Undergraduate Course Descriptions
Classics
CL 103: Greek Literature in Translation
Unofficially titled From Homer Onward, this course offers the opportunity for a guided reading and analysis of Homers works of tragedy, comedy and philosophy, as well as other major works of Greece in English translation. No knowledge of Greek is necessary. (Barry)
CL 113 (History 113/RSP 113): Myth and Religion in the Ancient World
Myth and Religion in the Ancient World provides a comparative analysis of the mythic and religious traditions of various early Indo-European peoples, in coverage extending chronologically and geographically from Vedic India to Medieval Ireland and Scandinavia, focusing on ancient Greece and, especially Rome. The analytic model used is that of, chiefly, Emile Benveniste and Georges Dumezil. (Woodard)
CL 200: Introduction to Classical Archaeology)
Introduces Greek and Roman archaeology through the study of the great archaeological discoveries and famous archaeologists from the Renaissance to the present. Relates the archaeologists and their discoveries to the general development of classical archaeology and the cultural history of the era in which they took place Three credit. No Prerequisites (Dyson)
CL 202: Archaeology and Rediscovery of the Ancient World
Introduces the material world of Greece and Rome through the study of great archaeological discoveries and archaeologists from the renaissance to the present. Relates the archaeologists and their discoveries to the general development of classical archaeology and the cultural history of the era in which they took place. (Dyson)
CL 209: Israel and Ancient Near East
People of the Bible; the environment in which they lived; what they absorbed and rejected from Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia, Iran, Egypt. Same as HIS 201. LEC (Paley)
CL 211: Ancient Near East and Egypt
Topical survey of the contribution of Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian cultures to western history and thought, from the "invention" of writing to the fall of the Assyrian Empire. Same as HIS 211. LEC (Paley)
CL 212: Survey of Greek History (cross listed with HIS)
Examination of the independent Greek city-state in the context of major contemporary empires, concentrating on political developments and social organization. Exploration of public issues such as politics, warfare, the economic system, and social structure, as well as the institutions of private life, the habits of social life and religious practice, and the many ways in which the Greeks represented themselves to each other and to the outside world. Particular attention to the development of the alphabet; the political uses of literacy; the tension between the early uses of money and the traditional institution of gift exchange; and the contradictions in a system that invented democracy, but required slavery. Reading assignments include selections from the work of ancient authors. (Cole)
CL 222: Greek Civilization
This course will offer students the opportunity to examine in considerable breadth the cultural heritage left to us by Greek civilization. The intimate connection of all aspects of ancient Greek culture will be emphasized. Among these will be visual art, historical events, philosophical experimentation, religious beliefs, literature, custom, myth and architecture. All such elements of Greek civilization will be analyzed from a synchronistic and developmental point of view in so far as is possible in order to produce a coherent image of that culture as a living and expanding entity. Students will also be provided with sufficient primary (in English translation) and secondary reading to ponder intelligently the conclusions reached in class. (Barry)
CL 223: Roman Civilization
A introductory survey of Roman culture from its mythical beginnings to the time of the emperors. We will study a variety of literary works (comedy, epic, historiography, biographies, novels, satires) as well as material culture (painting, sculpture, and architecture). An overview of Roman social history provides the context for our investigation of Rome's literature and art. Same as HIS 202 (Dugan)
CL 226: Early Christian Literature
A survey of the development of Christian literature prior to the council of Nicea in 325 AD. Attention will be focused on the efforts of the Christian community in these formative years to achieve its own identity and to resolve the conflicts which it faced with Judaism, with the Graeco-Roman world, and within itself. (Barry)
CL 228: Warfare in the Ancient Mediterranean World
This course is designed to provide a historically anchored survey of warfare in the ancient Mediterranean civilizations, particularly those of Greece and Rome. Not simply a history of strategies and battles, our intent will be to look at the wide range of issues influencing and impacted by armed conflict: for example, religious and political ideologies, family structure, the economy, and technology and the arts. It is hoped that the background acquired by students will help them to better evaluate the overall nature of society, both ancient and modern, especially in light of subsequent instances of conflict, and particularly those in recent history. (Ault)
CL 311: Classics in the Americas
This course will explore the uses of Greek and Roman civilization in American political, intellectual and cultural discourse from the period of the American Revolution to the Age of the Neo-Cons. It will begin with a consideration of the role classical models played in the debates leading up to the American Revolution and the Ratification of the Constitution . The next section will deal with the Early American Republic and the Ways in which the arts were used to create a sense of identity with Greece and Rome. The third section will deal with the role of the Classics in both the Slavery Debate and the rhetoric of the Civil War. That will be followed by a consideration of the Classics in the Gilded Age, when Rome was embraced as an expression of a new American dynamism and Greece was romanticized as a counter to an ‘Age of Vulgarity’. The last two sections will deal with uses of Greece and Rome between the Wars and the renewed use of Greece and Roman analogies from the end of World War II to the Invasion of Iraq. (Dyson)
