Classics
Professors CRAMER , DOBSON, THAKUR; Associate Professor BUXTON (chair); Visiting Professor MONGRAIN
Classics is the study of Greek and Latin languages, Greek and Roman material and intellectual culture, history, archaeology, linguistics, literature, mythology, and religion. Because the studies of these Mediterranean areas span East and West, as well as being rooted in at least 5,000 years of European history, they have profound influence on how we understand our own contemporary worlds. Classics and the classical tradition are of crucial importance in coming to understand the structures of our own minds and experiences, as well as helping us to think multiculturally in historically grounded ways. Because English and many other modern languages are historically dependent upon Greek and Latin, their mastery is crucial in helping us to use our own language with maximum effectiveness.
Major Requirements
The Classics Major
Our program is an area study with connections to programs and departments of Anthropology, Art and Archeology, Comparative Literature, the Performing Arts, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religion. Its center is the study of languages and literature, available to students as a major with varying emphases and intensities.
A stringent major that might lead to graduate study in classics requires two years’ worth of work beyond the intermediate level in one language, preferably almost that much in the other, coverage of an extensive reading list and work (measured by the comprehensive examination) to establish historical, philosophical, and art-historical framework for the literature. Other students will spend less time on the languages (perhaps concentrating on one of them) and emphasize one or more non-Classics program areas. The department will provide formal or informal colloquia to bring together the studies of advanced students and faculty. Distinction in Classics will be awarded for the theses of an excellence beyond the mere grade of A.
All students majoring in Classics will:
- complete at least 9.25 units (including work at the 300 level or above in language) of courses in the department,
- pass comprehensive examinations including reading in at least one classical language, and
- present senior theses or the equivalent.
Click here to see the Major Requirement checklist
The department will provide formal or informal colloquia to bring together the studies of advanced students and faculty. Distinction in Classics will be awarded for the theses and coursework of an excellence beyond a mere A-range grade.
Minor Requirements
Requirements of the Departmental Minor in Classics
Students minoring in Classics will complete 5-6 units:
- Latin or Greek for Beginners. (Or, if a student places out of Latin or Greek for Beginners, at least one other Classics elective in addition to the requirements below.)
- Two units of Latin or Greek at the Intermediate level or higher.
- Two Classics electives (either language courses, or in translation).
Click here to view the Minor Requirements checklist
Courses
Classics
Introduction to reading Attic Greek, the language of ancient Athens in its political, literary, and philosophical prime. Students will acquire fluency with the language’s grammar and vocabulary, enabling them to read and translate actual Greek literature (including the koine of the New Testament). In unpacking how Attic Greek works, students will simultaneously gain an ability to analyze the grammar of English and other languages. We will also learn about the history of the Greek language and its considerable influence on English’s scientific vocabulary and literature. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
A lower-level maintenance course for students who plan to continue their study of Greek. A systematic review of grammar with supervised readings and translation practice. Prerequisite: Classics 101 or equivalent. .25 unit.
A lower-level maintenance course for students who plan to continue their study of Greek. A systematic review of grammar with supervised reading and translation practice. Prerequisite: Classics 101 or equivalent. .25 unit.
Consideration of two of the major ancient civilizations spanning the Mediterranean. The course traces their development into major centers of power by examining archaeological and textual records and comparing Greek and Roman approaches to urban and rural spaces, households, religious centers, and burial spaces. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement.
This course is a survey of how archaeology is currently conducted in the Mediterranean world and the issues that archaeologists face when studying ancient cultures. It explores how archaeology actually happens by looking at various types of projects and how each one approaches different geological or environmental concerns. It looks at new technologies that are helping archaeologists and scholars expand their studies of both recent finds and in the reexamination of previously excavated material. (Not offered 2024-25).
Investigation of daily life in ancient Athens and Rome, considering people from various social classes and occupations, through and examination of the objects, spaces, and written records in the archaeological record. Meets the Critical Learning: SHB requirement.
Introduction to basic Latin grammar, syntax, and vocabulary; reading of texts from various ancient authors. Attention to the history of the language and its importance to, and influence on, other languages and cultures. 2 units Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
A lower-level maintenance course for students who plan to continue their study of Latin. A systematic review of grammar with supervised reading and translation practice. Prerequisite: Classics 111 or equivalent. .25 unit.
A lower-level maintenance course for students who plan to continue their study of Latin. A systematic review of grammar with supervised reading and translation practice. Prerequisite: Classics 111 or equivalent. .25 unit.
