Classics

Two thousand years ago, Rome was the capital of an empire stretching across the Mediterranean, from England, Spain and North Africa to Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. Built from the wealth of its expansive dominion, it was the greatest metropolis on earth, at the center of a vast web of interconnected regions and cultures. The city has remained the focus of the Catholic Church and Christianity in Europe for more than 1500 years. Since antiquity, Rome has welcomed many of the world's greatest intellectuals, artists, and historical figures. Once at the heart of the Italian Renaissance and now capital of Italy, Rome remains preeminent in the world. This course explores the art, archaeology, history, literature, and urban development of the eternal city, from its legendary Trojan origins to modern times, a period which spans almost three thousand years. The course provides a comprehensive survey of Rome, primarily through the examination of its history and material culture (e.g., architecture, inscriptions, paintings, coins, etc.). We will explore the major archaeological sites and museums, to examine how Rome's monuments and artifacts reflect the social, political, and religious outlook of Roman society over time. As the largest archaeological site in the world, Rome offers an unparalleled insight into the genesis and development of Europe'its history, art, architecture, literature, philosophies, institutions, and heritage'and thereby provides a deeper glimpse of humanity.

This first-year course introduces the general history and culture of ancient Greece and Rome to students coming to the subject for the first time. Literary texts central to the ancient Greek and Roman traditions receive prime attention, including works by Homer, Plato, Cicero, and Virgil, but students are also exposed to the importance of learning from documentary texts, archeology, and art history. Topics discussed include concepts of divinity and humanity, heroism and virtue, gender, democracy, empire, and civic identity, and how they changed in meaning over time. The course allows students to develop a rich appreciation for the Greek and Roman roots of their own lives, and prepares them to study the Greco-Roman past at more advanced levels. Offered annually.

Across the globe and through nearly every period in human history, we find evidence for political states expanding their power and gaining control over their neighbors, near and far: in a word, empires. This course introduces students to a broad selection of pre-modern empires in an attempt to understand what an “empire” is, how empires arise (and fall), what features various empires have had in common, and how they have differed in terms of their political, social, and economic organization. We will pay special attention to methods of control and communication and to the nature of the relationship between rulers and ruled, including attempts at integration and resistance. The societies we will study include the Ancient Near East, Persia, Greece and Macedonia, Rome, China, India, and Mesoamerica as they are revealed through the evidence of art, law, literature, and religion. We will also tackle the notion of “imperialism,” a term first coined in 19th-century England—and one which now holds a negative connotation (the overreaching of an imperial power). Can the modern term “imperialism” be usefully applied to ancient empires? And, in the other direction, can our ancient examples shed light on modern empires and imperialism?

Do gods care about humans? Can the will of gods be understood? Is it worth fighting for one's homeland and giving one's life for the good of the community? What is true love ? Lust, friendship or marital love? How was the world created? In Ancient Greece and Rome it is through myth that humans found fascinating and complex answers to all these questions. What is myth? A collection of traditional stories about the life of ancient gods, heroes, humans and monsters. This class will explore the most important ancient Greek and Roman myths by reading poems, tragedies, novels and philosophical dialogues. Among others, we will consider Hesiod's Myth of the Ages, the tragic stories of Prometheus and Medea, and Plato's myths of the Cave and the civilization of Atlantis. When discussing ancient myths, we will engage in close analysis of the structural components of the selected literary works, focusing especially on how ancient Greeks and Romans intensely related myths to their own historical and cultural concerns. For example, we will explore how Euripides' Trojan Women, with its reflection on the dramatic costs of war, cannot be understood but in the context of the imminent fall of Athenian democracy. Since ancient myth is still relevant to our society, the discussion of ancient texts will be combined with a focus on modern or contemporary echoes of the same myths, starting from Freud's Oedipus complex and the modern use of Prometheus as a metaphor for scientific progress. Furthermore, the final weeks of this class will be dedicated to Native-American Myths and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, a twentieth-century masterpiece which combines Greek with Celtic, Persian and Christian mythology.

Be content with what you have! Accept your human and social limits, and never try to overcome them! In their attempt to create a peaceful world (cosmos), ancient Greeks put a high premium on humans' acceptance of their natural condition. Those who asked for more were deemed guilty; their arrogance (hubris) was condemned and punished by the gods. Did ancient Greeks succeed in creating this peaceful world? Many scholars say yes; this course will say no. Ancient Greece is filled with stories of rebels who challenge the established order, and, despite being condemned by their societies, subtly win admiration. Prometheus disobeys the gods to provide mankind with fire. Antigone and Medea blame the male-centric Athenian society for not giving a voice to women and foreigners. Plato condemns his contemporaries for failing to be interested in the truth. Through their lives and suffering, these rebels were making an important statement: We are unhappy with what we have! We want more, and we are not ashamed to say this! The voice of these ancient rebels still resonates today. In this class, the discussion of Prometheus, Antigone and Plato will be combined with modern and contemporary renderings of their myths, from Shelley's Frankenstein and Scott's 2012 Prometheus to cinematic re-makings of Plato's myth of the Cave, such as The Truman Show, Inception and the TV-series Chernobyl. The final classes will be devoted to recent movies about the Joker, the famous rebel from DC Comics. In this way, we will discover how myth serves as an expression of human rebellion and desire across different eras.

