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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.
- Primary Instructor
- Russell
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The Odyssey in Literature and Film (COLT 0710Q)
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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, etc. - 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.
- Primary Instructor
- Debrohun
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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.
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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.
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Encountering Monsters in Comparative Literature (COLT 1815U)
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Foundations Classical Heritage (HIST 1202)
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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.
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Outside Philosophy (HMAN 1975W)
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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.
- Primary Instructor
- Scafuro
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Women Writing Epic
This course will introduce students to English translations and adaptations of Greek and Roman epic poetry to consider the politics of representing and publishing women in the modern (mostly) North American literary marketplace. Ancient Greek and Roman epic can be quite androcentric: a genre dominated by men about men talking with or fighting each other, all in the hopes of reproducing “great” men. Often, the women function as backgrounded appendages of the foregrounded men or, if significant, effect something catastrophic. We will revisit these dynamics in the ancient texts and read contemporary works that address them. We will thus explore how literary genre genders authors and readers in relation to war, citizenship, race, class, sexuality and/or celebrity. How does epic reify, reflect, and otherwise 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?
- Primary Instructor
- Eccleston
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Special Topics
Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.
- Primary Instructor
- Buchta
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Amanatidou
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Reed
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Cherry
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Debrohun
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Bodel
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Nieto Hernandez
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Gill
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Fitzgerald
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Haynes
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Scafuro
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Pucci
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
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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.
- Primary Instructor
- Amanatidou
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Reed
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Gill
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Debrohun
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Laird
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Kidd
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Hanink
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Oliver
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Nieto Hernandez
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Pucci
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Hamilakis
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Russell
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Scafuro
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Bodel
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Haynes
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Buchta
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
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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.
- Primary Instructor
- Russell
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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.
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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.
- Schedule Code
- E: Graduate Thesis Prep
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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.
- Primary Instructor
- Oliver
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Bodel
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Cherry
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Reed
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Pucci
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Fitzgerald
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Debrohun
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Nieto Hernandez
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Haynes
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
- Primary Instructor
- Scafuro
- Schedule Code
- I: Independent Study/Research
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Thesis Preparation
For graduate students who have met the residency requirement and are continuing research on a full time basis.
- Schedule Code
- E: Graduate Thesis Prep