Saving Classics through Truth, Deconstruction, and Critique

Classics can only be saved from extinction if we patiently ask ancient texts probing theoretical questions concerning the most urgent topics of our existence—truth, being, desire, gender and politics—and in the process Classics just might save us.

Classics can only be saved from extinction if we patiently ask ancient texts probing theoretical questions concerning the most urgent topics of our existence—truth, being, desire, gender and politics—and in the process Classics just might save us. Why do we need Classics? What does the study of the ancient Mediterranean do for us as individuals and as a society that cannot be done more effectively, even more democratically, by other means? Why do we need to know about the history of the ancient world? Each chapter in this provocative and original book focuses on key theoretical topics, associated ancient texts, and major thinkers in our contemporary world. Miller argues that encounters with these texts allow us to confront in unique ways the basic questions of our lives: what is the nature of truth; what is being; how do understand our desire; how are we gendered; and what should be the nature of our states? Written in an easy, accessible style, this book provides an excellent overview of important theoretical topics, while making the case that ancient texts still speak to our most urgent and pressing issues. Saving Classics through Truth, Deconstruction, and Critique is suitable for Classics students seeking an overview of the field and the role of theory in the contemporary study of the ancient world, as well as Classical scholars looking for strategies to revitalize a discipline under threat.