A weekly discussion group required for those registered for CLAS 10100

A weekly discussion group required for those registered for CLAS 10210, Rebels in Myth: From Antigone to the Joker, or its cross-lists.

Troy, the first great city represented in Western literature, inspired a cycle of myths that fascinated ancient Greek and Roman authors for centuries. This seminar will focus on Trojan War mythology as it appears in a variety of ancient Greek and Roman literature—e.g., Homer’s Iliad, Euripides’ Iphigeneia at Aulis, Vergil’s Aeneid. It will also consider the enduring popularity of the Trojan War in later literature and art. Our goals will be, first, to identify changes and continuities in treatments of Trojan War mythology over time, and, second, in the process to learn about the history of Greek and Roman literature and its modern reception. This is a writing intensive seminar in which students will develop their critical writing skills through a combination of short written homework assignments and longer essays.

Have you ever encountered something or someone exceptional in your life? If you were lucky enough to have such an experience, how did you communicate it to your family, friends and schoolmates? Did you give specific details about this encounter, or did you rather focus on your own emotions at that time? In the Greco-Roman and Biblical world, many people had exceptional encounters mostly with gods and divine-like figures. Most of these encounters are conveyed to us in the form of engaging narratives, which will be the focus of this class. We will start from accounts of divine encounters in human life, ranging from Homeric Hymns to the Biblical stories of Abraham, and from the Gospel narratives down to Apuleius' Metamorphoses, the story of a man transformed into an ass and then saved by the Egyptian goddess Isis. Then, we will focus on the Biblical and tragic stories of unjust sufferers such as Job and Oedipus, who, motivated by the desire to understand their suffering, decided to talk with God and the Olympian gods respectively. Finally, we will explore stories whose narrators struggle to provide details of their encounters with gods because the divine presence is beyond human time and space, and therefore their accounts are filled with chronological disorder and repetition. Here Aristides' account of the dreams in which the god Asclepius appeared to him will be followed by Longus' providential story of Daphnis and Chloe, and by a selection of early Christian martyrdom stories. We will conclude the class watching some movies such as the Truman Show, Les Misérables, and Mel Gibson’s Passion, and a selection from the TV Series The Chosen to explore the most popular medium which narrates stories of human encounters with the gods and the Biblical God in our contemporary era. The entire class will be discussion-based, so that we will help each other to become immersed into the world of ancient (and contemporary) stories about the divine. I hope this class will highlight the differences between Greek, Roman and Biblical responses to the gods, and reflect on the way in which each of us understands and narrates the exceptional encounters of our own life.

Liberal education is one of the greatest cultural achievements of the long Western tradition. But what's the point? And what exactly do we mean by liberal education? Is it education for free people or education to make people free? A people, a group, or just the individual? Privilege or liberation? We will ask why you are pursuing a liberal education. And study where it came from, how it has developed, what are its practices, and what are its justifications. We shall divide our focus between the theory and practice of education. Theorists will include Plato and other ancient, medieval, and early modern thinkers, but we shall devote considerable time to American experiments with liberal education (proponents, critics, opponents). Here we shall read selections from Booker T. Washington, John Dewey, Mortimer Adler, but also the Brazilian Paulo Freire, bell hooks, and contemporary self-described culture warriors. On the practice side: we will consider the materials and conditions of education at various places and times. We shall also practice ourselves some of the ancient and early modern techniques (of writing, reading, memorizing, and performing).

This course will introduce you to the material culture of the ancient Roman world, from spectacular and familiar public monuments like the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine to more intimately-scaled, private objects like silver dining services, jewelry, and family portraits. Breakthroughs in engineering, the invention of new materials (like concrete), and the Roman genius for marrying cultural assimilation with innovation resulted in an art that has left a formative legacy in artistic production to this day. We will investigate the ways in which major achievements in modes of making such as sculpting, painting, gem-carving, and building dialogued with contemporary developments in Roman politics, society, and religion. In addition to developing your skills in visual analysis, this course will focus on training you to be critical readers and writers. This class includes visits to campus collections and area museums. No prerequisites or prior knowledge of Art History are required for this course.

God, Country, Notre Dame. This legendary World War II motto gives one possible answer to the question: what is worth dying for? Put another way, we might ask: what is worth killing for? The ancient Greeks believed in catharsis, the idea that watching actors play out the extremes of humanity onstage can cleanse us of negative feelings without having to actually experience or inflict pain ourselves. In this class, we will look at how the characters of ancient Greek tragedies shed light on various aspects of the human condition: through Orestes, we will consider how cycles of violence are perpetuated and broken; through Philoctetes, whether we can expect a person to adhere to a moral code in dehumanizing conditions; through Antigone, whether it is justifiable to break the law if the law itself is unjust; through Medea, how oppression based on gender, ethnicity, and social standing can harm not only the oppressed but also the oppressor. In addition to reading the plays in translation, we will watch two modern adaptations unfold onstage through viewings of Antigone and Medea, produced and recorded by the Royal National Theatre. From fate to free will, family curses to divine intervention, hubris to human error, grief to fury, this class will explore the complexities of the human existence and the question at the heart of it all: what do we live for?