Introduction to Ancient Greek and Roman cultures through reading of original sources and an examination of material culture. Part One: literature from various genres (such as epic, dramatic, lyric and philosophical); modern ways of receiving and interpreting them. Part Two: art, architecture and topography of ancient Greece and Rome. This course will consider the long-standing influence these civilizations played in the development of later Western cultures, and will examine modern outcomes and parallels to the historical forms and movements, such as Athenian democracy as a precedent for American democracy, colonization in antiquity and European colonialism in the c. 16-19, and the Roman Empire as a precedent for the expansive American State of late c. 19 to the present. (Not offered 2024-25).
Aegean and Greek archaeological, historical, literary, and philosophical texts, with emphasis on ideas formative of Western culture. The development and transformations of these ideas as reflected in selected texts from the early Christian era, the Enlightenment, and the Modern Age. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
An exploration of Greek, Roman and Near Eastern myths in the ancient Mediterranean, emphasizing metamorphoses thematically across cultures, with attention to the (imagined) other in gender and society. Readings will include selections from Mesopotamian literature (Enuma Elish, The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Hymns to Inanna), Greece and Rome (Hesiod’s Theogony, the Homeric Hymns, the Greek dramatists and Aristophanes, Sappho, Sulpicia and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, among others), and accompanying art and archaeological evidence. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Intensive Latin Grammar Review and Reading Practice. This course will use a morphological and syntactic approach to review and practice the essential structures and concepts of Latin grammar. It is intended to prepare students for courses at the 200 level. (Not offered 2024-25).
Survey of the civilizations that flourished in and around Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria-Palestine, Greece and Italy from the time of the first cities (3000 BC) to the rise of Islam (seventh century AD). Beyond providing a historical overview, the course explores the surprising ways in which the various peoples of this area influenced one another culturally. We will also learn about the different types of evidence, both literary and archaeological, on which knowledge of the ancient world is based. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
An introduction to the theoretical concept of ethnicity and related issues as they played out in the ancient Mediterranean world. In particular, a focus on the way Greeks and Romans defined themselves and distinguished themselves from other peoples as a way of assigning meaning to the universe, and how those attitudes motivated their behavior towards outsiders. Also an examination of the practical effects of such discourses on the lives of people who lived in Greek and Roman communities without belonging to the dominant groups, and some of the ways in which modern approaches to race and ethnicity have structured and sometimes distorted our collective understanding of the past. The materials studied include literary, artistic, and archaeological evidence, as well as modern scholarship. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement.
Latin Language course taken on Mediterranean Semester Program. (Not offered 2024-25).
Introduction to Greek literature, including Homer and dramatic, philosophical or historical writing. Meets the Language Requirement requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Introduction to Greek literature, including Homer and dramatic, philosophical or historical writing. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
An upper-level maintenance course for students who plan to continue their study of Greek. A systematic review of grammar with reading and translation practice. Prerequisite: Classics 201 or equivalent. .25 unit.
An upper-level maintenance course for students who plan to continue their study of Greek. A systematic review of grammar with reading and translation practice. Prerequisite: Classics 201 or equivalent. .25 unit.
Examination of traditional subsistence methods and management of local environments in the ancient Mediterranean from the Paleolithic to the Roman Empire. Topics discussed include human alteration of the landscape and extinctions, urbanism and its impact on ancient life, ancient climate change, and the geology of the Mediterranean.
Survey of slavery in ancient Greek city-states and throughout the Roman Empire. Considers the various economic, administrative, and social functions that slavery supported; and the apparatus of warfare, human trafficking, state terror, ideology and domestic coercion that let slavery survive. Emphasis on the challenges that biased primary sources present. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement.
A study of imagery during Late Antiquity—200-750 CE--through art, architecture, archaeological sites and texts. The course covers the visual arts in imperial Rome and Sassanid Persia, the mystery religions of Mithras, Isis and Dionysus as well as Judaism, Christianity and early Islam. We will study how the power of images was harnessed to convey religious meaning and convert adherents; how the imagery of pagan antiquity influenced the eventual formation of a Christian visual language; how the first monuments of Islamic art drew on pre-existing traditions. Monuments to be studied include the Arch of Constantine, sanctuaries of Mithras and Isis, catacomb paintings, synagogues and their mosaic floors, the religious buildings of Dura Europos, Christian basilicas and their decoration, the Hagia Sophia and the Dome of the Rock. 1 unit Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement.
