Classics
Classics is the study of all aspects of the cultures of the ancient Greek and Roman peoples, including their history, languages, literature, thought, and material culture as well as their reception in later cultures. The department also offers courses in the Coptic language of late ancient Egypt and the Sanskrit language of ancient India (under "Classics" in the catalog). The Department of Classics offers two options for students interested in studying Greek and Roman antiquity: the Classics major (or minor) and the Ancient Studies major (or minor). The major in Classics focuses on the study of the Latin and/or ancient Greek languages. The major in Ancient Studies is for students who want to explore the whole spectrum of the classical world with little or no work in the ancient languages. Resources on campus that support the study of classics include a substantial library collection of materials related to the ancient world, collections of Greek papyri and art, and the Wulfing Coin Collection.
Contact Info
| Contact: | Luis Alejandro Salas |
| Phone: | 314-935-5183 |
| Email: | classics@wustl.edu |
| Website: | http://classics.wustl.edu |
Endowed Professor and Chair
Timothy Moore
John and Penelope Biggs Distinguished Professor of Classics
Department Chair
PhD, University of North Carolina
Professor Moore's work concentrates on several areas of classical antiquity, including the comic theater of Greece and Rome, Greek and Roman music, and Roman historiography. Current projects include a database and book on music in Greek and Roman theater and articles on music and poetic rhythm in ancient Rome. He also has interests in the history of theater, especially American musical theater and Japanese Kyogen comedy.
Professor
Catherine Keane
PhD, University of Pennsylvania
Professor Keane's interests range broadly over Greek and Roman literature and culture, but her research centers on the comic genres and their engagement with moral, social, and literary problems, particularly the Roman verse satirists Lucilius, Horace, Persius, and Juvenal and the epigrammatist Martial.
Associate Professors
William Bubelis
Curator of the Wulfing Coin Collection
PhD, University of Chicago
Professor Bubelis' research in Greek history focuses on the intersection of economy, religion and public institutions. His work utilizes the evidence of inscriptions (epigraphy), coins (numismatics) and other material remains alongside the literary texts of ancient historians, poets, orators and the like. While most of his scholarship has engaged with classical Athens, Professor Bubelis avidly explores the societies of the eastern Mediterranean across antiquity, including Iron Age Cyprus and the Achaemenid Persian Empire to Hellenistic Egypt.
Thomas Keeline
Director of Graduate Studies
PhD, Harvard University
Professor Keeline works primarily on Latin literature, the history of classical scholarship and education from antiquity to the present, rhetoric, textual criticism, lexicography and metrics.
Luis Alejandro Salas
Director of Undergraduate Studies
PhD, University of Texas
Professor Salas specializes in Greek and Roman medicine, philosophy and intellectual history. He is also interested in Aristotelian psychology. His research focuses on medical and philosophical sectarianism, especially in the work of Galen of Pergamum.
Zoe Stamatopoulou
PhD, University of Virginia
Professor Stamatopoulou's research and teaching encompass several aspects of ancient Greek literature and culture, but her work focuses primarily on archaic and classical poetry (Homer, Hesiod, lyric poetry, drama). She is also interested in the symposium, ancient biographies of poets, and the reception of archaic Greece in Imperial Greek literature (especially Plutarch).
Assistant Professors
Nicola Aravecchia
PhD, University of Minnesota
Professor Aravecchia's research interests encompass the art and archaeology of Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt. He has taught courses in classical languages, ancient history, and art and archaeology in the United States, Egypt and Australia. His current work focuses on the origins and development of Early Christian architecture in rural Egypt. Since 2005, he has been involved in archaeological projects in the Dakhla Oasis, located in the Western Desert of Upper Egypt.
Ian Hollenbaugh
PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
Professor Hollenbaugh's research interests include Indo-European linguistics, Homeric Greek, Old Latin, Vedic Sanskrit, and Germanic languages. He focuses particularly on the tense and aspect systems of Indo-European languages from both diachronic and synchronic perspectives.
Senior Lecturers
Lance Jenott
PhD, Princeton University
Professor Jenott teaches courses on the New Testament, studies in Christian origins, and Coptic language and literature. His other interests include Second Temple Judaism, Greco-Roman philosophy, classical civilizations, and theories and methods in the study of religion. Dr. Jenott is the author of The Gospel of Judas: Coptic Text, Translation, and Historical Interpretation of the 'Betrayer's Gospel', and he is the co-author of The Monastic Origins of the Nag Hammadi Codices. He is currently working on a commentary on the Gospel of Judas for the Hermeneia Series by Fortress Press.
Kathryn Wilson
PhD, University of Pennsylvania
Professor Wilson's research interests focus on the intersection of poetry and science. She is especially interested in Hellenistic literature and the relationship between different intellectual enterprises occurring during that time. She is also interested in the evolution of the genre of didactic poetry.
Lecturer
Rebecca Sears
PhD, University of Michigan
Professor Sears' research interests include ancient music, papyrology, Latin poetry (particularly Ovid's Metamorphoses) and ancient magic. She is currently working on a textbook for the University of Michigan Press that will discuss important technical and cultural features of both Greek and Roman music as well as the reception and reconstruction of ancient music. In addition to her love of classical languages and cultures, she is a violinist who has performed in benefit concerts throughout New England.
Professors Emeriti
Carl W. Conrad
PhD, Harvard University
Robert D. Lamberton
PhD, Yale University
Susan I. Rotroff
Jarvis Thurston & Mona Van Duyn Professor Emerita
PhD, Princeton University
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Major in Classics | Major in Ancient Studies | Required Capstone Experience | Additional Information
The Major in Classics
Total units required: 24
Required courses:
The Major in Ancient Studies
Total units required: 24
Required courses:
Students will take 24 units drawn from courses in the Department of Classics and related departments. Of these units, 18 must be at the advanced level, and at least 6 of these 18 units must be at the 400 level. Greek 102D and Latin 102D or a first-year seminar may be substituted for a 200-level course in translation. In this major, students are encouraged to take at least one course in ancient history and to develop a certain depth in one special field of interest (e.g., literature, art, history, philosophy). Therefore, at least 9 of the 18 advanced units of the major should be taken in one such specific area. Classics 225D may not be counted.
Please consult the sections below regarding the required capstone experience and additional information.
Required Capstone Experience
All Classics and Ancient Studies majors are required to have a capstone experience of some kind in which they can pull together everything that they have learned in their Classics courses. Except in unusual cases (e.g., a junior year abroad experience), the capstone experience should occur during the student's senior year. Among the most common capstone experiences are the following:
- A senior honors thesis (two semesters of research and writing concluding in a long paper)
- A one-semester research project
- A Classics study abroad experience
- Special work within a 400-level seminar
Students should consult with their advisor to see what kind of capstone experience will work best for them.