An outline introduction to the history of ancient Greece from the Bronze Age to the Roman conquest. The topics covered include the rise of the distinctive Greek city-state (the polis), Greek relations with Persia, Greek experiments with democracy, oligarchy, and empire, the great war between Athens and Sparta, the rise to power of Philip and Alexander of Macedon, and the Greeks' eventual submission to Rome. Readings include narrative, documentary, and archeological sources. The course prepares students for more detailed courses in ancient history. Offered biennially.

Theater was one of the most treasured institutions of Classical Athens, where plays were performed that would move and shock audiences for centuries to come. In this class, we will survey the enthralling tradition of Classical Greek drama by reading texts translated into English from 5th century BCE Greek. Together, we will see families torn apart and reunited, soldiers returning home bearing the trauma of war, and women fighting for their freedom. We will proceed through selected works of the three primary Greek tragedians - Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides - and end with the absurdist comedy of Aristophanes. Each week will focus on one play to explore its primary themes as well as the functions and characteristics of ancient Greek theater, and the larger historical, archeological, and cultural contexts within which these texts were originally performed. No prior knowledge of Greek culture, history, or language is necessary.

Across the globe and through nearly every period in human history, we find evidence for political states expanding their power and gaining control over their neighbors, near and far: in a word, empires. This course introduces students to a broad selection of pre-modern empires in an attempt to understand what an “empire” is, how empires arise (and fall), what features various empires have had in common, and how they have differed in terms of their political, social, and economic organization. We will pay special attention to methods of control and communication and to the nature of the relationship between rulers and ruled, including attempts at integration and resistance. The societies we will study include the Ancient Near East, Persia, Greece and Macedonia, Rome, China, India, and Mesoamerica as they are revealed through the evidence of art, law, literature, and religion. We will also tackle the notion of “imperialism,” a term first coined in 19th-century England—and one which now holds a negative connotation (the overreaching of an imperial power). Can the modern term “imperialism” be usefully applied to ancient empires? And, in the other direction, can our ancient examples shed light on modern empires and imperialism?

We will use ancient sources, material evidence and modern scholarship to attempt and reconstruct the first seven centuries of Roman history, broadly speaking, from the foundation of Rome (and the murder of Remus) to the murder of Julius Caesar and the civil war. Throughout the course, we will ask two main questions: how did the Romans manage to transform their small town into a world power in a few centuries? That is, why did the Romans, and not any other people, manage to conquer and unify the entire Mediterranean? Secondly, we will discuss the political, social and cultural consequences of this transformation. These questions exercised the Romans themselves, and some of the responses they gave will be considered in light of current scholarship. Within a broad chronological framework, we will also discuss aspects of daily life in ancient Rome: what was life like for normal people, including women and slaves, in the Roman Republic? And how was the majority of the people affected by historical change?

This course examines the history of the Roman Empire, from the establishment of a veiled monarchy under Augustus to the Christianization of the empire following the reign of Constantine (ca. 1st century B.C. to 5th century A.D). Throughout the course, we will analyze and interpret ancient textual and archaeological evidence, from both Italy and the provinces, to assess the multi-faceted institutions and cultures of the Roman people. This body of material includes the writings of emperors (Augustus, Marcus Aurelius) and ancient historians (Tacitus, Suetonius, Ammianus Marcellinus), as well as the personal letters of Pliny to the emperor Trajan. Major themes discussed in the course include the nature of despotism, dynasties and the problem of succession; imperial governance of the Mediterranean (central, provincial, and local); cultural diversity and acculturation (so-called "Romanization"); religions and the imperial cult (worship of the Roman emperor); citizenship; urbanism, politics, and the economy; mortality and ecology; and the discrepant identities of women, children, slaves, freedmen, and freeborn under the imperial system of Rome.

A weekly discussion group required for those registered for CLAS 20104.

An outline introduction to the history of ancient Rome from Romulus to Constantine. The topics covered include the meteoric spread of Roman rule in the ancient Mediterranean, the brilliance of a republican form of government tragically swept away by destructive civil war, the rise of repressive autocracy under the Caesars, and the threats to empire in late antiquity posed inside by the rise of Christianity and outside by hostile invaders. Readings include narrative, documentary, and archaeological sources. The course prepares students for more detailed courses in ancient history. Offered biennially.

This course introduces students to the study of ancient Roman coins, focusing on their use as historical sources and the insights they provide into Roman society, economy, and politics. By examining the production, iconography, and use of Roman coinage, students learn how coins served as tools for propaganda, economic stability, and cultural expression. The course also includes practical sessions where students will work with a collection of Roman coins in the Hesburgh Library to develop skills in numismatic analysis and to closely examine some specimens for the first time. For the final project, students will research a specific coin from our collection and present their findings.

