Kingship: Anarchy vs. Tyranny
Richard Cecil
Hutton Honors College
In this course we will read ten great imaginative explorations of the central problem of government—to achieve the correct balance between individual freedom and governmental authority. Beginning with GILGAMESH, the story of a great Middle Eastern tyrant whose hubris leads him to search for the cure for death, and ending with Milton’s Paradise Lost, the story of Satan’s revolutionary struggle to free his angels from God’s tyranny, we will watch the balance of power shift between Tyranny (too much government) and Anarchy (too little government). In the final, creative paper, which the whole class will read and discuss in a workshop, each student will adopt the voice of a character from one or more of the texts we’ve read who, in a fictional dramatic context narrated from his or her point of view, will discuss and illustrate his/her theory of government.
Catalog Information: HHC-H 211 CLASSIC AUTHORS & QUESTIONS I