Department of Classics

CSTS H119  CULTURE AND CRISIS IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF ATHENS  (1.0 Credit)

Ava Shirazi

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

In this course, through the poetry, sculpture, history, architecture, painting, philosophy, and oratory produced by the inhabitants of fifth-century Athens, we will examine the daily workings of Athenian democracy, economy, love, art, science, education, and religion. As we conduct our inquiry into Athens' "Golden Age," we willl seek to discover ourselves in these ancient voices, and to illuminate the contrasts inherent between Athens and modernity. Restless, wary, elegant, vulgar, pious, and brutal, the Athenians left a legacy that continues to define and influence human achievement (and travails) to this day. In the last third of the class, students will embark on a multi-week simulation to rebuild Athens in the aftermath of the Peloponnesian Wars. Crosslisted: Classical Studies, PJHR

(Offered: Spring 2025)

CSTS H121  ROMAN REVOLUTIONS  (1.0 Credit)

Bret Mulligan

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

An introduction to what it meant to be a Roman by exploration what made the Romans revolutionary (in politics, military, philosophy, literature, art, and more) in their time and of lasting influence thereafter. The course culminates in a three-week role playing game, in which you will embody a particular Roman persona during a particular socio-political flashpoint in 63 BCE. All readings will be in English

CSTS H209  CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY  (1.0 Credit)

Matthew Farmer

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

An introduction to the primary characters and stories of Greek and Roman mythology including cosmic creation, Olympian and other deities, and heroes both as they appear in Greek and Roman literature and art and as they are later represented in modern art, music, and film. Crosslisted: Classical Studies, Comparative Literature, Religion

(Offered: Fall 2024)

CSTS H211  WHAT DOES ANCIENT ROME TASTE LIKE?  (1.0 Credit)

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

We will seek to understand why Roman eating was, and still is, important for our understanding an ancient culture and humanity's relationship with its food. Emphasis will be placed on the interpretation of Roman literature in English translation as well as the use of primary and secondary sources to craft an academic argument. Grading will be based on class participation, reaction journals, two short papers, and a final paper or creative project. Lottery Preference: Classics Majors & Minors

CSTS H231  QUEER ROAD-TRIP FILMS, ANCIENT AND MODERN  (1.0 Credit)

Staff

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

The queer road-trip film has been gaining popularity as an outlet for exploring non-normative sexuality further marginalized on the road. We will examine the phenomenon of the queer road-trip narrative, approaching it from an unlikely starting point: the Ancient Mediterranean novels Satyrica and Leucippe and Clitophon. Both of these ancient novels dramatize road trips and travel narratives involving different combinations of queer characters; we'll pair them with a curated selection of contemporary queer road-trip films. Crosslisted: GSST,VIST.

CSTS H257  ANTIGONE’S ECHOES: ACTIVISM AND THE LAW FROM ANCIENT GREECE TO TODAY  (1.0 Credit)

Ryan Warwick

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Where should the law come from, the individual or the state? How can you protest an unjust system, and how can an ancient story help you do it? Who owns a “Classic”? These are just a few questions that Sophocles’ Antigone has raised for philosophers and playwrights from the Enlightenment to today. We'll read several versions of the Antigone myth and explore this character’s enduring relevance to theories of gender, performance, world literature, and politics. Crosslisted: COML,PEAC.

CSTS H270  THE ART OF SPORTS: ANCIENT AND MODERN  (1.0 Credit)

Ava Shirazi

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

This course explores the visual and poetic life of sports, ancient and modern. It brings together cultural criticism, visual analysis, and historical study to theorize the beauty of athletics. Concepts of the body, gender, race and performance, and tropes such as "for the love of the game," "feel for the game" and "poetry in motion" will organize our work on the sensory and aesthetic dimensions of sports. No prior expertise in classics, art or sports necessary. Crosslisted: COML,VIST.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

CSTS H380  GUIDED RESEARCH IN CLASSICAL STUDIES  (1.0 Credit)

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course is taken concurrently with a 200-level CSTS course to give majors an opportunity to engage in mentored research and practice with scholarly writing. In addition to the work for the 200-level course, students will research and write a substantial final project.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

CSTS H398  SENIOR SEMINAR  (1.0 Credit)

Ava Shirazi

Division: Humanities

A bi-college seminar focused on refining the ability to read, discuss, and analyze classical culture and the scholarship of various sub-fields of Classical Studies (e.g. literature, religion, philosophy, law, social history), leading towards the completion of a prospectus for the senior thesis.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

CSTS H399  SENIOR SEMINAR  (1.0 Credit)

Matthew Farmer

Division: Humanities

Independent work on the senior thesis and meetings with the thesis advisor.

