CLASSIC Course Descriptions for 2011-2012

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Fall Course Descriptions
CourseTitleInstructorDescription
CLASSIC 36AEARLY GREECEWEINER, J.Particular emphasis will be placed upon primary texts and we will read selections from Homer, Hesiod and the lyric poets as well as relevant selections from later authors who discussed these periods in Greece. No prerequisites. Non-majors are most welcome. This course is the first part of the Greek civilization series (36ABC), which satisfies the IV Humanistic Inquiry General Education requirement. Same as History 36A.
CLASSIC 45ATHE GODSPANTELIA, M.Classics 45A is the first part of a three-quarter course on Classical Mythology. This class will be an introduction to the most important Greek and Roman myths, their historical and religious context, various interpretations and influence upon ancient and modern art, film and literature. Some of the topics we will discuss are: the creation of the universe, relations between gods and mortals, gender and sexuality, love, marriage, death and afterlife. We will use a standard textbook, but we will also read selected passages from primary sources such as Hesiod's Theogony, Ovid's Metamorphoses and selections from Greek tragedy. The course will make regular use of ancillary visual materials, especially computer resources. The grade for this course will be based on a combination of multiple-choice quizzes and short essay exams.
CLASSIC 150CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGYSTAFFSelected myths and legends as used in Classical literature, and their modern interpretations.
CLASSIC 160APPROPRIATIONS OF PLATO IN LITERATURE AND FILMGIANNOPOULOU, Z.
CLASSIC 220ROMAN CIVIL WAR LITERATUREZISSOS. P.In this course we will consider the theme of civil war in Roman literature, focusing on Lucan’s Bellum Civile as the culmination of a long tradition of poetry and prose. Additional authors to be studied include Sallust (Bellum Catilinae), Livy (Book 1), Caesar (Bellum Civile 1), Virgil (Georgics 1, Aeneid), and Ovid (Metamorphoses 1). A significant portion of seminar time will be devoted to reading these texts and Lucan Bellum Civile 1 in the Latin, noting points of linguistic and stylistic significance, in addition to the treatment of the civil war theme itself.
CLASSIC 220THE MYTH OF HELENPANTELIA, M.Standing at the center of the Trojan legend, Helen of Troy embodies an extraordinary paradox: at one extreme she is the most highly valued prize for which men are willing to fight and die; at another extreme she is an adulteress and the source of deep shame. Starting with Homer, ancient authors generated multiple characterizations of her as heartlessly evil, sympathetically chastened, or subject to forces beyond her control. In an effort to resolve the questions of her moral status and reconcile the inconsistencies already inherent in her Homeric representation, they even created an alternative legend, according to which Helen herself never went to Troy but her place there was filled by a phantom. This course will examine the various literary treatments of the myth of Helen in antiquity and attempt to reconstruct a cohesive picture of the changing nature and character of the Homeric heroine. We will read selections from epic (Homer) and lyric poetry (Sappho, Alcaeus and Stesichorus), Herodotus, Euripides' plays Helen and the Trojan Women, Georgias' and Isocrates' Helen orations, Theocritus and Virgil, and representative medieval and modern adaptations of the Helen myth. Course assessment will be based on weekly reports, class-participation, and a final research paper.
CLASSIC 280INDEPENDENT STUDYZISSOS, P.
CLASSIC 280INDEPENDENT STUDYPORTER, J.
CLASSIC 280INDEPENDENT STUDYPANTELIA, M.
CLASSIC 280INDEPENDENT STUDYKARANIKA, A.
CLASSIC 280INDEPENDENT STUDYGIANNOPOULOU, Z.
CLASSIC 280INDEPENDENT STUDYCLAXTON, C.
CLASSIC 290RESEARCH IN CLASSICCLAXTON, C.
CLASSIC 290RESEARCH IN CLASSICGIANNOPOULOU, Z.
CLASSIC 290RESEARCH IN CLASSICKARANIKA, A.
CLASSIC 290RESEARCH IN CLASSICPANTELIA, M.
CLASSIC 290RESEARCH IN CLASSICPORTER, J.
CLASSIC 290RESEARCH IN CLASSICZISSOS, P.