Last Thucydides Post Until the Next One
By My WPR column this week puts a cap on Thucydipalooza:
Thucydides is nearly ubiquitous in the serious and general study of American foreign policy. Although we lack good statistics for how often particular texts are taught in graduate or undergraduate courses, nearly every professor of international relations I spoke to at the conference confessed to teaching Thucydides to undergraduates, and most remembered first reading selections from “History of the Peloponnesian War” as undergraduates. But the study of Thucydides extends to graduate and policy programs as well. At the Naval War College, students are required to read Thucydides in their first course, with additional study available. Thucydides also appears on syllabi in required courses at the Army War College…
Consequently, almost everyone involved with either the professional study or formulation of foreign policy is familiar with some parts of Thucydides.