nathanielkatz

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nathanielkatz@arizona.edu
Office
Learning Services Building
Office Hours
Please email professor to schedule a meeting or refer to class syllabus.
Katz, Nathaniel
Lecturer

Dr. Nathaniel Katz earned his PhD in Classics at the University of Texas at Austin and his BA from Kenyon College. He is a Roman historian researching Roman imperial self-representation and regime change. His current research examines Roman imperial assassinations with a particular focus on the political affordances those moments of sudden violence gave the various actors in Roman politics. His other work uses literature, documentary sources, and coins to see how the emperor’s subjects reacted to his political messaging. He also once got a perfect score in Seinfeld trivia.

Currently Teaching

CLAS 116B – Word Roots: Science and Medical Terminology

This course will focus on the history and structure of words including the use of Greek and Latin roots in the formation of technical terms in medicine and the sciences. Elements of word formation (prefixes, suffixes, and bases) will be intensively studied so that the words can by systematically analyzed and broken down into their component parts. Excellent preparation for standardized tests such as the GMAT, GRE, LSAT, and MCAT.

This course will focus on the history and structure of words including the use of Greek and Latin roots in the formation of technical terms in medicine and the sciences. Elements of word formation (prefixes, suffixes, and bases) will be intensively studied so that the words can by systematically analyzed and broken down into their component parts. Excellent preparation for standardized tests such as the GMAT, GRE, LSAT, and MCAT.

CLAS 160D2 – Classical Mythology: Ancient Stories and What they Tell Us

The myths, legends, and folktales of the Greeks, Romans and the peoples of the ancient Near East have remained popular for thousands of years. Together we'll not only learn about these stories themselves, but also think about why these stories are so popular, where they came from, and what insights they give us into the various people and cultures who created and reinterpreted them across the millennia.

The myths, legends, and folktales of the Greeks, Romans and the peoples of the ancient Near East have remained popular for thousands of years. Together we'll not only learn about these stories themselves, but also think about why these stories are so popular, where they came from, and what insights they give us into the various people and cultures who created and reinterpreted them across the millennia.

CLAS 335 – The Roman Empire: Rulers and Ruled

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.

CLAS 201 – Contexts for Studying Classical Reception Abroad

A survey of history, geography and culture designed to provide a thorough grounding for students studying Classics and Classical Receptions as part of study abroad programs. In this course, we will develop a foundation for your study abroad experience by helping you develop a thorough sense of the historical and cultural context in which the works of art, architecture, and literature you will encounter, as well as the museums, buildings, and archaeological sites you will visit, were created. Because the logistics of a study abroad program often mean visiting sites out of historical or chronological order, this course will help you construct a mental framework into which you may place the disparate items you will consider in your program. Classics study abroad programs require students like you to grapple with material in multiple disciplines (Archaeology, Architecture, History, Art History, Literature, Religious Studies) simultaneously, and this basic grounding in the most important periods, figures, movements, discoveries, and ideas relevant to your study abroad program will be a foundation that will allow you to connect these interwoven threads. While we will only be able to provide a brief introduction to these periods and ideas in this course, you will develop both a general sense of the shape of the relevant cultural history as well as a robust set of illustrative examples and figures.

CLAS 202 – Myths, Legends, and Religion: Foundational Literature of the European Visual World

This literature course examines Greek and Roman classical myths and Jewish and Christian biblical stories that have frequently been represented in visual cultures over the centuries in Europe and beyond. When taught as part of a study abroad trip, the course will be customized to provide the literary background of the specific visual material students will view while abroad.

LAT 102 – Elementary Latin II

A second semester introduction to the basic morphology, syntax and vocabulary of Latin through reading and composition.

A second semester introduction to the basic morphology, syntax and vocabulary of Latin through reading and composition.