Foundational texts for the Renaissance - Plato
The Plato reading group will be held every Wednesday online on MS Teams between 5 and 6pm (GMT), beginning from the second week of Term 1. We will be reading, in turn, The Republic, Timaeus and Critias. Please contact the organiser if you are interested and they will send you a Teams link for the first session: Stephen Bates (s.m.j.bates@warwick.ac.uk).
Feel free to read in any version or language, however the discussion and comments will be based on Desmond Lee's English translations in the Penguin Classics series: copies are available in the library.
The intended programme is set out below:
Autumn Term
| Week | Date | Reading (Stephanus pagination) | Pages (2003 edn) |
| 2 | 14 Oct. | Book I (327a-342e) | pp. 3-24 (21) |
| 3 | 21 Oct. | Book I (343a-354c); Book II (357a-367e) | pp. 24-52 (28) |
| 4 | 28 Oct. | Book II (368a-383c) | pp. 53-76 (22) |
| 5 | 4 Nov. | Book III (386a-403c) | pp. 76-100 (24) |
| 6 | 11 Nov. | reading week |
|
| 7 | 18 Nov. | Book III (403c-417b); Book IV (419a-421c) | pp. 100-121 (21) |
| 8 | 25 Nov. | Book IV (419a-434d) |
pp. 119-139 (20) |
| 9 | 2 Dec. |
Book IV (421c-434d) | pp. 121-139 (18) |
| 10 | 9 Dec. | Book IV (434d-449a) | pp. 139-156 (18) |
| Spring Term | |||
| 1 | 13 Jan. | Book V (449a-466d) | pp. 157-181 (25) |
| 2 | 20 Jan. | Book V (466d-480a) | pp. 182-204 (22) |
| 3 | 27 Jan. | Book VI (484a-502c) | pp. 204-225 (22) |
| 4 | 3 Feb. | Book VI (502c-511e); Book VII (514a-521b) | pp.226-248 (23) |
| 5 | 10 Feb. | Book VII (521c-541b) | pp. 249-274 (26) |
| 6 | 17 Feb. | reading week | |
| 7 | 24 Feb. | Book VIII (543a-562a) | pp.275-298 (24) |
| 8 | 3 Mar. | Book VIII (562a-569c); Book IX (571a-580c) | pp. 298-319 (21) |
| 9 | 10 Mar. | Book IX (580d-592b); Book X (595a-602b) | pp. 319-345 (26) |
| 10 | 17 Mar. | Book X (602c-621d) | pp. 345-368 (24) |
Members of the group are expected to complete the assigned readings prior to each session. During the meeting we will discuss the readings in a friendly and informal environment helping each other make the most out of the text. Though it is very welcome, no prior knowledge or expertise of Plato's works is necessary to participate.
The reading group is open to all interested members of the university including senior and junior academic staff, postgraduate and undergraduate students, along with administrative and support staff. The group also welcomes non-university members.