Classics

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

L08 Classics 1137 First-Year Seminar: Wining and Dining in the Classical World

The focus of this course is food culture in Greek and Roman societies from the Archaic to the late Roman period. However, foodways from adjacent contemporary cultures also are briefly examined. Sources include textual evidence, as well as ethnographic studies of ancient people, iconographic and archaeological evidence, specifically osteological and botanical remains from archaeological sites. Experimental studies are conducted in class to augment the learning experience of students.

Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM, LCD EN: H

L08 Classics 114 First Year Seminar: Childhood in Greek Antiquity

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

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

L08 Classics 116 First-Year Seminar: Magicians and Witches in Greco-Roman Literature

This course examines the representation of "magicians" and "witches" in ancient Greek and Roman literature. The starting point is Apuleius' "Metamorphoses" (or "The Golden Ass," as St. Augustine dubbed it), written in the second century CE. This work of narrative prose collects several tales of witches, magical transformations, and religious revelation. From there, we examine other tales of magicians and witches, paying particular attention to the role of gender in these representations and the conflict between magic and religion. The goal is to understand how these representations function within their particular society, what anxieties they reveal, and how they relate to the archaeological evidence we have for these practices.

Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

L08 Classics 1165 First-Year Seminar: Pompeii: Uncovering the Past

This course examines the Roman city of Pompeii from archaeological, art historical and literary perspectives. Topics include the city's public spaces and religious sanctuaries, its grand mansions and common houses, its political systems and leisure activities. Class discussions probe the problems inherent in the interpretation of a city captured in a moment of crisis, and how ancient literary tropes have affected our understanding of the archaeological remains. Students also investigate modern interpretations of the site in the form of novels, exhibitions and documentaries. Freshmen and sophomores only. No prerequisites.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 116

Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM Art: AH BU: HUM, IS EN: H

L08 Classics 117 First Year Seminar: Coins and Life in the Ancient Mediterranean

The thousands of coins left from Greece, Rome, and other societies of the ancient Mediterranean are not only fascinating in themselves, but they also provide priceless evidence for what life was like in antiquity. This course will provide an introduction to numismatics, which is the study of coins. As we study the coins, we will learn what they tell us about such aspects of ancient life as daily life, religion, the military, politics, and economics as well as what they reveal about some of the ancient world's most intriguing people.

Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM, HUM, LCD BU: HUM EN: H

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

L08 Classics 176 First-Year Seminar: Power and Persuasion: The Courts and Laws of Ancient Athens

In ancient Athens, each citizen had the power to prosecute others for wrongs committed not only against him but also against society as a whole. Each citizen defended himself without aid of lawyers and judges. This system depended upon an intensely democratic structure of jury courts and laws and upon the development of rhetoric as an artful speech by which to persuade fellow citizens to find one way or the other. Nearly 100 speeches survive from the Athenian courts. and they provide a remarkable window into Athenian society, politics, and law. In addition to reading translations of many of these speeches, we will examine the physical setting of Athenian courts and explore the manner in which this legal system was integral to Athens' democracy.

Credit 3 units. A&S: FYS A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

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 Art: HUM BU: ETH EN: H

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

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

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 Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

L08 Classics 228 Theater Culture Studies I: Antiquity to Renaissance

A survey of ancient, medieval and Renaissance theater and performance, both in the west and in the east, both as it 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

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, HUM Art: AH, HUM BU: HUM EN: H

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

L08 Classics 235C The Greek Imagination

An introduction to Greek culture with emphasis on Archaic and Classical ideas about man, the gods and the cosmos. Considerable attention also is given to the Athenian democracy, its institutions, festivals and arts. The course is designed to offer a broad and interdisciplinary view of the most memorable Greek achievements in literature, the visual arts, and social thought and practice.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Art: HUM BU: HUM, IS EN: H

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

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 Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

L08 Classics 240 Not Members of This Club: Women and Slaves in the Greco-Roman World

Both the Athenian Democracy and the Roman Senatorial Oligarchy were societies in which political power was the exclusive property of free, citizen males. With very few exceptions, the astounding accomplishments of those societies were also the creations of free, citizen males. This course examines the lives of two disparate but comparable groups of outsiders within Greek and Roman society. The status, rights and accomplishments of Athenian and Roman women are explored and placed in the context of other premodern societies. Likewise, the institution of slavery in Greece and Rome is explored and compared with other slave-holding societies, ancient and modern.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, SSC, SD Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S

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

L08 Classics 300 Independent Study

Credit variable, maximum 3 units.

