Courses of Instruction
CLASSICS (CLS-Arts and Science)
MPF, MPT 101 Greek Civilization in its Mediterranean Context (3)
Exploration
of ancient Greek civilization, from pre-Homeric to Hellenistic times, presented
within a broad framework of cultures with which Greece interacted in the Mediterranean
basin. Various aspects of Greek civilization are highlighted including history,
politics, economics, society, art, science, philosophy, and literature. IIIB,
H, CAS-B-HST.
MPF, MPT 102 Roman Civilization (3)
Exploration of the legacy of ancient Roman
civilization from its legendary beginning through the Republic to the Empire at
its greatest extent. Various aspects of Roman civilization highlight the Roman
experience including history, literature, philosophy, political and social institutions,
religion, art, and the unique ability of Rome to assimilate Greek and other cultures.
IIIB, H. CAS-B-HST.
MPF, MPT 121 Introduction to Classical Mythology (3)
Introduction to Greek mythology.
Presentation, explanation, and interpretation of myths within representations
of mythology, as well as comparative study of non-Greco-Roman myth. IIB, H. CAS-B-LIT.
Advanced Courses
Note: Consult the MP Thematic Sequence descriptions for prerequisites and appropriate
courses for fulfilling that requirement.
210A Classical Antiquity Through a Lens (3)
An introduction to filmic projections
of classical myths and historical crises. This course aims at heightening students' awareness
of the ways in which films construct our images of classical antiquity in the
service of contemporary ideological agendas.
MPT 210C Roman Cities (3)
This visually-oriented course examines four ancient
cities, Rome, Ostia, Herculaneum, and Pompeii. Intends to recreate, as much as
possible, the experience of actually visiting these cities in order to determine
what the physical plant of Roman cities reveals about the civilization of the
Romans.
MPT 210E Eureka: Monumental Discoveries in the Attics of Antiquity (3)
Introductory
survey of monumental discoveries (ancient and modern) that have changed and influenced
the course of history, intellectual thought, and artistic taste and enlarged and
transformed our knowledge of the ancient world. Specific discoveries from selected
archaeological sites direct the focus of the course: e.g. Egypt, Troy, Crete,
Athena, Delphi, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Rome.
MPT 210J Introduction to Egyptian Art and Archaeology (3)
Introduces students
to the art and archaeology of Pharoanic Egypt, including many of the most important
monuments: funerary architecture, temples, sculpture, wall paintings, tomb furnishings,
and other arts. The course also establishes an outline of Egyptian history and
geography, with an emphasis on Egypt and its place in the larger worlds of Africa
and the Mediterranean.
MPT 210R Race and Ethnicity (3)
Relies on a variety of primary
evidence to study how the Greeks and Romans defined race and ethnicity and how
they defined themselves as individual peoples when they confronted cultures and
peoples distinctly different from themselves. Examination of the relationship
between current theories of race and ethnicity and the theories and practices
of the Greeks and Romans. Cross-listed with BWS 210R.
210Z Classical Tradition in Russian Poetry (3)
This course is designed to introduce
students to the way Russian literature, and especially poetry, responded to Greco-Roman
antiquity. For the Russian intelligensia, the study of classical antiquity, with
its rich mythological tradition and history, represented a window into the West,
an opportunity to establish Russian literary heritage within Western literary
canon.
MPT 211 Greek and Roman Epic (3)
Study of the epic as genre including examination
of conventions and techniques of oral and written epic, a discussion of the kind
of society which produces such a work, and a study of the epic hero. Works of
Homer and Vergil will be read supplemented by readings from other ancient and
post-classical authors. CAS-B-LIT.
MPT 212 Greek and Roman Tragedy (3)
Study of the origin and development of
Greek drama will highlight unique aspects of its fifth century form and dramatic
presentation while exploring the reasons for perennial relevance of the extant
plays. Selected dramas by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides supplemented with
some comparative material from Roman post-classical drama. CAS-B-LIT.
MPT 213 Greek and Roman Comedy (3)
Examination of the origin and development
of comedy, the particularities of ancient dramatic presentation, and the changing
role of comedy in ancient society. Readings from plays of Aristophanes, Menander,
Plautus, and Terence supplemented by some comparative material from postclassical
drama. CAS-B-LIT
MPT 215 Roman Historians (3)
Why and how the Romans wrote history, nature of
Roman historical writing, and development of Roman historiography are essential
topics. Reading and analysis of Livy, Sallust, Tacitus, and Suetonius. Supplementary
reading in the background of the Roman Republic and Empire. CAS-B.
MPT 235 Women in Antiquity (3)
Study of the status of women in the Greek and
Roman world from Bronze age through early centuries of Christianity conducted
in light of literary, artistic, and archaeological evidence in order to increase
knowledge and understanding of Greek and Roman family and social life and of our
own society as well. Cross-listed with WMS 235.
