Course Schedule

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.

CLAS 150C1 – Pyramids and Mummies: The Pharaoh and Ancient Egyptian Society

Gen Ed: Diversity Emphasis · Gen Ed: Tier 1 Individuals & Societies/150 · Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity and Equity, US · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed: Building Connections

Pyramids and Mummies focuses on the role of the pharaoh in ancient Egyptian Society and its portrayal in modern culture. It centers on the overarching question of how political rulers consolidate, exert, and maintain political power over their constituent populations. To do this, Pyramids and Mummies takes an interdisciplinary approach to Egyptian history, examining it from Natural Science, Social Science, Arts, and Humanities perspectives, assessing how Egyptian pharaohs utilized a diverse array of tactics to rule their kingdom. This course then moves from ancient to modern, analyzing the portrayal of ancient Egyptian kingship in the modern world, with a special focus on the ways in which issues of race, ethnicity, diversity, and equity are addressed in cinematic adaptations of ancient Egyptian culture and kingship. Upon completing this course, students will be able to critically analyze issues of political rule from a variety of disciplinary lenses, and synthesize these multifaceted strategies in clear, concise, and powerful written prose, and they will be able to address issues of race, equity, and inclusion in the reception and adaptation of ancient Egyptian culture.

CLAS 160B1 – Meet the Ancients: Gateway to Greece and Rome

Gen Ed: Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures/160 · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Building Connections

Journey into the past to discover the worlds of the ancient Greeks and Romans. From democracy and republicanism to literature, philosophy and art, the contributions of these two cultures serve as the foundation for much of what has been described as ""western"" culture. This course explores who these peoples were, how these civilizations developed, what ideas and institutions they created, and why the Greeks and Romans matter today.

Through this exploration into the Greco-Roman world, this course builds connections between the multiple types of evidence that scholars draw upon to paint a picture of the ancient past. Close readings of texts provide a humanistic perspective on classical culture; archaeological data inform us about social scientific trends in demography and economics; environmental evidence from ice cores, botanical remains, and soil samples enable a natural science perspective on the past; and some of the world's most famous objects--from the Venus di Milo to Grecian vases--allow for artistic insights. In this course, students will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each disciplinary approach to understanding the past, and ultimately weave together multiple strands of evidence to create their signature assignment.

Upon completing "Meet the Ancients", students will not only have a better understanding of Greco-Roman history and culture, they will, above all, have a deeper understanding of the different perspectives used to approach ancient history and the skills to evaluate and synthesize diverse types of evidence.

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

Gen Ed: Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures/160 · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

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 205 – Ancient History: Roman History

Cross Listed

This course offers a survey of Roman History from the prehistoric settlements in the area of the Seven Hills to the deterioration of the western Empire in the fifth century C.E. Special topics of interest include the material culture of the Roman world; the use of images in the pursuit of political agendas; classical notions of the divine; and concepts of gender, power, and identity. Popular representations of ancient Rome, specifically in film, will provide another area of consideration for comparison throughout the semester.

CLAS 280 – Introduction to the Bible: New Testament

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

This course introduces students to the New Testament in light of the contexts in which it was written and compiled, and as a window into reconstructing the world of early Christianity. The course will also examine how various Christian communities have understood the meaning and authority of the New Testament.

CLAS 301B – The Literature of the Ancient Romans: Latin Literature in English Translation

Writing Emphasis Course

Classics 301B provides an introductory survey of Latin literature through English translations. The works to be studied include some of the earliest extant ones of the republican period down to those of the mid-empire: our authors span a period of over 300 years. We will read from a variety of genres, including comedy and tragedy, epic and lyric poetry, didactic literature, satire, historiography, the novel, letters, and philosophy. Latin writers appropriated all these genres- with the exception of satire, which apparently is a Roman innovation (satura quidem tota nostra est, Quintilian 10.1.93)-from the Greeks. In doing so they creatively and self-reflexively (Latin literature is extremely "meta") adapted their Greek source texts with a view to their own audiences and artistic purposes. The study of this literature provides a dynamic point of entry into the rich and diverse cultural world of the ancient Romans-the Roman empire was an extraordinarily complex experiment in multiethnic and polylingual exchange that is only now being rivaled by globalist movements. Latin literature is also critical to appreciation of subsequent European literatures and cultures.