Additional Information
Study Abroad: Study abroad for a semester in Rome or Athens is an option many Classics and Ancient Studies majors select. Washington University is a member of the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies (ICCS) consortium. Majors and minors regularly attend the one-semester ICCS "Centro" program in Rome. Others choose to attend a semester at the College Year in Athens (CYA) program. Students interested in these programs should consult Professor Luis Salas. Some other study abroad programs will also allow students to earn major credit in Classics or Ancient Studies.
Senior Honors: Students who are planning to pursue graduate work should enter the honors program, and other students are encouraged to consider this program as well. To apply, a student must have junior standing, an average of an A- or better in Greek and/or Latin courses (for Classics majors) or in Classics courses (for Ancient Studies majors) numbered 300 or higher, an overall grade-point average of 3.65 or higher, and permission of the chair. A formal application should be submitted in April of the junior year. A thesis of substantial nature and length is prepared and written under the direction of a member of the department, beginning during the fall semester of the senior year. A final draft is submitted to the director no later than February 1 of the senior year, and a final copy is submitted to the full thesis committee before Spring Break of the senior year. Credit of 6 units is awarded upon presentation of an acceptable thesis. These credits will be in addition to the 24 credits of the major; those students who complete senior honors will, therefore, graduate with a total of 30 credits in the major.
The Minor in Classics
Total units required: 15
Required courses:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Greek 317C & Greek 318C | Introduction to Greek Literature and Introduction to Greek Literature | 6 |
| or | ||
| Latin 3171 & Latin 3181 | Survey of Latin Literature: The Republic and Survey of Latin Literature: The Empire | 6 |
Elective courses:
Three other advisor-approved courses (9 units) in Greek, Latin or Classics are required. These courses must include at least one Greek or Latin course at the 300 or 400 level. No more than one course may be at the 200 level, and Classics 225D may not be counted. A first-year seminar may be substituted for the 200-level course.
The Minor in Ancient Studies
Total units required: 15
Required courses:
At least two courses must be chosen from the following list:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Classics 341C | Ancient History: The Roman Republic | 3 |
| Classics 342C | Ancient History: The Roman Empire | 3 |
| Classics 345C | Greek History: The Dawn of Democracy | 3 |
| Classics 346C | Greek History: The Age of Alexander | 3 |
Elective courses:
Students need to complete three other courses (9 units) in the culture of Greece and Rome; the selection must be mutually agreed upon by the department advisor and the student. No more than two courses may be at the 200 level. Classics 225D may not be counted. A first-year seminar may count for one of the two 200-level courses.
Classics
Visit online course listings to view semester offerings for L08 Classics.
L08 Classics 1040 First-Year Seminar: The Trojan War in Myth, Art, and Reality
The Trojan War was one of the most significant events in the history of the world. It was also, almost certainly, fictional. The goal of this class will be to examine the wide-ranging and varied evidence for the story of the Trojan War and its long-lasting cultural influence, from antiquity to the present day. Ultimately, we will seek to understand how every reflection on the Trojan War as a past event - whether poetic, artistic, or archaeological - has also been a reflection of a contemporary society - Iron Age Greece, Imperial Rome, Modern Europe - and an attempt to situate that society within a global history. In doing so, the class will also address questions of pressing contemporary relevance: including how civilizations form and collapse, how fact and fiction are intertwined in the construction of civic and ethnic identities, and how certain kinds of evidence may be alternately privileged or suppressed in the creation of historical narratives. Prerequisites: none
Same as L01 Art-Arch 1040
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: AH, HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 1135 First-Year Seminar: The World of Cleopatra
Cleopatra, the last queen of ancient Egypt, captivated her contemporaries and has fascinated the Western world ever since her famous suicide by asp in 31 BCE. She was a woman of contrasts: Pharaoh of Egypt and Greco-Macedonian queen; seductive woman and shrewd political strategist; a ruthless monarch using every means available to consolidate her position in the face of the encroaching power of the Roman Empire. Through texts and material culture, the seminar seeks to understand Cleopatra in the context both of her native Egypt and of the wider Mediterranean world. We thus examine the traditions of Pharaonic Egypt; the historical events that brought Egypt under the control of the Macedonian Ptolemies (Cleopatra's dynasty); the wider stage of East-West tension and conquest in which Cleopatra struggled to maintain her power; her relationships (political and personal) with famous men of her day (Caesar, Herod, Mark Antony); her capital city of Alexandria, the largest metropolis of its day; Cleopatra's brilliant court and its luxury arts; and finally the many Cleopatras that have populated art and literature of later times. We emerge with a sense of Cleopatra, both as a unique individual and as a product of her time.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Art: CPSC BU: IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 114 First-Year Seminar: Ancient Literary Journeys
Recent social histories exploring Greek childhood have emphasized the reconstruction of the ancient child's agency. Such studies have been interested to illuminate the lived experience of children and to apprehend their voices so often silent in the sources. While such inquiry has clearly widened our understanding of ancient children's lives, the present course is designed instead to explore explicitly the representation of children as particularly rich reservoirs of cultural values. Drawing upon a range of art historical and archaeological sources and literary genres, we will examine the ways in which children were presented to mirror back social mores, thus capturing the aspirations of ancient Greek society. As figures of future potential, children continue to offer social historians one of the most striking lenses through which to explore the question of our humanity. The protean answer to this question at once reveals the proximity and vast distance that stands between our modern society and the ancient Greek one.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 115 First-Year Seminar: Engaging the Classical Past in Modern Fiction
This course will explore the persistent — but often camouflaged — influence of classical antiquity on modern genre (popular) fiction. Students will read and discuss both texts from antiquity (e.g., Ovid's "Metamorphoses," Lucian's "A True History") and selections from the works of major 20th-century authors drawn from the canon of a specific genre. Although popular fiction embraces a wide range of authors and styles, genres that are particularly engaged with the classical past include science fiction (e.g., Jules Verne, Suzanne Collins), fantasy (e.g., J.R.R. Tolkien, Rick Riordan), horror (e.g., H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King), mystery (e.g., Elizabeth Peters, Steven Saylor), and adventure (e.g., Clive Cussler, David Gibbins). Discussion of these texts will include theorization about the nature of the genre and its origins as well as specific examples of allusions and intertexts to ancient Greek and Roman authors, focusing on the characters, artifacts, monsters, themes, legends, and plot devices drawn from Greco-Roman mythology or modern mythology about Classical antiquity. Course is for first-year, non-transfer students only.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 117 First-Year Seminar: Women in Greek and Roman Comedy