310 Advanced Topics in Classics (1-3; maximum 6)
Examination of an author, work,
topic, or new critical perspective on classical civilization not usually given
substantial treatment in regular course offerings. May be repeated once if topic
changes. Recent offerings include:
MPT 310D Democracy and Identity in Ancient Athens (3)
Multidisciplinary study
of the development of democracy in Athens as well as the social, political, economic,
and cultural conditions that gave birth to this unique political system and the
tension between the individual and the state from the mid-6th century until the
death of Socrates in 399 BCE.
MPT 310E Conflict in Greco-Roman Egypt (3)
Explores life in ancient Egypt as
it experienced first Greek, then Roman, domination. Considers themes ranging from
the role of the imperial court to the social differences that structured life
and the colonial administration of Egypt, including gender, ethnicity, economic
status, literacy, and religious identity. Also highlights the shifting role of
the new capital, Alexandria. Cross-listed with BWS 380I.
MPT 310I Ancient Imperialism (3)
Exploration of the range of ancient Mediterranean
empires from the earliest Mesopotamian empires through the fall of the Roman Empire.
Critical examination of the various accounts modern anthropologists, historians,
and political scientists offer to explain the causes of their rise and fall, along
with the defenses offered by imperialists and the grounds for opposition from
those who resisted. Exploration of various distinctions offered between ancient
and modern forms of imperialism.
MPT 310P From the Lair of the Cyclops to the Surface of the Moon: Travel and
Self-Definition in Antiquity (3)
Examination of the ways in which the ancient
Greeks and Romans explored and broadened the boundaries of their world and continually
adapted their conceptions of their own place within it.
MPT 310S Egypt in Greco-Roman
Fiction (3)
This course will study a series of Greek and Roman literary texts
that represent Egypt. Course focuses on how representations of the Other function
to confirm or construct one's own identity, and how
those constructions function in various types of literary discourse.
MPT 310T Arts and Empire in the Classical World and Russia (3)
This course is
a study in how artists of very different national heritages and times related
to the empires and the imperial powers that conditioned and influenced their art.
MPT 316 Greek and Roman Lyric Poetry (3)
Examination of tone, form, and content
of lyric poetry. Beginning with creations of the Greek Lyric Age, course explores
Roman response to the whole range of Greek lyric achievements of Catullus, Horace,
and Ovid in creating distinctly Roman themes and style. CAS-B-LIT.
MPT 317 Greek and Roman Philosophical Writers (3)
An examination of the philosophy,
personalities, and backgrounds of the principal philosophers. Discussions of problems
of being and becoming, monism and pluralism, knowledge, value and society. Readings
from the pre- Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Lucretius, Seneca, and Boethius.
Prerequisite: CLS 121. CAS-B-LIT. Offered infrequently.
MPT 321 Justice and the Law in Antiquity (3)
History and development of constitutional
and civil law in antiquity with special emphasis on Roman law. Examines ancient
jurisprudence and development of the concept of justice. Some comparisons made
between ancient and modern legal systems.
MPT 322 Growing Old in Greece and Rome: The Sphinx's Riddle (3)
Looks
at literary and nonliterary evidence to study old age in Greece and Rome as part
of the entire life span. Seeks to distinguish between literary representations
and the actual experience of old people and examine continuities between classical
and postclassical cultures. CAS-B-LIT.
MPT 331 From Epic to Romance (3)
Critical survey of novelistic narrative literature
in the ancient world, focusing on the so-called ancient novels or ancient romances
written in the late hellenistic and imperial period. Begins with the epic ancestors
of these works and goes on to modern versions of romance in print and film. CAS-B-LIT.
MPC 401 The Age of Pericles (3)
Comprehensive study of Athenian civilization
from 480 to 429 BC. This is neither a history nor a literature course, but a search
for global understanding; attempts to look at a complex period from a variety
of angles (political, social, literary, artistic, intellectual) and to find a
basis for relating its specific subject matter to other bodies of knowledge and
other modes of inquiry. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
MPC 402 The Age of Augustus (3)
Comprehensive study of Roman civilization from
63 BC to AD 14, a period that is perhaps the most significant and exciting era
in Roman civilization, the culmination of seven centuries of Roman growth and
expansion and the prediction of the five centuries of Rome's future. Focus
is the concept of leadership in a Roman society that was being transformed from
a republic to an empire. Emphasis is not only on the ways in which a leader shapes
a society but also on the ways in which a leader is shaped by a many-faceted society.
Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
480 Independent Reading for Departmental Honors (3)
Individually arranged program
of study concentrating on a particular author, major work, or significant aspect
of ancient culture and society, normally culminating in a substantial research
essay and comprehensive examination. Prerequisite: superior performance in course
work within department as well as good general academic standing.
630 Studies in Classical Humanities (1-4; maximum 12)
Directed study in special
areas and disciplines which overlap with classics. Prerequisite: graduate standing
and permission of department chair and instructor required.
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