CLAS 303 – Crime and Punishment in the Ancient World

Cross Listed

This course explores the history of criminal justice systems in the ancient Mediterranean through close examination of select primary sources. Its primary focus is Greece and Rome, but it will also cover Pharaonic Egypt and the Ancient Near East. We shall move chronologically, geographically, and topically, treating a broad range of literary and archaeological evidence. Of central importance to the course will be the issue of boundaries: between right and wrong, imprisonment and freedom, individual and state. Law codes from Mesopotamia, tomb robbery in the Egyptian New Kingdom, the trial and execution of Socrates, police in the streets of Rome, execution by gladiator, spiritual and allegorical punishment: the course encompasses it all!

CLAS 305 – Greek and Roman Religion

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Individuals and Societies · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Building Connections

Religious beliefs and cult practices in ancient Greece and Rome. All readings in English.

CLAS 323 – Ancient Empires

Gen Ed: Diversity Emphasis · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Individuals and Societies · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Building Connections

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.

CLAS 329 – Art History of the Cinema

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Arts · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

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.

CLAS 338 – Introduction to Roman Art and Archaeology

Cross Listed · Engagement: Intercultural Exploration · Engagement: Global and Intercultural Comprehension

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.

CLAS 342 – The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Epic Tradition

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist · Writing Emphasis Course

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.

CLAS 346 – Family Feuds: Re-Interpreting Greek Tragedy

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Building Connections · Writing Emphasis Course

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.

CLAS 362 – Women and Gender in Antiquity

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Diversity Emphasis · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Individuals and Societies · Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity and Equity · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Building Connections · Writing Emphasis Course

In CLAS/GWS 362 we will build a community of inquiry into women and gender in ancient Mediterranean literature, archaeology, and history from the Bronze Age to the Roman Empire. Ancient Mediterranean cultures provide a model for understanding how gender roles that is, concepts of proper behavior for men and women affect the lives of individuals and at the same time incorporate a wide array of other cultural assumptions.

CLAS 404B – History of Rome: The Empire through the Reign of Constantine the Great

Cross Listed

The Empire through the reign of Constantine the Great.

CLAS 472A – Ancient Philosophy

Cross Listed

A philosophical introduction to the major works of Plato.

CLAS 477 – Greek Architecture

Cross Listed · Writing Emphasis Course

This course examines the architectural developments in the Greek world from the Neolithic and Bronze Age through to the Classical and Hellenistic periods (6000-31 BC). We look at the various types of building structures including palaces, tombs, temples, theaters, town planning, and domestic architecture, and discuss sites such as Knossos, Mycenae, Pylos, Delphi, Athens, Corinth, and Olynthos. Students will consider issues such as the manner of construction of these buildings, the contexts in which they they were commissioned, built and used, and some of the architectural problems facing the architects.

CLAS 491 – Preceptorship

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of instruction and practice in actual service in a department, program, or discipline. Requires faculty member approval, preceptor application on file with department.

CLAS 498H – Honors Thesis

Writing Emphasis Course

An honors thesis is required of all the students graduating with honors. Students ordinarily sign up for this course as a two-semester sequence. The first semester the student performs research under the supervision of a faculty member; the second semester the student writes an honors thesis.

GRK 102 – Elementary Classical Greek II

The second semester of the introduction to the basic morphology, grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of ancient Greek through reading and composition for students of the Bible and of classical authors.

GRK 202 – Intermediate Classical Greek II

Selections from classical Greek poetry.

GRK 422 – Readings in Greek Drama

Writing Emphasis Course

Close reading in Greek of either (1) tragedy-one play each by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides or (2) comedy-two plays of Aristophanes, one of Menander.

LAT 101 – Elementary Latin I

An introduction to the basic morphology, syntax and vocabulary of Latin through reading and composition.

LAT 102 – Elementary Latin II

SUN# LAT 1102 - Beginning Latin II

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

LAT 201 – Intermediate Latin I

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · SUN# LAT 2201 - Intermediate Latin I

Review of Latin grammar with readings from prose writers.

LAT 202 – Intermediate Latin II

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · SUN# LAT 2202 - Intermediate Latin II

Review of Latin grammar with readings from the poetry of Virgil's Aeneid.

