Course Schedule

CLAS 504C – Cleopatra: Power, Passion, Propaganda

Cross Listed

This course focuses on Cleopatra VII (69-30 BCE), the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt and one of the best-known women in history and a key powerbroker during a period of important political change, one with enduring repercussions for the western world. She has been, however, deliberately memorialized as a "romantic" agent, a deployer of "feminine wiles", whose gender and political toolbox rightly doomed her efforts to failure. Students will interrogate the process of transforming a historical individual into an object lesson, a trope of femininity, and a cinematic legend, unpacking the messages crafted for a range of audiences and purposes by multiple creators, including Cleopatra herself. We begin with the historical background of the Hellenistic period, cosmopolitan and multicultural, focusing especially on the dynamism of women in the ideology of royal power and as image-makers in their own right, developing special forms for female authority and female patronage. A number of earlier Cleopatras establish context and particular precedents, creating official personae to engage effective interactions with fundamental groups; these include the resilient Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra II (r. 175-116 BCE) and Cleopatra Thea, token in a dynastic alliance who became Great Queen of Syria, dominating the Seleucid throne for a generation. Students will then sift through the evidence for Cleopatra VII, both the contentious (and largely hostile) material for her Mediterranean activities as well as the Egyptian record that may represent the specific efforts of the queen herself, utilizing then-ancient symbol and ritual to assert her legitimate imperial authority and structure her collaboration with major stakeholders in the Nile realm. The last section of the course looks to the lingering memory of Cleopatra long after her death, closely examining images in drama, art, and film to explore how the story of Cleopatra has been crafted and recrafted to represent different "truths" about sex, power, and identity.

Graduate-level requirements include two short in-class presentations on particular aspects of course material; weekly responses to the assigned reading, focusing on modern scholarship; and a 5000-word final paper, comparative in nature.

CLAS 510A – Methods in Classical Studies

Introduction to the various disciplines of classical scholarship: philology, textual criticism, paleography, papyrology, archaeology.

CLAS 510B – Thesis Preparation

This course is an introduction to thesis writing for students enrolled in the Master of Arts degree program in Classics. Topics and/or assignments include forming a thesis committee, the review of scholarship, and developing a thesis writing plan, in addition to discussion of second-year issues such as applying for PhD programs and/or jobs in Classics.

CLAS 514 – Narrating Memory: The Greek and Roman Historians

This course will examine the histories written by ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as the broader questions of historiography. What did history mean to the ancients, and what techniques did they use to "bear witness" to the past? How do the writings of ancient historians inform our understanding of classical antiquity? Ancient Greek and Roman historians to be covered include Herodotus, Thucydides, Livy, and Tacitus.

Graduate-level requirements include the responsibility for reading large sections of the ancient authors in their original languages. There will be two language exams over these sections, during which graduate students will not only translate but provide limited commentary on the passage provided.

CLAS 546A – Mapping Ancient Cities

Cross Listed

The course will introduce the student to the history, theory and archaeological evidence for city and landscape planning from the Minoan, Etruscan, Greek and Roman periods. In addition the course will consider some of the most modern techniques (digital cartography, remote sensing and GIS) in the study of ancient cities and will offer the student the opportunity to learn and practice a number of these modern techniques, including the use of AutoCAD. Graduate-level requirements include making a 30 minute oral presentation to the class on the research project undertaken as a part of the requirements for the course. In addition, graduate students will be responsible for a 25 page paper.

CLAS 552 – Etruscan Art and Archaeology

Cross Listed

Surveys the art and archaeology of the Etruscans between the 7th and 1st centuries B.C. Graduate-level requirements include extensive reading and an in-depth paper.

CLAS 574 – Archaeological Science

Cross Listed

To fully explore and understand the ways that past civilizations and societies interacted with the environment, innovated, thrived or survived, we need a toolkit as diverse as the different aspects of human life. In this course, you will learn the basic principles behind the wide range of scientific techniques used to provide clues about the human past. Through a series of case studies from various times and places around the world you will gain an overview of how methods combine to reveal new insights and explore the potential, limitations and future directions for such work.

GRK 502 – Greek Reading Course

Readings in major Greek authors including Homer, Plato, and the historians and dramatists. Graduate-level requirements include extensive reading and an in-depth paper.

LAT 501 – Latin Reading Course

Readings in one of the following: epic, lyric, drama, history, oratory, satire, epistles, novel, philosophical, technical or medieval literature. Graduate-level requirements include extensive reading and a research paper.

LAT 579 – Second/Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

Cross Listed · GIDP: Second Lang. Acquisition & Teaching (SLAT)

This class is intended to prepare students to teach a second/foreign language. It will provide students with the essential foundations in language teaching methodology and theory, pedagogical grammar, curriculum and materials development, classroom management, and formal and informal assessment techniques. In addition, students will gain practical knowledge through video practicum components, which allow them to watch and reflect on actual classroom teaching. Students will complete this program with the pedagogical knowledge and practical understanding necessary to be confident and effective language teachers.

