Academic Bulletin Classics - Course Descriptions - 2012-13

Classical Civilization

An introduction to the content and form of the major ancient myths, chiefly Greek. The emphasis will be on interpretation, with topics to include myth, folk-tale, and legend, myth and ritual, psychological uses of myth, and the structuralist school of Claude Lévi-Strauss. Particular attention will be paid to male/female archetypes, with secondary readings from Camille Paglia and Robert Bly. Comparison will also be made to several non-western mythologies. Counts towards Area of Cancentration in Gender Studies. Offered fall semester of odd-numbered years.

 Prerequisite: None.

A consideration of the art and architecture of Greece from an archaeological and art historical point of view. The course will cover material from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Age. Offered fall semester of odd-numbered years.

 Prerequisite: None.

A consideration of the origin and development of Roman art and architecture from the Etruscans to late imperial Rome. Offered spring semester of even-numbered years.

 Prerequisite: None.

A survey of Greek political, military, cultural, and literary history from the end of the Bronze Age (ca. 1100 B.C.) to the time of Alexander the Great (4th century B.C.). A thematic focus will be the origins, evolution, and problems of the most important Greek political-social-cultural structure, the polis, or “city-state.” Offered fall semester of even-numbered years.

 Prerequisite: None.

A survey of Roman political, military, cultural, and literary  history from the Etruscan period (6^th and 5^th centuries B.C.) to the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. A thematic focus will be on the origins, nature, effects, and evolution of imperialism in Roman politics, culture, and society. Offered spring semesters of odd-numbered years.

 Prerequisite: None.

An introductory course that focuses on a specific topic in ancient literature and culture and requires no previous work.  Course may be repeated as topic changes. Depending on subject matter, this course may be cross-listed.

 Prerequisite: None.

An introductory course that focuses on a specific topic in ancient art or archaeology and requires no previous work. Course may be repeated for credit as topic changes. Depending on subject matter, this course may be cross-listed.

 Prerequisite: None.

An introductory course that focuses on a specific topic in ancient history and requires no previous work. Course may be repeated as topic changes. Depending on subject matter, this course may be cross-listed.

Prerequisite: None.

A survey of the ancient Greek philosophy, including Pre-Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; Hellenistic philosophy may also be included.  This course focuses on acquiring  and inproving abilities in philosophical reading, thinking, and expression.  In class, the norm is close textual analysis through lectures and discussion.  Topics include the nature of the physical and human world, and questions about knowledge and ultumate being. Offered fall semesters.

 Prerequisite: None.

An introduction to the social-historical study of the writings that came to be the New Testament of the Christian churches.  We will survey the social, political, and religious contexts of the Jewish and Greco-Roman worlds of the first century, the actions and teachings of Jesus fo Nazareth, and the missionary activity of Paul of Tarsus.  We will study most of the texts in the New Testament, as well as other ancient Jewish and early Christian writings to learn about the development of the various beliefs and practicies of these first Christian communities.

 Prerequisite: None.

A more advanced course that focuses on a specific topic in ancient literature or culture and requires previous work. Course may be repeated as topic changes. Depending on the subject matter, the course may be cross-listed.

 Prerequisite: None.

A more advanced course that focuses on a specific topic in ancient art or archaeology and requires previous work. Course may be repeated as topic changes.

 Prerequisite: None.

A more advanced course that focuses on a specific topic in ancient history and requires previous work. Course may be repeated as topic changes.

Prerequisite: None.

This course focuses on the origin and development of rhetoric and rhetorical theory during the classical period. The course begins in the pre disciplinary stage of Homer and the Sophists and examines such works as Homer’s Iliad, Gorgias’ Encomium of Helen, and Isocrates’ Antidosis. The course then moves to Plato’s Gorgias and Phaedrus and the “disciplinizing” efforts of Aristotle (On Rhetoric). Finally, the course examines the efforts of Cicero (On Invention, Orator, and On the Orator), Quintilian (Institutes of Oratory), and Augustine (On Christian Doctrine) to reunite philosophy and rhetoric and include ethics within the realm of rhetoric. Students learn how rhetorical theories are generated out of the specific needs of particular political and social contexts. In addition, students examine the influence of literacy on human interaction and the study of rhetoric in particular. Finally, students trace the relationship between rhetoric and philosophy from pre-Platonic unity, through Plato’s bifurcation, and finally to the attempts at reunification by Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian. Offered spring semesters.

 Prerequisite: None.

Students wishing to pursue independent study in Classical Civilization should plan their project with the instructor who is to supervise.

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor and department chair.

Students wishing to pursue independent study in Classical Civilization should plan their project with the instructor who is to supervise.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor and department chair.

A seminar on a selected topic with a paper supervised by a member of the department. Offered spring semesters.

 Prerequisite: None.