Fall 2021 course topic: Women in Greek and Roman Comedy. Comedies in Greece and Rome were written by men and acted by men. The women we meet in these comedies, then, are always filtered through men and tinged with stereotypes accordingly — they are often depicted as “untrustworthy,” “sex-crazed,” “drunkards.” Even a cunning and powerful woman such as Lysistrata (in Aristophanes' comedy of the same name), who leads a coalition of women to deny sex from their husbands until they end the Peloponnesian War, is a product of a man's imagination and was played onstage by a man in a costume. As fun as it is to read Lysistrata as a feminist hero, there are layers of interpretation that beg to be peeled back. In this course, we will peel back those layers and explore the representation of women on the comic stage by reading a selection of comedies featuring women, some in leading roles and some in smaller ones. Note: This course is for first-year, non-transfer students only.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 118 First Year Seminar: The Art of Rhetoric from Cicero to Social Media
In Barack Obama's victory speech after the 2008 election, he said, "It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America." He did indeed promise change, but in making that promise he relied on rhetorical rules -- like the climactic tricolon -- that were first formulated in classical antiquity and have been passed down in an unbroken tradition right up to today. In this class we will study the uses and abuses of rhetoric from the ancient world to the present. The course combines a study of rhetorical theory with observation of its practice from Cicero to contemporary advertising, and also includes a significant public speaking component. The meticulous deconstruction of complex texts and ideas in this course will give students a tool for cutting to the heart of the issues that continue to face the modern world, and the participants' own speaking and writing will also benefit. Students will analyze both ancient and modern attempts at persuasion in light of classical rhetorical theory, and they will write and deliver two short speeches on topics of their choice.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 120 First Year Seminar: The Hero
The tale of the hero has endured as one of the most popular narrative forms since the 3rd millennium BC. From the first recording of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh to the 21st c. cinematic spectacle of Marvel's Avengers, audiences have been transfixed by the travails of the protagonist who attains heroic status. In studying seminal heroes drawn from near eastern and ancient Greek epic, classical tragedy and history, this course will examine why the hero generates such fascination and how the hero reflects back the most fundamental concerns of human existence.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM, LCD BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 121 Christianity and Polytheism in Late Antique Egypt
This course explores the subject of polytheism in late Roman Egypt and the role that Christianity played in shaping a new religious, social, and cultural environment between the third century CE and the advent of Islam in the seventh century. The goal is to gain an understanding of the process by which the new religion spread in a deeply Hellenized part of the Mediterranean world such as Egypt. Indeed, its inhabitants had not only largely adopted the Greek language, but were deeply imbued with Greco-Roman culture and lifestyle, at the same time remaining attached to their traditional religious heritage. The seminar will touch upon issues of religious and cultural resistance, imperial involvement, official propaganda, proselytism, and syncretic manifestations of devotional practice. Attention will also be paid to the variety of forms in which Christianity (and modes of Christian life) developed in Egypt, revealing a complex but deeply fascinating world of ideas and beliefs. The religious topography of pre-Christian Egypt, in which temples were prime visual landmarks, will be examined and compared with the dramatic changes brought about, both to the built and the natural environment, by the appearance and dissemination of Christian places of cult and monastic life.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 137 First-Year Seminar: The Emperor Nero: Prince, Monster, Artist
The destructive, scandal-ridden career of the Roman emperor Nero (mid-first century CE) almost defies belief. From his assumption of power as a teenager to his suicide after a military revolt, Nero flouted political and cultural conventions left and right. His inspiring debut notwithstanding, he killed off his family and mentor, held wild parties, poured money into extravagant projects, and neglected state business to pursue a career on stage. He came to be labeled one of the "Bad Emperors," and seen as a symbol of the decline of Rome itself — especially by sympathizers of the Christians he persecuted. Yet Nero as an emperor and a literary character was also a creation of his time. The figure of Nero is examined in his context. The central text is the Life of Nero by Suetonius (second century CE), a dense and colorful text read first in its entirety and then more carefully in pieces. Supplementary readings are from the abundant other sources on and interpretations of Nero, both ancient and modern. Discussions and writing assignments are varied and designed to develop analytical and writing skills.
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 180 First-Year Seminar: Sexuality in Early Christianity
This course is for freshmen only. The topic varies from semester to semester. Recent topics include Miracles; Sexuality in Early Christianity; and The Self in Chinese Thought.
Same as L23 Re St 180
Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: ETH EN: H
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L08 Classics 188 Beginning Coptic I
This course provides an introduction to the Coptic language in the Sahidic (southern) dialect. Coptic was the vernacular language spoken and written in Egypt during the Roman, Byzantine, and Arab periods (until about 1300 CE) and as such is important for studying the history of premodern Egypt. It preserves some of the oldest known translations of the Bible, many apocryphal and "heretical" books that illustrate the wide diversity of ancient Christianity (e.g., the Gospels of Thomas and Mary), as well as sermons, saints' lives, monastic instructions, and liturgical manuals that still constitute the literary culture of the Coptic Orthodox Church today. In addition, a plethora of "magical" papyri illustrate medical and religious practices; personal letters reveal the lives of everyday people; and troves of business documents (e.g., contracts, wills, governmental petitions, receipts) have proved important for understanding Roman and Byzantine economies. Because Roman Egypt was a highly bilingual society, there are even instances of Classical Greek literature translated into Coptic (e.g., selections of Homer and Plato), and these offer a unique witness to how such texts were received by Egyptians. The goal of this course is to cover 15 of the 20 lessons in the grammar book. The remainder will be covered in the second level of this course.
Credit 4 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 189 Beginning Coptic II
After completing the remaining grammar lessons from Beginning Coptic I, we will build skill and confidence as translators by reading selections from a variety of Coptic texts: the Sahidic Gospel of Mark, the hagiographic "Life of John the Monk," selections from the Gospels of Mary and Thomas, and a unique Coptic translation of Plato's "Republic." In our readings from the Bible and Plato, those who read Classical Greek will also have the opportunity to study how ancient translators chose to render the Greek texts into Egyptian, and how, in the process of translation, they changed the meaning of the originals. Prerequisite: Classics 188 or permission of instructor.
Credit 4 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 2011 Classical to Renaissance Literature:
Students enrolled in this course engage in close and sustained reading of a set of texts that are indispensable for an understanding of the European literary tradition, texts that continue to offer invaluable insights into humanity and the world around us. Homer's Iliad is the foundation of our class. We then go on to trace ways in which later poets and dramatists engage the work of predecessors who inspire and challenge them. Readings move from translations of Greek, Latin and Italian, to poetry and drama composed in English. In addition to Homer, we will read works of Sappho, a Greek tragedian, Plato, Vergil, Ovid, Petrarch, and Shakespeare.
