CLAS 0010. The Greeks.

From poetry to philosophy, from music to economics to political theory, it is hard to find a subject of study that did not originate with the Greeks, at least in word. Biology? Greek. Physics? Still Greek. Math? Technology? Gym? You guessed it. Since we cannot escape the Greeks, in this class we will be on the lookout for them, reading the first classics of Western literature and discussing the great ideas behind them. All texts read in English.

CLAS 0020. The Romans.

Statesmen exposed republican conspiracies; historians chronicled imperial intrigue; playwrights "Greeked-it-up" with toga parties; epic poets sang of Rome's rise (and fall); moralizers bemoaned gladiators' beauty habits; and a novelist recounted the adventures of a man turned into an ass. This course tracks the development of literary culture at Rome from its beginnings to the end of the Empire, with an emphasis on the major genres, authors, and works of Roman literature. Intended for all students desiring an introduction to Roman literary culture and its masterpieces. All texts read in English; no previous experience in Roman history or Latin required.

CLAS 0066. Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Greek Literature.

This class will consider representations of gender and sexuality in the literature of Ancient Greece from the Archaic to the Imperial periods, with an eye to comparing and contrasting ancient ideas with more contemporary discourses of gender and sexuality. We will explore how gender and sexuality are constructed in a variety of written genres in antiquity; how and when this literature has impacted modern conceptions of gender and sexuality; and how ancient ideas about gender and sexuality might offer alternative ways of thinking about gender and sexuality today.

Broad topics will include (but will not be limited to) marriage, queerness, sex work, childbirth, abortion, and sexual politics, which will be considered in light of intersecting issues of religion, race, class, ethnicity, and ability. Classes will be discussion and group activity based. THERE ARE NO PREREQUISITES FOR THIS COURSE.

CLAS 0090A. Women and Gender in Ancient Religions (RELS 0090A).

Interested students must register for RELS 0090A.

CLAS 0150. Ancient Philosophy.

Ancient Greek views about the prospects and limits of reason in the human being's search for a good and valuable life. What the best life is; how, and how far, reason can provide for its realization; what social/political conditions it requires; how vulnerable it is (and should be) to uncontrolled happenings. Authors include Euripides, Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Lucretius, Augustine, and Dante.

CLAS 0180. Indian Civilization through Its Literature.

An examination of various historical, geographical, social, scientific, and literary aspects of Indian civilization through the reading of translations of original works of Indian culture such as the short story collection Břhatkathāslokasamgraha. Each topic that comes up in the story is explored in greater depth in supplementary material.

CLAS 0210A. Alexander the Great and Alexandria.

No description available.

CLAS 0210B. Death in Ancient Greece.

Examines how ancient Greeks understood, described, and experienced death. Making use of sources in translation, considers how death is anticipated, imagined, feared, and sometimes sought. Also contrasts classical ideas with current experiences in our own society in order to see whether and how our assumptions concerning death are culturally determined. Enrollment limited to 19 first year students.

CLAS 0210E. The Family in the Classical World.

It has been said that the household, not the individual, was the core of classical society. Using primary sources, we examine such questions as parental (and paternal) authority, the status of women, the role of private property, extended kinship, the physical structure of houses, the experience of childhood, etc. Comparisons are drawn with other societies, including our own.

CLAS 0210F. The Meaning of History in the Ancient World.

What is history for? Why do we study the history of the distant past, and what did the people living in the distant past think about their own history? This course investigates the way the histories of ancient Greece and Rome have been told, from ancient times to today, inspiring both contemporary methods of writing academic history and racialized constructions of ‘Western Civilization’. We will read works of famous historians like Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius, Livy, Sallust, and Tacitus, and examine what purposes they pursued in writing history; how later generations have used these narratives, and for what purposes; and how we can or should use them today. All readings in English. For first year students only.

CLAS 0210G. Themes in Ancient Science.

The ideas of ancient scientists are apt to seem both oddly familiar and utterly strange. Examines the major developments in ancient physics, biology, medicine, mathematics, technology, anthropology, and astronomy. Pays particular attention to the tensions between observation and theory, science and society, and the reappearance of ancient notions in modern beliefs.

CLAS 0210H. Thucydides: History and Cultural Context.

Thucydides' history of the Peloponnesian War is a magnificent and profound study of the growth and deterioration of Athenian imperialism. We shall examine his history against the background of concurrent intellectual achievement in drama, philosophy, and rhetoric.

CLAS 0210I. How Women were Seen.

Classical literature offers a wide array of representations of women, from loyal wives like Penelope to murderesses like Medea, from powerful queens like Dido to helpless slaves like the women of Troy after the destruction of their city. Through a selection of poems and prose texts, almost all composed by men, we shall attampt to gain insight into the place of women in the ancient Greek and Roman imagination.

CLAS 0210J. Homer - The 'Big Bang' of Western Literature?.

The history of Western Literature seems to begin with a 'Big Bang', the Iliad and the Odyssey. A primary goal of this First Year Seminar will be to become thoroughly familiar with the many fascinating and highly influential characteristics of the two epics and their plots by means of close reading (in English translation). At the same time, we will examine the key factors which made this 'miraculous beginning' possible. This includes a question that has received much attention in recent scholarship: the influence of literature from the Middle East. Looking in the other direction, Homer's enormous and lasting influence on literature and art will also be discussed. Enrollment limited to 19 first year students.

CLAS 0210L. Who Owns the Classical Past?.

This course offers a forum for informed discussion of a variety of difficult questions about access to the classical past, and its modern-day ownership and presentation, seen primarily from the perspective of material culture (archaeology, art, museum displays, etc.). Enrollment limited to 19 first year students.

CLAS 0210M. Seneca: A Philosopher in Politics.

The Stoic philosopher Seneca led a life full of contradictions: a millionaire and a politician, a man who preached the importance of mind over matter but begged for return from exile, and a philosopher compromised by his relationship with the emperor Nero, his pupil and his murderer. At least his end was heroic: ordered to commit suicide in 65 AD, he modeled his death on that of Socrates, discoursing calmly about philosophy with his friends as the blood drained out of his veins. In this course we'll read broadly in his writings and try to come up with some answers about this complex and fascinating figure and the philosophy of living for which he stood.

CLAS 0210O. Sport in the Ancient Greek World.

Athletics and sports were as popular and significant in the ancient Greek world as they are today, and so offer an excellent introduction to its archaeology and history. This class will discuss the development of Greek athletics, the nature of individual events, the social implications of athletic professionalism, women and athletics, and the role of sport in Greek education.

CLAS 0210P. Dead and Loving It: The Cult of the Saints in the Eastern Mediterranean.

This course introduces students to the literature, history, and religious life of the late ancient and medieval Mediterranean through the lens of a highly significant socio-cultural phenomenon: the Christian cult of the saints. Students will have the opportunity to engage with a variety of primary source texts in translation, while examining the subject from the perspectives of anthropology, religious studies, material culture, history and literary studies, to approach this rich topic through an interdisciplinary framework. Enrollment limited to 19 first year students.

CLAS 0210S. The Age of Augustus.

The Age of Augustus (44 BCE – 14 CE) was a turning point for ancient Roman politics, art, literature, and religion. In this class, intended to be accessible to those with no background in ancient studies or ancient languages as well as to those with some prior knowledge, we will consider both the political changes that allowed one man to consolidate power and turn Rome from a republic to an empire and the cultural shifts that were taking place at the same time. The course is split equally between history and art/literature/culture. We will read Virgil’s Aeneid and other major works of Latin literature in translation, consider some of the most canonical works of ancient art and architecture, and place both in the context of broader Roman culture and lived experience. How were the political and cultural changes connected?

CLAS 0210T. Travelers in Greece: from Pausanias to Shirley Valentine.

Ever since Pausanias the Periegete wrote his "Description of Greece" in the 2nd century CE, travelers have been inspired both to see the sights of Greece and to narrate their travels. The subject of this course is travel narratives about Greece, and our own journey will lead us to sites throughout the country. Yet we will also be using these narratives as launchpads for exploring the imaginary and imagined power of the Greek landscape: from its ancient status as seat of the gods to its modern appeal as a land of anonymity, relaxation and freedom for the wearied 'westerner'.

CLAS 0210Y. The Philosophy of Classical Indian Yoga.

This course will introduce the history of the ancient Indian texts and ideas that came to provide the philosophical foundations of the classical school of Indian Yoga. We will examine the oldest evidence for yoga in the ancient texts of the Vedas, the Jainas, and the Buddhists. We will watch it take clear shape in the Upanishads and in texts of the Mahābhārata, especially the Bhagavad Gītā. We will conclude the course by reading the classical exposition of Indian Yoga, Patañjali’s Yogasūtras. This course is a philosophy course, not an introduction to the practice of yoga.

CLAS 0220. Horror in the Ancient and Modern World.

When are little kids creepy? Why are we afraid of clowns? How does culture shape what we find scary? In this course we will analyze literature from ancient Greece and Rome and compare it to modern horror films and short stories in an attempt to answer these questions. Topics will include monsters, witches, and possession. We will cover themes like gender, death, family, and nature.
Class will be primarily discussion-based, with regular writing feedback sessions. No Classics background necessary. WRIT designated. Note that we will be reading, watching, and discussing scenes, images, and concepts that may be disturbing. Content warnings provided.

CLAS 0280. Latin in English/Latinate English.

The influence of Latin not only on the English vocabulary but on English style. Topics include: word building from Latin (and some Greek), Latin words and phrases in English, English lexicography, translations into and from Latin, euphuism, the revolt against Latin elements (Saxonism). Students write essays exemplifying these types of writing.

CLAS 0300. Animals in the Greco-Roman World.

Animals are an important part of any culture. This is especially true for the civilizations of the ancient world, which used animals not only for food and companionship but also for labor power, medicine and entertainment. In this class, we will explore the role of animals in the civilizations of the Greco-Roman world, looking at both practical uses and literary or artistic portrayals. We will focus on ancient beliefs about animals that now seem strange to us (kneeless elephants, self-castrating beavers, venomous mice, etc.), and we will try to explain how those beliefs came to be so widely held.

CLAS 0310. Social Welfare in the Ancient Greek City.

What inequalities existed in the ancient Greek city? This course seeks to identify the different treatment of the inhabitants of the Greek city (polis) and the degree to which the city sought to support the disadvantaged by the redistribution of wealth. Ancient Greek communities taxed activity and property, gathered revenue, and redistributed wealth within the community. The wealthy were often liable to redirect part of the wealth to the community. How well did the redistributive economy of the Greek city work? Who were the winners? Who were the losers? What conclusions can we draw about well-being in the Greek polis?

CLAS 0310R. Revolutionary Classics (or, the classical origins of your Brown education).

When Brown University was founded in 1764 the curriculum was based on classical texts. In early America, the classics of Greek and Roman antiquity – read in the original Greek and Latin – were the foundation of a gentleman’s education. This course will explore early ideas and structures of higher learning in America from the springboard of those classical texts. We will read a sizable portion of Brown’s earliest curriculum (in English translation), but just as importantly we will seek to set that curriculum in the context of early American intellectual history, from roughly the Colonial to the Antebellum Period.

CLAS 0311. Juno: The Original Diva.

Juno was the queen supreme of Rome's gods, the wife of philandering Jupiter, and the mother of Mars, god of war. It was Queen Juno who guaranteed the constant imperial triumph of Rome --a ruthless conqueror of nations-- and who safeguarded and preserved both marriage and Rome's Republic. This course explores constructions of and attitudes towards divinity, gender, war, conquest, and family. Case studies include the destruction and religious plundering of both Etruscan Veii and Hannibal's Carthage, from the perspectives of both conqueror and conquered. Interdisciplinary in nature, course materials will include literature, art, architecture, archaeology, and comparative religious studies.

CLAS 0320. 21st century Classics.

The changing face of Classics, the study of Greek and Roman culture and literatures, and their receptions, has never been more turbulent than in the early 21st century. Why do we study these cultures, and what do they mean to us? Who is us? This course grapples with these questions of relevance and has been designed with input from Brown undergraduate and graduate students to try to bridge the multiple divides that can separate those who are already engaged in Classical studies from the majority who may never have thought about studying these cultures. This introductory course considers: literature, art, fine arts, history, and culture; embraces historiography and ideology, critical race theory and meets head on the exclusive past with which Classics has been associated.

CLAS 0322. Somewhere Back in Time: Archaeology, the Ancient World, and Heavy Metal Music.

Iron Maiden’s “Alexander the Great”, Ex Deo’s “The Rise of Hannibal”, Septic Flesh’s “Prometheus” – few musical genres are as interested in history as heavy metal. The sounds, lyrics, images, films, and live performances of many bands from around the world center on stories and mythologies from past cultures. This class examines these phenomena from an archaeological and historical point of view, centering discussion on the music and its stories while contextualizing these modern elements within an archaeologically and historically accurate past.

CLAS 0330. The Odyssey in Literature and Film (COLT 0710Q).

Interested students must register for COLT 0710Q.

CLAS 0350. Ancient Philosophy (PHIL 0350).

Interested students must register for PHIL 0350.

CLAS 0360. Race and Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean.

Were the Greeks and the Romans racist? How were identities constructed in the ancient Mediterranean world? Did the concepts of “race” and “ethnicity” even exist in antiquity? We will explore these questions through the art, archaeology, and literature of the ancient Mediterranean from Homeric times to the end of the Roman Empire. We will also analyze how the perceptions of race and ethnicity in antiquity have shaped conceptions of identity in more modern eras, especially how they contributed to and authorized violent societal structures, such as slavery, colonization, imperialism, and nationalism.

CLAS 0400. Ancient Comedy and its Influence.

This course examines the origins and developments of comedy in ancient Greece (early iambic poetry, Aristophanes, Menander), its later offshoots in Rome (Plautus, Terence), England (Shakespeare), and the continued influence these ancient forms have on comedy today. Secondary readings include ancient and modern thoughts on humor and laughter, and writings on the historical contexts in which these plays were produced.

CLAS 0410. Horror in the Ancient and Modern Worlds.

When are little kids creepy? Why are we afraid of clowns? What makes a story “horror” and how does culture shape what we find scary? In this course we will analyze works of literature from ancient Greece and Rome and compare them with modern horror films and short stories in an attempt to answer these questions. Topics will include monsters, witches, and possession. We will cover themes like gender, death, family, and the relationship between humans and nature.
The class will be primarily discussion-based, with writing feedback sessions throughout the term. No Classics background necessary. WRIT designated. Students should be aware that we will be reading, watching, and discussing scenes, images, and concepts that may be disturbing. Content warnings will be provided on a class-by-class basis.

CLAS 0450. Philo of Alexandria and His World.

Philo, a Hellenized Jew, lived in Alexandria at the moment when Egypt saw the last of the Ptolemies (Cleopatra) and became a province of Rome. Philo developed, for the first time, a sophisticated allegorical interpretation of the Bible (which he read in Greek), that became the basis of Christian exegesis for centuries to come. He led a mission to Rome to defend the Jewish population of Alexandria at a time of conflict with the Greeks. We will read a variety of his works and situate them in the context of Jewish and Classical thought and the world of emerging Christianity. We will discuss issues such as the conjunction and clashes of Jewish and Greek cultures with the power of the Roman Empire, and examine different positions regarding politics, citizenship, the role of the individual in society, the value of human life, and more. Each meeting will consist of a mixture of lecture by the instructor and open discussion. Be ready to bring up questions and/or comments in class. This is a WRIT course and is open to all undergraduate students.

CLAS 0500. Virgil, Augustus, and Rome.

Examines, in translation, the three masterpieces of Virgil, central poet of the golden age of Latin literature. In particular, considers his epic, theAeneid,against the background of the Rome of the emperor Augustus. Subjects for discussion include the relation of poetry and power, the connection between the imagination and historical reality, and the tension between intellectual freedom and the constraints of society.