In this course, the development of Greek and Roman monumental architecture and the major problems that define them will be traced from the Mycenaean Period, through the formation and development of the classical Greek orders and building types (including the role of Egypt in their origins), through the various intersections of Greek and Roman culture and the role of both traditions in the architecture of Italy from the Etruscan occupation of Rome through the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Among themes to be treated are the relationship between landscape and religious architecture, between religious ritual and monumentality; the conception of divinity as expressed in the character of temple architecture; the architectural expression of religious tradition and even specific history; architectural procession and hieratic direction; the role of emblem and narrative in architectural sculpture; symbolism and allusion through architectural order, religious revival and archaism, and the breaking of architectural and religious canon.

The course explores the history, culture, religion and society of Pre-Roman and Roman North Africa from the beginnings of the Phoenician rule and the foundation of the city of Carthage (9 th century BCE) to the Muslim conquest (7 th century CE), with a focus on the Roman occupation. This period, spanning about a millennium and a half (or 850 years of Roman rule), is best known for famous wars, generals and military conquests (the Punic Wars under the Phoenician general Hannibal, the destruction of Carthage), but its cultural, economic and religious history is equally interesting. Western North Africa was characterized by a complicated ethnic and linguistic makeup, by its relative independence from the center of the empire and by its economically strong position within the Empire, yet at its margins. It also became one of the centers of early Latin Christianity. Important authors such as Cyprian, Tertullian, Lactantius, Perpetua and above all Augustine of Hippo lived and wrote in the region dominated city of Carthage, and this is where some of the best-known writings of ancient Christianity were produced. In this course, we will situate the culturally and economically fertile environment of Western North Africa in its context in terms of geography (surrounded by the Mediterranean, the Sahara desert, the African provinces to the East, first and foremost Egypt, and lastly the Iberian Peninsula, from where the Vandal invaders would arrive), politics and history, economics, multiethnicity and religious diversity. We will discuss literary works, works of art, archaeological relics and historical sources to gain a multifaceted understanding of a complex and fascinating era whose legacy would contribute so much to shaping the Christian Middle Ages. Knowledge of Greek or Latin is not required. No prerequisites.

Ancient Christianity developed and spread in the confines of the Roman World, both directly, under Roman rule, and in constant interchange with classical culture, Roman political and cultural institutions. As a result of its emergence, everything in the Roman world changed: thoughts, beliefs, norms, aesthetic preferences and social norms. But how exactly did that shift happen? What did it mean to become a Christian in the Roman world, and how was Christianity itself shaped by that interaction? In this course, we will explore the social, cultural and political preconditions and consequences of Christianization in late antiquity. We will begin with a look at the ancient Roman world at its height - the age of the Emperor Augustus, which also saw the emergence of the Christian faith - and will go on to consider important steps in the interaction between these two forces: from conflict and persecution to a redefinition of the ancient heritage and a new understanding of Roman-ness in the Western World. Along the way, we will encounter many of the focal issues that shape the interactions between the church and the secular world to this day, as well as challenge every Christian's views and ethical duties, such as: how did the early Christians/how do we react to phenomena of otherness (migration, minorities, heterodoxy)? How does/did Christianity shape our understanding of the social order, and of gender roles? To which degree should Church and State interact, collaborate, or keep apart (e.g. in the military, the Christian basis of secular power, Christian imperialism)? We will base our discussion on the extant primary sources: Objects of art and architecture, archaeological remains, inscriptions and literary texts. Thus, we will also discuss the theoretical approaches these various documents require, and the methods we employ to understand what they tell us about the past.

This course aims at establishing a conversation between past and present and between the conceptions, justifications, laws, practices, and experiences of slavery in different cultures. To this goal, we will start from the Greeks and the Romans and then explore forms of contemporary slavery in Europe and beyond including a social ethics lens. An initial comparison between Greek and Roman conceptions of slavery will introduce the students to the variety of the phenomenon: for the Greeks, slavery depended on the superiority of some races over others, and this superiority was so self-evident that it needed no demonstration. It logically follows that they saw slavery as natural, racial, and permanent. Romans practiced slavery on a larger scale, but saw it as a necessary evil, which depended on the bad luck of single individuals and therefore was not necessarily permanent nor racially based. The contract between these two conceptions will provide a blueprint to look at later conceptions of slavery. It will also introduce an interdisciplinary approach, to explore slavery especially from a philosophical, moral, legal, economical, and human point of view.

Humans have told stories about sprawling battles, voyages across the world, and larger-than-life heroes for thousands of years. Why are tales of such gigantic proportion so impactful for the individual? What about the human experience is captured so thrillingly by myths spanning years and miles? In this introductory-level class, we will read excerpts from the epic literature of ancient Greece and Rome in order to explore these questions and many more. We will encounter cosmic creation and political foundation through Hesiod's Theogony and Virgil's Aeneid, the enormity of war and its aftermath in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and stories of quests, magic, and transformation in the Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes and Ovid's Metamorphoses. We will also take a look outside Greece and Rome to compare large-scale storytelling in different cultures, and outside the conventional examples of epic to compare the traditions of the genre to authors who play with those traditions. In all of our readings, we will collaboratively confront what the genre of ‘epic' means, the cultural contexts of its production, and the profound impact it still has on audiences today.

