Academic Catalog

2023-2024

Classical Studies (CLAS)

CLAS 101 - Classical Culture (4 Credit Hours)

This is an introductory course in the history and culture of ancient Greece and Rome, focusing on particular topics relating to classical culture, and emphasizing the analysis of textual and material evidence.

CLAS 201 - Ancient Greeks and Persians (4 Credit Hours)

An overview of the major cultures of the ancient Mediterranean from 1700 BCE to 300 BCE focusing through the Ancient Greeks and Persians. The course begins in the prehistory of each of these cultures and their predecessors/contemporaries in the Aegean, including peoples known as the Minoans, Mycenaeans, Hittites, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Egyptians (Kemet), and Kushites, and examines the development of ancient Hellenic and Iranian cultures from the 8th-3rd centuries BCE in connection with each other and these other cultures. Ancient Greek and Persian cultures were Mediterranean phenomena that spread in antiquity from the Aegean through southern Europe, the Black Sea, Egypt as far as India and have had lasting influence in Europe, Asia and north Africa and were in almost every period deeply intertwined. The course focuses on the major social and political institutions as well as the intellectual and artistic achievements of the Greeks and Persians.

Prerequisite(s): none.

CLAS 202 - Ancient Rome (4 Credit Hours)

A survey of Roman civilization from both an historical and cultural perspective. Chronologically, the course traces the development of the "eternal city" from a tiny village of mud and straw along the banks of the Tiber River in central Italy to the city of marble and bronze dominating the Mediterranean world and beyond. Culturally, we consider Rome's legacy to the western world in terms of its social and political institutions, as well as its intellectual and artistic achievements.

CLAS 211 - Ancient Greek Literature and Society (4 Credit Hours)

This course is an introduction to Ancient Greek literature from the Homeric world to the Hellenistic era. Students will read the works of major authors representing a variety of genres from epic poetry to philosophical dialogues, considered in the contexts of both ancient culture and contemporary society.

CLAS 212 - Latin Literature and Society (4 Credit Hours)

In this course students will study the literature of ancient Rome, analyzing texts not only for their importance to the development of Latin literature but also for their subsequent influence on later authors, from the Renaissance to the modern world. Readings will include selections from the genres of comic drama, lyric, elegy, epic and satire.

CLAS 221 - Classical Mythology (4 Credit Hours)

This course is a study of the mythology of classical antiquity, with an emphasis on its representations in literature and art, and its relationship to the practice and rituals of Greek and Roman religion.

CLAS 301 - Topics in Classical Studies (4 Credit Hours)

This is a seminar course on a particular historical, social or cultural topic related to classical antiquity.

CLAS 311 - Gender and Sexuality in Antiquity (4 Credit Hours)

This course explores how power and status worked in the family, in politics, in labor practices, and in religious institutions during classical antiquity, focusing on the intersections of gender, class, ethnicity, and sexuality.

CLAS 312 - Ancient Identities (4 Credit Hours)

This course considers the various ways the Greeks and Romans speculated about and defined human differences, as well as exploring the ways in which the ancients theorized about and manipulated their environments to achieve a desired identity. Attention is also given to how these theories were received from medieval to modern times.

CLAS 321 - Echoes of the Trojan War (4 Credit Hours)

This course examines ancient and modern narratives based on the legendary war at Troy. Our readings will alternate between the epic poems of Homer and Virgil, on the one hand, and selected novels, poems, and films that respond to and re-envision the classic accounts of the famous Bronze Age conflict, on the other.

CLAS 322 - Classical Drama (4 Credit Hours)

This course focuses on the dramatic arts as practiced in Ancient Greece and Rome. Students will read selected plays, tragic or comic, by the major playwrights of classical antiquity, giving attention to dramaturgy, societal contexts, and influences on the development of western theater.

CLAS 331 - Alexander the Great (4 Credit Hours)

This course focuses on the study of the historical record of the life and times of Alexander the Great, examining primary and secondary sources, and placing the career and accomplishments of Alexander in the contemporary social and cultural context of Macedonia, Greece, and the Near East, as well as Alexander’s influence on the Hellenistic era of classical antiquity.

CLAS 332 - Imperial Rome (4 Credit Hours)

This course focuses on the decline and fall of the Roman Republic and the establishment of the Roman Principate. Students will examine the political, social, and cultural contexts for the creation of an empire that dominated the Mediterranean world, encompassing an area stretching from Britain to Egypt.

CLAS 341 - Roman Law: Delict/Torts (4 Credit Hours)

This course examines Roman law and society through the Roman law of delict (wrongful harm to persons and property punished through private law, roughly equivalent to torts in Anglo-American common law). Through the careful discussion of cases (case-study method), we will learn about the nature of law and legal thinking, how it worked (or didn’t) and how legal practice reflected and shaped ethical, economic and social ideas.

CLAS 342 - Roman Law: Family Law (4 Credit Hours)

An introduction to the Roman legal system and its relationship to Roman society through the study of Roman family law. Through the careful study of cases, jurists’ commentary and common law comparisons, students learn about Roman culture and history while developing the ability to examine legal rules and assess them critically.

CLAS 361 - Directed Study (1-4 Credit Hours)

CLAS 362 - Directed Study (1-4 Credit Hours)

CLAS 363 - Independent Study (1-4 Credit Hours)

CLAS 364 - Independent Study (1-4 Credit Hours)

CLAS 451 - Senior Research (4 Credit Hours)

CLAS 452 - Senior Research (4 Credit Hours)