LAT 421 – Latin Literature of the Imperial Age

Writing Emphasis Course

Readings in Latin of major authors and works produced from the second decade of the first century CE to the last decades of the second century CE. Course content may vary and may include both prose and poetry.

CLAS 150C1 – Pyramids and Mummies: The Pharaoh and Ancient Egyptian Society

Gen Ed: Diversity Emphasis · Gen Ed: Tier 1 Individuals & Societies/150 · Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity and Equity, US · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed: Building Connections

Pyramids and Mummies focuses on the role of the pharaoh in ancient Egyptian Society and its portrayal in modern culture. It centers on the overarching question of how political rulers consolidate, exert, and maintain political power over their constituent populations. To do this, Pyramids and Mummies takes an interdisciplinary approach to Egyptian history, examining it from Natural Science, Social Science, Arts, and Humanities perspectives, assessing how Egyptian pharaohs utilized a diverse array of tactics to rule their kingdom. This course then moves from ancient to modern, analyzing the portrayal of ancient Egyptian kingship in the modern world, with a special focus on the ways in which issues of race, ethnicity, diversity, and equity are addressed in cinematic adaptations of ancient Egyptian culture and kingship. Upon completing this course, students will be able to critically analyze issues of political rule from a variety of disciplinary lenses, and synthesize these multifaceted strategies in clear, concise, and powerful written prose, and they will be able to address issues of race, equity, and inclusion in the reception and adaptation of ancient Egyptian culture.

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

Gen Ed: Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures/160 · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

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 240 – Ancient Athletics

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Individuals and Societies · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Building Connections

This course investigates athletics, sport, and spectacle in ancient Greece and Rome. From the birth of the ancient Olympics in the early days of archaic Greece, to the blood in the arena of the Roman gladiatorial games, this course looks at the ways in which ancient athletics articulate with the societies and cultures of the Classical world.

Through this exploration of ancient Greek sport and ancient Roman spectacle, this course builds connections across the humanities, social sciences, and arts. Students analyze how ancient athletics, and the evidence for it, can be studied from various perspectives, each providing their own strengths, weaknesses, and unique insights. Students use a humanist lens to conduct close readings to look at the roll of sport within Classical literature; they employ social scientific model building to construct economic models for the Panhellenic games; and they leverage an artistic perspective to consider the messages sent by portrayals of athletes on Panathenaic vases and in Greco-Roman Sculpture.

Upon completing "Ancient Athletics", students will not only have a better understanding of sport and spectacle in ancient Greece and Rome, they will have a deeper understanding of the different perspectives used to approach ancient history and the skills to evaluate and synthesize diverse types of evidence.

CLAS 280 – Introduction to the Bible: New Testament

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

This course introduces students to the New Testament in light of the contexts in which it was written and compiled, and as a window into reconstructing the world of early Christianity. The course will also examine how various Christian communities have understood the meaning and authority of the New Testament.

CLAS 305 – Greek and Roman Religion

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Individuals and Societies · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Building Connections · Writing Emphasis Course

Religious beliefs and cult practices in ancient Greece and Rome. All readings in English.

CLAS 315 – Seven Wonders of Ancient Greece

Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Building Connections

This course takes a site-based approach to the history, culture, and archaeology of ancient Greece. Throughout this class, you will journey to seven of Greece's most famous and historically influential archaeological sites. These sites will serve as a launching point for you to gain an understanding of Greece's historical trajectory, from the rise of Bronze Age citadels at sites like Mycenae to the creation of democracy in the Athenian Agora. You will also gain an understanding of some of Greece's fundamental cultural institutions: investigating athletics at the stadium of Olympia, religion at the Temple of Apollo of Delphi, and medicine at the sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus.

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.

CLAS 150C1 – Pyramids and Mummies: The Pharaoh and Ancient Egyptian Society

Gen Ed: Diversity Emphasis · Gen Ed: Tier 1 Individuals & Societies/150 · Gen Ed Attribute: Diversity and Equity, US · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed: Building Connections

Pyramids and Mummies focuses on the role of the pharaoh in ancient Egyptian Society and its portrayal in modern culture. It centers on the overarching question of how political rulers consolidate, exert, and maintain political power over their constituent populations. To do this, Pyramids and Mummies takes an interdisciplinary approach to Egyptian history, examining it from Natural Science, Social Science, Arts, and Humanities perspectives, assessing how Egyptian pharaohs utilized a diverse array of tactics to rule their kingdom. This course then moves from ancient to modern, analyzing the portrayal of ancient Egyptian kingship in the modern world, with a special focus on the ways in which issues of race, ethnicity, diversity, and equity are addressed in cinematic adaptations of ancient Egyptian culture and kingship. Upon completing this course, students will be able to critically analyze issues of political rule from a variety of disciplinary lenses, and synthesize these multifaceted strategies in clear, concise, and powerful written prose, and they will be able to address issues of race, equity, and inclusion in the reception and adaptation of ancient Egyptian culture.

