Classical Studies Summary Paragraph
Courses in this division do not require a knowledge
of Greek or Latin. They are intended for students who wish
to acquire knowledge of ancient literature, life, and thought, and of the debt modern civilization owes the Greeks and Romans.
102. Classical Civilization
II: The Ancient Roman World (in English). (4). (HU).
This course serves as a general introduction to the history, literature, life, institutions, and contributions of ancient Rome
- that is, to Roman civilization. In order to achieve some focus, we will consider in detail four periods of change or crisis: the
founding of the Republic (509 B.C.); the Catilinarian conspiracy
(63 B.C.); the Augustan "peace"; and the established
principate of Nero. We will thus be able to follow the development
and failure of institutions of government and society, and to
trace the changing attitudes and values of the major writers of
each period as they tried to give shape and meaning to their world
and times and searched for order and consolation in times of civil
war and the collapse of the social structure. We will read historians
(Livy, Sallust, Tacitus), poets (Catullus, Vergil, Horace), and other writers (Cicero, Petronius). Lectures will follow certain
common ideas and themes, with occasional presentations of special
topics (e.g., Roman law; slavery; the ancient book; gladiators).
Attention will be given to daily life through slide lectures.
There will be two short papers (50% of the final grade), and a
midterm (15%) and final (35%) exam. Cost:2
WL:4 (D.O. Ross)
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120. First-year Seminar
in Classical Civilization (Humanities). (3). (HU).
Section 001 – Death on Display in the Ancient World. Extravagant
public ceremonies, such as Princess Diana's recent funeral, are
designed to celebrate the life and commemorate the memory of a
famous individual. Yet all deaths, high and low, are met with
ritual and remembrance. The desire to commemorate the dead was
equally strong in ancient Greek and Roman times, and much evidence
- both archaeological and textual – testifies to the diverse practices
followed. Burial practices, treatments of the body, grave types, tomb markers: all varied a great deal depending on such factors
as the status, wealth, gender, or age of the person involved.
Through its study of 'death on display', this course will examine the social organization of life, and attitudes to death, in ancient
Mediterranean cultures. Students will also personally analyze
actual ancient grave goods and grave markers now held in the Kelsey
Museum of Archaeology, and will be involved in some kind of public
exhibit – 'Death on Display'. Cost:2
WL:1 (Alcock)
Section 002 – Warriors, Women, and the Gods: Epic and Ancient Society. In this seminar we
will examine the nature and function of epic poetry in Classical
Greece and Rome. Approaches will include the origins and characteristics
of heroes; the cultural, social, and mythic dimensions of epic
narration; and the emerging of the anti-hero. Our texts will include the epics of Homer and Vergil, Apollonius of Rhodes, Petronius' Satyricon and Apuleius' The Golden Ass. Discussions, reports, short papers. Cost:2
WL:1 (Witke)
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375. War in Greek and Roman
Civilization. (4). (HU).
This course traces the evolution of different ideologies
connected with war in the Greco-Roman world. It begins with the
link between war and the state in Herodotus' Histories,
moves on to Thucydides' analysis of the effect of war on civil
society in his History of the Peloponnesian War, and then considers the phenomenon of mercenary soldiers in Xenophon's Anabasis. In the second half of the course, we look first
at the role of war in Roman imperial ideology, as depicted in
Caesar's Gallic War, and then consider civil war and rebellion in the Roman Empire, by comparing and contrasting Tacitus' Histories with Josephus' Jewish War. Throughout the course, we shall pay attention to the tension between theories
and the actual practice of war. Three short computer assignments, one take-home writing assignment, a midterm, and a final examination.
Cost:2 WL:1 (Loomis)
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456. Egypt After the Pharaohs:
Public and Private Life in an Ancient Multicultural Society. (3).
(Excl).
This course aims to study a major ancient culture that is
not consistently represented in the traditional core curriculum
for the study of ancient Mediterranean societies. The focus is
reversed towards one of the major ancient cultures that has fascinated
both the ancient super-powers of Greece and Rome and the moderns
alike with its peculiar gods and mysterious religious practices.
Our study will move beyond anachronistic stereotypes to deal with
Egypt as an ancient multicultural society where Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, and other cultural groups co-existed for
more than a millennium. In a time of rapid change the study of
civilizations with roots radically different from our own can
provide an interesting form of reorientation. And a multicultural
society, such as Egypt, that managed to survive for centuries
on principles we no longer share presents something of a challenge.
