Essay+Topics+for+Ancient+Conceptions+of+Politics

For this theme, you have a choice among the following essay topics:
 * Due date: Friday 1 August, via e-mail before lecture**
 * Thucydides. How does Thucydides conceive of the role of justice among political communities? For a fuller description of this essay topic, see here.
 * Aristotle. Does Aristotle think that Barbarians are natural slaves, and if so, does he think Greeks should rule over them? Provide evidence both pro and con, and decide on the basis of the preponderance of the evidence. For a fuller description of this essay topic, see here.
 * Aristotle. Describe Aristotle's principles for the construction of his "best regime" and evaluate a modern democratic country (such as New Zealand) in light of them. What does this comparison tell us about Aristotle's conception of political community? What does it tell us about our conception of political community? For a fuller description of this essay topic, see here.
 * Cicero. How does Cicero’s conception of the political community and of the proper relationships among political communities differ from Aristotle’s? Does Cicero’s view constitute an improvement over Aristotle’s view? For a fuller description of this essay topic, see here.