CSTS H460  TEACHING ASSISTANT  (0.5 Credit)

Bret Mulligan

Division: Humanities

(Offered: Spring 2025)

CSTS H480  INDEPENDENT STUDY  (0.5 Credit)

Bret Mulligan

Division: Humanities

CSTS B108  ROMAN AFRICA  (1.0 Credit)

Catherine Conybeare

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

In 146 BCE, Rome conquered and destroyed the North African city of Carthage, which had been its arch-enemy for generations, and occupied many of the Carthaginian settlements in North Africa. But by the second and third centuries CE, North Africa was one of the most prosperous and cultured areas of the Roman Empire, and Carthage (near modern Tunis) was one of the busiest ports in the Mediterranean. This course will trace the relations between Rome and Carthage, looking at the history of their mutual enmity, the extraordinary rise to prosperity of Roman North Africa, and the continued importance of the region even after the Vandal invasions of the fifth century.

CSTS B156  ROMAN LAW IN ACTION  (1.0 Credit)

Division: Humanities

This course provides an introduction to the study of Roman law and legal history by focusing on the law of the family. The family is a basic building block for society, and the aim of this course is to learn more about Roman society by examining how it developed legal rules for family organization. We will also explore the historical context behind the development of Roman legal institutions, in order to gain an appreciation for Roman law's influence on the modern civil law and common law systems.

CSTS B175  FEMINISM IN CLASSICS  (1.0 Credit)

Miriam Kamil

This course will illustrate the ways in which feminism has had an impact on classics, as well as the ways in which feminists think with classical texts. It will have four thematic divisions: feminism and the classical canon; feminism, women, and rethinking classical history; feminist readings of classical texts; and feminists and the classics - e.g. Cixous' Medusa and Butler's Antigone.

(Offered: Spring 2025)

CSTS B205  GREEK HISTORY  (1.0 Credit)

Radcliffe Edmonds

Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World

This course traces the rise of the city-state (polis) in the Greek-speaking world beginning in the seventh-century BC down to its full blossoming in classical Athens and Sparta. Students should gain an understanding of the formation and development of Greek identity, from the Panhellenic trends in archaic epic and religion through its crystallization during the heroic defense against two Persian invasions and its subsequent disintegration during the Peloponnesian war. The class will also explore the ways in which the evolution of political, philosophical, religious, and artistic institutions reflect the changing socio-political circumstances of Greece. The latter part of the course will focus on Athens in particular: its rise to imperial power under Pericles, its tragic decline from the Peloponnesian War and its important role as a center for the teaching of rhetoric and philosophy. Since the study of history involves the analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of the sources available for the culture studied, students will concentrate upon the primary sources available for Greek history, exploring the strengths and weakness of these sources and the ways in which their evidence can be used to create an understanding of ancient Greece. Students should learn how to analyze and evaluate the evidence from primary texts and to synthesize the information from multiple sources in a critical way.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

CSTS B206  COSMOS: MYTH, MEDICINE, & LAW IN ANCIENT GREECE  (1.0 Credit)