CLAS 160B1 – Meet the Ancients: Gateway to Greece and Rome

Gen Ed: Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures/160 · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Building Connections

Journey into the past to discover the worlds of the ancient Greeks and Romans. From democracy and republicanism to literature, philosophy and art, the contributions of these two cultures serve as the foundation for much of what has been described as ""western"" culture. This course explores who these peoples were, how these civilizations developed, what ideas and institutions they created, and why the Greeks and Romans matter today.

Through this exploration into the Greco-Roman world, this course builds connections between the multiple types of evidence that scholars draw upon to paint a picture of the ancient past. Close readings of texts provide a humanistic perspective on classical culture; archaeological data inform us about social scientific trends in demography and economics; environmental evidence from ice cores, botanical remains, and soil samples enable a natural science perspective on the past; and some of the world's most famous objects--from the Venus di Milo to Grecian vases--allow for artistic insights. In this course, students will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each disciplinary approach to understanding the past, and ultimately weave together multiple strands of evidence to create their signature assignment.

Upon completing "Meet the Ancients", students will not only have a better understanding of Greco-Roman history and culture, they will, above all, have a deeper understanding of the different perspectives used to approach ancient history and the skills to evaluate and synthesize diverse types of evidence.

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

Gen Ed: Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures/160 · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

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 204 – Ancient History: Greek History

Cross Listed

A political, social and cultural history of Greek civilization from the Bronze Age to the death of Alexander the Great.

CLAS 205 – Ancient History: Roman History

Cross Listed

This course offers a survey of Roman History from the prehistoric settlements in the area of the Seven Hills to the deterioration of the western Empire in the fifth century C.E. Special topics of interest include the material culture of the Roman world; the use of images in the pursuit of political agendas; classical notions of the divine; and concepts of gender, power, and identity. Popular representations of ancient Rome, specifically in film, will provide another area of consideration for comparison throughout the semester.

CLAS 260 – Ancient Philosophy

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

Survey of Greek philosophy, from the pre-Socratic philosophers through Plato and Aristotle to post-Aristotelian philosophers, such as the Stoics, Epicureans. Questions to be explored include:
What is it to be the cause of something? What is it to be responsible in a world in which everything has a cause? What is it to learn something and to know something? Why do we live in groups, and why are those groups politically organized? What is it to live one's life well? What is it that drives us to do what we do? What is the world ultimately made of? Students will gain familiarity with theories about the nature of human experience among major schools of thought in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy.

CLAS 280 – Introduction to the Bible: New Testament

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

This course introduces students to the New Testament in light of the contexts in which it was written and compiled, and as a window into reconstructing the world of early Christianity. The course will also examine how various Christian communities have understood the meaning and authority of the New Testament.

CLAS 300 – The Classical Ideal: From Greece and Rome through the 1930s

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

This is a course that explores the world of ancient Athens and Rome as it was viewed and interpreted in later periods. The learning activities inspire students to critically analyze and incorporate past and current art, historical, archaeological and cultural perspectives on ancient Greek life and culture. Then we learn about how people in America in the 1930s were inspired by ancient Greece. Students are expected to apply their knowledge by analyzing movies made in this period which focus on presenting classical culture in modern guise, especially those by the only major woman director of the era: Dorothy Arzner. Next, we look at ancient Rome. Since Americans have traditionally identified more with ancient Rome, we dedicate more time to the analysis of Rome and its influence. Finally, we look at the 1930s' vogue for the symbolism of classical culture in Fascist Italy under Mussolini and in Nazi Germany under Hitler.

CLAS 301A – The Literature of the Ancient Greeks: From Homer to the Novel

Writing Emphasis Course

Survey of the major authors and works of ancient Greece: from Homer to the Greek novel. All readings in English.