CLAS 0520. Religion and Magic in Ancient Greece.

Examines the sacred or supernatural realm that pervaded ancient Greek culture, considering both public and private practices. Topics include belief in the gods; aspects of polytheism; sacrifice; pollution; athletic and civic festivals; oracles; mystery cults; death and afterlife; hero cults; religion and gender; curses, spells, and charms; ancient atheism and agnosticism.

CLAS 0530. Ancient Science, Medicine and Magic.

What are the origins of scientific thought? How does it differ from other systems of knowledge, such as magic or myth? In this course, we will examine the cultural and intellectual history of science, medicine and magic in the Ancient World. We will delve into such topics as cosmology, zoology, geography, astrology, Hippocratic medicine, and scientific methodology. Discover how Thales predicted an eclipse, why Aristotle was afraid of seals, and how the Stoics justified their belief in divination. All students welcome.

CLAS 0560. War and Society in the Ancient World.

In a broad survey of ancient societies (from Egypt and Mesopotamia to late antiquity), but with a strong focus on the Greco-Roman world, this course examines the sociology of war in premodern societies: we investigate how in each case warfare and military organization interacted with social, economic, and political structures and how each society dealt with the challenges, gains, and costs of war. Readings in English.

CLAS 0580. Monsters and Marvels: Conceptualizing Difference in the Ancient Mediterranean.

From the Cyclops of Homeric epic to human-animal hybrids to the demons plaguing Saint Anthony in the desert, monsters and marvels haunt the texts of the ancient Mediterranean. This course will explore the thematics of monstrosity across a broad spectrum of literary production spanning roughly two millennia (ca. 1200 BCE-700 CE) to address the fundamental question of how societies determine categories such as the “real” and the “fantastic” and to what purpose such distinctions are made. We will pose questions concerning definitions of monstrosity, the creation of monsters, and their function in defining notions both of community and the individual. Class time will be centered around discussion, and students will learn to analyze ancient sources in their original contexts and to apply the concepts we explore to broader questions of identity formation.

CLAS 0600. The Literary Worlds of Late Antiquity.

We study the manifold literary forms championed in those centuries when Greco-Roman literature was transformed by social, spiritual, and creative forces perhaps unparalleled in the western tradition. Genres to be studied include: history (Gregory of Tours), consolation (Boethius), lyric (Ausonius and Fortunatus), hymnody (Prudentius), epic (Juvencus), apology (Tertullian), the philosophic dialogue (Augustine), the cento (Proba), among others. Close attention will be paid to contextualizing these authors and genres in the Greco-Roman tradition and in their late ancient configurations.

CLAS 0620. Greek Tragedy.

An investigation of many of the surviving plays of the Greek tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Considers the diverse aspects of ancient drama: the context, both religious and sociopolitical; issues of theatrical production, the poetic texture of the plays; and the influence of classical drama on later drama and western thought. Additional readings may include Aristophanes' Frogs and Thesmophoriazusae and selections from Aristotle's Poetics, the earliest criticism of Greek tragedy.

CLAS 0650. War and Society in Ancient Greece.

21st century society can no longer study the worlds of ancient Greece and Rome acritically. Today’s culture can be very accepting about the “culture of war” that was such a dominant aspect of the apogee of ancient Greek ‘civilization’: the 300 Spartans, the Athenian Empire, and the conquest of Persia, are all moments to which some turn in admiration. The exploitation of the martial culture today is a two-edged sword at least. This course explores the realities and cultures of war and warfare in ancient Greece. We will cover a variety of topics including Homer and warfare, Sparta, Persia, Athens’ Empire, Philip II and Alexander, violence in the Greek city, martial culture, women and warfare, siege warfare, naval power, memory, and aspects of their legacies in the 21st century. Materials will be provided via the course Canvas site.

CLAS 0660. The World of Byzantium.

In this course we shall explore the world of Byzantium from the founding of New Rome to Ottoman times. Caught between the East and West, the culture of Byzantium inherited the ancient worlds of Greece, Rome, and Jerusalem, nurturing many a modern ideology, conflict, and identity. We explore Byzantium through its history, texts, and art. Surveys of representative periods in Byzantine history will accompany topical investigation of themes including: the foundation and history of Constantinople itself, Iconoclasm, the Crusades, medieval Christianity and Islam, Byzantine court life, concepts of gender, self, and sexuality, book culture and revivals of learning, the development of Byzantine architecture, the Palaiologan "Renaissance," and the continued influence of and attitudes towards the Byzantine inheritance in both Western and Eastern Europe after 1453.

CLAS 0750. Gender and Sexuality in Classical Antiquity.

This course will analyze women in classical Greek and Roman society and literature. Using gender as a critical tool, we will examine Greek and Roman women in various sources, from Homeric epics and public inscriptions to scathing Roman satire. These sources show how the Greeks and Romans defined normative gender categories and how they used these categories as a vehicle for social and political criticism. We will cover both social history and gender discourse, focusing especially on the body and sexuality as a site for power. The limitations imposed by the source materials, both literary and non-literary, will be a topic of discussion throughout, as well as the relation of these ideas to contemporary constructions of gender.

CLAS 0760. Ancient Utopias/Imaginary Places.

Literary depictions of idealized imaginary societies already had a long tradition when Thomas More produced his Utopia in 1516. This course explores the ancient Greco-Roman utopian tradition, examining both literary depictions of mythological or fantastic utopias (or dystopias), including representations of societies remote in time ("the Golden Age") or place (e.g., Homer's Phaeacia), and works that critique contemporary values or attempt to describe idealized possible societies (e.g., Plato's Republic). These Greco-Roman depictions in turn provided the foundation for the utopian (and dystopian) tradition as it continued through the Medieval age and into modernity, and we will also follow that tradition.

CLAS 0765. Witches and Vixens: Nasty Women in Ancient Greece and Rome.

What do video vixens and Foxy Brown have in common with "Witchy Woman"? These modern metaphors continue a long history of equating female sexual allure with dangers found in/or capable of subverting Nature. This course will use contemporary methodologies to make sense of similar descriptions of women found in Greco-Roman literature: how do the Greeks and Romans express a concern about gender, ethnicity, class, and/or politics using these metaphors? How do these same categories help distinguish what is "natural" from "unnatural"? To what end does this discourse about women and nature affect law, public space, or other aspects of "civilization"?

CLAS 0770. The Tradition of the Philosophical Dialogue.

This course will examine the Greco-Roman tradition of the philosophical dialogue, from its Socratic origins through its adoption by early Christian authors. As we read dialogues by major practitioners including Plato, Cicero, Plutarch and Augustine, we will consider formal features of the dialogue, including setting, characterization, and authorial self-representation; and we will compare treatments of common subjects and themes, including Socrates, the pursuit of truth, good government, and the happy life. We will also discuss issues of performance and the philosophical, pedagogical, and therapeutic advantages of dialogue. All texts will be read in English.

CLAS 0771. Dreaming in the Ancient World.

Dreaming has always been part of our everyday experience. But did the Greeks and Romans dream any differently than we do? How and why did they extract meaning from their nightmares and daydreams? In this course, we will explore the cultural history of dreams and dream interpretation, a curious practice that stands at a fascinating intersection in the history of ideas between psychology, religion, and medicine. Readings (all in translation) include Homer, Herodotus, Plato, Egyptian magical papyri, Babylonian dream diaries, Cicero, Freud, and more. No previous knowledge of the Ancient World required.

CLAS 0780. From Antiquity to the Humanities (via Humanism) and the History of Ideas.

This course looks at the origins of several subjects in the Humanities in order to explain, question, and sometimes challenge the ways in which those subjects are studied or understood today. Consideration of sources for the Humanities today – in the educational practices of classical antiquity, in the 'humanism' of the Renaissance and in the 17th-20th centuries– will throw new light on ideas and categories which are central to western education. Topics include grammar/language, persuasive argument, scholarship; theory/practice of history, literature, poetry, fiction, fantasy, and the novel; relationship between words and images, and connections between studying the Humanities and being human.

CLAS 0790A. Express Yourself! An Ancient Guide.

Ancient students wanted the same things we want: to gain clarity on their own values, and to express those values clearly to others. How did ancient students learn this, and what can we use and practice today? Readings include Plato’s Gorgias, Quintilian’s Orator’s Education, Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, Longinus’ On the Sublime, and samples from many other talented writers from antiquity. No prerequisites; all texts in translation.

CLAS 0800. Religious and Philosophical Thought in Ancient India.

The historical development of the main themes of ancient Indian religious and philosophical thought. Part I: The rise of monism in tension with polytheism, the efficacy of Vedic words and Vedic rites, and early Brahminic cosmology and psychology. Part II: The rise of the non-Brahminic traditions (Jainas, Ājīvikas, and Buddhists) challenging Vedic revelation and everything based upon it (mainly the rites and authority of brahmins). Part III: The ensuing 'conversations' among the completing traditions, conversations that developed new world-views and new methods for effecting human well-being in the cosmos.

CLAS 0810. Film Classics: The Greeks on the Silver Screen (MGRK 0810).

Interested students must register for MGRK 0810.

CLAS 0810A. Alexander the Great and the Alexander Tradition.

This course focuses on a single historical figure, Alexander the Great, using him as a point of departure for exploring a wide range of problems and approaches that typify the field of Classical Studies. How knowledge of Alexander has been used and abused provides a fascinating case study in the formation and continuous reinterpretation of the western Classical tradition.

CLAS 0820. Epics of India.

An introduction to Indian epic literature with reading and analysis of one or more of India's grand and powerful epics, such as the Mahabharata, the Rāmāyana, the Cilappadikaram, and others.

CLAS 0850. Mythology of India.

Reviews major myths from religions of India in order to understand how the peoples of India imagined their relation to the divine world, to nature, and to other human beings. Considers connections between myths and religious practices, social structures, historical events, and psychological and aesthetic dimensions of Indian cultural life. Reading of mythic narratives will be accompanied by analysis from selected theoretical perspectives.

CLAS 0855. The Bhagavad Gītā.

This course will study and discuss the teachings of the Bhagavad Gītā in the context of its literary, theological, and philosophical origins in ancient India. We will read the text itself (in English, not Sanskrit), parts of the epic Mahābhārata in which the Gītā is situated, and collateral texts, such as Upanisads, Indian myths, Buddhist sermons, or even modern novels, that may shed light on why and how this text has exercised such far-reaching influence across the ages, inside India and beyond.

CLAS 0900. Greek Mythology.

What is a story? Does it have a life of its own? In this class, we will explore the ancient Greek stories (or “myths”) of creation, Pandora, the Golden Fleece, Hercules, the Trojan War, the Greek goddesses and gods, and many, many more. But we will also think about the telling of these myths. What do the tellers need from these stories? How do they change the stories to fit their contexts? And is it possible to separate the “myth” from any particular telling of it? No prerequisites required; all texts in translation.

CLAS 0920. Roman Mythology.

Introduction to Ancient Roman mythological traditions. Far from simply assimilating Greek myths and changing the names of divinities and heroes, the Romans were highly creative in their adaptation of myths from various other cultures. They had a rich store of myths and legends of their own, including dual foundation stories for Rome itself (Aeneas and the Trojans; Romulus and Remus) as well as mytho-historic tales of exemplary heroes and heroines (e.g. Horatius and Lucretia) whose exploits provided models for future Roman generations. Even obviously flesh-and-blood persons (e.g. Regulus, Hannibal, Caesar, Cleopatra) take on mythical status. We'll focus on the ancient material - literature, art, architecture, religious rituals - with a look as well at the rich reception of Roman mythology in later literature and art. We'll consider also the way the Romans themselves understood – and manipulated – their myths.

CLAS 0990. Karma and Free Will: The Self in Indian Philosophy.

Examination of the great Indian epic Mahabharata and related mythology to introduce the context for the most ancient speculations of the Rgveda and the subtle teacher-student dialogues about the self contained in the Bhagavadgita and Upanishads. We will also examine the more systematic Indian philosophical texts and note their resonance in ancient and modern European conceptions of self.

CLAS 0995. India’s Classical Performing Arts.

South Asia is home to rich classical traditions in the performing arts – drama, dance, music – which continue into the present. These performative traditions are accompanied by theoretical analyses going back to the Nātyaśāstra attributed to the sage Bharata, (2nd c. BCE-6th c. CE). This course introduces students to these traditions and theories to allow for an informed appreciation of South Asia's classical arts. This course will include reading classical texts in translation and experiencing, analyzing, and discussing recorded performances. The final portion of the course will examine the influence of the classical arts on Bollywood film.

CLAS 1010. The Classical World in Film (MGRK 1010).

Interested students must register for MGRK 1010.

CLAS 1070. Narratives of Disability in Greek and Latin Literature.

What is disability? What makes someone disabled, or enabled, now and in the past? How was disability conceptualized in ancient Greek and Latin sources? How do ancient Mediterranean narratives of disability provide insights into disability histories, presents, and futures? What is the relationship between disability, society, politics, power, and oppression? In this course, we take an interdisciplinary approach to the question of how Greek and Latin writing represented complex ideas about embodiment, society, and community. Our course material traverses the intersections between critical disability studies, disability justice movements, ancient literature, and classical studies. We will work together to adapt the course experience to meet the access needs, interests, and unique wisdom of the particular community of students enrolled in the class.

CLAS 1110A. A History of Violence: Art and Injustice Through the Ages.

Artistic expression and violence have crossed paths often through the ages. A remarkable number of masterpieces from around the world tell stories of violence from myth and history, or react to systematic injustice through artistic expression. Stories of war, murder, gender-based violence, racism, colonialism, and many other types of force and coercion people have exercised over each other make up our histories and are documented through art. This course is a survey of the power and aesthetics of such narratives, from the Stone Age to contemporary art. We will learn about different art movements and individual works that address or depict violence. We will also learn about curatorial narratives around social justice issues and how museums are helping communities reckon with histories of violence.

CLAS 1120A. Dreams, Love and Confession.

The Middle Ages are notorious for their love of bizarre locales, hauntings, fear of demons, and superstitions. But the outlook of the medieval world also encouraged a love of hidden and of internal, spiritual space. This world-view attended to dreams, a complex anatomy of human love and confessions. In this course, we will examine the social and literary context of these three modes of communication in the classical and, especially, the medieval period. We will read classical and medieval poetry (Horace, Propertius, Ovid, Lucretius, Cambridge Songs, Alan de Lille, Bernardus Silvestris), late antique dream books (Aelius Aristides), medieval beastiaries and fables, vernacular Romances and lays, and the medieval confessional mode (Augustine, Guibert); we will also examine visual evidence, where possible.

CLAS 1120B. Epic Poetry from Homer to Lucan.

Traces the rich history and manifold varieties of the genre of epic poetry in the literatures of ancient Greece and Rome beginning with Homer's Iliad and Odyssey (VII c. B.C.) and ending with Lucan's Civil War (I. c. A.D.). Masterpieces such as Virgil's Aeneid and Ovid's Metamorphoses are included. Original sources read in translation.

CLAS 1120D. Myth and Origins of Science.

Examinations of various explanations of the origin of the cosmos, of human beings, and human institutions, with readings from literary, philosophical, and scientific texts. What constitutes a scientific explanation and in what respects ancient science was similar to and different from our own? Authors include Hesiod, Aeschylus, Plato, Aristotle, Hippocratic medical writings and the Presocratic fragments. Read in English translation.

CLAS 1120E. Slavery in the Ancient World.

Examines the institution of slavery in the ancient world, from Mesopotamia and the Near East to the great slave societies of classical Greece and (especially) imperial Rome; comparison of ancient and modern slave systems; modern views of ancient slavery from Adam Smith to Hume to Marx to M.I. Finley. Readings in English.

CLAS 1120G. The Idea of Self.