Radcliffe Edmonds

Division: Humanities

The ancient Greek word ‘cosmos’ means ‘order’ or ‘system’; it also means ‘beauty’ or ‘adornment’. The Greeks thought of the world around them as an orderly system, adorned with beauty, but their imaginings of that order took many different forms, from the most fantastic of myths to elaborate mathematical and physiological models. This course explores the systems of order that the Greeks imagined for the universe – the macrocosm, for the human body – the microcosm, and for society – the the system of laws that brings order to humans in the world. Throughout the course, we examine the ways ideas of generation, justice, and gender inflect the cosmic systems, beginning with early Greek epic and moving through the philosophical texts (especially Plato’s Timaeus), Hippocratic medical treatises, and lawcourt speeches. We will explore the discourses of myth, science, and law in the ancient Greek context and their relation to contemporary discourses. Students will gain familiarity with the conceptual schemas of ancient Greek thought that have been fundamental for cosmology, medicine, and law in the Western tradition and will learn to analyze the ways in which these models have shaped ideas of generation, justice, and gender throughout the ages. Students will also improve their skills of critical reading and analytic writing through their work with the readings and writing assignments in the course, and they will hone their skills of reasoned discussion in the class.

CSTS B207  EARLY ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC  (1.0 Credit)

Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World

This course surveys the history of Rome from its origins to the end of the Republic, with special emphasis on the rise of Rome in Italy and the evolution of the Roman state. The course also examines the Hellenistic world in which the rise of Rome takes place. The methods of historical investigation using the ancient sources, both literary and archaeological, are emphasized.

CSTS B216  MADNESS IN THE ANCIENT GRECO-ROMAN WORLD  (1.0 Credit)

Miriam Kamil

Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World

How did ancient Greeks and Romans conceive of madness? Was it a deviant behavior, a contagious disease, or a divine punishment? What is the relationship between madness and music, madness and love, or madness and social control? How have understandings of madness changed from antiquity to the modern day? Our inquiries into these questions concentrate on three cultural realms: war, religion, and passion. In each section, we will read from a range of genres to unravel the complex notion of madness in Greco-Roman antiquity. At the same time, we will compare and scrutinize relevant modern phenomena, such as trauma, addiction, and deviance. All readings are in translation.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

CSTS B218  READING CHANGES: REFLECTING ON OVID'S METAMORPHOSES  (1.0 Credit)

This course will look at scenes of (mis)communication in Ovid’s Metamorphoses and consider modern (re)interpretations of the Metamorphoses—and explore why these things matter, in classics and beyond! We will look at myths such as Narcissus and Echo, Procne and Philomela, and Proserpina (aka Persephone) to think about the ways we interact with other people, whether we’re reading about them or communicating with them in person. We’ll define “reception;” use modern feminist, queer, and political lenses to read this ancient text (and think about how these lenses– which include Judith Butler, Bonnie Honig, and bell hooks– might apply to any text, ancient or modern); listen to some “Hadestown;” and think about ethics in ways that are just as relevant in our lives today as they are in this work written 2000 years ago. No prior classics experience required, and all readings will be in English translation.

CSTS B219  POETIC DESIRES, QUEER LONGINGS  (1.0 Credit)

This course places poetry that considers love and desire from Greco-Roman antiquity in conversation with modern poetry and critical theory (queer, feminist, and literary). How are the roles of lover and beloved constructed through gender? How does queer desire and sexuality manifest in different cultural contexts? How have poets sought to express desire through language, and in what ways does language fail to capture that desire? Students in this course will face the difficulties of articulating desire head-on through both traditional literary analysis papers and a creative writing project. Texts will include love poetry by Sappho and Ovid, Trista Mateer’s Aphrodite Made Me Do It, Anne Carson’s Eros the Bittersweet, and Audre Lorde’s “The Uses of the Erotic.”

CSTS B228  UTOPIA: GOOD PLACE OR NO PLACE?  (1.0 Credit)

Asya Sigelman

Division: Humanities

What is the ideal human society? What is the role and status of man and woman therein? Is such a society purely hypothetical or should we strive to make it viable in our modern world? This course will address these questions by exploring the historic development of the concept of utopia.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

CSTS B229  QUEER AND DEVIANT CLASSICS  (1.0 Credit)

Miriam Kamil

This course investigates the capacity of the ancient past to provide marginalized individuals and groups with a sense of identity and community. Using historical and literary records, we will examine modern countercultural receptions of ancient Greece and Rome, which often invited vehement opposition from academics and the broader public. This dynamic is exemplified by a clique of 1900's Parisian women calling themselves "lesbians" after the ancient poet Sappho; Vietnam veterans finding validation in Homer's portrayal of a war-weary Achilles; the use of Plato's philosophy in a landmark American gay rights case in the 1990's; the embrace of Cleopatra as an empowered African queen by Black American authors. In this endeavor we will amend the popular image of the study of classical antiquity, which is and has always been a diverse and inclusive enterprise.

