CLASSIC Course Descriptions for 2026-2027

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Fall Course Descriptions
CourseTitleInstructorDescription
CLASSIC 36AEARLY GREECEBRANSCOME, D.A survey of ancient Greek civilization from its origins in the Bronze Age to the mid-Archaic period. Examines political and social history, as well as literature, art, religion, and archaeological remains.
Same as HISTORY 36A
CLASSIC 36BCLASSICAL GREECEHERNANDEZ, A.A survey of ancient Greek civilization from the Late Archaic period to the Classical period. Focuses on major institutions and cultural phenomena as seen through the study of ancient Greek literature, history, archaeology, and religion.
Same as HISTORY 36B
CLASSIC 37BROMAN EMPIREZISSOS, P.A survey of Roman civilization from Augustus’s consolidation of power following the civil wars of the first century BCE to the crisis of the third century CE. Includes social history, literature, art, architecture, and religion.
Same as HISTORY 37B
CLASSIC 37CTHE FALL OF ROMEZISSOS, P.A survey of Roman civilization from the crisis of the third century CE to the so-called “fall of Rome” in 476 CE. Examines political and social history, as well as literature, art, architecture, and religion.
Same as HISTORY 37C
CLASSIC 45ATHE GODSGIANNOPOULOU, Z.An overview of the main myths of the gods of the ancient Greeks and Romans and their influence in contemporary and later literature and art. Includes readings from both ancient and modern sources.
CLASSIC 45BTHE HEROESBRANSCOME, D.An overview of the main myths of the heroes of the ancient Greeks and Romans and their influence in contemporary and later literature and art. Includes readings from both ancient and modern sources.
CLASSIC 160WSPARTA IN LITERATUREKARANIKA, A.This course examines the development and representation of Sparta from Archaic and Classical times to the Roman era, drawing on the surviving literary record while also tracing Sparta's role in the making of Greek history and investigating the complexity of its government. Rather than treating Sparta as a single coherent historical object, we will read across genres to see how its image was constructed. We will begin with fragmentary lyric poetry, with particular attention to Alcman, whose Partheneia open a rare window onto Spartan choral performance, female voice, and religious life. We will then turn to drama (especially Aristophanes’ Lysistrata) and historiography, (e.g., Xenophon’s Constitution of the Lacedaemonians); we will trace the reception of Sparta in postclassical literature (Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus), and will finally discuss modern reimagining, (i.e. probing into the visual rhetoric behind Frank Miller’s 300), considering how the “Spartan mirage” has been continually refashioned for new ideological purposes. Special emphasis will be given to the complexity of sources, and to the methodological challenge of reconstructing an ancient society from primarily literary evidence that is fragmentary, refracted through outsiders, and often deeply biased. We will especially consider how Spartan women are presented in literature about Sparta.
CLASSIC 198DIRECTED GROUP STDYSTAFFSpecial topics in Classical studies through directed reading and research.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times
CLASSIC 199INDEPENDENT STUDYSNYDER, R.Independent research with Classics faculty.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times
CLASSIC 199INDEPENDENT STUDYGIANNOPOULOU, Z.Independent research with Classics faculty.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times
CLASSIC 199INDEPENDENT STUDYKARANIKA, A.Independent research with Classics faculty.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times
CLASSIC 199INDEPENDENT STUDYPANTELIA, M.Independent research with Classics faculty.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times
CLASSIC 199INDEPENDENT STUDYZISSOS, P.Independent research with Classics faculty.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times
CLASSIC 199INDEPENDENT STUDYHERNANDEZ, A.Independent research with Classics faculty.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times
CLASSIC 199INDEPENDENT STUDYCERETI, C.Independent research with Classics faculty.
Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times