Do you feel restless? Are you searching for an answer to the meaning of your life? The ancient Greeks and Romans asked themselves questions like these all the time. Their desire for happiness led to the creation of many heroes and heroines, from the warlike Achilles to the cunning Odysseus, and from the witch Medea to the pious Aeneas who rejects the love of the beautiful Dido. All of them had a relatively quiet life until the point that they chose to give up their comforts and reject their complacency: from that moment they became heroines and heroes, since, as Joseph Campbell argued, "a hero or a heroine is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." Most of these characters are still famous today. For instance, when George Lucas started the Star Wars Trilogies, he decided to model Luke Skywalker on the life of the ancient heroes Odysseus and Aeneas. In this class, ancient texts and recent movies will introduce us to the lives of these ancient heroes and heroines, from Achilles to Captain America and Wonder Woman. By studying these special characters we will come to understand their ideals and ambitions, and compare them to our own ideals and ambitions. Are you more fascinated by Achilles' desire for immortal glory on the battlefield, or by Aeneas' decision to obey to the will of the gods, regardless of the sacrifice that this implies? This class will raise this and similar questions. Moreover, in their struggle for fulfillment, some of these heroes, like Jason, did not reach the glory they wanted: by reading about their spectacular defeats, we will also reflect on the challenge of suffering our failures and learning from them. Finally, in the last third of the class, we will compare these heroes and heroines with contemporary heroes, namely Western heroes, Star Wars Heroes and Heroines, and a selection of the Avengers. For example, Iron Man's fight against Obadiah Stane will be taken as a contemporary re-enactment of the competition between Odysseus' cunning and Achilles' physical violence. As the Austrian psychoanalyst Otto Rank once said, "everyone is a hero or heroine in birth." If you desire to discover this vocation of yours, and reflect on different paradigms of success and fulfillment, I warmly invite you to join this class.

This course will examine the origins of Western art and architecture, beginning with a brief look at the Bronze Age cultures of the Near East and Egypt, then focusing in detail on Greece and Rome, from the Minoan and Mycenaean world of the second millennium B.C.E to the rule of the Roman emperor Constantine in the fourth century C.E. Among the monuments to be considered are ziggurats, palaces, and the luxuriously furnished royal graves of Mesopotamia; the pyramids at Giza in Egypt and their funerary sculpture; the immense processional temple of Amon at Luxor; the Bronze Age palaces of Minos on Crete-the home of the monstrous Minotaur and Agamemnon at Mycenae, with their colorful frescoes and processional approaches; the great funerary pots of early Athens and the subsequent traditions of Red and Black Figure vase painting; architectural and freestanding sculpture of the Archaic and Classical periods; the Periclean Acropolis in Athens, with its monumental gateway and shining centerpiece, the Parthenon; and finally, among the cultural riches of Rome, the painted houses and villas of Pompeii; the tradition of republican and Imperial portraiture; the Imperial fora; the exquisitely carved Altar of Peace of Augustus; the Colosseum; and the Pantheon of the philhellene emperor Hadrian.

In this course the development of Greek and Roman monumental architecture and the major problems that define them will be traced from the Mycenaean Period, through the formation and development of the classical Greek orders and building types (including the role of Egypt in their origins), through the various intersections of Greek and Roman culture and the role of both traditions in the architecture of Italy from the Etruscan occupation of Rome through the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Among themes to be treated are the relationship between landscape and religious architecture, between religious ritual and monumentality; the conception of divinity as expressed in the character of temple architecture; the architectural expression of religious tradition and even specific history; architectural procession and hieratic direction; the role of emblem and narrative in architectural sculpture; symbolism and allusion through architectural order, religious revival and archaism, and the breaking of architectural and religious canon.

Every world religion started with a multitude of conversions - some of them voluntary, some enforced, some sincere, others opportunistic. The Christian religion, in particular, identifies in its early stages almost seamlessly with the phenomenon and the dynamics of conversion. Thus, early Christian literature and history offers some of the best-known conversion accounts (such as Augustine's Confessions) as well as some of the most disturbing accounts of forceful conversion (such as the Christianization of large parts of Europe under the Carolingian rulers). But the topic should not be viewed as belonging to Christianity alone, and possibly not even to religion alone. The course provides an opportunity to look into the phenomenon of conversion from many angles: as a psychological, historical and literary subject, as an issue touching upon postcolonial and feminist studies. This multipronged approach will hopefully shed new light even on well-known literary narratives and historical accounts.

A weekly discussion group required for those registered for CLAS 20105, The History of Ancient Greece, or its crosslists.

A weekly discussion group required for those registered for CLAS 20125: Greek Theater. Led by graduate student TAs

A weekly discussion group required for those registered for CLAS 20202, History of Rome I: the Republic.

A weekly discussion group required for those registered for CLAS 20203, History of Rome II: The Empire

A weekly discussion group required for those registered for CLAS 20325, Ancient and Modern Slavery, or its cross-lists.