CSTS B233  MYSTERIES OF THE ANCIENT GRECO-ROMAN WORLD  (1.0 Credit)

Radcliffe Edmonds

This course explores the Mysteries of the ancient Greco-Roman world, examining the evidence for the rituals and religious ideas associated with these often secretive and hidden practices. From the Mysteries for Demeter and Persephone in Eleusis, carried out by thousands of Athenians in a multi-day festival, to the Bacchic revels for Dionysos celebrated by mountain-roaming maenads or sedate civic associations, to the secret rites for the Persian god Mithras, performed by Roman soldiers in cave shrines throughout the empire, these mysterious rituals have exercised their fascination over the centuries, playing an outsized role in the depictions of polytheistic religion in the ancient Mediterranean world.

CSTS B242  MAGIC IN THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD  (1.0 Credit)

Radcliffe Edmonds

Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World

Bindings and curses, love charms and healing potions, amulets and talismans - from the simple spells designed to meet the needs of the poor and desperate to the complex theurgies of the philosophers, the people of the Greco-Roman World made use of magic to try to influence the world around them. In this course students will gain an understanding of the magicians of the ancient world and the techniques and devices they used to serve their clientele, as well as the cultural contexts in which these ideas of magic arose. We shall consider ancient tablets and spell books as well as literary descriptions of magic in the light of theories relating to the religious, political, and social contexts in which magic was used.

(Offered: Spring 2025)

CSTS B245  HORROR "CLASSICS"  (1.0 Credit)

Carman Romano

Ancient Greeks and Romans--authors, poets, and their audiences--recognized that narratives could induce fear in their consumers. This course creates an analogy between ancient and contemporary fear-inducing literature, and asks what work the horror elements do in each. To get at this question, we will visit "classic" figures of horror, including: monsters, witches, ghosts, vampires, shapeshifters, and human beings. Prepare to engage with Greek and Latin sources in translation as well as modern theories of horror.

(Offered: Spring 2025)

CSTS B247  THE BEAST WITHIN: ANIMALITY AND HUMANITY IN ANTIQUITY  (1.0 Credit)

Staff

How are humans conceptualized as different from animals, and vice versa? How have characterizations of humans as bestial been mobilized to uphold gender, class, ability, and racial hierarchies? Why were there so many depictions in antiquity of humans transforming into animals? This course will consider the above questions by interpreting ancient literary depictions of the human and the animal through the lenses of queer, gender, and critical race theory. Readings will include Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Euripides’ Hippolytus, and Vergil’s Eclogues and Georgics, as well as theoretical selections such as Mel Chen’s Animacies, Bénédicte Boisseron’s Afro-Dog, and Claire Jean Kim’s Dangerous Crossings.

CSTS B307  GUIDED RESEARCH IN CLASSICAL STUDIES  (1.0 Credit)

Radcliffe Edmonds

This course provides the student with the opportunity to engage in seminar-level work on the topic of another CSTS course being offered in the term. With the guidance of the professor, the student will participate in the course activities of that course but will also develop a research project that enables the student to pursue aspects of the topic at a deeper level. This course should provide the student with experience in developing research and writing skills appropriate to the discipline. Prerequisite: Declared major in CLAN or CCAS and permission of instructor.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

CSTS B365  BYZANTIUM AND THE CLASSICS: THE BYZANTINE LITERARY TRADITION  (1.0 Credit)

This seminar approaches Byzantine literature both as a continuation of the Classical tradition and as a rich corpus that should be studied for its own sake. Each week we will survey one genre of Byzantine literature and focus on two or three texts that will be tailored to the participants' research interests as much as possible. Greek literature will provide the core of our readings, but we will occasionally turn our attention to texts composed in other languages, especially Latin and Syriac. The Byzantine Empire was a multilingual society. For 600-level students, three workshops will be offered on the following three topics: the grammar of Byzantine Greek, paleography, and textual criticism.

