The Department of Classical Studies believes that the literature, monuments, and social institutions of the ancient world, together with the reflections of the Greek and Roman thinkers about their own cultures, are of unique value in themselves, well worth our contemplation and understanding; and that as we attempt to learn about and appreciate classical civilization, we necessarily learn as well a variety of contemporary methodologies and disciplines.
The department offers three groups of courses for distribution, those in Classical Civilization (introductory courses that require no knowledge of Greek or Latin), courses in Classical Archaeology, and upper-level language courses in Greek and Latin authors or genres. While only a few courses are repeated in yearly or biennial rotation, most courses are offered less regularly. This system guarantees that the instructor approaches the subject each time with fresh impetus. We believe in a healthy change and variation in our course offerings.
Classical Civilization offerings include the general surveys of Greek and Roman civilizations (CC 101 and 102), which provide (through readings, lectures, and discussions) a broad understanding of the literatures, thought, and social development of ancient Greece and Rome, and thus provide the student with knowledge of and appreciation for our cultural origins, as well as an acquaintance with modern methods for understanding an ancient culture. These courses are taught each year. CC 101 is offered in the Fall and CC 102 is offered in the Winter. Other courses provide understanding of particular aspects of the ancient world, approached from a variety of disciplines and studies – literary, philosophical, historical, sociological, and so on. Some students (particularly those who have already developed special interests in such disciplines) may wish to explore one of these topics without having had a broader introduction.
Classical Archaeology offerings include the broad surveys of the archaeology and monuments of Greece (Cl.Arch 221 – offered in the Fall) and Rome (Cl.Arch 222 – offered in the Winter) and a general introduction to archaeological field methods (Cl.Arch 323). Other courses use the material remains of specific cultures both to introduce students to the diversity of the ancient world and to demonstrate how, through a variety of multi-disciplinary approaches, the archaeological record can be used to reconstruct the life-ways of past societies.
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221/Hist. of Art 221.
Introduction to Greek Archaeology. (4). (HU).
This course surveys the history and art of Crete and Greece as
revealed by archaeology from the third millennium through the
4th century B.C. In the prehistoric period, particular attention
is given to architectural and ceramic developments as well as
to the crosscurrent of trade and economic contacts among Asia
Minor, Crete, and mainland Greece. Emphasis is also given to the
impact archaeology has had on views and theories of history: the
destructions of the civilizations of Crete and Troy, the end of the Bronze Age, the volcanic eruption of Thera. In the historic
period, major artistic developments in architecture, sculpture, and painting are considered and special attention is given to
social interpretations: temples as banks and monasteries; sculpture
as dedication, decoration, and commemorative propaganda; architectural
sculpture as realized myth. Discussions in the sections will concentrate
on the historical background, archaeological field techniques, methods of dating and stratigraphy. The sections will meet in the Kelsey Museum where it will be possible to work with the actual
ancient artifacts recovered in University of Michigan excavations.
There are two one-hour examinations and a final, as well as illustrated
lectures and assigned readings. Cost:2/3
WL:1 (Pedley)
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Times, Location, and Availability
396. Undergraduate Seminar.
Permission of instructor. (3). (Excl). May be repeated
for credit with permission.
Sacred Space and Sacred Action: The Art and Archaeology of Greek
Sanctuaries. The chronological range of this seminar will
be from the Geometric period (ca. 900-700 BC) to the High Classical
(ca. 450-400). The categories of sanctuary as suggested by geographical
location (interregional, urban, extramural, etc.) will be defined
and a differentiated history and morphology of each will be traced.
Other topics will include the character and purpose of votive
offerings – ranging from the bronze and marble dedications of the
elite (and foreigners) to the wooden utensils and terracotta figurines
of the less wealthy – and sanctuaries as sites of sacrifice and feasting: which animals were sacrificed to which deities? what
bloodless offerings (wine, grains, etc.) were made? what rituals
accompanied the sacrifices and feasts? what social significances
might acts of communal dining be seen to have had? Particular
attention will be paid to the sanctuary of Aphrodite at Paestum
excavated by the Universities of Michigan and Perugia in the 1980s
and to other sanctuaries within the territory of Paestum, to the
sanctuaries of Demeter at Corinth in Greece and at Cyrene in Libya, and to the ongoing work of the German Archaeological Institute
in the Heraion on Samos. Participants will be expected to make
a presentation to the seminar, and to write up the presentation
as a lengthy paper. Cost:1 WL:1 (Pedley)
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Times, Location, and Availability
431/Hist. of Art 431.
Principal Greek Archaeological Sites. A course in
archaeology. (3). (Excl).
This course will focus its study on selected sites in the
ancient Greek world, with special attention placed on their growth
and development as illustrated by the archaeological remains.
Paper, midterm, final exam.
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Times, Location, and Availability
451/Class. Civ. 451.
Death in the Ancient World. (3). (HU).
What do you do with a dead body? How does a family mourn its loss?
How does a community commemorate its dead? These are universal
questions, yet the attitudes brought to death and burial vary
tremendously from culture to culture. This course will examine
death rituals in Greek and Roman society, using a combination
of sources ranging from poetry to dental remains, from funerary
orations to grave monuments. Such evidence can reveal much about the dead and their world: who believed in a "hereafter,"
how the age, status, and gender of the deceased affected their
funeral, what actually killed people in the ancient world. To
introduce the course, students will be encouraged to analyze death
rituals in their own contemporary society. The course will be
lecture-oriented, with time allowed for discussion and demonstration.
There are no prerequisites for this course; requirements consist
of two projects/papers and a final exam. Cost:2
WL:1
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Times, Location, and Availability
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