A weekly discussion group required for those registered for CLAS 20350, Ancient Heroes.

In the modern world, sports and sport-like spectacles are a source of livelihood, entertainment, and social interaction for huge swathes of the global population. Fans and practitioners of physical feats of strength were likewise a major component of ancient Greco-Roman society, from the earliest Olympic Games at the dawn of Greek history to the gladiatorial contests and chariot races that characterized the most decadent phases of the Roman Empire. The purpose of this course is to provide an interdisciplinary examination of the origin and nature of sport and spectacle in the Classical world and to compare the role that athletics played in ancient society to the position it occupies in our own lives - from the point of view of athletes, spectators, and patrons alike. Topics covered will include: Near Eastern precursors to Greco-Roman sport; the development of Greek and Roman sport and spectacle through time, the Olympic Games; the role of religious thought in ancient sport; the position of the athlete within society; ancient and modern rewards for athletic valor; athletes in architecture, literature, and art; and the political appropriation of athletes and athletics. The course will focus mostly on formal athletic contests in ancient Greece and on athletic spectacles in ancient Rome, but general recreation and physical education will be considered as well.

Over the course of ten years in the fourth century BCE, King Alexander III of Macedon conquered more territory than any empire had ever previously controlled. His battlefield brilliance and unparalleled success, the vast scale on which he operated, his rapid rise to unimaginable power, and his early death (age 33), all combined to leave an indelible impression on his contemporaries. While Alexander barely lived long enough to rule over the empire he had gained, his military conquests engendered far-reaching political, social, cultural, and religious consequences. Historians use his death to mark the beginning of a new era, referred to today as the Hellenistic Age (323-31 BCE). This course examines the achievements of Alexander and the impact they had on the ancient world. After placing Alexander in the Greek, Macedonian, and Persian cultural contexts in which he lived, we will trace his army's journey into Asia and back. Next, we will turn to a close study of the Hellenistic world: topics include city foundations, political and social institutions, economic developments, cultural interactions, and new directions in literature and science. Finally, we will address Alexander's legacy for Greco-Roman antiquity and beyond. Ancient authors and documents will be read in translation.

This course examines the theory, practice, and development of ancient Greco-Roman democracy. Particular attention is devoted to comparing ancient with modern forms of self-rule. Among the special topics studied are the origins of Greek democracy, its advantages and disadvantages as a form of government, alternatives to democracy, and democracy as an abiding legacy of classical civilization for the modern world. Familiarity with ancient Greco-Roman history is recommended, but not required.

An introduction to the nature and influence of Roman law, one of the most celebrated and distinctive elements of ancient Roman culture. The course surveys the development of Roman civil and criminal law from the very early and enigmatic <i>Twelve Tables</i> to the very late and amazingly great <i>Digest of Justinian</i>. Topics covered include legal procedures, the creation of law, and Roman jurisprudence, all of which are studied in the broad context of Roman government and administration. The lasting effects of Roman law on modern legal systems are also considered.

Perhaps our greatest inheritance from the ancient Romans is their law code and legal procedures. Students will study the development of Roman criminal law from the 12 Tables to the late antique period, including the emergence of jury courts and the persecution of Christians and heretics. By studying primary sources like Cicero's speeches and laws etched in bronze tablets, students will explore the seedy side of Roman life. Topics for discussion include murder, sorcery, bribery, forgery, treason, extortion and adultery. This course will not duplicate, but complement, Roman Law and Governance (CLAS 30210).

This course considers the turbulent last decades of the Roman Republic and its fitful conversion into an autocracy. The focus of the course is on the leading figures of these decades—Julius Caesar, Cicero, Pompey, and Marc Antony—and the social and political background of their achievements and their struggles. Elements of that background to be considered include: problems of the economy and of land reform; the struggles between aristocrats and populists; constitutional crises; provincial conquest and exploitation; the role of philosophy; and the use of the lawcourts as a weapon of political competition. The course will close by considering how nascent autocracy addressed the sources of conflict that beset the Republic. Attention will be devoted throughout to the literary and artistic forms of this highly creative period, including invective, judicial, and deliberative oratory, lyric poetry, satire, and didactic poetry. Authors to be considered include Cicero, Caesar, Lucretius, Catullus, Horace, Vergil, Plutarch, and Suetonius.

This course examines the differing roles and stereotypes, forms of behavior, and values associated with women and men in Greco-Roman antiquity. Special attention is given to the preoccupations of the Greeks and Romans with the categories of "female" and "male" and to the dynamics of relations and relationships between women and men. The course both deepens knowledge of Greco-Roman society and provides an informed background for contemporary gender debates.

Rhetoric occupied a prominent place in the democracy of the Athenians and in the republican era of Roman history. This course examines the theory, practice and context of ancient rhetoric, and pays special attention to developments caused by radical changes in the political character of the Athenian and Roman civic communities. Representative readings from Greek and Roman orators and writers on rhetorical theory.