CSTS B375  INTERPRETING MYTHOLOGY  (1.0 Credit)

Radcliffe Edmonds

Division: Humanities

The myths of the Greeks have provoked outrage and fascination, interpretation and retelling, censorship and elaboration, beginning with the Greeks themselves. We will see how some of these stories have been read and understood, recounted and revised, in various cultures and eras, from ancient tellings to modern movies. We will also explore some of the interpretive theories by which these tales have been understood, from ancient allegory to modern structural and semiotic theories. The student should gain a more profound understanding of the meaning of these myths to the Greeks themselves, of the cultural context in which they were formulated. At the same time, this course should provide the student with some familiarity with the range of interpretations and strategies of understanding that people of various cultures and times have applied to the Greek myths during the more than two millennia in which they have been preserved. Preference to upperclassmen, previous coursework in myth required.

CSTS B398  SENIOR SEMINAR  (1.0 Credit)

Catherine Conybeare

Division: Humanities

This is a bi-college seminar devoted to readings in and discussion of selected topics in the various sub-fields of Classics (e.g. literature, religion, philosophy, law, social history) and of how to apply contemporary critical approaches to the primary sources. Students will also begin developing a topic for their senior thesis, composing a prospectus and giving a preliminary presentation of their findings.

CSTS B399  SENIOR SEMINAR  (1.0 Credit)

Catherine Conybeare

Division: Humanities

This is the continuation of CSTS B398. Working with individual advisors from the bi-college classics departments, students will continue to develop the topic sketched out in the fall semester. By the end of the course, they will have completed at least one draft and a full, polished version of the senior thesis, of which they will give a final oral presentation.

GREK H001  ELEMENTARY GREEK  (1.0 Credit)

Matthew Farmer

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This two-semester course provides an introduction to the ancient Greek language and to the reading of ancient Greek literature; from the beginning we will be reading not only sentences designed to give students practice but actual excerpts from ancient prose and poetry. We should be able to finish the basics by about the middle of the spring semester, and will spend the rest of the year reading and discussing Plato’s Crito, in which Socrates defends his decision not to escape from prison and a death sentence, and Lysias’ first oration, a speech for the defense in a trial that sheds interesting light on Athenian domestic life.

(Offered: Spring 2025)

GREK H002  ELEMENTARY GREEK  (1.0 Credit)

Matthew Farmer

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Completion of the basics of ancient Greek, followed by readings in Lysias and Plato. This is the second semester of a year-long course.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

GREK H101  INTRODUCTION TO GREEK LITERATURE: WORLDS OF WONDER  (1.0 Credit)

Matthew Farmer

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This intermediate ancient Greek course offers students a chance to develop their skills in reading literary, historical, and philosophical prose. Students will continue to build grammar, vocabulary, and facility with different Greek dialects through the reading of extensive passages from authors including Herodotus, Plato, Plutarch, Lucian, Palaephatus, and others. Readings will be thematically organized around the concepts of wonder, marvel, world-building, travel, ethnography, and cultural identity. Prerequisite(s): GREK 002 or equivalent, or instructor consent

GREK H102  INTRODUCTION TO GREEK POETRY: HOMER  (1.0 Credit)

Ava Shirazi

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course serves both as an intermediate language class (aimed at developing reading fluency in Homeric Greek) and as an introduction to Greek poetry through the work of Homer; we will read selections from the Iliad in Greek (and the poem as a whole in English). Class time will include both translation and discussion, with attention to such topics as narrative structure, the voice of the singer/narrator, the figure of the hero, Homeric society and its values, the treatment of battle and war, and the relationship between gods and humans. We will also consider the “Homeric question,” oral composition and its implications, Homeric language, and special features of Homeric style: type scene, ring composition, formula, and simile. We will look at different translations of the Iliad, and at the ways in which the poem has been read (and rewritten) at different times; we will also practice reading aloud in the dactylic hexameter meter of the Iliad. Prerequisite(s): GREK 101 or equivalent, or instructor consent

(Offered: Spring 2025)

GREK H202  ADVANCED GREEK: TRAGEDY  (1.0 Credit)