CLAS 305 – Greek and Roman Religion

Cross Listed · Gen Ed: Tier 2 Individuals and Societies · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Building Connections · Writing Emphasis Course

Religious beliefs and cult practices in ancient Greece and Rome. All readings in English.

CLAS 335 – The Roman Empire: Rulers and Ruled

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist

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 352 – Pirates, Witches, Barbarians, and True Love: The Ancient Novel

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · Gen Ed Attribute: Writing · Gen Ed Attribute: World Cultures and Societies · Gen Ed: Exploring Perspectives, Humanist · Writing Emphasis Course

The most famous texts you've never heard of, the ancient Greek and Roman novels are a rich and diverse group of texts that arose somewhat suddenly from mysterious origins, and include formulaic tales of love, sex and marriage, travel to bizarre foreign lands, magical transformations, riddles, zombies, and debauchery. These stories have sometimes been looked on as texts of inferior quality, a topic we will reconsider together, but these novels also laid the groundwork for more modern novels, as well as the works of Cervantes and Shakespeare and films like The Princess Bride and Indiana Jones. This course will use a Humanists perspective to critically read, analyze, discuss, and formulate arguments about select Ancient Greek and Roman novels. We may also include reading and consideration of similar texts from other ancient societies and/or the receptions of these novels in subsequent literature. As we read, we will consider when novels become literature, what makes books good, how we define genre and how genre impacts our reading, as well as what fiction can teach us about the history of love, sex, social class, women, the body, religion, and magic.

CLAS 403A – History of Greece: Democracy, War, and Empire in the 5th Century BCE

Cross Listed

Beginning with Herodotus' history of the Persian Wars and concluding with Thucydides' account of the Peloponnesian War, you will read and discuss various types of ancient sources in order to write your own history of the growth of democracy, the spread of empire, and the persistence of war in Classical Greece.

CLAS 404C – 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.

CLAS 414 – Narrating Memory: The Greek and Roman Historians

Writing Emphasis Course

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.

CLAS 446A – Mapping Ancient Cities

Cross Listed · Engagement: Discovery · Engagement: Innovation and Creativity

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.

CLAS 452 – Etruscan Art and Archaeology

Cross Listed · Writing Emphasis Course

This course surveys the art and archaeology of the Etruscan culture from the question of its origins in the Bronze Age to its absorption by the Romans in the first century A.D. Questions of DNA analysis and origin theory, art and architecture, history, interface with the Romans, diversity of individual cities, confederation centers and language will also be discussed.

CLAS 472A – Ancient Philosophy

Cross Listed

A philosophical introduction to the major works of Plato.

CLAS 474 – 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.

CLAS 491 – Preceptorship

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of instruction and practice in actual service in a department, program, or discipline. Requires faculty member approval, preceptor application on file with department.

CLAS 498H – Honors Thesis

Writing Emphasis Course

An honors thesis is required of all the students graduating with honors. Students ordinarily sign up for this course as a two-semester sequence. The first semester the student performs research under the supervision of a faculty member; the second semester the student writes an honors thesis.

GRK 101 – Elementary Classical Greek I

Introduction to ancient Greek for students of the Bible and of the classical authors.

GRK 201 – Intermediate Classical Greek I

Selections from Greek prose texts.

GRK 402 – Greek Reading Course

Writing Emphasis Course

Readings in major Greek authors including Homer, Plato, and the historians and dramatists.

LAT 101 – Elementary Latin I

An introduction to the basic morphology, syntax and vocabulary of Latin through reading and composition.

LAT 102 – Elementary Latin II

SUN# LAT 1102 - Beginning Latin II

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

LAT 201 – Intermediate Latin I

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · SUN# LAT 2201 - Intermediate Latin I

Review of Latin grammar with readings from prose writers.

LAT 202 – Intermediate Latin II

Gen Ed: Tier 2 Humanities · SUN# LAT 2202 - Intermediate Latin II

Review of Latin grammar with readings from the poetry of Virgil's Aeneid.

LAT 400 – Prose of the Roman Republic

Extended readings from Sallust, Cicero and Caesar with some grammatical review; development of skills in rapid readings and sight reading.

LAT 401 – Latin Reading Course

Writing Emphasis Course

Readings in one of the following: epic, lyric, drama, history, oratory, satire, epistles, novel, philosophical, technical or medieval literature.