will be provided in handouts during the semester.

The penalty for plagiarism or cheating will depend on the extent of the transgression. The minimum penalty is a zero for the assignment or test involved. But plagiarism and cheating are grounds for an F in the course grade and the filing of charges of Academic Misconduct.

If you require accommodation, contact the Office of Accessibility (972-7928), and notify me.

(All readng assignments are to be done before the scheduled class)

Class 1, Tu Aug 29: Introduction: topics, work, aims; film The Ancient Olympics

Class 2, Th Aug 31: Greek athletics in its historical setting; primary evidence for sports

Assignment: Greek Athletics, Ch. 1 & 2

Class 3, Tu Sept 5 Athletic competition in the legendary epics of Homer: what were the events and what were their social functions?

Assignment: Arete sec. 1-2; Greek Athletics Ch. 3

Class 4, Th Sept 7 The Olympics: origins and myths of the festival; the historical topography of Olympia

Assignment: Greek Athletics, Ch. 5 to p. 95

Class 5, Tu Sept 12 Preparations, schedule of events and nudity

Assignment: Greek Athletics, Ch. 6; Arete, sec. 3-19, 81-109 & appendix p. 201.

Class 6, Th Sept 14 Olympic Athletic Events:Footraces

Class 7, Tu Sept 19 The Heavy Events and the pentathlon

Assignment: Greek Athletics Ch. 4 to p. 74; Arete sec. 32-65

First Quiz online at CBT Tuesday thru Monday 9/27

Wednesday Sept. 20: special event (extra credit opportunity! Attend, write a one page summary, get one (1) % added to your final semester average.)

Folk Hall Auditorium, 6:00pm, refreshments at 5:30pm

Archaeological Society of Ohio.

Class 8, Th Sept 21 Equestrian events

Assignment: Greek Athletics Ch. 4 to p. 81; Arete sec. 66-74

Saturday, September 23, special event (extra credit opportunity!)

Cascade Locks Park, 11:00am – 4:00pm

Archaeology and Oatmeal: The Past and Future at Cascade Locks Park. Experience an Ohio Archaeology Day event at the Schumacher Cascade Mill site located North Street just west of Howard Street. Activities include exhibits of archaeology and interpretation of the mill, displays of area prehistory, flintknapping and atlatl throwing demonstrations, a video on the Mill excavation, local history lectures, and more.

Class 9, Tu Sept 26 The other Crown Games

Assignment: Greek Athletics, Ch. 5 p. 95-end, Ch. 4 p. 82-end;

Arete sec. 75-80, 110-113

Class 10, Th Sept 28 the Panathenaic Games and the athlete’s rewards

Assignment: Greek Athletics, Ch. 7; Arete sec. 115-118, 119-123, 231