Matthew Farmer

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

In this course we read two of the surviving works of fifth century Greek tragedy, with selected critical essays and background reading in other plays. Class time will be divided between translation and discussion, with attention not only to themes specific to each tragedy but also to such common topics as: the playwright’s treatment of the inherited myth; the way in which the drama tells its story; the role and nature of the chorus; characterization and the connections between characters; the relationship of divine and human; the role of prophecy; choice, justice and retribution; political resonances and the role of gender; performance issues; and the language of dialogue and of choral ode. Class will also include practice reading aloud in the meter of dialogue and in some of the simpler choral meters and discussion of different translations of selected passages. Prerequisite(s): Two Greek courses at the 100 level or above, or instructor consent.

GREK H350  SEMINAR IN GREEK LITERATURE: POETICS AND POIESIS: PHILOSOPHY, PERFORMANCE, AND THE CRAFTS  (1.0 Credit)

Ava Shirazi

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

An advanced seminar in Greek language and literature, with special emphasis on the interpretation and discussion of texts in Greek and the reading of relevant scholarship. Topic to be determined by faculty. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: GREK 201 or 202 or consent.

GREK H480  INDEPENDENT STUDY  (0.5 Credit)

Matthew Farmer

(Offered: Fall 2024)

GREK B010  TRADITIONAL AND NEW TESTAMENT GREEK  (1.0 Credit)

Asya Sigelman

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This is the first half of a year-long introductory course to ancient Greek. It is designed to familiarize students with the basic elements of classical Greek grammar and syntax as well as to provide them with experience in reading short sentences and passages in both Greek prose and poetry.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

GREK B011  TRADITIONAL AND NEW TESTAMENT GREEK  (1.0 Credit)

Asya Sigelman

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This is the second half of a year-long introductory course to ancient Greek. It is designed to familiarize students with the basic elements of classical Greek grammar and syntax. Once the grammar has been fully introduced, students will develop facility by reading parts of the New Testament and a dialogue of Plato. Prerequisite: GREK B010.

(Offered: Spring 2025)

GREK B101  HERODOTUS  (1.0 Credit)

Radcliffe Edmonds

Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Greek 101 introduces the student to one of the greatest prose authors of ancient Greece, the historian, Herodotus. The "Father of History," as Herodotus is sometimes called, wrote one of the earliest lengthy prose texts extant in Greek literature, in the Ionian dialect of Greek. The "Father of Lies," as he is also sometimes known, wove into his history a number of fabulous and entertaining anecdotes and tales. His 'historie' or inquiry into the events surrounding the invasions by the Persian empire against the Greek city-states set the precedent for all subsequent historical writings. This course meets three times a week with a required fourth hour to be arranged. Prerequisite: GREK B010 and B011 or equivalent.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

GREK B104  HOMER  (1.0 Credit)

Carman Romano

Division: Humanities

Greek 104 is designed to introduce the student to the epic poetry attributed to Homer, the greatest poet of ancient Greece, through selections from the Odyssey. Since Homer's poetic form is so important to the shape and texture of the Odyssey, we will examine the mechanics of Homeric poetry, both the intricacies of dactylic hexameter and the patterns of oral formulaic composition. We will also spend time discussing the characters and ideas that animate this text, since the value of Homer lies not merely in his incomparable mastery of his poetic form, but in the values and patterns of behavior in his story, patterns which remained remarkably influential in the Greek world for centuries. Prerequisite: One year of college level Greek or equivalent.

GREK B201  PLATO AND THUCYDIDES  (1.0 Credit)

Radcliffe Edmonds

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course is designed to introduce the student to two of the greatest prose authors of ancient Greece, the philosopher, Plato, and the historian, Thucydides. These two writers set the terms in the disciplines of philosophy and history for millennia, and philosophers and historians today continue to grapple with their ideas and influence. The brilliant and controversial statesman Alcibiades provides a link between the two texts in this course (Plato’s Symposium and Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War), and we examine the ways in which both authors handle the figure of Alcibiades as a point of entry into the comparison of the varying styles and modes of thought of these two great writers. Suggested Prerequisites: At least 2 years of college Greek or the equivalent.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

GREK B202  THE FORM OF TRAGEDY  (1.0 Credit)

Asya Sigelman

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This course will introduce the student to two of the three great Athenian tragedians—Sophocles and Euripides. Their dramas, composed two-and-a-half millenia ago, continue to be performed regularly on modern stages around the world and exert a profound influence on current day theatre. We will read Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannos and Euripides' Bacchae in full, focusing on language, poetics, meter, and performance studies.