Literature gestures us toward a certain kind of knowledge not quite psychological, not quite philosophical. We read widely in the classical and medieval traditions in order to gauge the peculiar nature of what this knowledge tells us about experience and the ways in which expressions of selfhood abide or are changed over time. Authors include but are not limited to Sappho, Pindar, Catullus, Horace, Augustine, and Fortunatus.

CLAS 1120H. The Invention of Literature: Literary Theory from Antiquity to the Renaissance.

Literature is a recent concept. We study the prehistory of its invention in Antiquity and the Middle Ages focusing on ideas about authorship, fiction, and practices of reading. The course is based on close reading of primary texts from classical Greco-roman and medieval Byzantine, Latin, and Arabic authors. Beyond theoretical discussions, primary readings include contemporary premodern literary texts.

CLAS 1120J. Essaying the Essay.

This course explores the personal essay as a vehicle for self-expression. Examining self-reflective essays from a variety of cultures and time periods--ancient, modern, East, and West--we trace the theme of friends as dialectical others against whom individuals define themselves. Our investigations will lead us to a provisional definition of the essay genre, keeping in mind its unique placement between fiction and non-fiction, and its relationship with non-Western forms such as the suibi and the xiaopin wen. First year students need instructor permission to enroll.

CLAS 1120K. Skeptical Traditions East and West.

The skeptical project begins and ends in doubt and the refusal to affirm any belief dogmatically. While these ideas are most frequently associated with the writings of Cicero and Sextus Empiricus, they also appear in early Buddhist and Daoist texts. The course examines several strands of skeptical philosophy as they appear in writings from ancient Greece, Rome, China, and India. It further explores literary enactments, appropriations, and critiques of skepticism evident in the skeptical revival of the European Renaissance and in Zen kōans.

CLAS 1120L. Archaeology of Feasting.

No description available.

CLAS 1120M. Plato.

A close reading of Plato's major dialogues from a philosophical perspective. Topics may include his ethics, politics, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, or aesthetics. Readings are from original sources (in translation) and contemporary secondary literature. Students wishing to read the texts in the original Greek should make arrangements with the instructor.

CLAS 1120N. Games and Spectacles of Ancient Greece and Rome.

Will examine games and spectacles of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, from the early Olympic contests to the popular chariot races of late antiquity. By using a variety of sources, including archaeological evidence, we will explore not only the historical development of sports in the classical world, but also its ongoing political, social and cultural importance. By seeking to understand both participants and spectators, we also hope to connect the significance of games to other facets of Greco-Roman society, including women and religion. We will not only discuss the limitations of the primary sources, but also make relevant comparisons to the role of sports in contemporary society.

CLAS 1120P. Experiencing the Roman Empire: Life in the Roman Provinces.

This course explores the experiences of people living in the Roman Empire through archaeological and textual evidence, seeking to understand how Roman imperialism shaped the daily life of its residents, from Spain to Mesopotamia and from Scotland to Egypt. We will address themes such as imperialism, identity, globalization, and Romanization as we investigate provincial urbanism, economies, rural settlements, the military, art, and religion from a number of different case studies in order to understand how the Roman Empire both shaped and was shaped by those living within its territory.

CLAS 1120Q. Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

"Everyone has heard of the Seven Wonders of the World," wrote Philo of Byzantium two millennia ago, and it's still true today. But what's a "Wonder"? And why seven of them? Why make such a list anyway, then or now? This class will use ancient texts, explorers' accounts, and archaeological investigations to travel through several thousand years of history in the Mediterranean and Near Eastern world. We will consider how the Seven Wonders captured past imaginations; the aura of technological achievements; the intersections of history, memory, invention, and myth; and how members of one culture view another culture's monuments.

CLAS 1120R. Social Conflict and Political Factions in the Roman Republic.

Traces the evolution of social conflict and political factions at Rome from the foundation to the dissolution of the Republic (C5-C1 BCE). Roman armies secured a vast empire of territory, raw materials, and manpower governed by the senate and the people of Rome itself. The influx of resources, however, destabilized Rome’s constitution and upset political power balances at the city of Rome. How did the Romans—elites and masses—compete amongst themselves for the bounty of empire abroad and confront their own internal conflicts at home? Was concord possible, or were the developments of empire inconsistent with the constitution of the Republic?

CLAS 1120T. Age of Augustus: Topography, Architecture, and Politics.

Augustus Caesar boasted that he had found Rome a city in brick, but left it in marble. This course explores the transformation of Rome from an unadorned village to the capital of an empire. Was Rome's first emperor trying to fashion himself a Hellenistic monarch on the model of Alexander and his successors? Was he simply operating within republican traditions, which had been established through centuries of aristocratic competition at Rome? Our source materials will include ancient works of art and architecture, literary accounts, maps, and critical urban theory.

CLAS 1120U. The American Presidents and the Western Tradition.

We are accustomed to engaging the American presidency as a public office best approached through the prism of government or political science, but this course studies the ways in which the presidents in thought and action are part of a larger continuum of humanistic expression in the western tradition. It is organized around five categories: memory, language, consolation, farewell, and self-reflection. Our work involves reading and viewing/listening to various materials, including videos and original documents. The words we study, both by and about presidents, will be compared to various masterworks of Greco-Roman antiquity and the western Middle Ages.

CLAS 1120V. The Age of Constantine: The Roman Empire in Transition.

The reign of Constantine the Great (306-337) and his dynasty heralded a period of remarkable/rapid change in the Roman Empire. Christianity became the sole imperially sponsored religion; the split between Western and Eastern halves of the Empire gradually became permanent and irrevocable; consequently new ways of thinking and writing about the Roman world, past and future, developed. Focusing on generous selections of primary source material in translation and current scholarship, we will explore the history, literature, and culture of Constantinian Empire in order to highlight the role of Constantine and his successors in the evolution of the late Roman Mediterranean.

CLAS 1120W. Aristotle.

A close study of Aristotle's major works: his method, natural philosophy, psychology, metaphysics, with main emphasis on his ethics. Readings from original sources (in translation) and some contemporary secondary material. The class will combine lectures and discussion and is a writing course.

CLAS 1120X. Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Ovid’s epic Metamorphoses, a prime source for ancient mythology from the Renaissance to Disney films, has often been received as a delightful compendium of older myths retold with urbane wit; yet its blithe treatment of horrific mythological events can also unsettle, as when its place in the Columbia University curriculum recently prompted a discussion of “trigger warnings.” We will read it in English translation, exploring its capacity to inspire disparate responses. What must we suppress to find the Metamorphoses pleasant or menacing? How does it create its tensions? How do they get projected onto a later culture’s assumptions?

CLAS 1121C. Cicero in New Spain.

This course will explore the reception in colonial Mexico of Cicero's oration 'Pro Archia poeta' ("In defense of Archia the Poet"), with particular emphasis on its use in the colonial schools. Some of the related topics which will be tackled are: the role of education in building society, linguistic and national identity, the purpose and power of literature, the possible existence of an intrinsic value of poetry. Class activity will involve reading the oration in its entirety and in English; upon request, extracts in the original Latin can also be included. In parallel, we will examine handwritten primary sources from early modern Mexico, for which a basic training in Latin palaeography will be offered to the students.

CLAS 1130. The Fragility of Life in Ancient Greece.

This interdisciplinary course explores the fragility of life in the Ancient Greek city-state form multiple perspectives: those of state-building, the population stress in the city, the capacity for the family to maintain and sustain itself, to those of the individual: man, woman, and child, whose life experiences left them vulnerable to disease and economic hardship. This course explores Ancient Greek socio-economic history addressing health, disease, fertility and childbirth, migration, mobility, and population and family ‘management’ as well as topics fundamental to historical demography (mortality, birth rates, and growth) over the longue durée approach (Archaic through Roman Imperial eras).

CLAS 1140. Classical Philosophy of India.

This course introduces the classical traditions of philosophy in India. After presenting a general overview of this discourse and its basic Brahminic, Buddhist, and Jain branches, the course will examine the ideas and debates between various schools on issues of epistemology (the nature of perception, inference, testimony, etc), metaphysics (the nature of the self and ultimate reality, the question of the reality of the world, etc), and ethics (the theory of karma, non-violence and asceticism, and devotion).

CLAS 1145. Goddesses and Women Gurus in South Asian Religious Traditions.

Indian Religions have featured some prominent female figures: fierce goddesses, domestic goddesses, legendary women sages, and historical women poets. These figures can be used to empower female authority and agency, but can also be used to construct normative gender roles that limit societally accepted agency for women. This course will explore the canonical narratives of these prominent female figures and the reception of these narratives in various historical contexts. It will also examine the contemporary reception of these figures, looking both at those who champion the progressive possibilities they represent as well as feminist and subaltern critiques.

CLAS 1160. Love and Devotion, Power and Poverty: India's Literary Classics.

This course will introduce, in English translations, the most powerful examples of the literature of India. The course will introduce students to India’s unparalleled literary richness by reading selections of the best poetry, drama, and narrative literature of Indian civilization from any of its many languages (Sanskrit, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, etc., and English), ancient and modern.

CLAS 1175. High Crimes and Misdemeanors: Impeachment trials and their Rhetoric.

This course explores the history of impeachment trials in Athens, Britain, and the USA. We study some of the early deployments of impeachment (eisangelia in Greek) at Athens, its brief flourish in fourteenth century Britain, and its flowering in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Subsequently we turn to the impeachment of Warren Hastings in 1788-1795 and then to the earliest impeachments in the US. We keep in mind the different time periods and governmental structures (direct democracy, monarchy with parliament, representative democracy) and investigate how legal processes--and their rhetoric--function in each of them.

CLAS 1179. Reception of Latin in Americas.

This course will explore the reception in colonial Mexico of the Ovidian Latin poetry centred on the theme of exile, tackling also related topics such as displacement, nostalgia, geographical discoveries, the encounter with the Other, barbarity, linguistic and national identity. Class activity will involve the close reading of a selection of pieces, literary and not, which we shall intersect with a survey of the historical circumstances that shaped the three colonial centuries of Mexico (from the 16th to the 19th). Departing from this core, we shall follow the several lines of our enquiry along their path from the Old to the New World (and back to the Old) —to eventually end up exploring the possibility that literature itself (as much as other arts) might serve as a viable means to find some comfort for the exilic distress.

CLAS 1181. Encountering Monsters in Comparative Literature (COLT 1815U).

Interested students must register for COLT 1815U.

CLAS 1202. Foundations Classical Heritage (HIST 1202).

Interested students must register for HIST 1202.

CLAS 1205A. The Long Fall of the Roman Empire (HIST 1205)..

Interested students must register for HIST 1205.

CLAS 1210. Mediterranean Culture Wars: Archaic Greek History, c. 1200 to 479 BC.

From the end of the Bronze Age to the end of the Persian Wars is a period of considerable change in the Mediterranean and beyond. The Greek polis challenges the powers of the ancient Near East. Over seven centuries we meet Greek writing, Homeric epic, and the first historian (Herodotus). But the Greek world lay on the edges of the Ancient Near East and this course tries to offer a more balanced approach than the typically Hellenocentric perspective of the standard textbooks. CLAS 1210 addresses cultural, political, social, and economic histories. Literary, epigraphical and archaeological cultures provide the evidence. There are no written exams for this course. No previous knowledge of the ancient world is required.

CLAS 1220. The Fall of Empires and Rise of Kings: Greek History 478 to 323 BC.

The Greek world was transformed in less than 200 years. The rise and fall of Empires (Athens and Persia) and metamorphosis of Macedon into a supreme power under Philip II and Alexander the Great provide the headlines. The course covers an iconic period of history, and explores life-changing events that affected the people of the eastern Mediterranean and the topics that allow us to understand aspects of life and culture of the peoples of the eastern Mediterranean. and through these transformations, offers insights into the common pressures that communities confronted. No prior knowledge of ancient history is required.

CLAS 1240. Modern Greece in the World (MGRK 1240).

Interested students must register for MGRK 1240.

CLAS 1260. The Roman Reception of Greek Literature.

Reading a number of shorter poems and excerpts in both Greek and Latin, paying particular attention to how Roman writers respond to Greek examples. Readings include Catullus and Sappho, Horace and Pindar, Virgil and Theocritus, and others, with a view to the interactions of meter, genre, and language.

CLAS 1310. Roman History I: The Rise and Fall of an Imperial Republic.

The social and political history of Ancient Rome from its origins to the death of Augustus in 14 CE. Focuses on the social conflicts of the early Republic; the conquest of the Mediterranean and its repercussions; the breakdown of the Republic and the establishment of monarchy. Readings emphasize ancient sources in translation.

CLAS 1320. Roman History II: The Roman Empire and Its Impact.

The social and political history of the Roman Empire (14-565 CE). Focuses on expansion, administration, and Romanization of the empire; crisis of the 3rd century; militarization of society and monarchy; the struggle between paganism and Christianity; the end of the Empire in the West. Special attention given to the role of women, slaves, law, and historiography. Ancient sources in translation.

CLAS 1320X. Roman History II: The Empire (HIST 1201B).

Interested students must register for HIST 1201B.

CLAS 1330. Roman Religion.

Explores the religions of Rome, from the animism of King Numa to the triumph of Christianity. Topics include: concepts of religion and the sacred; sacred law; ritual space and the function of ritual; festivals; divination; magistrates and priests; the imperial cult; death and the afterlife; mystery cults; astrology and magic.

CLAS 1350. Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin I.

An introduction to the histories of the Greek and Latin languages within the frame of their Indo-European antecedents. Addresses the sound systems of the two languages and applies our knowledge of them to a consideration of the semantics (etymology) of words in the languages. For those who know Greek and Latin well, though no specific prerequisites can be listed. Students of classics and linguistics are the main audiences addressed.

CLAS 1420. Death in the West.

This course explores the history of western attitudes toward death from their origins in the ancient Near East and classical antiquity through the medieval and early modern periods to the modern era. The aim is to trace the evolution of western deathways against the backdrop of an anthropologically and sociologically informed understanding of this universal human experience. Among the issues to be considered are the needs of both individuals and society in proper treatment of the dead; in what ways funerary customs reflect broader cultural and historical developments; and what the implications are of recent and contemporary trends in western funerary practices.

CLAS 1750A. Caesar's Failure and Augustus' Success.

Both Caesar and Augustus reached sole power in the Roman empire by winning civil wars. Both initiated broad reform programs, but Caesar was soon assassinated, while Augustus lived for another 45 years. We will analyze their reforms and examine the causes and historical significance of Caesar's failure and Augustus's success.

CLAS 1750B. Justice.

An inquiry into notions and definitions of justice. Plato's Republic is the basic reading. Considers a wide variety of novels, poems, and plays as examples.

CLAS 1750C. Undergraduate Seminar: Emotions.

Were the emotions of the ancient Greeks and Romans identical to our own? When a Greek felt pity, or a Roman was angry, were the causes and the manifestations the same as ours? This senior seminar examines how Greeks and Romans defined the emotions, and checks their descriptions against literary texts. One year of either Greek or Latin required.

CLAS 1750D. Philosophy of Socrates.

In this class we will read and discuss various ancient portraits of Socrates (in Aristophanes' Clouds, Plato's Apology and Symposium, and Xenophon's Apology) and several Platonic dialogues representing Socrates in action discussing moral questions, including the Crito, Laches, Charmides, Lesser Hippias, Protagoras, and Gorgias. We will focus on questions about the historical Socrates (as distinct from the portraits), his avowals of ignorance, irony, methods of argument, and interest in definition, as well as the moral questions explored in the dialogues. All readings will be in English translation.

CLAS 1750E. Writing History in the Ancient World.

The Greeks and Romans created the western tradition of historiography as a genre of literature and historical reflection. The seminar will focus on the great historians from Herodotus to Tacitus and examine what purpose they pursued in writing history; investigate the origins of historical writing, and look at forms of historical reflection and writing in other ancient civilizations.