This course analyzes and traces the development of Greek architecture, painting, and sculpture in the historical period from the eighth through second century B.C., with some consideration of prehistoric Greek forebears of the Mycenaean Age. Particular emphasis is placed upon monumental art, its historical and cultural contexts, and how it reflects changing attitudes toward the gods, human achievement, and the relationship between the divine and the human.

This course examines the archaeology and history of the ancient city of Butrint (Buthrotum), on the basis of current archaeological research directed by Professor Hernandez at the site of the Roman forum. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, between Italy and Greece, the city has been occupied by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Angevines, Venetians, Ottomans, and Albanians. Covering a period of more than 3,000 years, the course introduces students to the study of material culture in the context of Mediterranean history, including the methods, results, and theory of archaeological surveys and excavations. The material examined ranges from buildings, inscriptions, coins, and statues to pottery, glass, bones, and seeds. Topics include the origins of the city as a Greek colonial outpost, the establishment of the Hellenistic sanctuaries of Asclepius and Zeus Soter, the foundation of the Roman colony under Augustus, its transformations into a Byzantine castrum, Venetian enclave, and later an Ottoman stronghold, as well as its current status as the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the country of Albania. Major themes include society, slavery, religion, architecture, urbanism, colonization, imperialism, laws, acculturation, ethnic identity, and the natural environment. No background in archaeology or history is required.

Julius Caesar, general and poet, dictator and grammarian, historian and savior (or destroyer?) of the Roman Republic, has been a fascinating figure since his own day. This course considers his life and times: his rise to supreme power; his military campaigns at home and abroad; the vibrant artistic and cultural productions of Caesar's generation; the other impressive figures, like Pompey and Marc Antony, with whom he shared the world stage; the pressing public issues of the late Roman Republic with which Caesar grappled; and the relationship of Caesar's achievements to the birth of the Roman Empire. The course will also briefly consider the place of Caesar in later thought. Primary readings will be taken from the histories of Plutarch, Suetonius, and Caesar himself; the oratory, philosophy, and letters of Cicero; the poetry of Lucretius, Catullus, and Shakespeare; and others.

By ruthlessness in war and sagacity in peace, Julius Caesar’s adopted son, Octavian, rose to the summit of power in the Roman world, receiving the name Augustus, creating an empire where there had been a republic, and inaugurating a form of government that would last, in many essentials, almost half a millennium. His rise to and consolidation of power, at every step, was the object of reflection and response by Roman poets, whose art, fusing native traditions with many Greek models, was reaching a high peak in the very same period. The purpose of this course is to reflect on the relationship between the poetry and the politics of that crucial time in Roman history. The course will examine the poetry of the period of the Civil War (Vergil’s Eclogues, Horace’s Epodes and Satires), Octavian’s increasingly singular stature (Vergil’s Georgics), Octavian/Augustus’ imperial vision (Horace’s Odes), the glories and the costs of establishing empire (Vergil’s Aeneid), reflections on the fate of empires (Ovid’s Metamorphoses), and the nature of personal identity and ethics in a time of autocracy (Ovid’s Ars Amatoria, Tibullus’ Elegies, Phaedrus’ Fables), among other authors and works. Broad questions will include: How do Roman poets reflect the political and ideological concerns of their times? What is the nature of artistic speech in an autocracy? How are the voices and techniques of earlier Greek poetry adapted for Roman purposes? By way of creating context, readings from the orator Cicero and the historians Livy and Suetonius will be included.

A weekly discussion group for those registered for CLAS 30027, Sport and Society in the Ancient World.

In ancient and medieval texts the soul is the principle of life, of sense-perception, emotions, passions, rational thought and ethical behavior. Throughout history, the investigation of the soul has been special in two ways. First of all, we are not addressing an external topic; we are treating ourselves. Secondly, this study of ourselves is not merely meant to describe and analyze, but to change and to form. Ancient philosophers thought of their work as "care of the soul". The soul is not a mechanism or machine, but something living which can err and go wrong. Pre-modern authorities often described this in the terms of sickness: The body may be sick and need the help of the doctor, and the soul may need therapy if it is sick.In the course, we will address a selection of texts and topics from ancient and medieval sources (Plato, Aristotle, Galen, the Stoics, Neoplatonic authors and Christian authors from late Antiquity and the Middle Ages), and compare them with select contemporary texts. What constitutes a healthy soul? What are the sicknesses of the soul? What therapies are recommended? How can one build resilience and how much resilience is right? What role does gender play? The course will also integrate lectures/discussions with practicing therapists and a field trip to "mindworks" (Chicago Museum of cognitive psychology).

A belief in daemons has been and is even still, in some places and cultures, widespread. The course will address human understanding of the daemonic as a cultural, theological and philosophical phenomenon. The main focus will be on Late Antiquity. After considering the philosophical tradition from the Presocratics to Plato and the Stoics, we shall focus on later thinkers, especially Plutarch, Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus and Proclus. Furthermore, we will read some Christian authors in Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Central questions are: What are daemons? How do they differ from gods or human beings? What is their function in the universe and what effect do they have on human beings and the world? Are they supplementary to standard ideas of the divine or in some sense contrary to such ideas? Are daemons good or evil? What is a guardian spirit? Is the guardian spirit internal and external? How do daemons affect human beings? What is Socrates' daimonic sign? Why and how do daemons become evil forces in Christianity? Most texts will be read in translation, but we will also look at selected passages in Greek or Latin (for those who read these languages; they are not a requirement for the course). The course is by design a graduate course, but is open to well-qualified undergraduates.

