FALL 2009 COURSES

CC 220 Classical Mythology

Leslie Mechem, Jackie Murray

 A study of the important myths in Greek and Roman culture, with attention to their religious, psychological, and historical origins. Comparative mythology, structural analysis, modern psychological interpretations and the development of classical myths in Western literature and art receive attention. Prerequisite:  None.  Counts towards the Humanities requirement.

 
CC 223 Society on Stage

Daniel Curley

 The comedians of ancient Athens and Rome were poets of elegance, anger, obscenity, and morality. Despite these often contradictory messages, their plays have stood the test of time. In this course we shall survey the works of Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus and Terence. We shall approach the plays from different perspectives and contexts—historical, cultural, theatrica—in order to understand better how they function, not only as plays, but also as artifacts of individual artists and their societies. In addition, we shall augment our survey with the testimonies of a tragedian, Euripides, some of whose plays fall between comedy and tragedy. Prerequisite:  None. Counts towards the Breadth:  Arts B requirement and the Humanities requirement


 CG 110 Elementary Greek

Leslie Mechem

 Why study ancient Greek? To study Greek is to study ourselves as creators, leaders, thinkers and as humans. Greek sharpens awareness and understanding of how languages work and offers speakers of English the opportunity to rediscover their own language; over thirty percent of all English words (particularly those of the sciences and humanities) are formed from ancient Greek roots. Students in this course will acquire the basics of Greek grammar through reading selections from a variety of authors and texts, including Aesop, Plato, Herodotus, and the New Testament. Counts towards the Foreign Language requirement.  Prerequisite:  None.

CG 311 Truth, Justice, and the Athenian Way

Michael Arnush

 The Athenians of the 5th and 4th century BCE were avid litigators and jurors – lawsuits were common and frequent and provided both for the implementation of (in)justice and sheer entertainment. Everything was fair game in the lawcourts of classical Athens: murder, prostitution, assault and battery, destruction of property, the rights of women, and the status of slaves and foreigners. We will read a selection of lurid and compelling lawsuits in Greek and examine the system of justice that shaped Athenian law.  

CL 110 Elementary Latin

Daniel Curley

Latin, the root of the Romance languages of French, Spanish and Italian, and the language of the sciences and medicine, lies at the heart of Western civilization. The study of Latin and Roman culture leads to a greater understanding of our own literature and civilization, improves writing and reading skills, and helps to develop precise thinking. Students in this course will acquire the basics of Latin grammar and vocabulary while reading selected prose passages and poems by Cicero, Catullus, Vergil, Martial, and Caesar.  Counts towards the Foreign Language requirement.  Prerequisite:  None.

CL 311 Seminar in Latin

David Porter

 Our prime focus in this seminar will be on Horace's great collection, Odes I-III, his counterpart to his friend Vergil's greatest work, the Aeneid (and written contemporaneously).  We shall read many of the 88 poems of this collection in Latin, the remainder in translation, and will sample some of the many articles and books that have been written on both the individual poems and the collection as a whole.  We shall also read widely in Horace's other works--the Epodes, Satires, and Epistles (including Epistle II.3, the famous Ars Poetica); though this reading will be largely in translation, we shall also look at representative poems from these collections in Latin.  Throughout the term, our aim will be both to gain close familiarity with Horace's poems themselves and to understand them within their historical and political context, for Horace, like Vergil, was not only one of the world's supreme poets but also deeply involved in the birth of the Augustan Principate.  Students will take midterm and final exams focusing primarily on translation; will give occasional oral reports in class; and will write a term paper that involves both close study of the text of Horace and consultation of relevant secondary sources.

HI 203 Rise of Athens

Michael Arnush

Why did Athens create the world’s first democracy? How did it balance the virtues of democratic principles with the desire to create an empire? Students in the “Rise of Athens” will examine Greek history with a focus on Athens and Sparta from the Mycenaean age to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War. Topics include the Homeric age, the development of the city-state, the origins of democracy, the nature of imperialism, intellectual and cultural achievements, economic conditions, and family life. Special emphasis is given to the study of the ancient sources: literary, historiographic, archaeological, and numismatic.

HI 363R Age of Augustus

Michael Arnush

 “I found Rome a city of bricks, and I leave it clothed in marble." These are the words of Rome's first Emperor, Augustus, who ruled an empire stretching from Spain to Syria, from Britain to Egypt. Students in this seminar will explore and conduct research on the social, artistic, literary and political successes and failures of this "golden age" of Rome's past. Topics include Vergil's Aeneid, the Imperial Forum, art as propaganda, the creation of empire, the multiculturalism of the Mediterranean, and the role of women in the Roman world – all against the backdrop of Augustan ideology and history.