CLAS 1750H. Heroes and Heroism in Graeco - Roman Antiquity and Beyond.

Examines the concept of hero, an ancient Greek word, which had a wide variety of meanings and was employed to designate a series of diverse characters of myth. We will trace the evolution of this idea through a detailed analysis of its uses in Greek and Roman texts, and also contrast its ancient sense with present day conceptions of the hero and heroism. All readings will be in English. The course is open to all undergraduates, but preference will be given to juniors and seniors. Enrollment limited to 25.

CLAS 1750I. Highways and Byways in Antiquity.

This seminar will explore the construction and development of pathways of communication and contact in the ancient (primarily Mediterranean) world. Emphasis will be placed upon major routes (highways) and the state-level powers that instituted and controlled them, but also on more modest roads and paths and the communities they promoted. The scope of the course is thus quite extensive, embracing both terrestrial and maritime roadways, and all forms of activity that took place on and along them (trade, pilgrimage, 'strip development', imperial postal and spy systems, ports, etc.). Some previous study of antiquity is desirable. Please note: CLAS1750I is being team-taught by Susan Alcock and John Bodel.

CLAS 1750J. Ancient Revenge Dramas.

We shall study revenge tragedies composed in ancient Athens and Rome and also some composed during the Renaissance. We shall examine formal characteristics of the tragedies as well as the conceptual constellations (historical, political, social, theatrical, legal) under which they operated for the three periods; an important question will be whether and how this medium permits us to understand how law and the notion of justice operates in a given society.

CLAS 1750K. Madwomen and Lovers.

Ancient Greeks and Romans were fascinated by the figure of the distressed mythological heroine, and from the Classical period onward their literature showcases women tormented by love (often for a forbidden object), but able to give voice to their desires and dilemmas. We will look at examples from different types of ancient literature (especially drama and epic), focusing on the blend of victimization and self-expression in their portrayal, and on their sometimes surprising role in the literature of love, mythology, and national history.

CLAS 1750L. Erotic Desire in the Premodern Mediterranean.

Erotic desire may be a universal human phenomenon. How we explain, depict, express, or experience desire is, however, not a universal, uniform matter. The premodern Mediterranean (from roughly the fifth century BCE to the fifteenth century CE) gives us a variety of forms of sexual experience and expression. We will study the history of these forms through texts, images, and objects: from Platonic love or eros to Roman tales of romance, from Judeo-Christian mysticism to Islamic literature, from sexual diets to erotic amulets. Enrollment limited to 25.

CLAS 1750N. Marriage in the Ancient World.

Marriage is a historical phenomenon: it assumes various forms and has distinct meanings in different societies, even those that have been regarded as the fountainhead of Western values. This course (a seminar addressed in particular to upper-level undergraduates) investigates this important social institution in ancient Greece and Rome, using a variety of primary documents (literary, historical, epigraphical, etc.) and taking account of modern approaches to the study of marriage, including anthropological, sociological and psychological theories. All sources will be read in English.

CLAS 1750P. Homicide, Revenge, & Marital Disasters: Reception of Greek Drama in Rome, England, & Japan.

(1) We examine theater and its relation to society, particularly, its reflection of legal culture (detections of murderers, adulterers, and young lovers); we also examine law’s ‘theatricality’ (‘productions’ of trials). (2) We also explore more broadly how dramas were performed, using as comparanda Japanese Noh and Kabuki (in each, for example, we find all-male casting). (3) Attention is also directed toward twentieth century receptions of these plays; we focus largely on Japanese productions, particularly of Yukio Ninagawa, mastermind of Japanese theater who directed numerous Greek tragedies and Shakespearean plays in different venues, absorbing and subverting phenomena of traditional Japanese theater.

CLAS 1750R. Holy Places and Sacred Spaces in Ancient Greece.

For thousands of years, travelers have been astonished at the physical beauty of Ancient Greek sites such as Olympia, Delphi, and Delos. For anyone who visits these numinous sites, it's easy to see why the Greeks believed that the gods loved them, too. In this course we will be exploring the notion of sacred space in Greek, with emphasis on sanctuaries, topography, archaeological phenomenology, and pilgrimage. We will research and discuss sites and sanctuaries from literary, archaeological, and other material and theoretical perspectives; we will also ask what about certain spaces and places leads us to regard them as 'sacred'.

CLAS 1750T. Love and Identity in the Roman Empire.

Sex, pirates, powerful goddesses, and mistaken identities: these are just some of the aspects of the so-called Ancient Novel and its parodies. In this course we will investigate how a few fictional texts from the 1st-3rd centuries A.D. construct their characters' gender and sexuality, and therefore reflect concerns about wisdom, power, and difference within the Roman Empire.

CLAS 1750U. Greek Life: Athens as a College Town Under the Roman Empire.

This course focuses on the role of Athens as one of the most important educational centers of the Roman Empire to examine themes in the cultural history of the Eastern Mediterranean from the 2nd to the 6th century CE. Students traveled from all over the Roman world to study in Athens, celebrity professors competed to attract the biggest classes, and freshmen joining fraternities were subjected to bizarre hazing rituals. Course topics include the Second Sophistic, the educational curriculum, Paganism and Christianity in Late Antiquity, Neoplatonism, and the fate of Athens as an urban center. All readings in English translation.

CLAS 1770. Ancient Law, Society and Jurisprudence.

After a brief survey of modern legal systems (USA, common and civil law systems), we return to Athens and Rome. Topics: sources of law, its evolution, (e.g., feuding societies); procedural law (e.g., how to bring cases); legal reasoning; rhetoric; substantive law (e.g., regarding marriage, religion, homicide). Different approaches are used: historical, comparativist, anthropological, case-law study.

CLAS 1825. Race, The Classics and Democratic Theory (POLS 1825G).

Interested students must register for POLS 1825G.

CLAS 1930A. Introduction to Greek and Latin Meters.

We will survey the major metrical systems of Greek and Roman verse by reading a wide range of short poems and brief extracts. The main concerns will be, first, how to scan poems correctly, and second, how to evaluate metrical and rhythmic choices. Prerequisite: GREK/LATN 0400, or demonstration of equivalent ability in Greek and Latin.

CLAS 1930B. Dying God.

The figure of the dying god (like Adonis, Osiris, or Attis), embodying both beauty and tragedy, has exerted a fascination from ancient times to the present day. His worship was sometimes central to the community, sometimes marginal, yet compelling in its "outsider" status. His myths invited meditations on love and death in various modes from comedy to epic. This course, through the great mythological texts of Greece and Rome as well as modern literature and art, will explore the figure in all its variety, along with Christian adaptations and recent interpretations. There will be writing assignments.

CLAS 1930C. Parasites and Hypocrites.

The course is a study of the many forms of toadying, groveling, feigning friendship, flattery, ass-kissing, and so on, that were such a large of source of concern — and comedy — in antiquity. The anxieties over hypocrisy in a democracy and parasites in client-patron systems will be explored historically, in literary representations, and in their social, political, and economic contexts. Authors to be read include Aristophanes, Plutarch, Lucian, Plautus, Horace, and Petronius.

CLAS 1930E. Economy of Ancient Greece: New Approaches.

What was the material underpinning of Greek Society? How did the production and distribution of resources connect individuals and states an what ancient mentalities and ideologies governed this exchange? New scholarly approaches and new evidence have drastically changed how we understand the ancient economy in recent decades. This course will survey key issues in the ancient economy such as Mediterranean ecology, trade, the invention of coinage, taxation, consumption, agriculture, slavery, and connectivity. In the process, we focus closely on the primary sources, in the form of literacy, archeological, numismatic, and epigraphic evidence, while also considering current scholarly methodologies and controversies.

CLAS 1930F. Women Writing Epic.

This course will introduce students to English translations and adaptations of ancient Greek and Roman epics to consider the contemporary politics of representing and publishing women. These poems chronicle men talking with or fighting each other, all in the hopes of reproducing “great” men. Women often function as backgrounded appendages or, if significant, effect something catastrophic. We will revisit these dynamics and explore how literary genre genders authors and readers in relation to war, citizenship, race, class, sexuality and/or celebrity. How does epic negotiate social identities or formations? What needs to happen for women to write epic? What happens when women write epic? Which kind of women does the publishing industry want/allow to write epic now?

CLAS 1970. Special Topics.

Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.

CLAS 1990. Conference: Especially for Honors Students.

Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.

CLAS 2000. Proseminar in Classics.

Introduction to standard research methods and tools in major subdisciplines of classical philology and ancient history. Required of entering graduate students. Survey of various subdisciplines in order to become familiar with field and scholarly principles.

CLAS 2010A. Mysteries Documents.

No description available.

CLAS 2010B. Roman Topography.

That actions occur in place is obvious, but how does place define action, and how do actions define place? How does the accretion of meanings assigned to a place through repeated use provide significance to the current actions, affect reinterpretations of past events, and effect future uses? Topography explores not only the history of monuments but also the constellation of meanings shaped by the interaction of monuments with each other in the cultural landscape. Topographical relationships serve as an imprint of a particular community's social, political, economic, and religious behavior within and across space and time. Ancient Roman case studies.

CLAS 2010M. Problems in Old World Archaeology: The Archaeology of Empires.

They were big, they were bad, they were beautiful... Cradles of civilization, wreakers of havoc, empires rank among the most influential political and social formations in global history. This seminar will explore general literature on imperial genesis, consolidation and decline, as well as the specific and unique contributions that archaeology and art history can offer to the understanding of empire.

CLAS 2011. Critical Approaches to Classical Texts: Theory and Methods.

These seminars will examine categories fundamental to the study of ancient literature and historiography, highlighting the relevance of ancient philosophy, rhetoric and poetics to modern critical/theoretical approaches. Topics can include: text, author, context, literature, genre, representation, emulation, narrative, historiography, commentary, reception. Contradictions in the idea of ‘classics’ can also be considered, in connection with questions of diversity and ethical approaches to Greco-Roman texts. The course aims to draw on participants’ needs and experiences to offer firm and constructive guidelines for professional academic writing, eliminating common errors and misconceptions (intentional and biographical fallacies, confusion between allusion and intertextuality, ‘topoi and ‘tropes’.)

CLAS 2011A. Critical Approaches to Classical Texts: Theory and Methods.

These seminars will examine categories fundamental to the study of ancient literature and historiography, highlighting the relevance of ancient philosophy, rhetoric and poetics to modern critical/theoretical approaches. Topics can include: text, author, context, literature, genre, representation, emulation, narrative, historiography, commentary, reception. Contradictions in the idea of ‘classics’ can also be considered, in connection with questions of diversity and ethical approaches to Greco-Roman texts. The course aims to draw on participants’ needs and experiences to offer firm and constructive guidelines for professional academic writing, eliminating common errors and misconceptions (intentional and biographical fallacies, confusion between allusion and intertextuality, ‘topoi and ‘tropes’.)

CLAS 2080A. Seminar: Allusion/Intertextuality/Influence.

We will study the full career of allusion (from Homer to hip-hop) to gain a sense of its origins and development, especially in antiquity and late antiquity; to understand allusion functionally, (and to measure the durability of that function across time); and to read extensively in the allusive practices of one ancient author.

CLAS 2080B. Seminar: Social Conflicts in the Roman Republic.

This seminar, open to upperclassmen with experience in Roman history, will analyze the causes, impact, and results of social conflicts in the early (the "struggle of the orders") and late Roman Republic (Tiberius Gracchus, the Catilinarian Conspiracy), and the latters' contribution to the demise of the Republic. Sources in translation.

CLAS 2080C. The Emperor Tiberius.

No description available.

CLAS 2080H. Topics in Roman Republican History.

This seminar will examine some of the major controversies in Roman Republican history, with possible excurses to the archaic and triumviral periods. The focus will be on political and cultural history, and on questions of method and theory. Topics will be partially dictated by student interest. Assessment include student presentations and leading discussions, writing an abstract for a term paper, and a term paper.

CLAS 2100G. The World of Late Antiquity.

Focused on the Mediterranean world between the third and ninth centuries CE, this seminar introduces students to the study of late antiquity and the early middle ages from a multidisciplinary perspective. Class sessions focus on the intensive reading of a small collection of closely-related primary sources in the original language and contextualizing them through a grounding in other disciplines essential to the study of ancient and medieval history, including archaeology, codicology, palaeography, numismatics, and prosopography. Topics vary by semester and may include such themes as the body, emotional and psychological histories, trauma, slavery, violence, “barbarians,” or interfaith interaction. Prerequisite: Latin

CLAS 2110A. Graduate Seminar: The Book.

This seminar examines the relationship between ancient literary forms and the media in which they were presented. Specifically, it considers the connections between the ways in which ancient books were published and distributed--in papyrus rolls and bound codices, individually and in groups, privately and commercially--and the cultural conventions of reading and literary appreciation in antiquity. Chronologically the seminar focuses on the late Roman Republic and early Empire (ca. 100 BCE -200 CE), but attention is devoted also to new papyrological evidence for the development of poetry books during the Hellenistic period. A reading knowledge of Greek and Latin is required.

CLAS 2110K. Vision and Visualization in Literature: The Rhetoric of Enargeia.

How does writing make us see? We will study rhetorical concepts of “vivid description” (enargeia, phantasia, evidentia) from ancient Greek and Roman theory and literary practice and follow their reception in later periods and literary traditions, including modern evaluations of their significance (all readings in English). Taking texts from poetry, historiography, philosophy, and elsewhere, we will explore “vividness” particularly in terms of tropes of persona-fashioning (prosōpopoeia) and subject-positioning, with attention to the ethical and ideological implications that that may entail, and explore its relations with such topics as ecphrasis, narratology, and spectacularity.

CLAS 2450. Exchange Scholar Program.

CLAS 2930A. Alexandrian Poetry.

We will read extensive selections in the original languages from Hellenistic Greek poetry and Latin poetry with Hellenistic influence, with an eye to their historical and cultural context and to their intertextual dimension.

CLAS 2970. Preliminary Examination Preparation.

For graduate students who have met the tuition requirement and are paying the registration fee to continue active enrollment while preparing for a preliminary examination.

CLAS 2980. Reading and Research.

Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course. Instructor permission required.

CLAS 2990. Thesis Preparation.

For graduate students who have met the residency requirement and are continuing research on a full time basis.

CLAS XLIST. Courses of Interest to Classics Concentrators.

GREK 0100. Essentials of the Greek Language.

This is the first part of a two-semester Ancient Greek course. The purpose of the course is to develop students’ ability to read and understand Ancient Greek literary texts and to build firm foundations in terms of grammar, vocabulary and reading skills. Selections from Attic Greek authors. No previous knowledge of Greek is required.

GREK 0110. Intensive Introduction to Ancient Greek.

Intensive, one-semester introduction to Greek. No previous knowledge of Greek is required. This is a double credit course.

GREK 0200. Essentials of the Greek Language.

Second half of a two-semester approach to ancient Greek with special emphasis on developing facility in rapid reading of Greek literature. Selections from Attic Greek authors. Students typically have completed GREK0100, or have the equivalent already.

GREK 0300. Introduction to Greek Literature.

Introduction to Greek literature through intensive reading. Prerequisite: GREK 0200, GREK 0110, or the equivalent. This course focuses on translation and comprehension of Classical Greek prose. The goal is to expand your vocabulary, increase your ease with morphology, and deepen your understanding of syntax as each of these elements of the language interact with each other. The primary text will be Plato’s Apology, with some additional readings by Xenophon.

GREK 0310. Grammar Review and Composition.

Half-credit course with attention to student's individual needs.

GREK 0400. Introduction to Greek Literature.

Prerequisite: GREK 0300 (or the equivalent). Review of grammar of the Attic dialect through rapid reading of texts by Lysias, Plato, or Xenophon. Emphasis on syntax and style.