Same as L93 IPH 201C
Credit 3 units. A&S: AMP A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 2100 Beginning Sanskrit I
This course is an introduction to Classical Sanskrit, the ancient literary language of India. Students will learn to read and write in the Devanagari writing system and be introduced to the basics of Sanskrit grammar. By the end of the course students will be able to produce grammatical paradigms of Sanskrit words, understand and produce complex sentences in Sanskrit, and will even start reading passages of the Mahabharata in the original.
Credit 4 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD EN: H
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L08 Classics 223 Ampersand: The Age of Pericles
This seminar will explore the relationship between the sociopolitical history and cultural development of Athens in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Students will be encouraged to analyze both archeological and literary evidence throughout the process of democratization, paying particular attention to the Periclean building program, including the sanctuary of Athena on the Acropolis, the Agora, domestic Athenian architecture, and the panhellenic sanctuaries of Delphi and Olympia. Selections from the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, the plays of Sophocles and Aristophanes, the dialogues of Plato, and Aristotle's "Constitution of Athens" will highlight the functions and limitations of the democratic regime. This course is for first-year, non-transfer students in the Democracy and Myth in Ancient Greece Ampersand program.
Credit 3 units. A&S: AMP A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 225D Latin and Greek in Current English
An astonishingly large number of English words, especially in areas such as medicine, science and law, are derived from Latin and Greek. This course will provide a study of the impact of Latin and Greek on the English language through study of the Latin and Greek roots, prefixes and suffixes that are most commonly found in English technical and nontechnical vocabulary and the linguistic principles through which these elements have entered the English language.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 228 Theater Culture Studies I: Antiquity to Renaissance
This course is a survey of ancient, medieval and Renaissance theater and performance: in both the West and in the East, as it both reflects and shapes culture. Coverage will include the following areas: ancient Greece, ancient Rome, classical Sanskrit theater, Yuan China, medieval Japan, medieval Europe, Renaissance Italy, and Renaissance England. Both scripted theater and performance practices will be examined through the lenses of dramatic literature, theater history, performance studies, and dramatic theory. A continual emphasis will be on marginal and underrepresented figures, as we will attempt to excavate forgotten histories from the theatrical past.
Same as L15 Drama 228C
Credit 3 units. A&S: AMP A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 232E Myths and Monuments of Antiquity
An introduction to the ancient world (circa 3500 B.C. to A.D. 400) based on masterpieces of art and architecture from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and the Roman Empire. The monuments are accompanied by a selection of myths and documents representing the cultural life of these ancient societies and constituting their legacy to our modern world.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 232
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: AH, HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 234 The Greek World
This course offers an introduction to the society and culture of ancient Greece, the civilization that created Homer, Socrates, and Herodotus, among many others. Using a wide variety of literary, documentary, and material sources, we will focus on one central question: what does it mean to be Greek in antiquity? We will explore how the negotiation of “Greekness” affects cultural values, how it influences the geopolitics of the ancient Mediterranean, how women, slaves, and immigrants fit (or do not fit) into this Greekness, how ancient Greek democracy arises, and how it dies.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 2361 Cities and Towns of the Ancient World
This course is an introduction to ancient urbanism in the Mediterranean region, the Near East, and the Indus Valley. The chronological span is wide, ranging from the Neolithic era to the Late Roman/Early Byzantine period. The archaeological evidence of some of the earliest known cities will be presented and discussed, with the aim of understanding the formation process of urban centers and how these shaped and influenced their sociopolitical, economic, and cultural life. Broad issues that will be considered in class concern the origin of urban life and its different manifestations; the relationship between the natural landscape and the built environment and how the former affected the development of the latter; and the ways in which ancient civilizations constructed and used space in order to shape social relations. The course will also highlight the available evidence of monuments and artworks in context as integral parts of the urban landscape of ancient cities and towns. When available, ancient documentary sources will be introduced in order to present a more comprehensive picture of those urban centers and of the communities that created and inhabited them. The readings assigned for each session (and discussed in class) will also provide a broad sample of primary and secondary sources, the latter consisting of relevant scholarship on the topic of ancient urbanism.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 236
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: AH, HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 236C The Roman World
An introduction to the society and culture of the ancient Roman Republic and Empire. The "Roman World" began as a small settlement by the Tiber River and became a huge and diverse empire extending into three continents, with a cultural legacy that has lasted to this day. The course will cover key events over a millennium of Roman political history, but much of our time will be given to study and analysis of Roman concepts of national identity, moral and political thought, social hierarchies and dynamics, family, religion and entertainment. To this end, we will examine a diverse combination of primary sources — literary, documentary and material.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 251 Projecting the Past: Ancient Greece and Rome in Modern Film
Since the earliest days of film, screenwriters and directors have mined the rich history of Ancient Greece and Rome to captivate audiences with tales of heroes and slaves, soldiers and lovers. This course will examine such cinematic representations across a variety of American and European films from the 20th and 21st century. Drawing upon translated selections from ancient Greek and Roman authors, secondary readings and weekly screenings, students will reflect upon the ways in which film adaptations of antiquity both tell us much about Ancient Greece and Rome and reveal as much about our present as they do the past.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 3003 Writing Intensive in Ancient Studies
This is a Writing Intensive course involving the study of selected topics in Classics. Recent topics include The Banquet in Antiquity; The Art of Reading and Writing an Ancient Greek Vase; and Golden Ages, Nostalgia, and the Idealized Past.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, WI Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 301C Greek Mythology
The myths of ancient Greece are not only inherently interesting, but they are an incomparable starting point for the study of the ancient world, and they have offered numerous images and paradigms to poets, artists and theorists. This course provides an introduction to the major Greek myths, their role in literature and art, their historical and social background, and ancient and modern approaches to their interpretation. Student work will include discussing course material in sections and online, taking two exams covering both the myths themselves and the ancient authors who represent our richest sources, and writing several essays interpreting or comparing ancient literary treatments.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM
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L08 Classics 3051 Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christianity
From the time Jesus of Nazareth preached in the rural countryside of Judea, his followers interpreted his words differently and wrote varied accounts of what he said and did. As time passed and as Jesus' movement grew into a world religion — Christianity — disagreement among Christians only continued to increase, leading to the need to define and enforce correct beliefs and practices to create a Christian "orthodoxy" embodied in the now-familiar institutions of creed, canon, and clergy. Yet in the process of creating an orthodoxy, what was left out? Whose voices were suppressed? Through the careful study of ancient texts that were long-ago deemed heretical and virtually lost until the 20th century, this course examines the wide varieties of Christianity in its nascent years and discusses how the framers of orthodoxy defined themselves against these alternatives.