CLAS 501A – Early Christian Literature: Greek Texts

Cross Listed · Writing Emphasis Course

This course involves in depth study of early Christian texts together with related contemporary Jewish and Greco-Roman literature. Students will engage in careful analysis of individual texts in the New Testament and from the first four centuries of the Common Era, focusing on questions of genre, authorship, and meaning. Alongside these, students will examine writings by contemporary Jewish, Greek, and Roman authors (e.g., Philo, Josephus, Seneca, and Plutarch) as illustrative of the wider literary and religious culture. For students who have completed GRK 201, an option for readings in ancient Greek will be available as part of the course. Graduate level requirements included a extended research papers drawing on appropriate levels of training in language, literature, and knowledge of the ancient world.

CLAS 504C – Cleopatra: Power, Passion, Propaganda

Cross Listed

This course focuses on Cleopatra VII (69-30 BCE), the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt and one of the best-known women in history and a key powerbroker during a period of important political change, one with enduring repercussions for the western world. She has been, however, deliberately memorialized as a "romantic" agent, a deployer of "feminine wiles", whose gender and political toolbox rightly doomed her efforts to failure. Students will interrogate the process of transforming a historical individual into an object lesson, a trope of femininity, and a cinematic legend, unpacking the messages crafted for a range of audiences and purposes by multiple creators, including Cleopatra herself. We begin with the historical background of the Hellenistic period, cosmopolitan and multicultural, focusing especially on the dynamism of women in the ideology of royal power and as image-makers in their own right, developing special forms for female authority and female patronage. A number of earlier Cleopatras establish context and particular precedents, creating official personae to engage effective interactions with fundamental groups; these include the resilient Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra II (r. 175-116 BCE) and Cleopatra Thea, token in a dynastic alliance who became Great Queen of Syria, dominating the Seleucid throne for a generation. Students will then sift through the evidence for Cleopatra VII, both the contentious (and largely hostile) material for her Mediterranean activities as well as the Egyptian record that may represent the specific efforts of the queen herself, utilizing then-ancient symbol and ritual to assert her legitimate imperial authority and structure her collaboration with major stakeholders in the Nile realm. The last section of the course looks to the lingering memory of Cleopatra long after her death, closely examining images in drama, art, and film to explore how the story of Cleopatra has been crafted and recrafted to represent different "truths" about sex, power, and identity.

Graduate-level requirements include two short in-class presentations on particular aspects of course material; weekly responses to the assigned reading, focusing on modern scholarship; and a 5000-word final paper, comparative in nature.

CLAS 532 – Literary Translation as Classical Reception

This course examines the translation of classical (poetic) texts as a way of receiving these texts and rendering them accessible - and fresh - for new audiences. The course consists of five components: (1) an introduction to the field of Translation Studies; (2) diachronic study of some of the most influential writers on translation, i.e. from Cicero to 21st century theorists; (3) the translation and adaptation of Greek texts by Latin authors at the beginnings of Latin literature; (4) close study of selected Greek and Latin poetic texts against a selection of published translations of them in English; (5) translation practica. Graduate level requirements include readings in both Greek & Latin, an oral report, and more extensive practica.

CLAS 543 – Archaeology of Neolithic and Bronze Age Greece

Cross Listed

This class will examine the archaeology of the Greek Mainland from the arrival of humans until the end of the Late Bronze Age, paying particular attention to the emergence and florescence of Europe's first states. In addition to learning the material record of the region, students will hone their skills in critical thinking by exploring the theoretical approaches that inform the way archaeologists reconstruct the past.

CLAS 565 – Greek Pottery: Craft and Society in Ancient Greece

Cross Listed

This course surveys the development of ancient Greek pottery from c. 3000 to 400 BCE, with a focus on the period 1200-400 BCE (Mycenaean-Late Classical). Topics to be addressed include stylistic and typological developments, uses of ceramics within historical settings, iconography and meaning, materials and manufacturing techniques, organization of ceramic workshops, and potters and their social status. Key goals of the course include gaining an appreciation for the great importance of pottery in establishing and verifying the foundations of chronology in Greek archaeology as well as illuminating fundamental aspects of Greek society and culture. Opportunities for hands-on experiences in UA ceramics labs and museum collections will be available. Graduate-level requirements include extensive readings and an in-depth paper.

CLAS 587 – Assessment in Second/Foreign Language Learning

Cross Listed · GIDP: Second Lang. Acquisition & Teaching (SLAT)

The primary objective of this course is the development of language teachers' assessment literacy, which includes knowledge of key assessment principles and skill in creating or adopting assessment tools and procedures for the language classroom. Participants in this course will develop their knowledge and skills related to assessing all skill areas in the language classroom, including productive skills (writing, speaking), receptive skills (reading, listening), and assessing grammar and vocabulary. Grading and student evaluation will also be important topics of consideration and exploration in this course. Designed specifically for in-service (and pre-service) language teachers, the course combines theory with practice by covering essential principles of effective classroom assessment and the development of effective assessment tools for classroom use. Participants completing this course will become more assessment literate and better able to evaluate student performance in their classrooms fairly and effectively.

GRK 524 – Advanced Greek: Homer

Close reading of selections from the Iliad and Odyssey in Greek and an introduction to the critical secondary literature. Graduate-level requirements include extensive reading and an in-depth paper.

LAT 513 – Augustan Literature

Readings from a major writer or writers of the Augustan age. Graduate level requirements include extensive reading and a research paper.