GREK 1010. Introduction to Greek Drama.

Both for students who have recently finished GREK 0300 and 0400 and for those who have little or no experience of translating Greek drama. Begins with a brief review of Attic grammar with readings in Plato. Then turns to Greek drama with students reading a play of one of the dramatists and focusing on philological analysis and meters.

GREK 1050A. Aristophanes.

The course is addressed to students with at least a medium-level command of Ancient Greek, but previous knowledge of Aristophanic language and poetry is not required. We will be reading in the original language Aristophanes’ "Ecclesiazusae" ("Assemblywomen"). This late play of Aristophanes is the last of his three comedies on the topic of women, and is remarkable in representing women as taking complete control of the state and instituting a radical communism in property and family. There will be readings of modern essays on different aspects (language, meter, historical background, theatrical performances, literary interpretations, etc.) of this play and of Aristophanes’ production.

GREK 1050B. Euripides.

Introduction to the study of Athenian tragedy. Thorough translation of one drama with attention to literary analysis. Rapid survey of other Euripidean plays.

GREK 1050C. Sophocles.

An introduction to the study of Athenian tragedy. We shall read closely at least two plays of the Oedipus cycle: Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus. We will give close attention to language, meters, and matters of performance.

GREK 1050D. Homer: Iliad.

No description available.

GREK 1060. Herodotus.

How do we read Herodotus' Histories in today's post-truth era? Once known as part of the 'Liar School', today's 'Father of History' is better understood as a commentator on cultural difference, an artful story teller, and an astute observer of historical methods. This course focuses on Herodotus Book VIII which retells the critical naval conflicts between the Greeks and Persia at Artemision and Salamis in 480 BCE. The depictions of Xerxes and Themistokles serve as an appetizer for the "debate" where Herodotus evokes Panhellenism and Greece's debt to Athens. This Advanced Greek course is suitable for Undergraduates and Graduates.

GREK 1080. Attic Orators, Seeing Slavery in Athenian Lawcourt Speeches.

We study Athenian lawcourt speeches (Greek) that exemplify the way slaves are present in them. Slaves may have approximated at least a third of the population of Athens; their lack of legal status, however, meant they had no right to sue others or to defend themselves—not even, if murdered, to find a post-mortem justice for their deaths. They are visible in disputes and often enmeshed in the very process of trials—as informers against masters who could win awards for so doing or more likely as witnesses who were subjected to torture for their testimony. At other times they are the objects of legal disputes from their ‘workplace’: as bankers sued for appropriating vast sums of money, as managers of shops that change ownership, as prostitutes under contract who are fought over by citizen men.

GREK 1100. Advanced Homer: The Odyssey.

It is hard to imagine a more joyful way to acquire excellent control of Homeric Greek than by reading, in its entirety (if possible), Homer's wonderful and captivating work, the Odyssey. Though it can be a little time-consuming initially, students quickly become familiar with the syntax and the vocabulary, and find great pleasure in immersing themselves in this thrilling masterpiece.

GREK 1100G. On the Sublime.

What makes great writing great? We will explore this question with the author of “On the Sublime” a treatise thought to be from the first century CE and usually attached to the name “Longinus”. Sappho, Homer, Plato and many others are invited into the discussion as we try to define the power (and occasional shortcomings) of the works they’ve left behind.

GREK 1110B. Plato, Phaedrus.

We will read in Greek Plato's dialogue Phaedrus on love and rhetoric. We will attempt to understand the dialogue as a unified whole, discussing such questions as the link between love and the art of persuasion, Plato's denigration of writing, and the relationship between rhetoric and philosophy.

GREK 1110C. Plato: Statesman.

Reading of Plato's Statesman in Greek and discussion of the questions: What is special about the Statesman's expertise? How (if at all) does his expertise differ from that of the philosopher? How is the Statesman related to the philosopher-kings in Plato's Republic? Discussion of Plato's later philosophical method, a topic central of the Statesman.

GREK 1110D. Plato: Symposium.

Readings in Greek Plato's Symposium, his beautiful dialogue about love and philosophy.

GREK 1110E. Plutarch.

Reading of selections from Plutarch's works with attention to literary and historical background.

GREK 1110F. Poetry of Gods and Heroes.

Readings in early Greek hymns, creation myths (especially Hesiod's Theogony), and short poems about human struggle and values.

GREK 1110G. Selections from Greek Authors: Mysteries.

We shall read documents pertaining to the Eleusinian Mysteries. In the first part of the course, we focus on orations (Andocides 6, "On the Mysteries"; Lysias 6, Against Anocides for impiety. In the second part, we read inscriptions (including 'sacred laws') pertaining to the Mysteries.

GREK 1110H. The Odyssey.

It is hard to imagine a more joyful way to acquire excellent control of Homeric Greek than by reading, in its entirety (if possible), Homer's wonderful and captivating work, the Odyssey. Though it can be a little time-consuming initially, students quickly become familiar with the syntax and the vocabulary, and find great pleasure in immersing themselves in this thrilling masterpiece.

GREK 1110I. Selections from Greek Authors: Thucydides.

Thucydides Book 5: It begins with a corrupt line that seems to tell us that Athens’ truce (4.117-19) with the Spartans would continue; it ends with the diplomatic failure of the Melians’ conference with the Athenians. In between and inter alia, there are the deaths of Brasidas and Kleon, the story of Thucydides’ exile from Athens, and three verbatim or ‘raw’ (?) treaties: the peace of Nikias, the alliance of Athens and Sparta, and the ‘Quadruple Alliance’ (a treaty between Athenians, Argives, Mantineians, and Eleians—to which we shall compare IG I3 83). We shall translate the book with nitty-gritty philological attention; and we shall also be concerned with the overall narrative structure and the way the diplomatic documents fit into the text. Why did Thucydides insert verbatim or ‘raw’ treaties into his history? And are they in fact the real thing?

GREK 1110J. Plato: Theaetetus.

Theaetetus is in many ways Plato's most modern dialogue. The central question is: what is it to know something? Is knowledge some sort of skill? Is it perception? True judgment? Some sort of account together with true judgment? We will read the dialogue in Greek and discuss Plato's fascinating investigation of knowledge.

GREK 1110K. Early Byzantine Literature.

No description available.

GREK 1110L. Aeschylus' Agamemnon.

No description available.

GREK 1110M. Selections from Greek Authors: Plato, Sophist.

No description available.

GREK 1110N. Menander.

Thanks to a series of remarkable discoveries over the last century, we can now read several comedies by Menander. In this course, we shall investigate the nature of New Comedy, its typical plot structures and characters, the conditions of its performance, and its relation to the Hellenistic world in which it was composed.

GREK 1110O. Aristotle: Nichomachean Ethics.

In this class we will read Books I, II, III, and X of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and discuss his treatment of the highest human good, moral virtue, the doctrine of the mean, and his theory of action.

GREK 1110P. Sophocles.

This course offers a thorough introduction to Sophocles and Greek tragedy through a careful study of two plays, Antigone and Philoctetes, as well as a rapid survey of Sophocles' other works. Close attention will be paid to issues of language, poetry, and performance. In addition, through a representative selection of recent scholarship we will explore themes including Sophocles' engagement with culture and politics in fifth-century Athens as well as the reception of his plays in modern and contemporary theater.

GREK 1110Q. Greek Erotic Literature: From Plato to the Medieval Romances.

Survey of desire in Greek writing, with an emphasis on post-classical texts. Exploration of Platonic love, Roman Greek literature on eros, friendship in late antique and medieval rhetoric and letter-writing, erotic epigrams from Imperial to Middle Byzantine times, depictions of the erotic in hagiographical texts, and, finally, the twelfth-century revival of romantic fiction. Four semesters of Greek required.

GREK 1110R. Characters and Characterization in Greek Literature.

We will read passages from a wide range of Greek literature, both verse (epic, drama, lyric, epigram) and prose (history, oratory, biography, the character sketch), as well as ancient criticism, with our attention focused on the representation of character, individuality, and self-hood, especially in relation to genre.

GREK 1110S. Xenophon.

What discourse was there about running the state in Xenophon's work? GREK 1060 reflects on tyranny, democracy, and oligarchy under the critical eye of the Old Oligarch ([Xenophon] Constitution of the Athenians and Xenophon's Hieron, Constitution of the Spartans, and Poroi. This advanced Greek language and literature course enhances participants' knowledge and understanding of Greek, develops an appreciation of important themes and current research into Xenophon and his minor works, and improves the student's capacity to translate and comment on ancient Greek text. Assessment is by a combination of translation, commentary, essay assignments, and examinations.

GREK 1110T. Rhetors and Philosophers: Intellectual Thought and Sophistic Style in the Ancient World.

In a series of notorious dialogues, Plato delineated a distinction between two professions that were to define future intellectual history: philosophy and rhetoric, the science of thinking juxtaposed to the art of speaking. We will study the transformations of this distinction in four exceptional socio-cultural contexts: Classical Athens, Imperial Rome, Late Antique Alexandria, and Medieval Constantinople. We will discuss the basics and varieties of educational curricula (Aristotle's Academy, Second Sophistic, Neoplatonism), the social position and self-definition of ancient intellectual figures, and the ever-fluid boundaries between content and form, thought and style; ultimately, between philosophy and literature.

GREK 1110U. Survey of Post-Classical Greek (2nd-12th century CE).

This course will study the development of post-classical Greek language and literature with an emphasis on three traditions—the Second Sophistic, late antique discourse (4th-5th centuries), and writing in medieval Constantinople (9th-12th centuries)—through a close reading of texts from a variety of styles, authors, and genres. The selections will be tailored to the needs of the participants. Prior knowledge of Greek (an equivalent of 2 years) is required. Prerequisite: GREK 0400 or instructor permission. Enrollment limited to 20.

GREK 1110V. Greek Funeral Orations.

Survey of classical Greek funeral orations; authors to be covered include Thucydides, Plato, Demosthenes, and other fourth century prose writers. The emphasis of the course will be on Greek grammar and techniques of prose translation, though throughout the semester we will also be discussing the nature of ancient Greek commemorative discourses, particularly in classical Athens. Some background on Greek lament and other funerary genres will be provided, and short supplementary texts may range from Homeric excerpts to inscribed epitaphs. Students should already have four semesters of ancient Greek (completion of GREK 0400) or the equivalent.

GREK 1110W. Persians, Others, in Greek Literature.

This Advanced-level Greek course explores the depiction of the ‘other’ in the long-5th century BCE. The course engages the construction of identity, and issues of race and ethnicity, in relation to the Greek presentation of the Persians in the century after the Second Persian invasion (478 BCE onwards). We will read, in ancient Greek, selections from Aeschylus’ Persians, Aristophanes’ Acharnians, Ctesias’ Persica, Herodotus’ Histories, and Xenophon’s Cyropaedia. Equipped with the more recent approaches to identity and critical race theory, students will explore the production of categories of ethnicity in ancient Greece and the world beyond the confines of the Mediterranean.

GREK 1110X. Aristotle's Politics.

Aristotle's Politics is a landmark in the history of political thought: the first systematic study of political life. Thinkers from Aquinas to Agamben and Foucault have taken the Politics as the foundation of their own political theories. In this course, we will read Book 1 of the Politics in its entirety, as well as selections from Books 3, 5, 7 and 8. We will address stylistic, philosophical and philological questions raised by the text, as well as reflecting on larger interpretive questions.

GREK 1110Z. Greek Texts in the Postclassical Tradition.

A treasure of unedited or insufficiently edited as well as untraslated or little studied Greek texts exists in the postclassical tradition (especially from the Roman period onward). The course will introduce graduate and qualified undergraduate students into this large body of later Greek literature as well as provide training in the study of manuscripts and the preparation of critical editions, translations, and commentaries. Participation in a joint publication project is possible.

GREK 1111B. Polybius.

How does an Empire start? Polybius provides answers in his Histories and explains the rise of Rome to a position of world-power. This course focuses on Book I which describes Polybius' purpose for his history and the foundation of Rome's operations beyond Italy. This advanced Greek language and literature course enhances participants' knowledge and understanding of Greek, develops an appreciation of important themes and current research into Polybius and his work, and improves the student's capacity to translate and comment on ancient Greek text. Assessment is by a combination of translation, commentary, essay assignments, and examinations.

GREK 1111C. Late Antique Historiography: Procopius of Caesarea.

This course will consider the writings of Procopius of Caesarea (ca. 500-565) in light of his place in Greek literary history, and his cultural context in the Late Roman Empire of Justinian. Sessions will combine a critical reading of texts in Greek with analysis of the author’s historical methods, style, and literary influences. We will study portions of all three of Procopius’ surviving works, beginning with The Wars, and continuing with The Secret History and The Buildings.

GREK 1111D. Daphnis and Chloe.

Goethe said that you should read Longus’ “Daphnis and Chloe” once a year (in Greek, of course!). So if you haven’t read it yet, it’s time. One of the first novels ever written, it offers pirates, erotic encounters, and numerous goat-filled landscapes. Discussions include the origins and development of the prose novel, the political and social context of the times, and the beauty of Longus’ idyllic narrative.

GREK 1111F. The Greek Chorus.

One of the most striking features of Greek drama is the presence of a chorus whose members dance, sing, and contribute to the dramatic action in ways that puzzle modern audiences. Besides the drama, choruses are also found in other genres: in victory odes for champions of athletic competitions, in hymns to gods and goddesses, and in other forms such as the dithyramb. In this class, we will read a representative selection of choral lyric, from Alcman to Aristophanes, including major figures such as Pindar, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

GREK 1111J. Hippocratic Medicine.

In this class we will read texts from the Hippocratic Corpus on ancient medicine, including the Oath, On Ancient Medicine, Airs, Waters, Places, The Sacred Disease, On the Seed, On the Nature of the Child, and some other texts including Diseases of Women in ancient Greek. Requires basic reading knowledge of ancient Greek

GREK 1111K. Aristotle's Theology in Metaphysics Lambda.

Metaphysics Lambda (Book XII) is a self-contained series of lectures presenting in its first five chapters an overview of Aristotle’s natural philosophy and metaphysics (first philosophy) and culminating in its last five chapters in his tantalizing treatment of divine substance and its causal role in the cosmos. Among the questions to be asked: What is first philosophy and how does Lambda—finally developing Aristotle's theology—fit into that larger project? How does God govern the cosmos as an object of love? How should we understand the claims that God thinks himself and that “thinking is thinking of thinking”?

GREK 1140. Introduction to Greek Linguistics.

Examines changes that took place in Greek from the time of its separation from its parent language (Proto-Indo-European) to the dialects of Classical times (5th-4th C.B.C.). This course is also an introduction to the methodology of historical linguistics, concentrating on phonology. Proficiency in ancient Greek is required.

GREK 1150. Greek Prose Composition.

Survey of Greek grammar and an opportunity to reflect on problems of translation. Main goals: to improve the students' command of prose syntax (both in reading and writing), and to develop a keen sensitivity towards issues of translation. A variety of texts written in Attic prose are read and analyzed in class. Students are expected to write two to three compositions a week in good Attic prose. Advanced knowledge of ancient Greek is a prerequisite for this course.

GREK 1260. Plato and Aristotle.

No description available.

GREK 1260A. Plato's Protagoras.

Plato's Protagoras is a literary and philosophical masterpiece representing a great gathering of intellectuals, including Socrates and the sophist Protagoras. The two men try to out-wit each other on such topics as political theory, literary criticism, and education. Major questions throughout the discussion are: What is the role of knowledge in a successful life, and how can we acquire knowledge that leads to success? We will read the dialogue in Greek. Prerequisite: two years of Greek (GREK 0400) or demonstrated equivalent ability.

GREK 1810. Greek Literature Survey to 450 BCE.

