Courses in Classical Civilization (Division 344)

Class. Civ. 101. Classical Civilization I: The Ancient Greek World (in English).

No credit granted to those who have completed or are enrolled in Great Books 191 or 201. I. (4). (HU).

An introduction to the civilization of ancient Greece from the beginnings through the Hellenistic age.

Class. Civ. 102. Classical Civilization II: The Ancient Roman World (in English).

II. (4). (HU).

An introduction to the civilization of ancient Rome from the beginnings through early Christianity.

Class. Civ. 120. First-year Seminar in Classical Civilization (Humanities).

Only first-year students, including those with sophomore standing, may pre-register for First-Year Seminars. All others need permission of instructor. (3). (HU).

This course addresses a wide range of topics from the ancient Greek and Roman cultures. These are studied for their ideas, literary values, and as illustrations of socio-historical and other historical and intellectual developments important for the understanding of the ancient and modern world, their achievements and problems.

Class. Civ. 121. First-year Seminar in Classical Civilization (Composition).

Only first-year students, including those with sophomore standing, may pre-register for First-Year Seminars. All others need permission of instructor. (4). (Introductory Composition).

This course addresses a wide range of topics from the ancient Greek and Roman cultures. These are studied for their ideas, literary values, and as illustrations of socio-historical and other historical and intellectual developments important for the understanding of the ancient and modern world, their achievements and problems.

Class. Civ. 210. Classical Medical Contexts: Language, Ethics, and Theory.

(3). (Excl).

The course presents current medical terminology from its origins in roots drawn from the Greek and Latin languages with the intention of making students more active participants in their acquisition of a medical vocabulary. Greek and Latin medical texts are used to set the words in their ancient context.

Class. Civ. 215. Ovid.

(1). (HU).

We read and discuss Ovidís Metamorphoses and Amores in modern translations, with selections from Ovidís other works. We look at Goldingís Metamorphoses (the translation Shakespeare used) and Marloweís Amores, as well as the recent volume of translations and imitations.

Class. Civ. 341. Classics and Cinema.

(4). (Excl).

An exploration of the representation of the ancient Greek and Roman world and it literature in film, as well as the impact of ancient literary theory on modern cinema narrative.

Class. Civ. 357/WS 357. Greek Medical Writers in English Translation.

(3). (Excl).

Extensive reading in the Greek medical writers from the HIPPOCRATIC CORPUS (5th c. B.C.) to Soranus and Galen at Rome (2nd c. C.E.). Treatises from the CORPUS show how intelligent men deduced a physiology for human beings from external observation of the body; Soranus and Galen reveal the benefits to medicine from dissection of human corpses in Alexandria (3rd c. B.C.E.). The gynecological writings of all these authors, in particular, show not only medical processes of reasoning, but also biases of their respective societies.

Class. Civ. 365/Class. Arch. 365. Alexander the Great: The Making of a Legend.

(3). (HU).

Alexander's world-conquering exploits and early death in 323 BC made him a legend not only in his own time, but for posterity. The course employs historical, archaeological, artistic, and other evidence to explore the 'reality' and 'image' of Alexander, and his influence after the end of the ancient world.

Class. Civ. 371. Sport in the Ancient Greek World.

(3). (HU).

A study based on translated ancient sources, artistic and archaeological materials, and modern literature of athletics and recreation in Ancient Greece and Rome and of their significance in the cultural life of the Greco-Roman World.

Class. Civ. 372. Sports and Daily Life in Ancient Rome.

(4; 3 in the half-term). (HU).

Covers all aspects of daily life, recreation and sports in Rome and Italy including bathing, gladiators, charioteers, and the City of Rome.

Class. Civ. 375. War in Greek and Roman Civilization.

(4). (HU).

An examination of the connection between the evolution of war and classical civilizations from the emergence of the Greek state to the late Roman Empire (c. 600 BC - 400 AD).

Class. Civ. 388/Phil. 388. History of Philosophy: Ancient.

One Philosophy Introduction. (4; 2 in the half-term). (HU).

Western philosophy from its historical beginning to the end of antiquity: pre-Socratics, Plato, and Aristotle.

Class. Civ. 451/Class. Arch. 451. Death in the Ancient World.

(3). (HU).

