In this course, students will examine ancient Greek tragedy both in its original context, and as it has been interpreted and re-interpreted in more modern times. They will combine historical, critical, and artistic perspectives to consider what tragedy was/is and what made/makes it moving, effective, and enduring. The course will spotlight one the great tragic themes, centering the stories of Agamemnon, Oedipus, or the Trojan War. Students will build upon their understanding of both ancient tragedy and modern receptions to conceptualize effective modern stagings and adaptations.

An examination of the ways in which an understanding of Greek and Roman history, political theory, and ideals (liberty, virtue, beauty, etc.) were influential among important figures involved in the foundations of the government of the United States. The course provides a broad grounding in ancient political thinking as well as the events and figures of ancient history upon which such thinking was based. Special attention will be given to the texts that were the most influential among the 18th-century elite.

Art and archaeology of the Egyptian civilization from the beginning of the Pharaonic Period to the Alexandrian Age.

CLAS 342 is a General Education Exploring Perspectives (Humanist) course carrying the Writing and World Cultures and Societies attributes. We will build a community of inquiry into Homeric literature and society using tools like close reading to examine the Homeric characters within the Iliad and Odyssey with a view to what forces--social, divine, individualistic, artistic--inform their thoughts and actions. We will draw parallels and examine contrasts between our own societies and that of the characters within the Iliad and Odyssey, and we will be assisted in these critical analyses by the work of modern scholars who have attempted to understand the world of Homer using interpretive tools like close reading and literary analysis. Students will be invited to use their own experiences as interpretive lenses through which to understand the world of Homer; conversely, students will also be invited to use the world of Homer to understand their own.

Mediterranean craft technologies from past and present find their natural home on the Greek island of Paros which provides the ideal setting for a diachronic exploration (through lectures, field trips, and interviews)of key archaeological and anthropological questions on crafts, environment, and society.

This course surveys the art and archaeology of Greece from the Early Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period (ca. 3000 BC-31 BC), focusing on iconic monuments in architecture, sculpture, ceramics, and minor arts that shaped ancient Greek civilization. Monumental projects, such as temples, tombs, fortifications, as well as miniature creations in luxurious materials will be examined within their larger political, social, religious, technological, and economic contexts in Ancient Greece. Athens, Delphi, Olympia, Crete, and the Aegean are just a few of the celebrated places explored in this course.

This course provides an overview of the culture of ancient Rome beginning about 1000 BCE and ending with the so-called "Fall of Rome". It looks at some of the key people who played a role in Rome, from the time of the kings through the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It will also focus on the city of Rome itself, as well as Rome's expansion through Italy, the Mediterranean, and beyond.

In this course, we will examine Rome and its Empire from several points of view and across Roman history. During this semester we will deal with those who ruled the empire, and those who were ruled by the Emperors. Through this class, we will explore how Romans thought about their own rule, and how citizens, subjects, and outsiders reacted to (and against) the Roman Empire.

This course is based on research and practices about art, film, and popular culture in France, England, Germany, and particularly in America. The learning activities inspire students to critically analyzing and incorporating past and current art perspectives in the arts and their influence on cinema. It is expected that students demonstrate skillful analysis and the latter description of theoretical and pragmatic solutions related to ideologies, art movements, and technology involved with the development of cinematography, through learning about different cultures, including ancient Greece and Rome, as well as America, France, and Germany over the centuries.

During this class, we will be exploring the diverse nations of the Mediterranean that pursued the acquisition of empire in the ancient world: Pharaonic Egypt, Achaemenid Persia, 5th century Athens, 4th century Macedon, and Imperial Rome. More than only the respective "rise and fall" of each empire, we will examine how the rulers of each civilization depicted and justified their policies of conquest, how the pursuit of empire changed the cultures of these civilizations, and how each empire paved the way for the next. In the end, we will be learning how empires in general (mis)function, and how empires are justified to their participants, subjects, and enemies.