Lectures on Tap - Ancient Athens and the Invention of Politics

Professors, experts, and storytellers giving thought-provoking lectures in LA bars.

📍 Location: Exact address given in confirmation email

🧠 Lecture: "Ancient Athens and the Invention of Politics"

🎤 Speaker: Sydney Mitsunaga-Whitten

Once upon a time, believe it or not, the world was not political. Power belonged to god-kings who ruled with ultimate authority, leaving no room for collective decision-making or public opinion.

In this engaging lecture, Professor Sydney Mitsunaga-Whitten will explore how the ancient Greeks broke with this model of rulership and invented a new way of living together: the “polis.” Emphasizing human equality, openness, uncertainty, and debate, the polis gave birth to what we now call “politics.”

We’ll trace how this experiment in shared power emerged, why it was so radical, and how the struggle to sustain truly political life has never really ended. From ancient Athens to our world today, the questions raised by the polis remain urgent and unresolved.

Sydney Mitsunaga-Whitten is a Professor at Occidental College, where she teaches comparative literature, language, and philosophy with a focus on ancient Greek and modern Irish traditions. Her work centers on how literature and genre can disrupt social life and invite us to become braver, kinder, and more attentive human beings.

Get a drink, connect, and learn at Lectures on Tap! 🙌