(Offered: Spring 2025)

GREK B331  SONGS FOR THE GODS: ANCIENT GREEK HYMNS  (1.0 Credit)

Carman Romano

Hymns were offerings, constructive of charis, “favor,” between their singers and the divine entities to whom they were sung. This course surveys Greek hymns from the archaic period to late antiquity, and especially those transmitted from the lost manuscript archetype psi. It also explores the religious cultures that these songs helped constitute, and the ideas about the relationship between the divine and the human that they convey. Prerequisite: Advanced Ancient Greek

(Offered: Spring 2025)

LATN H001  ELEMENTARY LATIN  (1.0 Credit)

Bret Mulligan

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Introduction to the Latin language. Our main focus will be on learning to read classical Latin texts, studying the vocabulary and grammar necessary to read the great works of ancient Latin poetry and prose, as well as familiarizing ourselves with the mythology, history, and culture of the Romans. We’ll also spend some time learning to converse and write in Latin, joining a history of conversation that stretches from the early Latin speakers of southern Europe and northern Africa, to the learned humanists of the Renaissance, and down to the present day. This is the first semester of a year-long course.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

LATN H002  ELEMENTARY LATIN  (1.0 Credit)

Ryan Warwick

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Completion of the introduction to the Latin language, with readings in prose and poetry.

(Offered: Spring 2025)

LATN H102  INTERMEDIATE LATIN: ROMAN IDENTITIES  (1.0 Credit)

Carman Romano

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Our focus in this intermediate language course will be on reading and analyzing selections from two Latin texts, Catullus’ Carmina (Poems) and The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. Through this exercise, we will review various aspects of Latin grammar and develop sound reading strategies as we continue our study of Latin together. Doing so will help us appreciate the cultural, literary, and historical issues that these two texts speak to, particularly those concerning identity (cultural, gender, or religious) and Roman social mores. Prerequisite(s): LATN 002 or placement into LATN 102.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

LATN H104  INTRODUCTION TO LATIN LITERATURE: FRIENDS AND ENEMIES OF ROME  (1.0 Credit)

Bret Mulligan

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This is both an intermediate Latin course and an introduction to the study of Latin literature and culture. Readings will span a range of works in prose and poetry, including inscriptions and other material evidence for Roman culture. The focus of inquiry will be on understanding Roman identity—their hopes, fears, achievements, and follies—by studying how they described friendship and their friends, and those enemies who resisted the Roman order, from the founding of the city, through its near destruction by Hannibal, and its cannibalization during the Civil Wars. The course will conclude with a brief historical simulation in which you will debate the fate of Rome as a Roman senator. Prerequisite(s): LATN 102 or equivalent, or instructor consent

(Offered: Spring 2025)

LATN H201  ADVANCED LATIN LITERATURE: OVID  (1.0 Credit)

Ryan Warwick

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Prerequisite(s): Two semesters of 100-level Latin, or instructor consent

LATN H206  ADVANCED LATIN LITERATURE: POSTCLASSICAL LATIN  (1.0 Credit)

Bret Mulligan

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

An investigation of one or more historical, cultural, or literary questions drawn from the 95% of Latin literature that was produced after Classical antiquity. We will read a variety of texts, in different genres and from various times. Recent topics have included: centonic literature, the epistolary exchange between Abelard and Heloise, the Latin of New Spain, and Philadelphia Latin. Prerequisite(s): Two semesters of 100-level Latin, or instructor consent

LATN H211  ADVANCED LATIN LITERATURE:DEAR CICERO  (1.0 Credit)

Ryan Warwick

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

What if your, emails, tweets, or blog posts were examined by scholars thousands of years in the future? What would they find? In this course, we will examine just such a case: the 914 personal letters written by Marcus Tullius Cicero that were preserved after his death by an unknown editor. We will read a selection of these letters, as well as letters from later periods that took their inspiration from Cicero’s. In doing so, we will also see how other scholars have understood these documents: as literature, a historical archive, or even as confessions. Prerequisite(s): Two semesters of 100-level Latin, or instructor consent

