Classics Course Descriptions
Greek
Greek 110
- First-Year Greek
Full course for one year. A study of the elements of ancient Greek
grammar and first readings in Attic prose. Lecture.
Greek 210
- Second-Year Greek
Full course for one year. A review of grammar, continued readings
in Attic prose, and first readings in Homer or drama. Prerequisite:
Greek 110 or equivalent. Lecture-conference.
Greek 247
- Christian Texts of the Early Empire
See Religion 347 for description.
Greek 249
- Late-Antique and Byzantine Theological Texts
See Religion 349 for description. Not offered 2005-06.
Greek 311
- Advanced Greek
Full course for one semester. Two of these semester topics are
offered each year: Greek poetry, Greek tragedy, Greek comedy, Greek
prose authors. Prerequisite: Greek 210 or equivalent. Seminar. May
be repeated for credit.
Greek 312
- Advanced Greek
Full course for one semester. Two of these semester topics are
offered each year: Greek poetry, Greek tragedy, Greek comedy, Greek
prose authors. Prerequisite: Greek 210 or equivalent. Seminar. May
be repeated for credit.
Latin
Latin 110
- First-Year Latin
Full course for one year. A study of the elements of Latin grammar
and first readings in Latin literature. Lecture.
Latin 210
- Second-Year Latin
Full course for one year. A review of grammar and continued
readings in Latin prose and poetry, with an introduction to
Cicero’s rhetoric and Virgil’s Aeneid. Prerequisite: Latin
110 or equivalent. Lecture-conference.
Latin 311
- Advanced Latin
Full course for one semester. Two of these semester topics are
offered each year: Latin poetry, Latin prose authors, Roman satire,
Roman history, Roman comedy. Prerequisite: Latin 210 or equivalent.
Seminar. May be repeated for credit.
Latin 312
- Advanced Latin
Full course for one semester. Two of these semester topics are
offered each year: Latin poetry, Latin prose authors, Roman satire,
Roman history, Roman comedy. Prerequisite: Latin 210 or equivalent.
Seminar. May be repeated for credit.
Classics 303
- Hellenistic Philosophy
Full course for one semester. The course examines the major schools
and issues of Hellenistic philosophy. The course begins with a
brief overview of Greek philosophy before the Hellenistic period,
then examines the writings and philosophic doctrines of the
Epicureans, Stoics, and Academic Skeptics. Discussions include
various topics in ancient physics, epistemology, logic, and ethics.
Prerequisite: Humanities 110 or consent of the instructor.
Conference. Cross-listed as Philosophy 303. Not offered 2005-06.
Classics 338
- The Ancient "Novel"
Full course for one semester. With its absurd plots and apparent
lack of moral depth, its interest in travel and the exotic, its
insistence on positive female protagonists, its longevity, and its
unfavorable critical reception, the Greek "novel" is strikingly
different from other classical genres. This seminar will study
those novels that remain intact (Daphnis and Chloe,
Clitophon and Leucippe, About Callirhoe, and The
Aethiopica), and compare them to their Roman counterparts
(Petronius’ Satyricon and Apuleius’ Golden Ass).
Topics studied will include characterization and narrative
structure; the representation of the foreign; how the genre
responded to its social context and to changes in that context over
the four hundred years or more that it existed; the novels’
precursors, including the Odyssey; and what is at stake in
the designation of these works as novels. All works will be read in
translation. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Conference.
Cross-listed as Literature 338. Not offered 2005-06.
Classics 353
- Literary Theory and Classical Literature
Full course for one semester. Study of some of the main currents in
literary theory in the last 50 years and the application of these
theories to selected classical works. The focus will be on three
literary movements: New Criticism, structuralism and its various
offshoots such as semiotics and narratology, and Marxist literary
theory, including political criticism and new historicism/cultural
poetics. All non-English texts will be translated. Prerequisite:
Humanities 110 or consent of the instructor. Conference.
Cross-listed as Literature 353.
Classics 362
- Classical Mythology
Full course for one semester. An examination of the origins,
function, and significance of myth in Greek literature and culture.
The course begins by considering different theoretical approaches
to myth (including anthropological, literary, religious,
psychological, and sociological), and then moves to an analysis of
particular Greek myths. Among the authors and works read are the
Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer, Homeric Hymns, Hesiod,
Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Plato. Prerequisite:
Humanities 110 or consent of the instructor. Lecture-conference.
Cross-listed as Literature 362. Not offered 2005-06.
Classics 363
- Greek Tragedy: Ancient and Modern Perspectives
Full course for one semester. The course explores the nature and
meaning of fifth-century Greek tragedy. The course examines
theories about the origins of Greek tragedy and a number of the
principal modern critical approaches that have been applied to the
plays. The majority of the semester is spent reading and discussing
plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. The course ends with
a consideration of ancient theories of interpretation
(Aristophanes, Gorgias, Plato, and Aristotle) and how they differ
from modern approaches. Prerequisite: Humanities 110 or consent of
the instructor. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 363. Not
offered 2005-06.
Classics 371
- Ancient History: Greece
Full course for one semester. A chronological survey of archaic and
classical Greek history and civilization from the traditional
foundation of the Olympic games in 776 BCE to the fall of the
Athenian empire in 404 BCE. After beginning with a brief look at
Bronze and Dark Age Greece, we will cover the following topics: the
rise of the polis; Greek colonization; the "Age of Revolution,"
warfare, aristocracy, and the spread of tyranny; the rise of Athens
and Sparta; the Persian Wars; the development of Athenian democracy
and Athens’ empire; the causes and course of the Peloponnesian War;
the development of ethnography and historical inquiry; and the
nature of Greek social relations with an emphasis on slavery and
gender dynamics in Athens and Sparta. Emphasis is placed on the
interpretation of ancient evidence, including primary literary
works, inscriptions, and relevant archaeological material.
Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of the instructor.
Lecture-conference. Cross-listed as History 391.
Classics 372
- Special Topics in Greek History
Full course for one semester. An intensive study of a particular
topic from Greek history. The topic for 2005-06 is Greek and Roman
Magic. This course examines ancient beliefs in witches, sorcerers,
ghosts, vampires and magic spells and their
socio-cultural-religious contexts, and through a range of literary
and archaeological sources attempts to make sense of the techniques
and devices used by the practitioners of magic and the ends to
which the supernatural was employed in the daily lives of the
Greeks and Romans. Knowledge of Greek is helpful but not required.
Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of the instructor.
Lecture-conference. Cross-listed as History 392.
Classics 373
- Ancient History: Rome
Full course for one semester. This course will examine the
development of the Roman Empire from 264 BC to 14 CE, focusing on
Rome’s rapid transformation into the leading power in the
Mediterranean and the political, social, economic and cultural
changes that this extended period of growth produced in Roman
society. Topics include the nature of Roman imperialism, Roman
reception of Greek literature and culture, the growth of slavery
and consequent slave wars, class struggle and the relations of mass
and elites in the Roman Republic, the rise of violence in Roman
politics, the changing face of the Roman family, and the creation
of the principate under the guidance of Augustus, Rome’s first
emperor. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of the
instructor. Lecture-conference. Cross-listed as History 393. Not
offered 2005-06.
Classics 374
- Special Topics in Roman History
Full course for one semester. An intensive study of a particular
topic from Roman history. Knowledge of Latin is helpful but not
required. Prerequisite: sophomore standing or consent of the
instructor. Lecture-conference. Cross-listed as History 394. Not
offered 2005-06.
Classics 470
- Thesis
One-half or full course for one year.
Classics 481
- Independent Reading
One-half or full course for one semester. Prerequisite: approval of
instructor and division.
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