Egypt offers great advantages in the exploration of what we want
to think of as "contemporary" issues, such as ethnicity, class, gender, and social mobility. The arid climate of the desert
has preserved several thousands of documents on papyrus in Greek, Egyptian, and other alphabets which span over a millennium after the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great. The survival of
such a corpus of "raw" data provides a unique gateway
for an intimate look into the spheres of public and private life
in Egypt, the complexity of the Egyptian culture, and its interface
with the Greeks and the Romans, as well as modes of reaction to
foreign rule. Egypt was the oldest and most prestigious culture
known to the Greeks, and it impressed many of the ancient Greek
writers. This course has an exemplary rather than a comprehensive
aim: after an historical and geographic orientation, the study
will proceed with case studies in a diachronic form on concrete themes such as life in the towns and the countryside, ethnicity, gender, religion, army and administration, social mobility. The
planned readings will include recent secondary work as well as
primary texts in translation. Much of the documentary material
is hard to use or remains unpublished, but it will be provided
in photocopy as unpublished translations. At the end of the course, we will attempt a study of how ancient Egypt has influenced certain
forms of modern popular culture, such as literature, opera, and the visual arts. Requirements will include two critical papers
of ten pages each and a final examination. Students meeting the
Jr/Sr ECB Writing Requirement can exchange the final examination
with a third critical paper. (Gagos)
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462. Greek Mythology. (4).
(HU).
Greek Mythology is designed to acquaint the student with the major myths and epic cycles of ancient Greece from the creation
myths and their Near Eastern prototypes through the Trojan War
and the wanderings of Odysseus. The development of various myths
will be illustrated through Greek literature and art. At the focus
of the course is the location of myth in Greek culture (religion, politics, art) as well as the reception of Greek myth in later
traditions. We will consider a variety of theoretical approaches
to myth from antiquity to recent structuralist and anthropological
models. Required texts will include M. Morford and R. Lenardon Classical Mythology and selections from Homer, Hesiod, and Greek tragedy. An additional course pack will provide readings
for discussion sections which will meet once a week to consider
a variety of theoretical approaches to mythology, and other critical
questions. Course requirements include two hour tests and a final
exam. Cost:2
WL:1 (Dobrov)
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465. The Individual in Greek
Society. (3). (Excl).
This course will examine relations between the individual
and his or her community in ancient Greece from approximately the eighth through fourth centuries B.C. Topics to be addressed
include: What were the individual's obligations to the community
and what did he or she receive back from the community? How did these obligations and benefits change over time? How did socioeconomic
status and gender affect an individual's role in society? Was there a concept of individual freedom? How does the Greek concept
of freedom compare to our own concept of freedom? We will read
excerpts from ancient authors in translation (Homer, Sophocles, Thucydides, Aristotle) as well as modern scholarship. Although
some knowledge of ancient Greek civilization would be an asset, no previous knowledge is required. Students will be required to
give one class presentation and write two papers of approximately
10 pages. (Forsdyke)
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472. Roman Law. Not
open to freshmen. (3). (HU).
This course acquaints students with the fundamental concepts
of Roman private law, with their origin in the society and government
of the High Roman Empire, and with their all-important influence
in the development of Western European legal theory and institutions.
The course aims primarily to meet the interests of undergraduates
with a bent toward law as a profession, but it is open to all
students (except freshmen). We will use a direct application of the American case-law method to the teaching of Roman law. Our
basic text will be a series of actual problems from the Roman
jurists, which we will discuss in class; only as the occasion
demands will the instructor "fill in the gaps" with
short lectures on other relevant legal material. Thus students
should develop a feel for legal analysis and for the contribution
made through such analysis by the Roman jurists; at the same time, students will learn Roman law in a form that will be directly
relevant to future legal studies. Besides the handouts, one general
introduction to Roman law (ca. 250 pages) will be required reading.
There will be one hour test on material covered in class, in addition
to the final examination; one paper (10 pages) will allow the
student to analyze in detail a particular legal problem. Cost:2
WL:1 (Frier)
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480. Studying Antiquity.
Class. Civ. 101 or 102, and permission of instructor.
(3). (Excl). May be repeated for a total of six credits.
Section 001 – Greek Theater and Society. In Studying Antiquity
(Greek Theater and Society) we will study the historical and sociopolitical
contexts of drama in ancient Athens. Tragedy and comedy were highly
visible and influential media that were played to the assembled
city in magnificent national festivals. Heroic myth and comic
fantasy alike were traditional vehicles for the study of contemporary
political, social, intellectual, and ethical issues. As we read
works such as the Oresteia of Aeschylus and the "women's
plays" of Aristophanes we will work to recreate the physical
performance in the theater of the mind (with some help from video, and perhaps live performance). We will ask difficult questions
about what we see there – questions about power, violence, justice, and the construction of gender. Greek Theater and Society
will be taught as a seminar in which priority will be given to
discussion. Students will write two substantial papers and give
two oral presentations. Cost 2 (Dobrov)
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