(Offered: Fall 2024)

LATN H350  SEMINAR IN LATIN LITERATURE: CONSPIRACIES  (1.0 Credit)

Bret Mulligan

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Through an investigation of several famed conspiracies in Roman history we will consider how conspiracy narratives expose what is often left unsaid in a society, how they serve to reenforce social order and the expectations for "good" citizens, and how marginalized figures like women, slaves, and foreigners often play important roles in opening up the private words and deeds of the conspirators to public knowledge. Among our moments of focus will be the Bacchanalian conspiracy of 186 BCE, the Catilinarian conspiracy of 63 BCE, and the Pisonian conspiracy of 65 CE (which led to the deaths of the authors Seneca, Petronius, and Lucan, among others). Contemporary classical scholarship as well as scholarly explorations of criminal conspiracies and conspiracy theories will help contextualize our readings of the original sources. May be repeated for credit.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

LATN H460  TEACHING ASSISTANT  (0.5 Credit)

Ryan Warwick

LATN B001  ELEMENTARY LATIN  (1.0 Credit)

Carman Romano

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Latin 001 is the first part of a year-long course that introduces the student to the language and literature of ancient Rome. The first semester focuses upon the grammar of Latin, developing the student’s knowledge of the forms of the language and the basic constructions used. Exercises in translation and composition aid in the student’s learning of the language, while readings in prose and poetry from the ancient authors provide the student with a deeper appreciation of the culture which used this language.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

LATN B002  ELEMENTARY LATIN  (1.0 Credit)

Carman Romano

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Latin 002 is the second part of a year-long course that introduces the student to the language and literature of ancient Rome. The second semester completes the course of study of the grammar of Latin, improving the student’s knowledge of the forms of the language and forms of expression. Exercises in translation and composition aid in the student’s learning of the language, while readings in prose and poetry from the ancient authors provide the student with a deeper appreciation of the culture which used this language. Prerequisite: LATN B001.

(Offered: Spring 2025)

LATN B110  INTERMEDIATE LATIN  (1.0 Credit)

Miriam Kamil

Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

Intensive review of grammar, reading in classical prose and poetry. For students who have had the equivalent of several years of high school Latin or are not adequately prepared to take LATN 101. This course meets three times a week with a required fourth hour to be arranged. Prerequisite: One year of college level Latin or equivalent.

(Offered: Fall 2024)

LATN B112  LATIN LITERATURE  (1.0 Credit)

Miriam Kamil

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

In the second semester of the intermediate Latin sequence, readings in prose and poetry are frequently drawn from a period, such as the age of Augustus, that illustrate in different ways the leading political and cultural concerns of the time. The Latin readings and discussion are supplemented by readings in the secondary literature. This course meets three times a week with a required fourth hour to be arranged. Prerequisite: LATN 101 or 110 or placement by the department.

(Offered: Spring 2025)

LATN B201  TOPICS: ADVANCED LATIN LITERATURE  (1.0 Credit)

Miriam Kamil

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This is a topics course, course content varies. In this course typically a variety of Latin prose and poetry of the high and later Roman empire (first to fourth centuries CE) is read. Single or multiple authors may be featured in a given semester. Suggested Preparation: two years of college Latin or equivalent.

(Offered: Spring 2025)

LATN B320  MARTYRS, MOTHERS, MEMOIRS: MEDIEVAL AUTOBIOGRAPHIES  (1.0 Credit)

Catherine Conybeare

Division: Humanities

The writing of autobiography flourished in the middle ages, but there have been very few studies of the genre for the period. This course presents a range of autobiographies from the Latin West and encourages students to think about them theoretically and historically: what does it mean to write the self? what is at stake in the presentation of these stories? what notions are privileged? and how do we situate autobiographies in the wider literary landscape?

LATN B350  TOPICS IN LATIN LITERATURE  (1.0 Credit)

Bret Mulligan

Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)

This is a topics course. Course content varies.

(Offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2025)