Same as L23 Re St 3051
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: ETH, HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 306 Race and Identity in Greco-Roman Antiquity
This seminar will start from one big question: Were the ancient Greeks and Romans white? We will examine this question -- and the questions that spring from it -- from two angles. First, using literary and archaeological evidence and informed by modern critical race theory, we will investigate how people living in the ancient Mediterranean understood difference: between themselves and others as well as among their own citizens. Did they have a concept of race at all? If not, how did they theorize difference? Second, we will study how and why the modern race system in the United States uses antiquity and racializes the premodern past. Students will write several short responses to sources over the semester and complete a research paper on a topic of their choice.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: ETH, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 3130 Sexuality in Early Christianity
What did Jesus of Nazareth and his early followers teach about sexuality in terms of marriage, adultery, divorce, the virtues of procreation and celibacy, same-sex relationships, and erotic desire? How and why did ancient Christians take different stances on these issues, and how do these traditions continue to inform sexual ethics and gender roles today? In this course, we will study these questions by examining key passages from the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, Paul's letters, writings of early church leaders, martyr propaganda, monastic literature, and apocryphal books deemed heretical. We will also consider the interpretations of contemporary historians of religion informed by recent trends in sexuality and gender theories.
Same as L23 Re St 3130
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC, SD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: BA, ETH EN: H
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L08 Classics 3152 Sex and Gender in Greco-Roman Antiquity
In this course, we will explore how ancient Greeks and Romans thought about gender and sexuality. We will consider questions such as: which traits and behaviors did the Greeks and the Romans associate with masculinity and with femininity? What can we tell from our sources about those who did not fit neatly into this binary? How did ancient Greeks and Romans think about male and female anatomy and psychology? How did the Greeks and the Romans construct sexuality and how did they approach homosexual and heterosexual relationships? How did they think about erotic desire? How did ancient laws and institutions circumscribe the lives of men and women, and how did they contribute to the construction of gender and sexuality? How did class, ethnicity, and age intersect with ideas about gender and sexuality in antiquity? We will read an array of ancient texts in translation, we will consider various theoretical viewpoints, and we will move toward a better understanding of how gender and sexuality were constructed in antiquity. Ultimately, we will reflect on how our exploration of ancient ideas about these issues can help us understand better how we think about them today.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC, SD Art: HUM BU: BA EN: H
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L08 Classics 3153 The Women of Greek Tragedy
This course examines the role of women in Athenian drama. Students will read English translations of the works of the three major tragedians — Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides — and their near contemporary, the comedian Aristophanes. Direct engagement with ancient texts will encourage students to develop their own interpretations of and written responses to the political, social, and ethical manipulation that these mythological women were compelled to endure and the subtle ways in which they appear to exercise power themselves. Selected scholarly articles and book chapters will help students to contextualize these ancient dramas in their culture of origin. Because such issues continue to preoccupy both sexes today, students will see how Greek tragedy addresses perennial historical and cultural concerns through the examination of adaptations of Greek tragedies ranging from Seneca in ancient Rome to Spike Lee's Chi-Raq and Luis Alfaro's Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles. The final research paper will encourage students to consider how a specific female character from antiquity is transformed for a "modern" dramatic audience.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, WI Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 3212 Art & Archaeology of Cleopatra's Egypt
This course is an introduction to the art and archaeology of Egypt from its conquest by Alexander the Great (332 BCE) to the early fourth century CE. It will examine the rich and multi-faceted history and artistic legacy of Egypt under the Ptolemies and their last queen Cleopatra, followed by the Roman conquest under Emperor Augustus up to the flourishing of Egyptian Christianity. Students will become familiar with a wide range of ancient sources, including documentary and literary texts, coins, architecture, paintings and sculpture. Prerequisites: Intro to Western Art (L01 113) or Intro to Modern Art (L01 215), or permission of instructor.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 3212
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: AH, GFAH, HUM BU: IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 3231 Jews and Christians in the Premodern World
In modern times, it is common to think of Judaism and Christianity as two distinct, if historically connected, "religions." Increasingly, however, historians of ancient religions have thought more deeply about the implications of taking Christianity and Judaism in antiquity as more fluid and porous than we tend to think of them. In this upper-division course, we will explore the ways in which the boundaries that early Christians attempted to draw between Christianity and Judaism remained unstable and incomplete. While the various efforts to establish early Christian identity led to the production of a variety of hermeneutical representations of the Judaioi, these literary representations nevertheless often reflected, to various degrees, engagement with actual historical Jews/Judeans, who shared political, economic, and intellectual worlds with Christians. We will consider how early Christian discourse about Jews and Judaism informed and was informed by intra-Christian disputes and their negotiations of their relationships with the wider Greco-Roman culture. We will explore how Christian efforts to establish both continuity and difference between Judaism played a role in the construction of "orthodoxy" and "heresy," as well as the way in which Christians re-appropriated Jewish texts, rituals and ideas in their efforts to construct a Christian identity. We will also explore how this continued dynamic of difference and continuity continued into the Middle Ages.