Major writers and schools from the thousand year history of Greek philosophical research in the areas of nature, the gods, the mind, and ways of life: Ionian and Italian Pre-Socratics, Plato and the Academy, Aristotle, Pyrrho, the Cynics, the Stoa, Epicurus and Lucretius, and the revival in Late Antiquity of Pyrronian Scepticism and Platonism. Emphasis on close reading of the texts (including certain Greek terms) and on critical and comparative writing. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement.
Various ancient and medieval Latin works. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Various ancient and medieval Latin works. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
An upper-level maintenance course for students who plan to continue their study of Latin. A systematic review of grammar with reading and translation practice. Prerequisite: Classics 211 or equivalent. .25 unit.
An upper-level maintenance course for students who plan to continue their study of Latin. A systematic review of grammar with reading and translation practice. Prerequisite: Classics 211 or equivalent. .25 unit.
Consideration of the role sport played in ancient Greek society, with an extensive study of the ancient Olympics and other major festivals. The types of events and the evolving role athletics played in Greek education and society are discussed, as is the relationship between ancient athletics and modern sports. The course includes several local field trips either during class time or occasional afternoons, evenings, or weekends.
Focus on the development of Rome, from a small city ruled by kings, to a regional power ruled under a Republic. The course will trace Rome's expansion through Italy, its conflict with Carthage and will closely examine the end of the Republic. Individuals discussed will include the Gracchi, generals Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Caesar, and Rome's greatest politician (and author) Cicero. (Also listed as History 216.) Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Consideration of various forms of entertainment in the Roman world and the social status of the entertainers. Gladiatorial games, beast hunts, mock naval battles, and chariot racing, as well as theatrical entertainments, such as plays, ballet, and pantomime are examined. The relationship between ancient athletics and modern sports is also discussed. The course includes several local field trips either during class time or occasional afternoons, evenings, or weekends. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
The Iliad and Odyssey as oral traditional poems, preservers of Bronze Age and archaic lore, locus of the creation of classical Greek culture and predecessors of European epic; together with Hesiodic epic and Homeric hymns. Reading in English with attention to the formal Greek diction and the problems of translation, except that students who know Greek will read parts of the original text. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
A study of origins, early texts, performance practices and developing theatrical conventions in various cultures, with special emphasis on ancient Greek and Roman theatre. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Religion and myth of ancient Greece and Rome in relation to that of the ancient Mediterranean (Akkadian, Hittite, Sumerian, Egyptian). Female presence in art, literature and religion compared to treatment of women in their respective cultures. Theoretical approaches to the understanding of myth (Comparative, Jungian, Structuralist) in relation to myths as they are encoded in their specific cultures. Students may trace a myth through Medieval, Renaissance and modern transformations in art, music, poetry and film, or study myth in other cultures (e.g. Norse and Celtic). May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement.
Herodotus, sometimes called the 'father of lies,' and Thucydides, sometimes called the first political scientist, treated as the first historians. Study of the ways of conceiving history and its relation to the peoples and periods explored. No Greek or Latin required. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement.
Courses vary from year to year, to include offerings in classical and comparative religion and mythology, history, language and literature, anthropology, archaeology and women's studies supplementary to those offered in the catalog. No Greek or Latin required.
Surveys the art and architecture of Greece and Rome from their origins in Bronze Age Greece to their transformation in the late Roman Empire using methods of art history and archaeology. Ancient Greek cities and sanctuaries with emphasis on Athens and the monuments of the Acropolis. The spread of Hellenism and the formation of an imperial visual language under Alexander the Great and his successors. The influence of Etruscan and Greek art in the Roman Republic. Imperial monuments of the city of Rome and throughout the empire as instruments of power. The class will consider political and social factors in the formation and utilization of Classical forms in both ancient and modern times. (Also listed as AH 207). Meets the Critical Learning: CP requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Examination of archaeology of the Greek world from the Bronze age through end of the Hellenistic period using a thematic approach, or focused study of certain periods/cultures (Minoan, Mycenean, etc.). Exploration of sites such as Troy, Sparta, Knossos, Mycenae, Athens, Olympia, and Delphi. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement.
