Course Schedule

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 554 – Greek and Roman Sculpture: Symbols and Society in Antiquity

This course surveys Greek and Roman sculpture from Cycladic figurines of the 3rd millennium B.C. to Roman sculpture of ca. 300 A.D. Topics to be addressed are stylistic developments, uses of sculpture within historical settings, iconography and meaning, materials and manufacturing techniques, and sculptors and their social status. The course will also deal with modern misconceptions of the original appearance of the classical sculpture, problems of forgeries, and the impact of looting within larger discussions of cultural heritage and collecting.

CLAS 574 – Archaeometry: Scientific Methods in Art and Archaeology

Critical survey of scientific methods used in archaeology and art history. Emphasis on the potential and limitations of these techniques for reconstructing human behavior. Graduate-level requirements include one substantial critical review of the literature on some archaeological application of archaeometry.

CLAS 584 – Roman Art and Architecture

The origin and development of Italian architecture from the beginning of the Iron Age to the end of the Roman Empire, highlighting the development of construction techniques, materials used, the nature of the work force, principal monuments and patterns of urbanism. Focus is also placed on the imperial building programs of the Roman emperors and on the domestic architecture of Rome and its dependencies. Graduate-level requirements include extensive reading and an in-depth paper.

CLAS 596A – Topics in Greek or Roman Literature, History or Archaeology

The development and exchange of scholarly information, usually in a small group setting. The scope of work shall consist of research by course registrants, with the exchange of the results of such research through discussion, reports, and/or papers.

GRK 533 – Readings in Ancient Greek Poetry of the Archaic and/or Hellenistic Period

Critical readings in ancient Greek with literary and social-historical contextual analyses of ancient Greek Poetry of either the Archaic or Hellenistic period or both. Graduate-level requirements include extensive reading and a research paper.

LAT 526 – Roman Historians

Readings in Latin from the Roman historians and biographers. May be repeated without duplication of readings. Graduate-level requirements include extensive readings and a research paper.

LAT 530 – Roman Drama

Close reading and study of select plays of Plautus, Terence, and Seneca, as well as select fragments of Republican Roman tragedy. Graduate-level requirements include extra reading assignments in Latin; a more ambitious research paper project.

LAT 579 – Second/Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

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

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

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 543 – Archaeology of Neolithic and Bronze Age Greece

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

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

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.