Same as L23 Re St 323
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD BU: ETH EN: H
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L08 Classics 3250 Pompeii: Cultural Mosaic of the Ancient Mediterranean
This course will provide an in-depth survey of artistic, architectural, and archaeological material from the ancient town of Pompeii, a river port of middling size and importance in southern Italy with remains that were remarkably well preserved by the ash and pumice stones of Mt. Vesuvius during the eruption of 79 CE. Starting with an overview of its development -- an Oscan settlement under Greek and Etruscan influence that expanded after the conquest of the Samnite and then Roman armies -- students will explore all aspects of urban life through Pompeii's uniquely rich archaeological record, with a particular focus on the social, cultural, and ethnic diversity that can be difficult to detect and appreciate even in the much larger, wealthier, and more cosmopolitan capitals of the Roman Empire. Over the course of the semester, students will learn various methods for applying different types of material evidence (including wall paintings, sculpture, architecture, furniture, and graffiti) to a series of scholarly questions about key points of conflict and tension within society, such as local attitudes toward foreign cultures, resistance to imperialism, the marginalization of women and slaves, opportunities for social mobility, and religious censorship. By the end of the course, a dynamic and colorful mosaic of Pompeii will have emerged, far removed from the image of a static Roman town supposedly frozen in time. Prerequisite: L01 113 or permission of instructor.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 325
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: AH, GFAH, HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 326 Archaeology of Roman Slavery
Slavery was a fundamental part of the ancient Roman world. In this course, we will survey various ways in which the institution of slavery played a critical role in shaping Roman society. Through an exploration of social, economic, legal, and cultural aspects of Roman slavery, we will pose questions of what it means to be a slave society, how the ubiquity of forced labor impacted the lives of ancient Romans, and the extent to which we can recover the experiences and subjectivities of enslaved people. Throughout the course, we will confront the interpretive problems posed by biased and/or scarce evidence and by assumptions we may carry as the inheritors of modern slaveries. A recurring theme we will explore is the extent to which evidence of slavery and the material traces of enslaved people's lives are visible in the archaeological record. At the end of the term, we will contextualize Roman slavery by comparing it with modern examples and by considering the legacy of ancient slavery in modern visual culture and representations of enslaved people. Prerequisites: Any 100- or 200-level course in art history or archaeology; or permission of instructor.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 326
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: AH, HUM BU: IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 3330 Greek and Roman Painting
This course provides a survey of the major achievements of ancient Greek and Roman painting, broadly understood and encompassing wall painting, panel painting, painted pottery, and mosaic. We will study monuments ranging over a millennium in time and located throughout the ancient Mediterranean. Particular attention will be paid to the social, political, and religious aspects of ancient Greco-Roman painting and to questions of innovation in artistic practice. Special emphasis will be placed on students' cultivation of the tools of art-historical analysis and of the presentation of that analysis in written form. Prerequisite: Intro to Western Art (L01 113) or Intro to Modern Art (L01 215) or permission of instructor.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 3330
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Art: AH, CPSC, GFAH, HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 341C Ancient History: The Roman Republic
Rome from its legendary foundation until the assassination of Julius Caesar. Topics include: the establishment, development and collapse of Rome's Republican government; imperial expansion; Roman culture in a Mediterranean context; and the dramatic political and military events associated with figures like the Carthaginian general Hannibal, the Thracian rebel Spartacus, and the Roman statesman Cicero.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 342C Ancient History: The Roman Empire
An introduction to the political, military, and social history of Rome from the first emperor Augustus to the time of Constantine. Topics include: Rome's place as the center of a vast and diverse empire; religious movements, such as Jewish revolts and the rise of Christianity; and the stability of the state in the face of economic crises, military coups, and scandals and intrigues among Rome's imperial elite.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 345C Greek History: The Dawn of Democracy
From the so-called Dark Ages to the death of Socrates, a survey of the political, social, economic and military development of early Greece, with emphasis upon citizenship and political structure, religion and culture, and the complex relationships between Greeks and neighboring peoples.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 346C Greek History: The Age of Alexander
From the death of Socrates until the foundation of the Roman Empire, Greece and the Ancient Near East underwent profound changes that still resonate today. This course surveys the political, social, economic and military developments of this period, especially Alexander the Great's legacy.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 347C Ancient Philosophy
An examination of the high-water marks of philosophy in ancient Greece and Rome, focusing primarily on Plato and Aristotle. A wide range of philosophical problems are discussed, including the nature of the good life, the justification of knowledge, and the ultimate nature of mind and world. Attention is paid to how these problems unfolded in their historical context and to how the ancient treatments of them compare to contemporary efforts. Prerequisites: one course in Philosophy at the 100 or 200 level, or permission of the instructor.
Same as L30 Phil 347C
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: ETH EN: H
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L08 Classics 350 Greek Art and Archaeology
A survey of the artistic achievements and material culture of the Greeks in the first millenium BCE (Iron Age through the Hellenistic period). Development of architecture, sculpture and painting, as well as minor arts and utilitarian objects, with emphasis on the insights they offer into Greek society and interactions with the wider Mediterranean world.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 331
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: AH, GFAH, HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 3522 Topics in Literature: Drama Queens: Cleopatra in Elizabethan England
Same as L14 E Lit 3524
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 3563 Ancient Sport and Spectacle
Ancient sport and spectacle seem both familiar and foreign to us today. We share the Greek obsession with athletic success, and we have revived their Olympic games — and yet the Greeks competed nude and covered in oil and included in their celebration a sacrifice of 100 oxen to Zeus. So too do we recognize the familiar form of the Roman arena, but recoil from the bloody spectacles that it housed. In this class we will examine the world of ancient Greco-Roman sport and spectacle, seeking to better understand both ancient culture and our own. We will consider Greek athletic competition, Roman gladiatorial combat, chariot racing, and other public performances. We will set these competitions in their social and historical context, considering both their evolution and their remarkable staying power.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 3801 Ancient Greek and Roman Medicine
This course introduces students to the practice and theory of medicine in the ancient Mediterranean, beginning in Egypt and continuing through Greece and Rome. It ends in the Middle Ages. Greco-Roman medicine will be our focus. How was disease understood by practitioners and, as far as can be reconstructed, by laypeople? What form did surgical, pharmacological, and dietetic treatment take? What were the intellectual origins of Greek medicine? The social status of medical practitioners? How was medicine written and in what terms did its practitioners conceive it?
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 3821 Topics in Christian Thought
The topic covered in this course varies. Recent course topics include: "The 'Other' Catholic Church: The Lived Experiences of Eastern Orthodoxy" and "The Apostle Paul: Communities and Controversies."
