The Poet and the Polis

Professor Cecil Eubanks Department of Political Science

As Rembrandt captures so wonderfully in his famous depiction of Aristotle and Homer, there has always been a fascinating dialogue between poet and philosopher, especially on the subject of politics.  They speak different languages, the poet in mythos; the philosopher in logos.  Our goal in this course is to understand how and why the poet and the polis dwell together, or, perhaps, whether they ought to do so.  In the course of considering these matters, we will read and discuss a selection of dramas, novels, short stories, and poetry, with parallel philosophical discussions. 

Join us in this conversation about human being, politics, and the poetic.  Explore with us the musings of Aeschylus and Plato, Sophocles and Aristotle; Cormac McCarthy and Hobbes; as well as a host of other poets and philosophers like Zora Neal Thurston, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Wendell Berry, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone Weil, Iris Murdoch, and Albert Camus.