Not Great Man History: Reconceptualizing a Course on Alexander the Great

A course dedicated to the figure of Alexander is the most traditional type of history. But must such a course necessarily be "great man history"—that is, the kind of old-fashioned history that focuses on the thoughts, feelings, motives, and intentions of a single individual who "makes" history? This paper will suggest ways in which one can teach a course on Alexander that also looks at broader issues, such as ethnicity, ideology, the economic, political, and social impact of the conquest on the peoples of Greece and Asia, and the literary analysis (as opposed to source criticism) of our extant authorities.