| Course | Title | Instructor | Description |
|---|
| CLASSIC 37B | ROMAN EMPIRE | ZISSOS, P. | The course is a survey of some of the highlights of Roman civilization during the early centuries of the Roman empire (end of the first century BCE to the third century CE). In this period, the Roman world was ruled by emperors who increasingly came to have absolute power. We will look not only at political history, but also at social history, literature, art and architecture and religion. The course will consider a number of questions, including the political and social consequences of living under and absolute ruler - especially when, as was often the case, he was unbalanced. This is the period of "bread and circuses" in which the emperors bought off the lower classes by providing the grain dole and spectacular free entertainment such as chariot races and gladiatorial contests. We will also look at how the emergence of Christianity affected the Roman world, and how complex social systems and entrenched institutions such as slavery evolved over time. The early centuries of the empire were a time of great prosperity in which Roman power reached its zenith; it was a period of relative stability but also, in some respects, a time of decadence, which has been a source of both admiration and loathing for almost all subsequent ages, including our own. |
| CLASSIC 45B | THE HEROES | KARANIKA, A. | This course will concentrate on myths about ancient heroes, such as Hercules, Odysseus, Jason and those featured in the Trojan and Theban Saga. The overall goal is to understand the nature of the heroic, as depicted by ancient writers and artists, and to appreciate the ways in which the ancient Greeks used myths in order to interpret their world. The grade for this course will be based on five exams, each of which will have a combination of multiple-choice questions and short essay questions. |
| CLASSIC 160 | PLATO TO FOUCAULT | PORTER, J. | This course will consider the origins and emergence of the self—notions of self-identity, interiority, introspective practices (the meditation, the dialogue, the letter), but also social definitions of selfhood—in Greek and Roman antiquity. Plato's Socratic dialogues will be the point of departure. Later writings will include meditations, letters, and philosophical reflections on life by Epicurus, Lucretius, Seneca, Pliny, Epictetus, Plotinus, and Augustine. Secondary writing by Michel Foucault, Pierre Hadot, and Bernard Williams will help guide us as we set up frameworks and questions for investigating these primary texts.
Prerequisites. None
Requirements: one or two in-class presentations per student, short, weekly reaction pieces (to be posted on a course-blog, but not graded), and a final paper or project, which may be on any aspect of the texts, on related contextual matters, on issues of secondary interpretation, or on specific problems and their extensions to other areas (as defined by a student’s interests).
https://sites.google.com/site/insearchoftheself/ |
| CLASSIC 170 | ROMAN RELIGION | STAFF | This course will examine Roman systems of religious and superstitious belief, ranging from institutionalized state religion to mystery cults and magic. The course will also consider the social functions and effects of religious ritual in Roman society. |
| CLASSIC 192A | SENIOR CAPSTONE | CLAXTON, C. | Under the guidance of a faculty mentor, majors design and execute a senior project. This project may be a research paper, dramatic production, school curriculum, etc. All projects must be approved by the faculty mentor. Prerequisite: satisfactory completion of the lower-division writing requirement. 192A: In-progress grading. |
| CLASSIC 220 | GREEK DIVINATION | RAPHALS, L. | This course focuses on the problem of divination (mantic practices) in their dual aspect as
a set of intellectual orientations and a set of social institutions, and examines some of the
many ways in which divination profoundly affected Greek culture. Topics include: mantic
practitioners and consultors; oracles, especially Delphi and Dodona; the independent
mantis (military and otherwise), divination and gender, rhetorical aspects of divination, and
divination, philosophy and systematic thought. Readings will include relevant selections
from Homer, Herodotus, and some inscriptional material. Part of each class will be devoted
to reading Greek texts. |
| CLASSIC 220 | LUCAN | ZISSOS, P. | In this course we will read Lucan’s incomplete epic poem, the Bellum
Civile. In addition to careful reading in the original Latin and
examination of Lucan’s often eccentric use of language and poetic
register, we will consider broader questions of theme and structure, as
well as philosophical and political allegiance, and historical context.
This means that we will not only not only explore Lucan’s poem from the
perspective of the Roman epic tradition, but also from the perspective of
other literary traditions with which Lucan was interacting, including
historiography and commentarii, such as those of Caesar on the civil war. |
| CLASSIC 280 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | ZISSOS, P. | |
| CLASSIC 280 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | PORTER, J. | |
| CLASSIC 280 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | PANTELIA, M. | |
| CLASSIC 280 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | KARANIKA, A. | |
| CLASSIC 280 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | GIANNOPOULOU, Z. | |
| CLASSIC 280 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | CLAXTON, C. | |
| CLASSIC 290 | RESEARCH IN CLASSIC | CLAXTON, C. | |
| CLASSIC 290 | RESEARCH IN CLASSIC | GIANNOPOULOU, Z. | |
| CLASSIC 290 | RESEARCH IN CLASSIC | KARANIKA, A. | |
| CLASSIC 290 | RESEARCH IN CLASSIC | PANTELIA, M. | |
| CLASSIC 290 | RESEARCH IN CLASSIC | PORTER, J. | |
| CLASSIC 290 | RESEARCH IN CLASSIC | ZISSOS, P. | |