CL 327: History of the Roman Republic
A survey of Roman history from the foundation of the city to the death of Julius Caesar. The political and military developments will be related to social, economic, and cultural changes in Roman society. Three credits. No Prerequisites (Dyson)
CL 328: History of the Roman Empire
The development of the Roman Empire from the accession of Augustus to the reign of Justinian. Political and military history will be complemented by considerations of changes in Roman society and the life of ordinary Romans under the Empire. Special attention will be played to the Roman Empire outside of Italy and to the uses of archaeology to understand Roman history Three credits. (Dyson)
CL 331: Roman Imperialism
This course will focus on the changing nature of the Roman Empire from the conquest of Italy until the collapse of the Empire in the West. Great imperial figures like Scipio, Caesar, Pompey, Trajan and Justinian will receive special attention. Changes produced by Roman imperialism in the provinces will be highlighted Three credits. No Prerequisites (Dyson)
CL 332: The Athenian Empire
This semester we will have the opportunity to take an in-depth look at the institution of Athens. Not simply a course on the political and military fortunes of the city during its fifth century apex, we will take into account Athenian social and cultural history both before and after the golden age as well. Time will be spent considering the physical and metaphysical dimensions of the city and its inhabitants (and, by extension, the Greeks in general), their norms and values, forms of government (especially the particularly timely double-edged sword of democracy and imperialism), and intellectual achievements. (Ault)
CL 336: Greek Archaeology, I
This course provides the first of a two-semester overview of Greek civilization though its archaeological remains. Over the semester we will survey settlements, cemeteries, and sanctuaries, as well as pottery, painting, and sculpture, spanning the Stone, Bronze, and early Iron Ages. This evidence will be used to consider theories about broad historical trends and developments in culture and society. In the process we will also take into account archaeological methods as they are used to go about "reading" the past from material culture. (Ault)
CL 337: Greek Archaeology, II
This course provides the second of a two-semester overview of Greek civilization through its archaeological remains. Over the semester we will survey architecture, sculpture, and painting from ca. 700 to 31 B.C., comprising the periods known as the Orientalizing, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic. During this time span the development of artistic styles and architectural types will be traced against the stage of social history and political institutions. (Ault)
CL 338: Introduction to Roman Archaeology I
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Type: LEC
A survey in lecture format of the archaeology of the Romans and their central Italian neighbors, particularly the Etruscans, from the small-scale societies of the Iron Age to the formal creation of the Roman Empire at the close of the first century BCE. Emphasizes the different kinds of evidence available for archaeological reconstructions and the methods employed by archaeologists for the collection and analysis of these. The course focuses on key issues, including the emergence of complex society and the state form of political organization, the physical and institutional nature of early cities, the adoption of writing systems and the nature of early inscribed texts, the role of religion in the community, the dynamics of the expansion of Roman political, cultural, and economic influence first in Italy and then throughout the Mediterranean basin, and the rise of commercial forms of economic life in the Roman world. (Pena)
CL 339: Roman Archaeology II
Focuses on the Art and Archaeology of the Roman Empire from Augustus to Justinian. The monuments of Roman and the major centers of the Roman Empire will be studied. Stress will also be placed on the uses of archaeology in reconstructing Roman social and economic history. Three credits. Roman Archaeology I not required. (Dyson)
CL 381: Alexander the Great
In the course, we will examine the life and world of Alexander the Great, beginning with his father, Philip, and concluding with the division of his kingdom among is lieutenants. An important topic will be analysis of the sources for Alexander's life: we will use both
literary and archaeological evidence in the process. Students will be expected to read both primary and secondary sources, and to learn to evaluate the evidence. (Higbie)
CL 411: History of Greek Literature
A survey of Greek literature covering the principal genres of the archaic and classical periods. The course begins with Homeric questions and the production of literature, continues through Hesiod and early Greek poetry, philosophy, and the invention of prose, followed by Greek drama (both tragedy and comedy) and the writing of history, oratory, and philosophical theory. Concentration on developing reading skills and becoming familiar with the conventional and digital research tools available for studying Greek literature. (Cole)
CL 422: The Greek City polis, chora, and oikos
