| Title: | The Golden Ass: Apuleius & Anc |
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| Course Section Number: | CLA-211-01 |
| Department: | Classics |
| Description: | CLA-211 = ENG 109 The Golden Ass: Apuleius and the Ancient Novel. This course is dedicated to our only complete Latin novel, a comic and sometimes quite bawdy tale originally entitled Metamorphoses, but more commonly known by the name St. Augustine uses for it, The Golden Ass. Written by Lucius Apuleius, a Neo-Platonic philosopher who was born in North Africa under Roman rule, the story recounts the experiences of a hapless man, who while experimenting with magic accidentally turns himself into a donkey. The novel traces the wild adventures of the narrator-who, like the author, is named Lucius-as he experiences the Roman Empire from a literally asinine perspective. Ultimately, things turn serious, as Lucius regains human form through initiation into the cult of the Egyptian goddess Isis. The Golden Ass thus grants opportunities for reading an entertaining work of literature, but also for learning and thinking about many different realms of Roman life (religion, slavery, spectacle, etc.) as well as for thinking about genre and influence. Like epic, history, tragedy and comedy, the novel was also an ancient invention, and scholars are now renewing study on Apuleius' manipulation of genres. Moreover, embedded within The Golden Ass is a long excursus containing one of the most famous tales of antiquity, the erotic story of Cupid and Psyche, which was widely known and influential from the Renaissance to the 19th century. We can trace its influence on authors like Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Flaubert. No background in Classics is necessary, merely a willingness to dive into this curious book and the fascinating culture that produced it. |
| Credits: | 1.00 |
| Start Date: | January 14, 2019 |
| End Date: | May 4, 2019 |
| Meeting Information: |
01/15/2019-05/02/2019 Lecture Tuesday, Thursday 09:45AM - 11:00AM, Detchon, Room 220
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| Faculty: | Kubiak, David |
Course Status & Cross-Listings
| Cross-list Group Capacity: | |
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| Cross-list Group Student Count: | 14 |
| Calculated Course Status: | CLOSED |
| Section Name/Title | Status | Dept. | Capacity |
Enrolled/ Available/ Waitlist |
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