L08 Classics 3003 Writing Intensive in Ancient Studies: Golden Ages, Nostalgia, and the Idealized Past

Study of selected topics in Classics. This is a writing-intensive course.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, WI EN: H

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 Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

L08 Classics 3152 Sex and Gender in Greco-Roman Antiquity

Ideas about sex and gender have not remained stable over time. The ancient Greeks and Romans had their own ideas — ideas that strike us today as both deeply alien and strikingly familiar. This course will consider questions such as: What constituted "normal" sex for the Greeks and for the Romans? What sex acts did they consider to be problematic or illicit, and why? What traits did the Greeks and Romans associate with masculinity? With femininity? How did society treat those who did not quite fit into those categories? How did peoples of the ancient world respond to same-sex and other-sex relationships, and was there an ancient concept of "sexuality"? How did issues of class, ethnicity and age interact with and shape these concepts? How does an understanding of these issues change the way we think about sex and gender today? We will read an array of ancient texts in translation, consider various theoretical viewpoints, and move toward an understanding of what sex and gender meant in the ancient world.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SC, SD BU: BA EN: H

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

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

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

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 Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

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

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 Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

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 Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

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 Art: HUM BU: ETH EN: H

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

L08 Classics 3522 Topics in Literature: Drama Queens: Cleopatra in Elizabethan England

Topics course which varies by semester.
Same as L14 E Lit 3522

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: IS EN: H

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

L08 Classics 3582 Ancient Rome in Film and Fiction

Examines a group of novels starting with The Last Days of Pompeii (1834) and a group of films beginning with The Sign of the Cross (1936) to see how writers and filmmakers have conjured up an image of Roman excess and exoticism in line with their own artistic and cultural viewpoints. We read both popular successes such as Ben-Hur and "high art" such as Marius the Epicurean and see such commercial successes as The Robe and art house films such as Fellini's Satyricon.

Credit 3 units. Art: HUM BU: HUM

L08 Classics 3676 Rhetoric: Ancient and Modern

Rhetoric, or the art of persuasion, has played a prominent and controversial role in political and educational theory and practice. We survey rhetorical texts, ranging from Plato and Aristotle through Augustine and Edmund Burke, to Kenneth Burke and Jürgen Habermas.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H

L08 Classics 371 The Ancient Family

Examination of the roles of the family in the ancient world through readings and discussions of primary sources (literature, legal texts, inscriptions, art) and recent scholarship. Topics include: demography; relationship between family and state; economic, social and religious roles of the family; roles of women, men, children and slaves; death and inheritance; marriage; children; family relationships; household space; comparisons with the modern family.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, SD, WI BU: BA EN: H

L08 Classics 375 Topics in Classics

Study of one or more themes recurring in the traditions of Greek, Roman and European literature.

Credit 3 units. Art: HUM BU: HUM

L08 Classics 3751 Topics in Classics: Pastoral Literature

When the first Chinese sojourners arrived in America during the California Gold Rush in 1848, the locals regarded them as inscrutable and inassimilable. Today, Chinese Americans are the American society's most productive and responsible citizens. From coolie to Fu Manchu, from Charlie Chan to the model minority, from Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan, from Kung Fu Panda to Yo-Yo Ma, this series of images tells some of the stories of the dynamics between immigrants and the local residents and the Chinese Americans' journey of assimilation. In this course, we will trace this historical trajectory by way of writers' and filmmakers' imagination and representation of the experiences of those Chinese who left their homeland in search for means to build a better life for their children back in the home country or here in the adopted land. We will explore questions such as: How do the Chinese diaspora long for their cultural origin "China" in their various lengths of living abroad? Does diaspora have an expiration date? Through works by writers such as Maxine Hong Kingston, David Henry Hwang, Gish Jen and Ha Jin, and filmmakers such as Wayne Wang and Ang Lee, we will also examine issues of community building, the politics of hyphenation (Asian-American, inter-national, pan-Asian, etc.), and the role of gender in identity construction.
Same as L16 Comp Lit 375

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, SD Art: HUM BU: IS EN: H

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

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"; "The Apostle Paul: Communities and Controversies"; and "Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christianity".
Same as L23 Re St 382

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: ETH EN: H

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 Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

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

L08 Classics 386 Old Jokes: Laughter in the Greco-Roman World

An exploration of the theory and practice of comedy in the Greco-Roman world. Readings include examples of iambic (mocking) poetry, comic theater, satiric verse and prose fiction, as well as philosophical discussions of the relationship of humor and laughter to human behavior and values. As comedy in all contexts engages and shapes cultural values just as much as "serious" literature does, its history and reception raise major social and aesthetic issues. Critical topics include: how ancient thinkers imagined comedy's historical "birth," how public comic performances may have encouraged either social cohesion or disruption, how communities defined "beneficial" and "offensive" humor, and how ancient elite writers and readers felt about the often lowbrow and obscene content of "classic" comic literature. Combination of lectures and discussions.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM

L08 Classics 389C The Ancient Novel

Many modern readers are familiar with the mythological and dramatic literature of Greco-Roman antiquity, but fewer are aware that the same cultures developed a tradition of prose fiction concerned with romance, human psychology and sexuality, exotic travel and adventure, and religious experience. The European tradition of extended fictional narrative begins with the Greeks, and their novels, along with Apuleius' Golden Ass and Petronius' Satyricon, had a formative influence on later narrative traditions. Students read and analyze all the surviving examples of the Greco-Roman novel, including some fragmentary works, with the goal of throwing light on the history and conventions of the genre, its appeal and its influence.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Art: HUM BU: HUM

L08 Classics 392E Greek and Roman Drama

Survey of the tragic and comic dramas produced in Ancient Greece and Rome. Study of the plays' religious and civic performance contexts, responses of the ancient audiences, and literary interpretations.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM

L08 Classics 393 The Tragic Muse

Intensive study of the major tragic playwrights of Ancient Greece (Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides) and some of their imitators and critics in the western tradition. We consider tragedy's origins, its literary elements and theory, its performance and religious contexts, and its social functions. Lectures with discussions.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

L08 Classics 4001 Independent Study

Credit 3 units.

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

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 Arch: HUM Art: AH, GFAH, HUM, HUM EN: H

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

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

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 EN: H

L08 Classics 4375 Ancient Greek Sculpture in Context

Sculpture counts among one of the greatest artistic achievements of ancient Greece, and one that has had the greatest impact on the art of later periods. This course focuses on original works of art of the Archaic and Classical periods (600–300 BCE), placing emphasis on how study of their contexts — the places in which they were produced, displayed and found — contributes to our understanding of their place in the ancient world. Background material, which is covered at the beginning of the semester, includes the origins of monumental Greek sculpture at the beginning of the Archaic period (late 7th to early 6th century BCE), and the stylistic development of the Archaic and Classical periods. We then proceed to discussion of various types of sculpture (architectural, cult statue, votive, commemorative, funerary) and how these works functioned within the context of the Panhellenic sanctuary, the city sanctuary, the secular center of the city, and the necropolis. In a different view of context, we also consider sculpture recovered from ancient shipwrecks, looted art on its way to the ancient Roman art market. Prerequisite: Art-Arch 331 or permission of the instructor.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 4375

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Art: AH EN: H

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 investigates trans-historical connections between vision, visuality and methods of representation. Prerequisites: one of L01 Art-Arch 112, L01 Art-Arch 113, L01 Art-Arch 211, or L01 Art-Arch 215; one 300-level course in Art History preferred; or permission of instructor.
Same as L01 Art-Arch 4376

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Art: HUM EN: H

L08 Classics 442 The Later Roman Empire: From Constantine to Justinian

Covers the period from ca. 300 through the reign of Justinian. Focus on legal developments and codification of law, social changes, rise of Christianity and fall of the Roman Empire in the west. Prerequisite: Classics 342C or permission of instructor.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H

L08 Classics 443 The Age of Nero: Writing, Performance and Politics at the End of a Dynasty

This course examines the reign of Nero (54–68 CE) as a distinct and remarkable period of literary and artistic production in ancient Rome and its empire. We study the career of the emperor himself, learning about imperial politics and policies during his reign, his own artistic career (his "fiddling while Rome burned," literary endeavors and notorious stage tour), and the violent end of his rule and dynasty. We examine the literature, philosophy, satire and other writings of the period, both those that take the emperor himself as their subject and those that treat other aspects of history, myth and culture from a "Neronian" perspective. We also examine art (both public and private), public entertainment (the amphitheater, the circus and the stage), and other cultural achievements and issues associated with the last Julio-Claudian emperor.

Credit 3 units. EN: H

L08 Classics 450 Topics in Classics

The topic for this seminar differs every year. Previous topics have included Pilgrimage and Sacred Space in Antiquity, Religion in a Global Context, and Engendering Religion. The seminar is offered every spring semester and is required of all religious studies majors, with the exception of those writing an Honors thesis. The class is also open, with the permission of the instructor, to other advanced undergraduates with previous course work in Religious Studies.

Credit 3 units. EN: H

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

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

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 Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

L08 Classics 495 Beginning Sanskrit

Credit 1 unit.

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.

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.