Chair of Classical Studies; Professor of History
forsdyke@umich.eduOffice Information:
435 S. State Street
Ann Arbor, MI
48109
phone: 734.647.2313
Education/Degree:
Ph.D. Princeton, 1997About
Sara Forsdyke is an historian of ancient Greece who writes about democracy, slavery and the law, both ancient and modern. Much of her work begins from the proposition that the ancient Greek past can serve as a valuable resource for examining the issues of today, including how to strengthen our democracy, how recognize and reduce patterns of discrimination and inequality, and how to reform our criminal justice system.
Her publications include Exile, Ostracism and Democracy: The Politics of Expulsion in Ancient Greece (Princeton, 2005); Slaves Tell Tales: Politics and Popular Culture in Ancient Greece (Princeton, 2012) and Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Greece (Cambridge, forthcoming). She has written numerous articles on such topics as political protest in pre-modern societies, ancient and modern concepts of the rule of law, and the ways that slaves leveraged the law to advance their interests. A full list of publications can be found here.
She is currently working on a project on trial by jury in ancient Greece and contemporary America. A key argument is that trial by jury is essential not just for the equal protection of the law, but also for the engagement of citizens in their democracy. Examination of the ancient Greek jury trial sheds light on these fundamental principles and demonstrates how they are undermined when jury trials are circumvented, as they often are today, as a result of the plea bargain process. Here is a brief summary of the project.
Books:
Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Greece. forthcoming, Cambridge University Press.
Slaves Tell Tales and Other Episodes in the Politics of Popular Culture in Ancient Greece. Princeton University Press, 2012.
Exile, Ostracism and Democracy: The Politics of Expulsion in Ancient Greece. Princeton University Press, 2005.
Edited Volume:
R. Balot, S.Forsdyke and E.Foster eds. The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides. Oxford, 2017.
Articles and Book Chapters:
“How to Find a New Master: Slave Agency in Ancient Greece” in S. Gartland and D.Tandy eds. Voiceless, Invisible and Countless: Subordinate Experience in Ancient Greece, 800-300 BCE. (forthcoming)
“Slave Agency and Citizenship in Classical Athens” in Symposion: Gesellschaft für griechische und hellenistische Rechtsgeschichte. Wien, 2018: 345-366.
“Ancient and Modern Conceptions of the Rule of Law” in M.Canevaro, A.Erskine and J.Ober eds. Ancient Greek History and Contemporary Social Science. Edinburgh, 2018.
“Thucydides’ Historical Method” in R. Balot, S.Forsdyke and E. Foster eds. The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides (2017) 19-38.
“Slaves, Stories and Cults: Conflict Resolution between Masters and Slaves in Ancient Greece” Common Knowledge 21.1 (2015) 19-43.
“The Impact of Democracy on Communal Life” in J.P.Arnason, K.Raaflaub and P. Wagner eds. The Greek polis and the invention of democracy: a politico-cultural transformation and its interpretations. Blackwell, 2013, 227-259.
“Born from the Earth: The Political Uses of an Athenian Myth” in C.Faraone and A.Seri eds. Imagined Beginnings: Ancient Cosmogonies, Theogonies and Anthropogonies in the Eastern Mediterranean. Special edition of the Journal for Ancient Near Eastern Religions 12 (2012) 119-141.
"Peer-Polity Interaction and Cultural Competition in Sixth-Century Greece" in N.Fisher and H. van Wees eds. Competition in the Ancient World. Wales Classical Press, 2011. 147-174.
“Exile” in M. Gagarin et al. eds. Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford University Press, 2010.
"Civic Institutions" in G. Boys-Stones, B. Graziosi and P.Vasunia eds. The Oxford Handbook of Hellenic Studies. Oxford, 2009. 197-210.
"The Uses and Abuses of Tyranny" for R. Balot ed. The Blackwell Companion to Ancient Political Thought. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. 231-246.
"Street Theater and Popular Justice in Ancient Greece: Shaming, Stoning and Starving Offenders Inside and Outside the Courts" Past and Present 201 (2008) 3-50.
"Land, Labor and Economy in Solonian Athens: Breaking the Impasse between History and Archaeology" J.H. Blok and A.P.M.H. Lardinois eds., Solon of Athens: New Historical and Philological Approaches, Leiden: Brill, 2006. 334-350.
"Herodotus, political history and political thought" in C. Dewald and J. Marincola eds. The Cambridge Companion to Herodotus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 224-241.
"Revelry and Riot in Archaic Megara: Democratic Disorder or Ritual Reversal?" Journal of Hellenic Studies 125 (2005) 73-92.
"Herodotus on Greek History, 525-480 " in Irene de Jong, Egbert Bakker and Hans van Wees eds. A Companion to Herodotus. (Leiden, 2002) 521-549.
"Athenian Democratic Ideology and Herodotus' Histories" American Journal of Philology 122.3 (2001) 333-362.
"Exile, Ostracism and the Athenian Democracy" California Studies in Classical Antiquity 19.2 (2000) 232-263.
"From Aristocratic to Democratic Ideology and Back Again: The Thrasybulus Anecdote in Herodotus' Histories and Aristotle's Politics." Classical Philology 94 .4 (1999) 361-372.
