Courses

Classics

CLA07-444-01: Classical Sites and MonumentsSpring 2023

CLA07-44-01: Classical Sites and Monuments

Tuesday and Thursday, 2:30-3:45pm

Dr. Jeffrey Easton

A topographical study of the civic, religious, and private sites and monuments of Ancient Greek and Roman cities. Through the study of site plans and spatial analysis, students consider the function of these sites and monuments, how sites communicated with each other, and how their topographical placement and ornamentation shaped human interaction within the space and reinforced the power and prestige of those who constructed them.

The Classics curriculum includes courses in Greek language and literature, Latin language and literature, and Classics in translation.

For Placement Information and credit (placement, AP, IB), please click here.

Below you will find a list of our current or recent offerings. See the course catalog for descriptions and updated information.

13-144 Greek I
Essentials of grammar, composition, and reading. Students will acquire basic translation skills and build a core vocabulary, and they will support their language learning with the study of Greek society and culture. (Fall)
13-154 Greek II
Continued study of grammar, composition and reading. Students will learn more complex syntactical constructions and begin translating more sustained Greek passages. Prerequisite: Greek 13-144, or equivalent placement. (Spring)
13-164 Greek III
Students will build on the fundamentals they acquired in introductory Greek and strengthen their skills in translation and interpretation through a variety of Greek prose and poetry texts. Readings and cultural studies of prose authors such as Herodotus, Xenophon (history), Plato, and Aristotle (philosophy) and poetry by Hesiod, the anonymous Homeric Hymns (epic), and a selection by Hellenistic poets, as well as New Testament Greek. Prerequisite: Greek 13-154, or equivalent placement. (Fall)
13-344 Intermediate Readings in Greek Literatur
This course is specifically designed for intermediate students who have completed three semesters of Greek. In addition to strengthening skills in translation, interpretation, and textual analysis, students will encounter Greek texts in their cultural, historical, and political contexts and become familiar with scholarly commentaries. May be repeated with change in topic. Topics offered on a rotating basis of prose and poetry. The range of topics includes Homer's epic poems Iliad and Odyssey; the ethnographic writings of Herodotus; oratory in Classical Athens; and Archaic Lyric poetry by such authors as Archilochus, Alcaeus, and Sappho. Prerequisite: Greek 13-164; or equivalent placement. (Fall, Spring) (H)
13-404 Advanced Readings in Greek Literature
This course is specifically designed for advanced students and includes rigorous study of Greek texts in focused thematic areas. Students will encounter the texts in their cultural, historical, and political contexts and gain greater familiarity with issues of composition and transmission, as well as current interpretive approaches and important secondary scholarship. May be repeated with change in topic. Topics offered on a rotating basis of prose and poetry. The range of topics include Thucydides and his historiographical methods; selections of Euripidean tragedy; Greek historians under the Roman Empire; and Presocratic philosophers. Contributes to Health Studies. Prerequisite: Greek 13-164 course; or equivalent placement. (Fall, Spring) (H)

14-144 Latin I
Essentials of grammar, composition, and reading. Students will acquire basic translation skills and build a core vocabulary, and they will support their language learning with the study of Roman society and culture. (Fall)
14-154 Latin II
Continued study of grammar, composition and reading. Students will learn more complex syntactical constructions and begin translating more sustained Latin passages. Prerequisite: Latin 14-144, or equivalent placement. (Spring)
14-164 Latin III
Students will build on the fundamentals they acquired in introductory Latin and strengthen their skills in translation and interpretation through a variety of Latin prose and poetry texts. Readings and cultural studies of poets such as Catullus and Horace to prose writers of oratory (Cicero), natural history (the two Plinys), and society and politics (Tacitus) to later works such as those of Hildegard of Bingen (twelfth-century polymath and author of causae et curae) and Carolus Linnaeus (eighteenth-century botanist). Contributes to Health Studies. Prerequisite: Latin 14-154, or equivalent placement. (Fall)
14-344 Intermediate Readings Latin Literature
This course is specifically designed for intermediate students who have completed three semesters of Latin. In addition to strengthening skills in translation, interpretation, and textual analysis, students will encounter Latin texts in their cultural, historical, and political contexts and become familiar with scholarly commentaries. May be repeated with change in topic. Topics offered on a rotating basis of prose and poetry. The range of topics includes readings in the epic poetry of Vergil's Aeneid; Cicero's public speeches and letters in their socio-political context; the poetic corpus of Catullus; Ovid's Metamorphoses; and Livy's history of Rome. Prerequisite: Latin 14-164; or equivalent placement. (Fall, Spring) (H)
14-404 Advanced Readings in Latin Literature
This course is specifically designed for advanced students and includes rigorous study of Latin texts in focused thematic areas. Students will encounter the texts in their cultural, historical, and political contexts and gain greater familiarity with issues of composition and transmission, as well as current interpretive approaches and important secondary scholarship. May be repeated with change in topic. Topics offered on a rotating basis of prose and poetry. The range of topics includes readings in Latin elegiac poetry; political history of the early principate in Tacitus and Suetonius; the extensive epistolary corpus of Pliny the Younger; and the Roman epigraphic habit. Contributes to Health Studies. Prerequisite: Latin 14-164, or equivalent placement. (Fall, Spring) (H)

07-204 Greek and Roman Mythology
A study of the traditional cycles of Classical Mythology and the essential role myths played in Greek and Roman culture, especially the ways myth was employed to reinforce contemporary socio-political ideologies. Students will encounter the myths through a variety of ancient evidence, including literature, artwork, and material culture and engage with the most important historical and contemporary theories of mythology. Particular attention is given to the formation of these myths in the Near Eastern world and the recrystallization of Classical myth in later literature and art. (Fall, Spring) (H))
07-344 Topics in Classical Culture and Society
An interdisciplinary examination of topics in Ancient Greek and Roman culture and society. Students will learn to analyze the heterogenous ancient evidence through a variety of methods and consider these topics in the context of intercultural exchange within the global history of the Ancient Mediterranean. Develops proficiency in academic research and writing. All texts and documentary evidence will be read in translation. May be repeated with content changed. The range of topics includes Classics and the cinema; public spectacle in the Greek and Roman world; Greek and Roman warfare and society; the study of social mobility among sub-elite Romans; and Classical sites and monuments. (Fall, Spring) (H)
07-444 Adv Topics Classical Culture & Society
An interdisciplinary examination of complex topics in Ancient Greek and Roman culture and society with a focus on critical analysis of the heterogenous ancient evidence and the most important current secondary scholarship and theoretical approaches in the field. Students will consider these topics in the context of intercultural exchange within the global history of the Ancient Mediterranean. Develops advanced proficiency in academic research and writing. All texts and documentary evidence will be read in translation. May be repeated with content changed. The range of topics includes the ancient novel; Greek and Roman ethnographic literature; Greek and Roman religion and society; and state formation in the Iron Age Aegean and Italy. (Fall, Spring) (H)
07-964 Seminar
An interdisciplinary study of various aspects of Greek and Roman antiquity. May be repeated with change of content.