Surveys early Greek literature to 450 BCE. Works studied include the Iliad, Odyssey, the Hesiodic poems, Pindar, Bacchylides, and Aeschylus. Emphasis on literary interpretation, the poetics of oral poetry, and the early history of various literary genres. Extensive readings in the original.

GREK 1820. Greek Literature Survey after 450 BCE.

Surveys Greek literature after 450 BCE. Authors studied include Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Thucydides, as well as the literature of the fourth century and beyond. Emphasis on literary interpretation and the intellectual currents of the times. Extensive readings in the original.

GREK 1830. Imperial Greek Prose.

How did Greek literature evolve under the Roman Empire? In this course we survey Greek prose literature of the 2nd-4th centuries CE, in particular trends related to what might be called “the Long Second Sophistic.” Authors and topics we study include: figures traditionally associated with the Second Sophistic (Dio Chrysostom, Philostratus, Lucian, Aristides), the Greek novel, rhetorical theory and textbooks, biographical literature, travel-writing (Pausanias), Athenian-trained Christian rhetors such as the Cappadocian Fathers, and the concept of paideia and its relationship to specialized disciplines such as medicine and logic.

GREK 1910. Special Topics.

Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.

GREK 1930A. Euripides.

The plays of Euripides and related works, subject to consultation with students.

GREK 1930B. Greek Epigraphy.

Practical (making and reading squeezes, identifying letters, locating inscriptions, etc.) and analytical aspects of epigraphy will be pursued. The major focus will be legal inscriptions from the Greek world.

GREK 1930C. Introduction to Greek Papyrology.

During the 20th century, papyrology has become the most important source for new literary texts, with three substantial discoveries in the last decade (Simonides, Empedokles, Poseidippos). Provides an introduction to the basic techniques of this comparatively young discipline: material evidence, decipherment, dating, interpretation, restoration, editing, etc. Focus on literary texts, but documentary papyri will also be examined.

GREK 1930D. Rapid Reading in Plutarch.

No description available.

GREK 1990. Conference: Especially for Honors Students.

Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.

GREK 2000A. Aristophanes.

No description available.

GREK 2000B. Greek Epigraphy.

An introduction to the study of Greek epigraphy. We shall examine treaties, laws, decrees and other documents, mostly from Athens but also from other parts of the Greek world. Practical issues (e.g., the actual reading of letters and the identification and dating of documents) and analytic questions (e.g. regarding historical context) will be explored.

GREK 2000C. Seminar: Plutarch.

Rapid reading of selections from Plutarch's Lives and from from his Moralia.

GREK 2000D. Graduate Seminar: On Greek Margins: Introduction to Reading Scholia and other Technical Literature.

No description available.

GREK 2020A. Sophocles.

No description available.

GREK 2020B. Herodotus.

Books 3 to 5.

GREK 2020C. Pindar.

No description available.

GREK 2020D. Thucydides.

Books I and VIII: language, mode of thought, and methodology; how the work was composed, historical problems; supplementary sources: epigraphical, literary.

GREK 2050A. Demosthenes.

No description available.

GREK 2050B. Documents: Religious Cults and Sacred Laws.

In the first half of the course we shall read documents pertaining to the Eleusinian mysteries in Athens, including (a) two orations, Andocides 1 "On the Mysteries," and Lysias 6 "Against Andocides for impiety;" (b) a variety of inscriptions published by Clinton (in Eleusis, The Inscriptions on Stone: Documents of the Sanctuary of the Two Goddesses and Public Documents of the Deme), and (c) the grand inscription of Adnania (ca. 92 B.C., not Eleusinian but related). In the second half of the course, we shall read inscribed sacred laws from Greece and Asia Minor, from the fifth to the first century B.C.

GREK 2070A. Lucian.

The funniest and most impressive writer of Greek prose during the imperial period (not to mention the alleged inventor of science fiction), it is no wonder that Lucian was a favorite author from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. But he was also regularly reviled -- Martin Luther once thundered at Erasmus, “you ooze Lucian from every pore” (it wasn’t a compliment). This class will focus on his philosophical satires and contextualize those satires within the philosophies of the second century CE. Along with primary and secondary readings – not only from Lucian but also authors like Galen and Sextus Empiricus – we will discuss the texts, the times, and the nature of Lucian’s philosophical skepticism.

GREK 2070B. Seminar: Hellenistic Poetry.

In this seminar we will read in their original Greek version extended portions of three major Alexandrian poets' works: Apollonius of Rhodes, Callimachus, and Theocritus, supplemented by readings in Hellenistic epigrams and other texts as well as secondary literature. We will pay attention to the social, political and literary environment of third century Alexandria, where –under very special conditions– these works were produced and received for the first time. We shall investigate the nature of the Hellenistic aesthetic, the relation of Hellenistic to archaic and classical poetry, and the way Hellenistic poetry is a reflection of its time and place.

GREK 2100A. Herodotus.

No description available.

GREK 2100B. Making Memory: Simonides, Herodotus, and Greek Identity.

No description available.

GREK 2100C. Drama and the Polis.

No description available.

GREK 2100D. Ancient Literary Criticism.

Survey of ancient literary theory, with an emphasis on Greek sources. Topics to be covered include the representation of poets, the nature of inspiration, the elements of literary style, the moral and ethical uses (and dangers) of poetry, mimesis, the relationship between poetry and citizenship, literature and education, etc. We will read, in Greek, excerpts from (e.g.) Aristophanes' Frogs, Plato's writings on poetry, Aristotle's Poetics, Plutarch's How a young man should study poetry, and pseudo-Longinus' On the Sublime. Students will be evaluated on the basis of in-class presentations, two translation exams, and a seminar paper.

GREK 2110A. Homer.

A close reading of the entire Odyssey, exploring all aspects of the poem, from its oral composition, language, and style to its background myths and social dimensions. Homer's text will be read in Greek, and extensive secondary sources in several languages will be used.

GREK 2110B. Literary Criticism in Greek Scholia.

No description available.

GREK 2110C. Plato's Republic and its Neoplatonic Reception.

A close reading of Plato's Republic together with Proclus' fifth-century CE commentary. The main focus is Plato's discussion of poetry and mimesis (books 2, 3, and 10), his appropriation of myth and dramatic technique (books 7 and 10), and Proclus' attempt at reconciling Plato with Homer, namely Plato's anti-mimetic stance with his overt theatrics and myth-making. Brings together classical writing with its post-classical readings, broaches such topics as the notion of mimesis and the reception of Plato as well as Homer in Antiquity, and introduces students to late antique allegory and what has been termed the birth of the symbol.

GREK 2110D. Greek Epigraphy.

An introduction to the study of Greek epigraphy. We shall examine treaties, laws, decrees and other documents, mostly from Athens but also from other parts of the Greek world. Practical issues (e.g., the actual reading of letters and the identification and dating of documents) and analytic questions (e.g., regarding historical context) will be explored.

GREK 2110E. Aeschines and Demosthenes, "Crowning Speeches".

GREK 2110F. Greek Palaeography and Premodern Book Cultures.

Introduction to pre-modern Greek book culture and the study of Greek literary scripts from classical antiquity to the Renaissance. Students become acquainted with the history of books, the context and agents of their production, and the transmission of Greek (classical as well as post-classical) literature. Training is provided in reading and dating different scripts and in editing ancient texts.

GREK 2110G. Identity, Repatriation, and Justice: International Relations Among Greek Cities 700 BCE - 90 BCE.

We study diplomatic documents, mainly in epigraphical sources, from all parts of the Greek world especially from the 5th to 2nd centuries BCE Alliances, international arbitrations, and decisions of foreign judges will be major concerns; we shall be particularly interested in agreements that are composed after wars or major disputes among citizens (staseis) are ended, especially in arrangements that are made to foster harmony between citizens who have remained in a polis with fellow citizens who have returned from exile; and also in arrangements to solve disputes over land ownership and to promote economic growth. Our texts are not only diplomatic instruments (treaties, arbitrations, etc.) but also letters of monarchs and dynasts and honorary decrees. As a final project, students are to prepare a dossier of texts relating to one particular polity, documenting its relations with another city or cities, or to divisions within its own population.

GREK 2110K. Aristotle's Theology in Metaphysics Lambda.

Metaphysics Lambda (Book XII) is a self-contained series of lectures presenting in its first five chapters an overview of Aristotle’s natural philosophy and metaphysics (first philosophy) and culminating in its last five chapters in his tantalizing treatment of divine substance and its causal role in the cosmos. Among the questions to be asked: What is first philosophy and how does Lambda—finally developing Aristotle's theology—fit into that larger project? How does God govern the cosmos as an object of love? How should we understand the claims that God thinks himself and that “thinking is thinking of thinking”?

GREK 2120A. Graduate Seminar: Greek Autobiography: From Plato to the Middle Ages.

An exploration of autobiographical narratives written in Greek from classical to Byzantine times, focusing on the relation between changing notions of the self and the development of autobiography as a literary genre. Authors examined: Plato, Demosthenes, Nicolaus of Damascus, Marcus Aurelius, Aelius Aristides, Lucian, Gregory of Nazianzus, Libanius, Synesius, Michael Psellos, Michael Attaleiates, and Anna Comnena.

GREK 2150. Plato's Theaetetus.

See PHIL 2150I for course description.

GREK 2970. Preliminary Exam Preparation.

For graduate students who have met the tuition requirement and are paying the registration fee to continue active enrollment while preparing for a preliminary examination.

GREK 2980. Reading and Research.

Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course. Instructor permission required.

GREK 2990. Thesis Preparation.

For graduate students who have met the residency requirement and are continuing research on a full time basis.

LATN 0100. Essentials of the Latin Language.

An intensive two-semester approach to Latin with special emphasis on developing facility in the rapid reading of Latin literature. No previous knowledge of Latin is required.

LATN 0110. Intensive Introduction to Latin.

This course offers a rapid introduction to the Latin language and grammar. As a one-semester introduction to material often covered in two semesters, this course carries two credit hours instead on one. The workload for this course is correspondingly heavy; students may expect an average of ten hours of homework—including memorization, practice, and preparation of vocabulary and grammar—per week. There are no prerequisites for this course.

LATN 0200. Essentials of the Latin Language.

Second course in an intensive two-semester approach to Latin. Special emphasis on developing facility in the rapid reading of Latin literature. No previous knowledge of Latin is required prior to taking this two course sequence.

LATN 0300. Introduction to Latin Literature.

Introduction to Latin literature through intensive reading of major authors in prose and poetry with careful attention to grammar and style. Prerequisite: LATN 0100, 0200 or 0110 (or equivalent).

LATN 0310. Grammar Review and Composition.

Half-credit course with attention to student's individual needs.

LATN 0400. Introduction to Latin Literature.

Introduction to Latin literature through intensive reading of major authors in prose and poetry with careful attention to grammar and style. Prerequisite: LATN 0100, 0200 or 0110 (or equivalent).

LATN 0510A. Latin Mystical Writing.

We read variously in Latin those authors (Cicero, Horace, Augustine, Anselm, Hildegard) who articulate the best traditions of mysticism in the West: a longing for transcendence, alienation, unity through participation with divinity and culture. Prerequisite: A knowledge of Latin at the intermediate level (one or two years).

LATN 0510B. Medieval Latin Lyric.

Open to students with two years of Latin.

LATN 1010. Latin Lyric: Catullus and Horace.

Introduction to Latin lyric poetry through the poems of its finest representatives, Catullus and Horace. Emphasis placed on careful reading of the poems, which will be considered individually, as parts of a collection, and as representatives of the poetry we call lyric. The primary objective of the course is to improve students' ability to read Latin lyric poetry fluently, in terms of meter, grammar, syntax, and literary-critical appreciation. We will also read and discuss a selection of seminal articles on ancient lyric, and students will get experience (and guidance) writing scholarly criticism.

LATN 1015. Horace's Odes.

This course covers Horace's four books of lyric poetry in the original Latin, with attention paid to linguistic and literary details as well as to the poetry's place in the history of Greek and Roman literature and in Roman political and social culture at the moment of transition from Republic to Empire.

LATN 1020A. De Oratore.

No description available.

LATN 1020B. Cicero, Verrines.

Our aims are to understand and translate Cicero’s Against Verres II4 (‘On the Statues’), and to study its historical, legal, and cultural background—not only the laws that were broken and the legal procedures, rhetorical strategies and performative displays for winning the case (but never ‘used’ since the speech was never delivered), but also the concept of cultural theft that impels Cicero’s argument and that has exerted so great an influence in later centuries. We shall, as time permits, consider the influence of the Verrines on Edmund Burke in his prosecution of Warren Hastings (1787-1794), so much so that accounts of Verres’ enormities in Sicily became comparative material for the contemporary trial of Hastings in London newspapers; and also their influence on the first international law code recognizing cultural property (the ‘Lieber Code’, 1863) as a protected category in war.

LATN 1020C. Cicero's Republic.

As one of the only texts that articulates a "Roman" political philosophy, Cicero's De Re Publica is indispensible for students with an interest in Roman history or classical political thought. In this class, we will address the text from both these perspectives; but we will also read it as a work of literature that remakes the genre conventions of the Platonic dialogue for a Roman readership. We will also address the complex relationship between the text of De Re Publica and the troubled times in which it was written.

LATN 1020D. Cicero at the End of the Republic: Politics, Letters, and Philosophy.

We study Cicero's writings from the last months of his life, when both his own personal legacy and the fate of the Republic were at stake. During this turbulent period he produced the Philippics against his arch-enemy Mark Antony, letters offering an intimate perspective on friendship and family life, and the De Officiis, a treatise on ethical duties that became one of the most influential works of moral philosophy ever written. We read the Second Philippic, several letters, and most of De Officiis Book I in Latin, plus selections of other Philippics and all the De Officiis in English.

LATN 1040A. Virgil: Eclogues and Georgics.

Virgil, most famous as the poet of the Aeneid, began his career with two smaller masterpieces: a collection of ten bucolic poems (Eclogues) modeled on the Idylls of the Hellenistic poet Theocritus, and a didactic work on agriculture in four books, the Georgics, which found its inspiration both in Hellenistic models and in more recent Roman antecedents (including Lucretius' De Rerum Natura) and is viewed by many as the poet's finest achievement. We will read selections from both works, concluding with the epyllion at the end of Georgics Four, which relates the tragic love story of Orpheus and Eurydice.

LATN 1040B. Virgil: Aeneid.

Close reading of selections from all twelve books of Virgil's epic.

LATN 1050. Horace Satires, Epistles and 'Ars Poetica'.

We will read selections from each of these collections of Horace's hexameter poetry, in which we learn much about the poet's life and education, his friendships with Vergil and others, his relationship with his patron Maecenas and eventually with Augustus, and his theories about the "Art of Poetry" as it should best be practiced and appreciated. We will also consider the place of Horace's poems in the development of the satirical and epistolary genres at Rome as well as the influence of these works on the later poetic (and literary-critical) tradition.

LATN 1060A. Latin Prose: Further Readings in Roman Historiography.

No description available.

LATN 1060B. Sallust.

A study of the nature and themes of Roman historical writing through reading one of its major representatives: "Catilinarian Conspiracy" and selections from Sallust's other works. Comparison with other authors writing on the same topics.

LATN 1060C. Sallust and Livy.

Two major Roman historians provide a basis for study of style, intent, veracity, and stature.

LATN 1060D. Sallust, Livy, and Tacitus.

Three major Roman historians provide a basis for study of style, intent, veracity, and stature.

LATN 1060E. Livy.

Close readings of Livy's history of Rome, From the Foundation of the City. As we read selections from Books 1, 5, and 21, we will explore several historiographical aspects of Livy's text. We will consider both the historical tradition Livy was adapting and the influence and intrusion of the Augustan regime upon Livy's particular construction of the past. We will pay special attention to the roles played by myth, legend, and history. We will also discuss the text as literature and examine how the historian structures and crafts his work into individual books, sets of books, and a coherent multi-volume whole.