Affiliation(s)
- Classical Studies
- IPGRH
Field(s) of Study
- Greek historiography, Athenian democracy, Greek law, social and cultural history, ancient slavery
About
Sara Forsdyke is an historian of ancient Greece who writes about democracy, slavery and the law, both ancient and modern. Much of her work begins from the proposition that the ancient Greek past can serve as a valuable resource for examining the issues of today, including how to strengthen our democracy, how recognize and reduce patterns of discrimination and inequality, and how to reform our criminal justice system.
Her publications include Exile, Ostracism and Democracy: The Politics of Expulsion in Ancient Greece (Princeton, 2005); Slaves Tell Tales: Politics and Popular Culture in Ancient Greece (Princeton, 2012) and Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Greece (Cambridge, forthcoming). She has written numerous articles on such topics as political protest in pre-modern societies, ancient and modern concepts of the rule of law, and the ways that slaves leveraged the law to advance their interests. A full list of publications can be found here.
She is currently working on a project on trial by jury in ancient Greece and contemporary America. A key argument is that trial by jury is essential not just for the equal protection of the law, but also for the engagement of citizens in their democracy. Examination of the ancient Greek jury trial sheds light on these fundamental principles and demonstrates how they are undermined when jury trials are circumvented, as they often are today, as a result of the plea bargain process. Here is a brief summary of the project.
Books:
Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Greece. forthcoming, Cambridge University Press.
Slaves Tell Tales and Other Episodes in the Politics of Popular Culture in Ancient Greece. Princeton University Press, 2012.
Exile, Ostracism and Democracy: The Politics of Expulsion in Ancient Greece. Princeton University Press, 2005.
Edited Volume:
R. Balot, S.Forsdyke and E.Foster eds. The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides. Oxford, 2017.
Articles and Book Chapters:
“How to Find a New Master: Slave Agency in Ancient Greece” in S. Gartland and D.Tandy eds. Voiceless, Invisible and Countless: Subordinate Experience in Ancient Greece, 800-300 BCE. (forthcoming)
“Slave Agency and Citizenship in Classical Athens” in Symposion: Gesellschaft für griechische und hellenistische Rechtsgeschichte. Wien, 2018: 345-366.
“Ancient and Modern Conceptions of the Rule of Law” in M.Canevaro, A.Erskine and J.Ober eds. Ancient Greek History and Contemporary Social Science. Edinburgh, 2018.
“Thucydides’ Historical Method” in R. Balot, S.Forsdyke and E. Foster eds. The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides (2017) 19-38.
“Slaves, Stories and Cults: Conflict Resolution between Masters and Slaves in Ancient Greece” Common Knowledge 21.1 (2015) 19-43.
“The Impact of Democracy on Communal Life” in J.P.Arnason, K.Raaflaub and P. Wagner eds. The Greek polis and the invention of democracy: a politico-cultural transformation and its interpretations. Blackwell, 2013, 227-259.
“Born from the Earth: The Political Uses of an Athenian Myth” in C.Faraone and A.Seri eds. Imagined Beginnings: Ancient Cosmogonies, Theogonies and Anthropogonies in the Eastern Mediterranean. Special edition of the Journal for Ancient Near Eastern Religions 12 (2012) 119-141.
"Peer-Polity Interaction and Cultural Competition in Sixth-Century Greece" in N.Fisher and H. van Wees eds. Competition in the Ancient World. Wales Classical Press, 2011. 147-174.
“Exile” in M. Gagarin et al. eds. Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford University Press, 2010.
"Civic Institutions" in G. Boys-Stones, B. Graziosi and P.Vasunia eds. The Oxford Handbook of Hellenic Studies. Oxford, 2009. 197-210.
"The Uses and Abuses of Tyranny" for R. Balot ed. The Blackwell Companion to Ancient Political Thought. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. 231-246.
"Street Theater and Popular Justice in Ancient Greece: Shaming, Stoning and Starving Offenders Inside and Outside the Courts" Past and Present 201 (2008) 3-50.
"Land, Labor and Economy in Solonian Athens: Breaking the Impasse between History and Archaeology" J.H. Blok and A.P.M.H. Lardinois eds., Solon of Athens: New Historical and Philological Approaches, Leiden: Brill, 2006. 334-350.
"Herodotus, political history and political thought" in C. Dewald and J. Marincola eds. The Cambridge Companion to Herodotus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 224-241.
"Revelry and Riot in Archaic Megara: Democratic Disorder or Ritual Reversal?" Journal of Hellenic Studies 125 (2005) 73-92.
"Herodotus on Greek History, 525-480 " in Irene de Jong, Egbert Bakker and Hans van Wees eds. A Companion to Herodotus. (Leiden, 2002) 521-549.
"Athenian Democratic Ideology and Herodotus' Histories" American Journal of Philology 122.3 (2001) 333-362.
"Exile, Ostracism and the Athenian Democracy" California Studies in Classical Antiquity 19.2 (2000) 232-263.
"From Aristocratic to Democratic Ideology and Back Again: The Thrasybulus Anecdote in Herodotus' Histories and Aristotle's Politics." Classical Philology 94 .4 (1999) 361-372.
Affiliation(s)
- Classical Studies
- IPGRH
Field(s) of Study
- Greek historiography, Athenian democracy, Greek law, social and cultural history, ancient slavery
