Courses for Fall 2021

  • 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 0150 S01
    Primary Instructor
    Gill

  • 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 0320 S01
    Primary Instructor
    Oliver

  • 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 1120G S01
    Primary Instructor
    Pucci

  • 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 1175 S01
    The first three classes of the term (Sept. 9, 14, 16) will be taught synchronously (2:30-3:50pm EDT) by the instructor via zoom from Athens, Greece (https://brown.zoom.us/j/94227452568). After Sept. 20, the instructor will be back in the US and teaching in Providence. Students are welcome to contact the instructor before the course begins (and anytime afterwards!) at [email protected], or via zoom. The Zoom meetings can be arranged at any time convenient to students and instructor; but after Sept. 20, regular in person office hours will be maintained, tentatively scheduled for Fridays at 1pm. Zoom link for an ‘office hour’ before classes begin, as convenient: https://brown.zoom.us/j/93521416867
    Primary Instructor
    Scafuro

  • Foundations Classical Heritage (HIST 1202)

    CLAS 1202 S01

  • 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 1310 S01
    This hybrid course is accessible to in-person and remote students. Until early October, all content will be delivered online. It is hoped that in-person sessions will take place from early October (exact date to be confirmed), but all sessions will also be available online. Most of the MWF 10-10:50am sessions will include elements designed for synchronous participation, but all sessions will also be recorded for asynchronous access. Please access the class by using the Zoom link below: https://brown.zoom.us/j/97392482447
    Primary Instructor
    Russell

  • 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 1750H S01
    Primary Instructor
    Nieto Hernandez

  • 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 1970 S01
    Primary Instructor
    Buchta
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S02
    Primary Instructor
    Amanatidou
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S03
    Primary Instructor
    Reed
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S04
    Primary Instructor
    Cherry
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S05
    Primary Instructor
    Debrohun
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S06
    Primary Instructor
    Bodel
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S07
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S08
    Primary Instructor
    Nieto Hernandez
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S09
    Primary Instructor
    Gill
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S10
    Primary Instructor
    Fitzgerald
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S11
    Primary Instructor
    Haynes
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S12
    Primary Instructor
    Scafuro
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S13
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S14
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1970 S15
    Primary Instructor
    Pucci
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research

  • 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 1990 S01
    Primary Instructor
    Amanatidou
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S02
    Primary Instructor
    Reed
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S03
    Primary Instructor
    Gill
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S04
    Primary Instructor
    Debrohun
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S05
    Primary Instructor
    Laird
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S06
    Primary Instructor
    Kidd
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S07
    Primary Instructor
    Hanink
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S08
    Primary Instructor
    Oliver
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S09
    Primary Instructor
    Nieto Hernandez
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S10
    Primary Instructor
    Pucci
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S11
    Primary Instructor
    Fitzgerald
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S12
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S13
    Primary Instructor
    Scafuro
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S14
    Primary Instructor
    Bodel
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S15
    Primary Instructor
    Haynes
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S16
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 1990 S17
    Primary Instructor
    Buchta
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research

  • 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 2110K S01
    Primary Instructor
    Reed

  • 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 2970 S01
    Schedule Code
    E: Graduate Thesis Prep

  • 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 2980 S01
    Primary Instructor
    Oliver
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 2980 S02
    Primary Instructor
    Bodel
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 2980 S03
    Primary Instructor
    Cherry
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 2980 S04
    Primary Instructor
    Reed
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 2980 S05
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 2980 S06
    Primary Instructor
    Pucci
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 2980 S07
    Primary Instructor
    Fitzgerald
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 2980 S08
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 2980 S09
    Primary Instructor
    Debrohun
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 2980 S10
    Primary Instructor
    Nieto Hernandez
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 2980 S11
    Primary Instructor
    Haynes
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research
    CLAS 2980 S12
    Primary Instructor
    Scafuro
    Schedule Code
    I: Independent Study/Research

  • Thesis Preparation

    For graduate students who have met the residency requirement and are continuing research on a full time basis.
    CLAS 2990 S01
    Schedule Code
    E: Graduate Thesis Prep