This course will examine the nature of ancient Greek civic and domestic life through the archaeology of urbanism, regional and rural settlement, patterns of land use, and houses and households. For the city and its territory we consider the rise of the polis; the types, design and placement of public spaces and buildings, including sanctuaries; orthogonal planning and Hippodamos of Miletus; and the relationship between the city and its countryside. Turning to the household, we take up issues ranging from the use, functions and decorative elaboration of domestic space; to the domestic economy; to issues of status, ideology, and gender in the ancient house. (Ault)
CL 423: Religion and Society in the Ancient Greek City (dual listed with CL 523)
Analysis of the role of religion in the ancient Greek polis with attention to the archaeological evidence for cult practice, the representation of ritual acts in Greek art and literature, gender difference and symbolic systems, religious ideology of the community, and the ritual of the life cycle. Topics include: introduction to the major divinities; rituals ritual acts and ritual space; language and gesture; purity and pollution; cults of the home and family; public festivals and the citys calendar; religion and politics; divine therapeutics; death and the afterlife. (Cole)
CL 430: Ancient Economy
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Type: LEC
A topical survey of the economy of the Roman empire (offered jointly with a graduate section) that combines lectures, in-class presentations by students, and the discussion of readings. Emphasizes the different forms of textual and material cultural evidence available for the elucidation of the Roman economy and the ways in which historians and archaeologists employ these for economic analysis. The course is organized around weekly topics, including general models of the Roman economy, the free market versus the command economy, rationality, productivity and growth, money, labor and occupations, the economic role of towns, agricultural production, marketing, bankers and traders, consumption, and quantitative approaches to economic analysis. Written assignments are aimed at developing students skills in the critical evaluation of scholarly literature and the analysis of original data sets. (Pena)
CL 440: Pompeii
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
Type: LEC
A systematic survey in lecture format (offered jointly with a graduate section) of the remains of the buried city of Pompeii. The course aims to familiarize students with the ways in which archaeologists and historians have used the broad array of evidence available from the town (e.g., buildings, frescoes, sculpture, private archives, graffiti, pottery, metalwork and other portable material culture, human remains, environmental data) to illuminate various aspects of its social, political, religious, and economic life. Students complete two take-home laboratory exercises that provide them experience in the collection and analysis of archaeological data. (Pena)
CL 445: Christians in the Roman Empire
Explores the development of early Christianity in the context of the changing Roman Empire. Begins with the life of Jesus, considering him as a subject of Rome and continues through the development of Christian communities in the first-fourth century AD Roman Empire Three credits. A previous course in Roman history recommended (Dyson)
Greek
GR 101-102: Greek Language and Culture I & II (5-5)
An introduction to ancient Greek with a study of the essential grammar and readings in a variety of simple texts. The course will also deal with the linguistic and historical background of the Greeks, and the cultural milieu in which the great literary and philosophical works were created. Same as RSP 110, RSP 120. LEC
GR 201: Ancient Greek Language and Culture 3
The focus in this course is upon developing the ability to read Greek with accuracy and increasing speed. To do so, we cover a number of texts and selections from oratory and drama with an emphasis upon understanding how the grammar works in context and how to build a working vocabulary. There is a further emphasis upon historical and social contexts, not only what the Greek means linguistically, but also what it means in the world of 5th and 4th century BC Athenian life. (Boyd)
GR 201-202: Greek Language and Culture III & IV (4-4)
Advanced work in grammar and composition together with readings from prose and poetry. Selections from a wide range of authors will be included in order to demonstrate the diversity and appeal of Greek literature. Emphasis will be placed on developing reading ability. LEC
GR 301: Homer
Using Odysseus adventures on his way home to Ithaka as a basis, this course seeks to introduce students to the heroic world, Greek oral epic, and the Homeric dialect while helping them increase the accuracy and speed of their reading and translation. (Boyd)
GR 302 Herodotus and Selections from Greek Poetry (3)
GR 401 Thucydides (3)
GR 402 Plato (3)
GR 403 Greek Drama (3)
GR 404 Greek Oratory (3)
GR 426 Lyric Poetry (3)
GR 444 Reading Greek Literature (3)
Latin
LAT 101-102 Latin Language and Culture 1 & 2
An introduction to Latin; the reading of simple texts by various Roman authors. The course will also deal with Roman culture and civilization and with the influence of Latin in English vocabulary.
LAT 201-202: Latin Language and Culture 3 & 4
These courses combines an intensive review of basic grammar with extended readings in Caesar and Cicero, supplemented with poetic selections. Students will increase their vocabularies, learn how to construe a Latin sentence, and begin to appreciate Latin prose style. The readings focus on the fall of the Roman Republic, a fundamental turning point in western history. (Coffee)