Focus on the development of the Roman state in the late first century B.C. under the emperor Augustus. The city, its monuments, its art, its literature, bureaucracy and territorial expansion, the role of women, and various social and minority groups will all be discussed. In particular, the course will emphasize important and influential literary figures, such as Horace, Ovid, Propertius, Virgil and Augustus himself. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
A survey of economic life in ancient Greece and Rome, which involved both primitive subsistence agriculture and a complex international marketplace of luxury goods—often tightly regulated by predatory states. Topics will include the essential but diverse role of slavery, why debt crises plagued rich and poor alike, the degree to which banking facilitated international trade, and how governments manipulated the silver content of coinage to cover budget shortfalls or finance armies. Also considered are the reasons behind the invention and spread of coinage as a medium of exchange. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: SHB requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Focus on how conservative Roman republican ideals were reconciled with an increasingly Hellenized empire dominated by an imperial dynasty. Following a brief survey of prior Roman history, the course will examine the development of the Roman state in the first century AD under the Julio-Claudian emperors. The course will proceed to consider the Empire’s evolution and management under subsequent Flavian and Antonine dynasties. The city, its monuments, its art, its literature, bureaucracy and territorial expansion, the role of women, various social and minority groups, and the growth of Christianity will all be discussed. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement.
A survey of the development and expansion of Greek city states (known as “poleis”) from their emergence in the eighth century BC to Greece’s conquest by Philip II of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great. Particular attention will be paid to Athens and Sparta, the two great powers of this period. The class will examine Greece’s political institutions (How direct was direct democracy?), social relations (What were the lived realities of women, foreigners and slaves?) and intellectual history (especially the rise of rhetoric to better persuade mass audiences in a democracy). Readings will draw on ancient historians (Herodotus, Thucydides), political theorists (Plato, Aristotle), satirists (Aristophanes) and statesmen (Demosthenes, Lysias, Xenophon). (Not offered 2024-25).
An examination of the life of Alexander the Great and the ancient Mediterranean world in which he lived. Also considered are the impact he had on the historical development of that world after his death, the political use of his legacy from antiquity to the 21st century, and the fascination he continues to inspire. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement.
Since the beginning of time, humans have been searching into the nature of the soul, its life and its meanings. Starting from the Greeks, this course seeks to discover how the concept of “soul” is understood, and how its life is conceived. We will explore the roots of these questions in ancient Greek epic, drama and philosophy, how these answers transform in medieval and renaissance literature, and how modernity offers strikingly new answers to them. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
An introductory survey of issues relating to gender and sexuality in Greece and Rome. The focus will be on the role of women in ancient society and their characterization in literature. Though our sources are dominated by male perspectives, the class will attempt a balanced and accurate picture of ancient society. The course will also place these literary depictions in the broader context of art, political and societal structure, religious belief and family relations. Authors examined will include Hesiod, Homer, Aristophanes, Virgil, the female poets Sappho and Sulpicia, Ovid, and many more. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement.
The course considers the role sport and entertainment played in ancient society. We begin by examining athletics in the Greek world, specifically the Olympics and other major games. We will discuss the different types of events and then consider the evolving role athletics played in Greek education and society. We will then transition to the Roman world, examining gladiatorial games, chariot racing, the theatre, and the Olympics in the Roman period. We will trace the development of the status of athletes from amateurs to the professionalization of sport, and pause to consider the place of musicians and actors in Greek and Roman society. Throughout the course students will become familiar with the architecture of related venues and investigate the role of spectators. Students will continually be challenged to relate ancient athletics to the sports of today. Sources will include Homer, Pindar, Virgil, Ovid, Martial and various inscriptions. (Not offered 2024-25).
Supervised readings or investigations in areas of interest to the students that are not covered in regular Classics Department offerings. Readings and/or investigations to be followed up with discussions and written reports. Must be approved by the Chair on behalf of the Department, in addition to the supervising professor.
Further exploration of ancient, medieval or modern Greek literature, done as independent reading. Meets the Language Requirement requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Further exploration of ancient, medieval or modern Greek literature, done as independent reading. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Prerequisite: Classics 301. .25 Unit.
Prerequisite: Classics 301.
Further exploration of ancient or medieval Latin literature. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Further exploration of ancient or medieval Latin literature. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Prerequisite: Classics 311. .25 unit.
Prerequisite: Classics 311.
Study for advanced students in the languages, arts, drama and literature. (Not offered 2024-25).
Independent study of various authors and special topics. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Independent study of various authors and special topics. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Independent study of various authors and special topics. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Independent study of various authors and special topics. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Thesis subjects chosen by student and approved by department. Senior Classics, Classics-History-Politics and Classics - English majors.