Same as L23 Re St 382
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: ETH EN: H
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L08 Classics 3831 Magicians, Healers and Holy Men
Magic is perhaps not one of the first words one associates with Greco-Roman antiquity. Yet for most individuals living in the ancient Mediterranean, including philosophers, businessmen and politicians, magic was a part of everyday life. Casting spells, fashioning voodoo dolls, wearing amulets, ingesting potions, and reading the stars are just some of the activities performed by individuals at every level of society. This course examines Greco-Roman, early Christian and Judaic "magical" practices. Students read spell-books which teach how to read the stars, make people fall in love, bring harm to enemies, lock up success in business, and win fame and the respect of peers. Students also look at what is said, both in antiquity and in contemporary scholarship, about magic and the people who practiced it, which helps illuminate the fascinating relationship between magic, medicine and religion.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 385W Comedy, Ancient and Modern
In this course we will examine the nature of dramatic comedy and its role in society. We will read, discuss and write about comedies from ancient Greece and Rome and from various modern nations, paying particular attention to the following questions: Do comic plays reinforce or challenge the preconceptions of their audiences? How have comic playwrights responded to issues such as class, gender, religion, and politics? Why does comedy have such power both to unite and to divide people? This course has an extensive writing component, so much of our time will be spent writing about the comedies we will read, revising what we have written, and discussing how best to write about comedy.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, WI Art: CPSC BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 4011 Ancient Greek Numismatics
Coins are one of the most powerful, mysterious, and enduring inventions of classical antiquity. Invented in western Anatolia c. 2,700 years ago, coins transformed every economy into which they entered and quickly became one of the hallmarks of ancient Greek society above all others. Adorned with a bewildering array of symbols for the kings and city-states that minted them,
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 408 Sacred Ways and Holy Spaces: Athenian Religion and Topography
From seashore to mountain top, ancient Athens was famous for being a landscape rich with myth and religion. In order to worship their gods with processions, sacrifices, and other acts of devotion, Athenians moved through, across, and within space as defined by such things as sacred roads, monumental gateways and altars, and even places considered so holy that one was forbidden to enter. This course will introduce students to the study of place (topography) and to the methods and evidence by which we can determine where specific buildings and sites were, how they were used, and what they signified. We will explore major sites like the Acropolis as well as a variety of other temples, shrines, and holy sites across urban and rural landscapes alike, each of which structured space in itsr own way. By examining a wide range of archaeological and textual evidence (c. 800 BC-AD 400), we will develop an integrated understanding of Athenian religious belief and ritual in the context of architecture and space. While this course will concentrate on the topography of architecturally definable religious sites, we will also explore religious practices (e.g., magic, early Christianity) that employed the landscape in fundamentally different ways than other parts of the Athenian religious system.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: ETH, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 4230 The Reception of Egypt in the Graeco-Roman World
Ancient Greeks and Romans found Egypt to be an exceptionally enthralling world, in terms not only of its physical features but also of its people, monuments, and traditions. This course will explore how different views of Egypt emerged in the Graeco-Roman world; it will also investigate the possible reasons for the remarkable popularity and allure of Egypt and things Egyptian as reflected in the writings of Greek and Roman authors as well as in the art and architecture of the Mediterranean world in Classical antiquity. In this seminar, we will read primary literary sources (in translation) that focus on the reception of ancient Egypt and, more specifically, its history, religion, and customs. Several of these sources also offer a privileged viewpoint to investigate how the perception of notable Egyptian figures -- chiefly Cleopatra -- was shaped by Rome to suit a specific agenda. In addition to the written sources, we will look at the artistic and archaeological evidence that best showcases the impact of Egypt's legacy on Graeco-Roman traditions. The readings assigned for each class will also provide a broad sample of secondary sources, consisting of some of the most significant scholarship on the image of Egypt in Classical antiquity.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 4235 Rome in Egypt: The Archaeology of an Oasis City
This seminar will focus on the results of the archaeological fieldwork carried out at Trimithis / Amheida, a Graeco-Roman city in Egypt's Western Desert. It will investigate the available documentary and archaeological evidence, including a wealthy house with paintings inspired by Classical themes, a public bath built in the Roman tradition, a rhetorical schoolroom, pyramid-shaped Roman tombs, remains of a temple, and one of the earliest churches discovered in Egypt so far. We will explore how this evidence compares with that from neighboring sites in Egypt's Western Desert as well as in the Nile Valley. The goal is to develop an appreciation and understanding of Romano-Egyptian architecture, Classical and late antique art in Egypt, and Egypt's religious, social, and cultural history. Students will also have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with notions of archaeological methods and practice, as adopted in the context of an Egyptian excavation project. Prerequisites: One course at the 100- or 200-level in Art History, Classics, or Archaeology recommended
Same as L01 Art-Arch 4235
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: AH, HUM BU: IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 426 Ancient Athens
Athens was one of the great cities of antiquity. From lavishly decorated marble temples on the Acropolis, to public office buildings and inscriptions in the Agora (civic center), to the houses of the living and the monuments for the dead, the city has left a rich record of her material culture. These buildings and objects, together with an exceptionally large number of literary and historical texts, make it possible to paint a vivid picture of the ancient city. The course concentrates on the physical setting and monuments of Athens, as revealed by both archaeology and texts, and how they functioned within the context of Athenian civic and religious life. Prerequisite: Classics 345C, Classics 350 or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD BU: HUM
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L08 Classics 428 The Invention of the Image: From Classical Art History to Modern Visual Studies
The scholarly field of Image or Visual Studies has developed in response to the widespread proliferation of images, both still and moving, in contemporary life. It distinguishes itself from traditional art history by examining visual representations of all types, not only works of high art, and by concentrating on the role those representations play in the formation of culture. Though most of the scholarship produced in this field focuses on the modern world, it depends upon ideas first developed in Mediterranean antiquity. This course has two primary goals. We conduct an historical examination of practices and theories of image making from Near Eastern antiquity to modernity. In so doing, we also carry out an historiographical survey of the major works in Image/Visual Studies, thereby gaining an appreciation for the wide range of methods of inquiry employed in this important field of research. Prerequisites: Intro to Western Art (L01 Art-Arch 113) or Intro to Modern Art (L01 Art-Arch 215); one 300-level course in Art History preferred; or permission of instructor.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 428
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Art: AH, GFAH, HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 429 Art and Death in Ancient Rome
Perhaps more than any other phenomenon, death spurred the creation of art in the ancient Roman world. The practice of materially commemorating the deceased — of perpetuating the memory of the dead through the creation of funerary monuments designed to appeal to both intimate familial relations and the public at large — stretched across Roman social boundaries and endured for many centuries. But death also frequently provided the subject matter of art even outside the confines of the funerary realm. The goal of this course will be to explore the complex relationship between art and death in the Roman world. It will range from early Rome to the end of the empire and the changes brought about by widespread conversion to Christianity. In conjunction with historical readings, the course will also engage with theoretical texts in the anthropology and philosophy of death. Prerequisites: Intro to Western Art (L01 113) or Intro to Modern Art (L01 215); one 300-level course in Art History preferred; or permission of instructor.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 429
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 4350 Hellenistic Philosophy
The Hellenistic Age, traditionally dated from the death of Alexander and his (Macedonian) Empire at 323 BCE to the birth of Augustus' (Roman) Empire in 31 BCE, gave the West three of its most innovative and influential schools of philosophy: Epicureanism, Skepticism, and Stoicism. This course investigates the central features of their thought. Special attention is paid to the still-relevant debates between the Stoics and Skeptics about the possibility of knowledge, to the disagreements among all three schools about the issues of freedom, responsibility, and determinism, and to their ethical theories. Prerequisites: one course in Philosophy at the 300 level, graduate standing, or permission of the instructor.
Same as L30 Phil 4530
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 4361 Topics in Ancient Studies
Study of one or more themes recurring in the traditions of Greek and Roman literature, history, and culture. Topic varies each semester.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 4376 Pictorial Illusion in the Ancient Mediterranean
Among the many accomplishments in the history of Greco-Roman art, ancient writers especially valued the development of pictorial illusion. Pictorial illusion refers to the techniques of reproducing or approximating aspects of the visual perception of the material world on a two-dimensional surface. These include foreshortening, the application of highlights, and the indication of multiple points of depth in space relative to the picture plane. The purpose of the course is to explore the material, stylistic, and technical history of illusionistic painting practices in the ancient Mediterranean world from Classical Greece to Late Antique Rome and to seek to understand the cultural and social significance of those practices. In addition to examining specific historical questions in the development of ancient painting, the course will investigate trans-historical connections between vision, visuality, and methods of representation. Prerequisites: Either L01 113 or L01 215, or permission of instructor. One 300-level course in Art History preferred.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 4376
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 450W Topics in Classics
Classics courses at the 400 level with enhanced requirements in writing may be taken under this designation as writing-intensive courses. Required: permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, WI EN: H
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L08 Classics 451 Plato
An examination of some of Plato's most important dialogues, typically including the Gorgias, Phaedo, and Republic, with the aim of grasping the development of Plato's most influential thoughts in ethics and in metaphysics and epistemology. In order to provide both historical understanding and philosophical evaluation, attention is paid to the context and structure of the dialogues and to the best of recent secondary literature. Prerequisites: one course in Philosophy at the 300 level, graduate standing, or permission of the instructor.