LATN 1060F. Ovid.

Reading of selections from Ovid's poetry, with emphasis placed both on close reading and on the texts' engagement with poetic issues (genre and intertextuality) and with the wider political and cultural issues of Augustan Rome.

LATN 1060G. Tacitus.

Will examine the literary and historical significance of Tacitus' Annals. In addition to reading the entire Annals in English, we will focus on books 1 and 4 of the Latin text, translating 6-8 pages per week (time permitting, we will also practice some sight-translations from book 14). In an effort to understand Tacitus' place in the ancient historiographical tradition, we will read several secondary sources, many of which respond to (or build on) Ronald Syme's monumental work. Not open to first year students.

LATN 1060H. Conquest: Caesar and Tacitus.

Caesar's account of the Gallic Wars reconstructs his conquests, defeats, and ultimate victory. We will consider the great general's aims and objectives in launching such a major military campaign and in writing a history of these endeavors. Was he simply seeking greater glory for the Roman people? After the midterm, we will turn our critical attention to the life of another Julius: Cn. Iulius Agricola, the Imperial general largely responsible for Rome’s conquest of Britain. In this moral biography of his father-in-law, Tacitus mixes panegyric and invective to reveal the less savory aspects of imperialism: Rome’s rapacity, corruption, greed, and despotism.

LATN 1060I. Senecan Tragedy.

Close reading and thorough translation of two Senecan revenge tragedies, the Medea and Thyestes. Emphasis will be on translation of the Latin, but as time permits we will also be discussing the two plays in their mythological, cultural, historical, and performance contexts. Students should already have four semesters of Latin (LATN 0400) or the equivalent.

LATN 1060J. Ovid Heroides.

Ovid's collection of "Heroines" is comprised of fifteen elegiac "letters" from mythological heroines to the lovers who have mistreated or abandoned them, as well as three pairs of letters between heroic lovers and their beloveds. We will read selected Heroides in Latin and the remaining poems in English translation. Emphasis will be placed on close reading of the Latin and on the poems' engagement both with poetic issues (e.g., genre and allusion) and with the wider political, social, and cultural discourses of Augustan Rome.

LATN 1060K. Seneca.

Philosopher, statesman, teacher, husband, and friend, Seneca (the Younger) was respected in his life and revered for his spectacularly Stoic death. This course will introduce students to aspects of Senecan thought, style, and influence while refining general facility with Latin.

LATN 1110A. Apuleius.

No description available.

LATN 1110B. Augustine, Confessions.

We will focus on the Christian humanism of Augustine’s Confessions, reading excerpts from the autobiographical books against the diction found in them owed to Catullus, Cicero, Horace, Lucretius, Ovid, Sallust, and Virgil. The question of why a Christian might make use of such diction will be answered through attention to Augustine's training and his literary aims in writing the Confessions.

LATN 1110C. Caesar: Bellum Gallicum.

No description available.

LATN 1110D. Civil War Literature.

Reading of Latin works that deal with the reality and experience of civil war, focusing primarily on the civil war of 49-48 B.C.E.: Caesar's Civil War, Cicero's letters of the time, Cicero's Caesarian orations, and selections from Suetonius and Lucan. Additional readings in translation.

LATN 1110E. Comedy.

No description available.

LATN 1110F. Fortunatus.

Wide reading in the occasional poetry of the most prolific writer of the early Middle Ages, attending to diction, meter, imagery, allusion, and paying special attention to the (homo- and hetero-) erotic pieces written to the poet's friends.

LATN 1110G. Latin Love Elegy.

Reading of representative selections from each of the Roman elegists: Tibullus, Propertius, and Ovid. Discussion also of the origins and development of love elegy at Rome and exploration of the themes and topoi that define the genre. Follows the poets' negotiations with various discourses and ideologies in Augustan Rome: literary, social, sexual, and political.

LATN 1110H. Literature at the Court of Charlemagne.

We will read widely in the Latin literature of the eighth and ninth centuries, paying attention to genre, meter, patronage, and the shifting uses put to poetry in the decades in which Charlemagne ruled.

LATN 1110I. Lucretius.

Lucretius' De Rerum Natura, a long philosophical poem, is both a major source for Epicurean philosophical thought and an example of the ambitious Latin poetry of the late Roman Republic. We will read extensive selections from the poem in Latin. Our aim will be to make a detailed exploration of these sections through close reading of the Latin text and discussion of linguistic, literary, and cultural problems.

LATN 1110J. Petronius.

Close reading of Petronius's comic masterpiece, the Satyrica, with emphasis on questions of form, narrative technique, and literary intention.

LATN 1110K. Selections from Latin Authors: Ausonius.

We will read widely in the poetry of Ausonias, aiming for depth and breadth, but focusing especially on those poems that speak to the ways in which the poet transformed or transferred the classical Latin tradition to his successors.

LATN 1110L. Medieval Latin Lyric.

Close reading of a representative sampling of the personal poetry of the Latin Middle Ages, paying attention to what constitutes the lyric mode in the fourth through the twelfth centuries, developments in metrics, the effects of Christianity on vision and voice, the pressures of vernacular traditions, lyric rhetoric.

LATN 1110M. Plautus.

We shall read two or three plays of the comic genius of ancient Rome, with focus on Plautus' language and cultural background.

LATN 1110N. Latin Comedy: Terence.

We shall read several plays of Terence. This course is ideal for freshman who have studied Latin for three or four years in high school and who are taking their first college course and for students returning to Latin after an interval without Latin.

LATN 1110O. Roman Satire.

Survey of the genre of Roman verse satire, with special attention to Horace and Juvenal and additional readings in Lucilius and Persius.

LATN 1110P. Lucan's Civil War.

We will read selected books of Lucan's Civil War (Bellum Civile) in Latin and the poem in its entirety in English. Alongside the primary goal of refining our facility with Latin language, we will also become increasingly familiar with and sensitive to Lucan's style, his poem's place within the development of Greco-Roman epic, and the socio-political context(s) of his poem's creation (e.g. Nero and the Pisonian conspiracy). Themes to be discussed may include, but are not limited to, the grotestque, epic's both complimentary and critical relationship to empire, ambition and Roman gender constructs, and the dynamics between art and politics.

LATN 1110R. Catilines: Cicero and Sallust.

Close readings of selections from Cicero's Catilinarians and Sallust's Bellum Catilinae. We will explore how two contemporary authors responded to the same historical event: the Catilinarian conspiracy. We will consider not only the differences of genre (political speech v. historical monograph), but also the ways in which each author's involvement affected the content of his presentation. Additionally, we will examine Sallust's and Cicero's distinctive positions on Latin diction and stylistics. Prerequisite: Knowledge of elementary Latin grammar and intermediate Latin reading skills.

LATN 1110S. Catullus.

We will read all the extant poetry of Catullus with an emphasis on close reading of the Latin text and discussion of linguistic, literary, and cultural problems.

LATN 1110T. The Poetry of Praise.

The art of praising powerful men and women comes into Roman poetry from Greek encomium, particularly of the Hellenistic period; it begins in the late Republic, but comes into full flower with Augustus' consolidation of his own rule. Are we dealing with straightforward praiseof rulers? With ironic or tendentious critiques? With texts that can perform both functions? We will study examples drawn from a number of Latin authors, mainly Augustan, as well as a few Greek texts in English translation. Enrollment limited to 20. Intermediate Latin (a passing grade in LATN 0300 and/or 0400) or the equivalent, for example in secondary school.

LATN 1110X. Selections from Latin Authors: Ovid, Ars Amatoria.

This course will cover Ovid's Ars Amatoria, Book One, as well as other selections from Ovid. Our aim will be a detailed exploration of this poetry through close reading of the Latin text and discussion of linguistic, literary, and cultural questions. Quizzes, exams, and a 7 to 10-page term paper will be required.

LATN 1110Y. Latin Epistolography.

Through reading letters from different periods of Roman History, students will become more familiar not only with the ways letters negotiated Roman social, political, and intellectual networks but also how Roman authors drew on epistolary conventions to compose literature in other forms. Authors to be read may include but are not limited to Cicero, Ovid, Pliny the Younger, and Fronto.

LATN 1110Z. Dying in the Republic.

For those who witnessed the bloody violence and brutal butchering of the late Republic, death and dying were everywhere. What did these Romans believe happened to the dead? Was there an afterlife? This course explores two texts (Virgil and Cicero) that deal with visions from and of the spheres beyond the realm of the living. Discussion of supplementary material from other authors, religious studies, and material evidence further develop our notions of what it meant to die in the Republic.

LATN 1120A. Literary Culture in the Latin Middle Ages.

This course will survey the genres relevant to the Latin Middle Ages (beast poetry, hymns, sequences, tropes, miracle and passion plays, prosimetrum) and older forms in their medieval incarnations (epic, lyric, elegy, pastoral). We will also do some work in manuscript production, including the interplay of visual and textural modes. Work in selected medieval vernaculars is possible for students so inclined. We will focus on the tenth through the thirteenth centuries.

LATN 1120B. Poetry at the End of the Roman World.

Edward Gibbon thought the "fame of Ausonius condemned the taste of his age." Study of the taste of Ausonius' age, surveying Latin literature written during and after the so-called fall of Rome. Focus on some masterworks of Silver Latinity as a bridge to our period. Sampling of literature from the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries. Authors include Prudentius, Ausonius, Paulinus of Nola, Sidonius, Avitus, and Fortunatus.

LATN 1120C. Survey of Late and Medieval Latin.

A study of the masterworks of the Latin language written between 350 C.E. and 1300 C.E., with special emphasis on the 4th, 8th, and 12th centuries. The historical development of Latin literature; changes in Latin grammar, syntax, and morphology; innovations in genre, prosody, and stylistics; and the relationship of writings (manuscripts) to art and music.

LATN 1120D. Alcuin.

Alcuin lived a life of wide variety and accomplishment, not least as an important member of Charlemagne's inner circle and, like many at court, he wrote widely and in multiple genres. From his enormous output this course will focus on the large collections of poetry and letters. We will attend in both gatherings to theme, tone, style, and allusivity and, where appropriate, we will ponder alternate readings in a collection that has not been edited since the late nineteenth century.

LATN 1120E. Writing Lives in Late Antiquity: Jerome and Augustine.

This course will explore the development of new forms of biographical and autobiographical writing in Latin in the fourth and fifth centuries CE. We will focus on two monumental late ancient authors, Jerome and Augustine, and examine the way that these Christian intellectuals conceive of and express ideal lives in a newly Christian Empire. Texts will include selections of Jerome's Lives of Paul the Monk and Hilarion, his letters, and Augustine's Confessions.

LATN 1120G. Reading Humanist Latin Texts.

The course will explore in depth some important Renaissance or 'early modern' works of Latin literature, many of which have not been translated into English. As well as opening up a new field of Latin writing, the course will extend general knowledge of classical literature by involving some less commonly studied ancient sources. It will also introduce some early imprints, enabling you to consider texts directly in the original form in which they first appeared.

LATN 1120H. Latin Radicals (HMAN 1975V).

Interested students must register for HMAN 1975V.

LATN 1150. Latin Prose Composition.

Review of the basic tenets of Latin syntax, composition, and style. English to Latin translation exercises will shore up composition skills, as we study the stylistic traits of seven Roman authors: Cato, Caesar, Cicero, Sallust, Livy, Seneca, and Tacitus. The course will proceed chronologically according to author. Class time will be spent on translation exercises and review, as well as the identification of the stylistic and syntactic characteristics of the seven authors under study.

LATN 1250. Law and Literature.

No description available.

LATN 1810. Survey of Republican Literature.

Our purposes in this survey of Latin literature are to acquire a comprehensive historical perspective on Latin poetry and prose until the end of the Republic and a sense of its phases and the dynamics of its tradition; and to read different styles of Latin poetry and prose with confidence and ease.

LATN 1820. Survey of Roman Literature II: Empire.

This course will survey the major authors of Latin literature in chronological order from Virgil.

LATN 1930A. Cicero: De Oratore.

Close reading of Cicero's de Oratore.

LATN 1930B. Ammianus Marcellinus.

In brilliant if idiosyncratic language, Ammianus Marcellinus, last of the major Latin historians, records the exciting and fateful events of his own times, the fourth century A.D., including therein his personal and dramatic involvement in events. We will chiefly read his famous account of the deeds of the emperor Julian ("the Apostate"). The course is intended for advanced students.

LATN 1970. Special Topics.

Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.

LATN 1990. Conference: Especially for Honors Students.

Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.

LATN 2000A. Senecan Tragedy.

LATN 2010A. Catullus in Horace.

No description available.

LATN 2010B. Horace's Epistles.

No description available.

LATN 2010C. Ovid, Metamorphosis.

No description available.

LATN 2010D. Seminar: Roman Comedy.

We start with a couple of plays of Menander and fragments of New Comedy; we then read representative comedies of Plautus and Terence in depth.

LATN 2010E. Virgil: Aeneid.

We will read through the whole of Virgil’s Aeneid in the original Latin, raising and discussing interpretive questions that can include—but are not limited to—the poem’s political dimension and its representation of Roman identity, its relation to Augustan culture and the wider cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, its Greek and Roman models and how it changes them, its narrative and narratological style, and its reception in later cultures, including the Aeneid’s influence on European and other imperial discourses and the 20th- and 21st-century contestation of its ideological thrust.

LATN 2010F. Ovid: Tristia.

Close examination of the eleven poems that comprise the first book of Ovid's Tristia.

LATN 2010G. Roman Agricultural Writers.

No description available.

LATN 2010H. Varro.

Survey of the works of Rome's greatest scholar, the polymath M. Terentius Varro, with focus on De Re Rustica, De Lingua Latina, Antiquitates, and the Menippean satires.

LATN 2010I. Appendix Virgiliana.

We will survey the Latin poetry of the Julio-Claudian period, focusing on collections of pseudonymous texts that have come down under the names of Virgil and others and that include epic, lyric, epigrammatic, elegiac, and other types of poetry, ranging in theme from high-flown panegyrics to raunchy Priapea. Some of these exerted great influence on later writing; some are almost unknown. We will aim for a more nuanced view of Latin poetry and Roman culture between and around the better-studied poetic texts of the period.

LATN 2010J. Terence and Reception in Donatus.

No description available.

LATN 2020F. Seminar: Ammianus Marcellinus.

No description available.

LATN 2030A. The Age of Augustus.

No description available.

LATN 2030G. Augustine: Confessions.

A close reading of selected books of the Confessions against the backdrop of its pagan and Christian sources. Part of the seminar will be devoted to re-constructing the readerly and writerly spaces Augustine inhabits, how those spaces impinge on his engagement of his sources, and what sort of readerly competencies the imply.

LATN 2030H. Graduate Seminar: Caesar, Bellum Civile.

No description available.

LATN 2040. Seminar: Roman Literature.

No description available.

LATN 2080A. Late Latin Literary Culture.

No description available.

LATN 2080B. Lucan.

No description available.

LATN 2080C. Late Latin Poetry.

We will read widely and quickly in a selection of poets (Prudentius, Claudian, Sidonius, etc.) but focus our work on the poetry of Fortunatus and Alcuin, paying attention especially to textual issues and the history of scholarship, such as it is, of select poems. Reading knowledge of French required. The seminar will convene for one week at the conference on late Latin poetry to be held in October 2011 on campus. Open to graduate students; advanced undergraduates may enroll with instructor permission.

LATN 2080D. Late Latin Poetry.

We will read selectively in the fourth (Ausonius, Prudentius) and the sixth (Fortunatus) centuries, paying attention to the ancient Latinity informing the compositional habits of these poets, and focusing on the collective writing of a commentary on one book of Fortunatus' collection. There will be regular reports and some guest lecturers.