An investigation into attitudes toward death, and treatment of the dead, in ancient Greek and Roman society. A variety of evidence – literary, artistic, archaeological, epigraphic, and ethnographic – is utilized by students, who also are exposed to alternative notions of death and burial in other cultures.

Class. Civ. 452. Food in the Ancient World: Subsistence and Symbol.

(3). (HU).

This course examines patterns of food production and consumption in the ancient Mediterranean world in order to observe the organization and symbolic construction of communities through time. Manners of eating and drinking – or starving – in Greek, Hellenistic and Roman society is the focus for attention.

Class. Civ. 456. Egypt after the Pharaohs: Public and Private Life in an Ancient Multicultural Society.

(3). (Excl).

This course studies a major ancient culture under Greek and Roman rule. We begin with a historical and geographic overview; proceed with diachronic case studies on themes such as daily life, ethnicity, gender, religion, army, administration, and social mobility; and conclude with its influence on modern popular culture.

Class. Civ. 460/WS 460. Theorizing Women in Antiquity.

Junior standing. (3). (HU).

This course brings together a millennium of speculation on women by authors who span the critical intellectual and religious movements of the ancient world: Platonists, Stoics, Epicureans, Christians, and Gnostics. It also juxtaposes ancient texts with modern feminist criticism.

Class. Civ. 462. Greek Mythology.

(4). (HU).

The myths are studied systematically both as the background of Greek religious and literary forms and with reference to their influence on modern literature. Illustrated lectures and assigned readings.

Class. Civ. 465. The Individual in Greek Society.

(3). (Excl).

The individual as seen in Greek literature, plastic art, law and society. Readings from epic, lyric poetry, drama, history, philosophy, inscriptions; the evidence of mythology. Special attention to the question of women and slaves; popular as opposed to systematic value systems. Lectures and class discussion. Final examination; 10-page paper.

Class. Civ. 466/Rel. 468. Greek Religion.

(3). (HU).

Lectures, readings, and slides illustrate a survey of ancient Greek religious belief and observances and the ways in which Greek religious attitudes, customs, and practices influenced political institutions, moral standards, and contemporary and later religious systems (e.g., Roman and Christian).

Class. Civ. 467. The Good Life.

(3). (HU).

This course interweaves so-called "literary" and "historical" texts with the systematic philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics, around a core of questions arising from three main topics: 1) what constitutes the good life; 2) how the good life is achieved; and 3) what are the problems confronting the good life.

Class. Civ. 468. Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians.

(3). (Excl).

Hellenistic and Roman Egypt are studied through English translations of documents related to government, economics, society, and religion in the six centuries following Alexander the Great.

Class. Civ. 472. Roman Law.

Not open to first-year students. (3; 2 in the half-term). (HU).

Acquaints students with the fundamental concepts of Roman private law, their legal origin in the society and government of the High Roman Empire, and their all-important influence on the development of Western European legal theory and tradition.

Class. Civ. 473. Roman Decadence.

(3; 2 in the half-term). (HU).

The phenomena of literary decadence are isolated and examined in representative works including Vergil, Horace, Ovid, Lucan, Petronius, Juvenal, and Augustine. Reference is made to parallel periods of decadence in other literatures.

Class. Civ. 476/Hist. 405/Rel. 476. Pagans and Christians in the Roman World.

(4; 3 in the half-term). (HU).

This course traces the formation of Christian ideas and modes of conduct in the Roman empire, examines religion both as a form of cultural and political expression and as a method of establishing a variety of contacts with a supernatural world. We begin with an analysis of what was meant by culture and politics, while also looking at different ways of constructing a supernatural world.

Class. Civ. 480. Studying Antiquity.

Class. Civ. 101 or 102, and permission of instructor. (3). (Excl). May be repeated for a total of six credits.

This is a team-taught seminar designed to give concentrators in Class. Civ. an opportunity to work on major problems in the study of the ancient world in a small group with several different specialists. The emphasis is on the methods that different specialists use to study these problems, in particular on the interpretation of the various types of information based on detailed analysis and overall synthesis.

Class. Civ. 481. The Classical Tradition.

Class. Civ. 101 or 102. (3). (Excl).

Examines the role of the classical heritage in Western Europe and in early modern America. Emphasis is placed both on the literary and the political and legal aspects of this heritage. In studying original texts relevant to these themes, students are asked to consider different meaning of the concept ìtradition,î and the cultural and political importance of collective memory.