Same as L30 Phil 451
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 452 Aristotle
This course offers a maximally full and detailed introduction to the works of Aristotle. His logic, natural philosophy, psychology, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy are discussed, and stress is laid on the interpretive problems facing contemporary philosophers seeking to understand Aristotle's achievement. Prerequisites: one course in Philosophy at the 300 level, graduate standing, or permission of the instructor.
Same as L30 Phil 452
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 453 The Greek Symposion
This course explores the history, archaeology, material culture, and sociology of the symposion in ancient Greece. While we will focus mainly on the archaic and classical Greek symposion, we will also examine its reception in the Roman world. In this context, we will study art and literature produced for the symposion, as well as representations of the symposion in literature, especially in lyric poetry, drama, and philosophical prose.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 462 Ancient Greek and Roman Music
Music played a vital role in Ancient Greece and Rome. New resources and perspectives now allow us to appreciate the ancients' music better than ever before. This course addresses the nature of ancient music (instruments, melody and rhythm, modes), ancient attitudes toward music, and its contribution to public and private life. The focus throughout is on our ancient sources, both literary and archaeological.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 4647 Ancient Madness
In this course we will ask what madness meant in Greek and Roman culture. We will find reading strategies that are sensitive both to ancient evidence and to the ethical demands of talking about, evaluating and categorizing people treated as mad. While we will concentrate on literary (particularly tragic and epic), philosophical and medical texts, we will also look at visual representations and evidence from ritual and cult. An important part of our project will involve tracing the afterlife of classical ideas: The history of melancholia will ground this aspect of the course. Finally, we will consider how antiquity informs psychoanalysis (Oedipus, Antigone, Narcissus), and how ancient madness might partake in a critique of contemporary understandings of mental illness.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD EN: H
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L08 Classics 465 Topics in the History of Philosophy
Study of individual philosophers or themes from the ancient, medieval, and/or modern periods. Examples: Spinoza, St. Thomas Aquinas, neo-Platonism, universals in ancient and medieval thought, ancient and modern theories of space and time. Prerequisite: 6 units in philosophy or permission of instructor.
Same as L30 Phil 465
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 4700 Ancient Greek and Roman Gynecology
This course examines gynecological theory and practice in ancient Greece and Rome, from about the 5th century BCE to the 3rd century CE. The task is complicated by the nature of our evidence. Our surviving textual sources are authored exclusively by men, mainly physicians. They have a pronounced tendency to conceptualize the health and disease in terms of a single body, which was male by default. They distinguished female bodies from male primarily in reproductive aspects. How exactly did these physicians understand diseases of women and, as far as can be recovered, to what extent were their views represented among laypeople? What form did treatment take and what was the social status of practitioners, both that of our extant sources and female practitioners whose voices have largely been silenced by the textual tradition? We will approach the study of Greek and Roman gynecology, first from the perspective of Greco-Roman medical views, then from the point of view of contemporary Western biomedicine. The limited nature of our sources will allow students to read the majority of surviving material. These primary readings will be accompanied by current secondary scholarship that explores these fascinating and often frustrating questions about the female body in ancient medical thought. All primary materials will be available in English translation. There will be an option for students with a background in Greek or Latin to form a satellite reading group. The course does not assume familiarity with Greek and Roman medicine more broadly.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 476 Money, Exchange, and Power: Economy and Society in the Ancient Mediterranean World
From seaborne trade and banking to slavery and the impact of new technology, the economy of the ancient Mediterranean world constitutes a particularly dynamic field of study. To examine a society's underlying economics is to gain critical insight into those historical phenomena that are themselves the product of multiple, overlapping dimensions of human action and thought. This course engages directly with a fascinating array of primary evidence for economic behaviors, beliefs, structures and institutions among the Romans, Greeks, and their neighbors. We will also explore the methodological challenges and implications of that evidence as well as a variety of modern theoretical approaches. This year our focus is mainly upon developments among the Greeks, ranging from the transformative invention of coinage to the rise of commercial networks centered around religious sanctuaries like Delos. Prerequisites: Classics 341C or 342C or 345C or 346C or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD BU: HUM, IS EN: H
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L08 Classics 4763 Olympian Shadows: Macedon and its Neighbors in Antiquity
The home of both Alexander the Great and Aristotle, Macedon was pivotal to the course of ancient Greek and Roman history and yet stood apart as a culturally and politically distinct region. Macedonian dynasts dominated the Hellenistic world and deeply shaped Roman reception of Greek culture, while others profoundly affected the intellectual life of antiquity. We will explore topics ranging from ethnicity, religion, and the nature of kingship to urbanization and Macedon's emergence as a great power until its subsequent transformation at the hands of the conquering Romans. We will pay special attention to Macedon's neighbors, especially Thrace and Illyria, as well as to Macedon's relationships with the Persian Empire and the Greek coastal colonies. Prerequisites: at least one semester of Classics 341C, 342C, 345C, or 346C, or instructor's permission.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 480 Roman Coins and Their Stories
This course will provide insights into everyday life in Rome and its territories through the evidence of the coins minted from the Roman Republic until the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476 and beyond. We will discuss general numismatics, starting with the history of coins and coinage, and we will understand how these small objects became an intrinsic part of the Roman way of life and what evidence they provide for daily life in Rome, from ideology to religion and from politics and culture.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L08 Classics 493 Senior Project
For Classics or Ancient Studies majors who wish to fulfill their capstone requirement in Classics through a one-semester research project. A structured research assignment or independent project under the supervision of one of the department's faculty is required. Prerequisites: senior standing and permission of the chair of the department.
Credit 3 units.
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L08 Classics 497 Study for Honors
Students interested in pursuing honors should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Classics. Prerequisite: Overall GPA of 3.65.
Credit 3 units.
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L08 Classics 498 Study for Honors
Students interested in pursuing honors should consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Classics. Prerequisite: Overall GPA of 3.65.
Credit 3 units.
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Greek
For Greek courses, please refer to the Greek page of this Bulletin.
Latin
For Latin courses, please refer to the Latin page of this Bulletin.