LATN 2080F. Latin in America.

Exploration of some of the rich and extensive ‘neo-Latin’ writing from colonial Spanish America, with particular emphasis on poetry and literary prose from sixteenth-century Mexico, much of which has never been studied or translated. Latin satires, epigrams, bucolic poems, literary epistles and dialogues will be examined in relation to their classical models and influences – and in the context of the multicultural environment in which they were produced. As well as opening a new world of Latin, this course will familiarize you with the format of some early modern books and manuscripts, and offer a unique perspective on traditional classical literature

LATN 2080I. Latin Atlantic Epic.

This course will involve study of Latin epics produced in Europe and the Americas (1500-1780) which addressed themes particular to the discovery, conquest and colonisation of the New World.

A range of texts of will be introduced, but the class will probably focus on two or three works in particular over the course of the semester. The historical conditions in which these epics will be considered as well as the poets’ classical models and their sources in early modern Latin and vernacular writing.

LATN 2090A. Elegy.

No description available.

LATN 2090B. Lucretius.

In this seminar, we will read Lucretius' De rerum natura entire, and discuss it both as a work of Epicurean philosophy and as one of the world's greatest works of didactic poetry and a masterpiece of Latin literature. Background texts will be assigned from time to time.

LATN 2090C. Ovid: Exile Poetry.

No description available.

LATN 2090D. Propertius.

We will concentrate especially on the elegist's third book, which has been viewed both as a work of closure (a farewell to the erotic themes dominant in the earlier books) and as transitional (as the poet moves toward the more overtly Callimachean stance and political themes that will characterize the fourth book). While our primary interest will be literary-critical, including especially the elegist's engagement with his Roman contemporaries, we will also engage seriously with textual criticism, employing Heyworth's Cynthia and the new Oxford commentary on Book 3 (in addition to the other major commentaries).

LATN 2090F. Tibullus.

No description available.

LATN 2090G. Epigrams.

No description available.

LATN 2090I. Augustan Literature and Egypt.

This seminar studies Hellenistic influence on Latin poetry and Roman ideology in the period of Rome’s slide from a dysfunctional oligarchy to an autocracy. We will focus on how such authors as Virgil, Horace, Propertius, and Ovid assimilate and transform the imperial literature of the Greek East in the time of Augustus’ conquest of Egypt, both accommodating a poetics of monarchy and opening up adversarial standpoints within the same discourse. We will also look at earlier and later Latin poetry and prose texts to place this poetry within literary and political history.

LATN 2110. Seminar: Roman Satire.

No description available.

LATN 2120A. Roman Epigraphy.

A practical introduction to the study of Latin inscriptions, with emphasis on the reading, editing, and interpretation of texts on stone. Class time will be divided between discussion of various categories of texts in the light of the 'epigraphic habit', literacy, and the sociology of reading in antiquity and hands-on experience with editing inscriptions on stone.

LATN 2120B. Tacitus.

Close readings of selections from Tacitus's works, especially the Agricola, Dialogus, and Annales, with emphasis on style, form, and literary intention. Attention will be paid also to Tacitus's political career and the life of a senatorial historian in the age of Trajan.

LATN 2120C. Graduate Seminar: Apuleius.

No description available.

LATN 2970. Preliminary Exam Preparation.

For graduate students who have met the tuition requirement and are paying the registration fee to continue active enrollment while preparing for a preliminary examination.

LATN 2980. Reading and Research.

Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course. Instructor permission required.

LATN 2990. Thesis Preparation.

For graduate students who have met the residency requirement and are continuing research on a full time basis.

MGRK 0100. Introduction to Modern Greek.

Designed for students with little or no prior knowledge of Modern Greek. The aim is to introduce students to basic linguistic structures and develop the ability to comprehend and produce text, as well as to speak and understand speech, in a variety of contexts and registers. The course objectives are to enable students to perform a range of tasks, master a minimum core vocabulary and acquire knowledge and understanding of various forms of Greek culture.

MGRK 0110. Intensive Beginning Modern Greek.

This is an hybrid, intensive, double-credit language course that meets three days a week synchronously in a physical / remote classroom, in addition to three classroom days, in an asynchronous online environment. This proficiency and literacy-oriented, integrated-skills course is designed for students with little or no prior knowledge of Modern Greek. It places emphasis on the acquisition of the four language skills, speaking, listening, reading and writing, within a framework that fosters communicative competences, understanding of discourse and critical insights into Modern Greek societies and cultures, within their world contexts. By the end of MGRK0110, students will be able to transition to MGRK0300. In addition to language and culture-specific work, this course will support the development of transferable skills that will enable students to respond with confidence to the demands of undergraduate study.

MGRK 0200. Introduction to Modern Greek.

A continuation of MGRK 0100. New students may place into it, after special arrangement with the instructor. The course continues on an integrative skills approach and aims to develop language skills, within a framework of specific topics and functions. The course objectives are to enable students to perform a range of tasks, master a minimum core vocabulary and acquire knowledge and understanding of various forms of Greek culture.

MGRK 0300. Intermediate Modern Greek.

Develops linguistic and cultural competence and may be taken by anyone who has completed MGRK 0200 or after consultation with the instructor and/or a placement exam. It focuses on further development of the four language skills as well as knowledge and understanding of various aspects of Greek society. It employs a variety of materials, including film, digital stories, internet based sources, music, art, and literature.

MGRK 0400. Intermediate Modern Greek.

A continuation of MGRK 0300. New students may place into it, after special arrangement with the instructor. It aims to enhance language skills within a variety of registers and themes; enable the students to master, use and understand effectively essential linguistic structures; examine a variety of expressive forms within an authentic cultural context.

MGRK 0500. Advanced Modern Greek.

May be taken by students who have completed the previous sequences or by anyone who places successfully into the course. The course places emphasis on the improvement of writing and oral skills, via presentations, collaborative projects, conversations and assignments based on topics and texts, drawn from a variety of sources and cultural forms of expression.

MGRK 0600. Advanced Modern Greek.

A continuation of MGRK 0500. Students who have not taken the previous sequence may take a placement test, after consultation with the instructor. The course aims to promote range, accuracy and fluency and enable students to develop ease and spontaneity with the language. Authentic materials drawn from a range of sources inform the content of the course and include films, literature, media, testimonies, music and internet based sources. The development of transcultural competence will be an essential component of the course.

MGRK 0810. Film Classics: The Greeks on the Silver Screen.

This course examines the adaptation of classical Greek themes and figures in world cinema. Proceeding from classical texts (that will include The Odyssey, The Iliad, Oedipus Rex, Medea, The Oresteia), analysis of films focuses on the ways such texts are recast to comment upon very different cultural, socioeconomic, and political circumstances. How do such films aspire to be “classic” in their own right? What genres or modes follow such films’ epic, or anti-epic, cycles? Considers Hollywood blockbusters (Ulysses, Jason and the Argonauts, Troy, 300) as well as arthouse fare by Godard, Pasolini, Camus, Merchant, Cacoyannis, Dassin, the Coen brothers, Angelopoulos.

MGRK 0811. Travelers in Greece: from Pausanias to Shirley Valentine (CLAS 0210T).

Interested students must register for CLAS 0210T.

MGRK 1010. The Classical World in Film.

Why do film directors, Hollywood moguls, and TV executives hark back to antiquity? This course introduces spectacular, epic representations of classical literature, myth, and history alongside more understated, tongue-in-cheek—occasionally hyperbolic—adaptations of that world in the present. Explores how narrative, cinematic technique, audience reception, and political context produce desired effects and elicit incisive commentary on modernity, race, ethnicity, gender. Analysis centered around a cluster of classical texts, heroic and mythic figures, and truly “historical” events. No prior knowledge of classical literature required. Films range from silent movies, Hollywood epics, European auteurism, anti-colonial Third Cinema, gladiatorial kitsch, and sci-fi franchise.

MGRK 1210. A Migration Crisis? Displacement, Materiality, and Experience.

In the past few years, we have all experienced, most of us through the media, what has been called a migration crisis. And yet, migration as a phenomenon did not appear in 2015; it is as old as humanity, and displacement and contemporary forced migration have also a long history. In this course, we will examine the historical, material and experiential dimensions of contemporary displacement and migration. Many of the examples will be from Greece but also other parts of Mediterranean and beyond, including from the Mexico-US border. Engaged Scholarship Course.

MGRK 1220. Decolonizing Classical Antiquity: White Nationalism, Colonialism, and Ancient Material Heritage.

Why do the material remnants of classical antiquity still attract public attention and exercise symbolic power? Why have such monuments been "used" by authorities and diverse social groups in the service of often totalitarian agendas? What are the cases where these monuments operate as weapons for resistance? How has colonial, racial, and national modernity shaped the way we understand and experience the materiality of the classical? Finally, how can we decolonize classical antiquity? We will use a diversity of global case studies, including modern Greece and Europe, and a variety of sources, from ethnographically derived performances to digital culture.

MGRK 1230. Mediterranean Fictions: On Debts, Crises, and the Ends of Europe.

Sun-drenched, seductive, and timeless, the Mediterranean is an appealing location from which to ponder Europe’s debt to this cradle of western civilization. Recently, an economic debt crisis in Greece and the region stoked fears that a peaceful, unified Europe will come undone or else be rehabilitated. The word ‘crisis’ itself hinges on a making a crucial decision, often in marking the turning point of a disease. This course examines representations of this moment through literature, film, history—but also in anthropology, journalism, and art—and in relation to other twentieth-century Mediterranean texts that also anticipated seismic shifts on the continent.

MGRK 1240. Modern Greece in the World.

This course introduces the culture, history, and politics of modern Greece. No prerequisites; all texts in English. Putting aside exceptionalist claims rooted in antiquity, the course focuses on critical moments when Greece figures in the frontline of Balkan, European, and global events in the modern period: when, as historian Mark Mazower claims, “democracy’s cradle [is] rocking the world.” Literary, filmic, and artistic representations of such moments from within and outside Greece will illuminate issues of nationalism, modernization, sovereignty, and postcoloniality. Faculty at Brown from diverse disciplines working on Greece will be invited to address such questions through their own research.

MGRK 1800. In Other Words: Translating Greece.

This is an advanced undergraduate seminar that will offer students the opportunity to build on their linguistic, cultural and critical literacies, by translating from Greek into English. Over the course of the semester we will be thinking critically about texts, their ideological, historical and social coordinates and their embedded discourses of Greekness, community, diglossia, identity and gender, among others. In addition to translating from Greek into English, we will read and discuss essays on translation, in order to consider in an informed way the issues (untranslatability?) and types of decision making associated with the practice of translation.

MGRK 1910. Special Topics in Modern Greek.

No description available.

MGRK 2200. Modern Greek for Classicists and Archaeologists.

This graduate level course promotes the acquisition and further refinement of the necessary translingual and transcultural skills to prepare students in the fields of Classics and Archaeology to carry out research in Greece and Cyprus. In addition, it involves training in linguistic skills that will enable students to study closely a range of texts of relevance to these disciplines. Primary emphasis will be on the development of reading, oral and aural skills using a variety of text and web based materials, of discipline specific content but also in professional and other communicative contexts of cultural currency.

SANS 0100. Elementary Sanskrit I.

This introduction to the Sanskrit language does not require prior knowledge of any language other than English. Students learn the Devanāgarī script and modes of transcription, the phonetics of Sanskrit, and an outline of most of its foundational grammar, with a goal of being able to begin reading classical Sanskrit literature in the original. Reading exercises are drawn from ancient narrative texts such as the Hitopadeśa, Devīmāhātmya, and Mahābhārata.

SANS 0200. Elementary Sanskrit II.

This course continues the survey of grammar and the reading exercises of SANS 100. The second half of this course reads selected passages of the Bhagavad Gītā and the beginning of the classic story of Nala and Damayantī from the Mahābhārata. Prerequisite: SANS 0100.

SANS 0300. Sanskrit Epic Narrative.

Consolidates and extends the knowledge of Sanskrit grammar introduced in first year Sanskrit; acquaints students first-hand with basic themes of ancient Indian culture, and cultivates the reading and interpretive skills necessary to read epic and closely related Sanskrit narrative with comprehension and increased fluency. Prerequisite: SANS 0200.

SANS 0400. Classical Sanskrit Story Literature.

Introduces students to the more challenging Sanskrit of classical story literature and continues to extend the knowledge of Sanskrit grammar introduced in first year Sanskrit and developed in SANS 0300, as well as present basic Indian cultural themes. Prerequisite: SANS 0300.

SANS 1020. Early Sanskrit Philosophy and Religion.

Reading in Sanskrit of selections from the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gītā, Dharmasāstras, etc. Prerequisite: SANS 0200.

SANS 1030. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa: Text and Reception.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa narrates the stories of Kṛṣṇa and other gods and is rich with philosophical and theological discourse. Though relatively late, it became one of the most prominent religious texts, attracting many formal commentaries from the 13th century into the modern period. In this course, students will apply their knowledge of the foundational grammar of language to interpret the complex, poetic language of the Bhāgavata, and learn the language and idioms of scholastic Sanskrit to access the interpretations of centuries of the Purāṇa's audiences.

SANS 1080. The Critical Episodes of the Mahabharata.

A guided tour of the structure of the Mahabharata, "The Great Epic of India," through the reading in Sanskrit of selected critical passages.

SANS 1100. Vedic Sanskrit.

Introduction to reading the Rig Veda and later Vedic literature, with particular attention to the grammar of Vedic Sanskrit.

SANS 1400. The Sanskrit Grammatical Tradition.

Introduction to the Sanskrit tradition of vyākārana (grammatical derivation and analysis) through reading Pānini's Astādhyāyī and commentaries upon it.

SANS 1500. Sanskrit Song and Musicology.

The Sanskrit language is a medium of rich traditions of song and musicological literature that inform Carnatic, Hindustani, and other classical music traditions to this day. This course will introduce students who already have a foundation in the Sanskrit language to the distinctive language of technical musicological literature and notation, as well as to the lyrical poetry set to music in these traditions. There is no requirement for students taking this course to have any background in musicology or performance, though students who do have a background in music are welcome to incorporate performance into the final project for the course.

SANS 1600. Sanskrit Poetry and Drama.

Introduction to kāvya (classical Sanskrit belles lettres)--poetry, drama, and prose narrative--through the reading of authors of the Classical Period as well as works on aesthetics and commentaries upon them.

SANS 1800. Classical Schools of Indian Philosophy.

Introduction to the classical Brahminic darsanas (comprehensive, rationalized systems of philosophy and, or, theology dealing with Hermeneutics and Philosophy of Language, Logic, Metaphysics, and Ultimate Beatitude) and to corresponding Buddhist and Jain traditions through reading, in Sanskrit, of selected works. Prerequisite: SANS 0400.

SANS 1910. Advanced Sanskrit.

In-depth study of major poetic, dramatic, epic, philosophical, religious, grammatical, medical, or astronomical texts. Topics depend on the interest of students.

SANS 1970. Independent Study - Special Topics.

SANS 1990. Conference: Especially for Honors Students.

Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course. Instructor's permission required.

SANS 2100. Theme, Language, and Meter in the Mahābhārata.

This seminar will undertake systematic studies of thematic, linguistic, and metric continua in the text of the written Sanskrit Mahābhārata. We shall alternate between the discussion of important scholarly works of interpretation of the epic, important methodological controversies, and selected case studies focused upon variations in epic language and meter and the tracing of the 'threads' of important epic themes across large stretches of the epic. Prerequisite: three or more years study of Sanskrit. Instructor permission required.

SANS 2970. Sanskrit Preliminary Exam Preparation.

For graduate students who have met the tuition requirement and are paying the registration fee to continue active enrollment while preparing for a preliminary examination.

SANS 2980. Sanskrit Reading and Research.

Section numbers will vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course. Instructor permission required.