This class examines the intellectual, practical, and social dimensions of medicine in the ancient and early Christian world. We will focus first on the nature and development of ancient medical thought, especially in the writings of Hippocrates and Galen. What were its dietetic, pharmacological, and surgical practices? What diseases did patients have? How did doctors understand disease and practice their craft? What instruments did they use? Then, we will turn to the early Christian world to see how this knowledge influenced miracle narratives, dietary regimes, and the reputation for holiness. Finally, we will examine the birth of the hospital as a monastic institution.

This course provides an in-depth introduction to the archaeology of ancient Greece, from the Bronze Age to the Early Classical Period (from the 16th to 5th century B.C.). The survey of material culture spans the ancient Aegean and traces its settlement formation and development, beginning with the Minoan and Mycenean civilizations. It explores Archaic and Classical Greece and introduces students to the analysis and interpretation of archaeological sites, monuments, artifacts and art, including the Panhellenic sanctuaries of Olympia and Delphi, and the Athenian Acropolis in the age of Pericles. Students learn how to evaluate the material culture of ancient Greece on the basis of historical and social context. In addition to exploring architecture, coins, inscriptions, sculpture, paintings, ceramics and other ancient material, students also consider the methods, results, and theory of archaeological research, in the areas of field excavation and intensive surface survey. Through the material record, the course attempts to reconstruct what life might have been like in ancient Greece.

This course provides an in-depth introduction to the archaeology of the ancient Greek world, focusing on the Classical, Hellenistic and Early Roman Imperial periods (ca. 480 BC to AD 138). The survey of material culture traces the development of architecture, painting, sculpture, coinage, and other archaeological material in relation to cultural, political, social and philosophical issues. The course explores the urban, sacred, rural, funerary and provincial landscapes of Greece and introduces students to the analysis and interpretation of archaeological sites, monuments, artifacts, and art. Topics include the Athenian Acropolis in the age of Pericles, the masterpieces of Praxiteles and Lysippos, the creation of the Roman province of Greece under Augustus, and Hadrian's Roman Agora in Athens, as well as the methods, results, and theory of archaeological research in the areas of field excavation and intensive surface survey. Through the material record, the course attempts to reconstruct what life might have been like in ancient Greece.

The island of Sicily lies at the center of the Mediterranean Sea. It holds a similarly central place in the history of numerous eras and human cultures. From the earliest recorded traditions up to the present day, Sicily has been a crossroads of trade and travel routes, a site of contact and conflict, and a highly valued prize for imperial conquerors, even as its inhabitants have developed and attempted to maintain their own independent identities. In this course, we will focus on the ancient and early medieval history of Sicily – roughly 800 BCE to 800 CE. While we will talk plenty about the Greeks and Romans, and we will read much of what they wrote on and about the island, we will also broaden our scope to try to gain a better understanding of the full lived experience of Sicily over a period of more than 1,500 years. The groups of people we will encounter include Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Italians, Romans, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Africans, and Arabs. Our approach will entail the study of political, social, cultural, religious, and military history, utilizing whatever evidence is available to us (textual, material, comparative, etc.). This is an upper-level Classics course, in translation – all assigned readings will be in English, though you will be encouraged to make use of other language skills if you have them (ancient or modern).

This course examines the archaeology of early Rome, from the Etruscans to the reign of Augustus. The aim of the course is to introduce students to the analysis and interpretation of Roman archaeological sites, monuments, art, and artifacts, related to prehistoric Italy, the Roman Republic, and the early Roman Empire. On the basis of material evidence, the course will trace the changing culture of the Roman people and attempt to reconstruct what life might have been like in the Roman Regal and Republican periods and during the "Golden Age" of Augustus. In addition to exploring a wide range of material evidence from both Italy and the provinces, including architecture, coins, inscriptions, sculpture, paintings, ceramics, and other artifacts, the course also considers the methods, results, and theory of archaeological research, particularly in the areas of field excavation and intensive surface survey. Major themes to be discussed in the course include Roman imperialism, acculturation (especially so-called "Romanization"), ethnicity, urbanism, engineering, paganism, the imperial cult (emperor worship), death and burial, politics, economics, and the discrepant identities of women, children, slaves, freedmen, and freeborn in early Rome.

This course examines the archaeology of the Rome Empire, from the rise of Julius Caesar to the reign of Constantine. Students analyze and interpret material evidence from the ancient Roman world, from both Italy and the provinces, and assess the multi-faceted histories and cultures of the Roman people. The aim of the course is to introduce students to the analysis and interpretation of Roman material culture, particularly archaeological sites, monuments and art. The course traces the formation and development of the Roman Empire across the Mediterranean, beginning with the "Golden Age" of Augustus, and attempts to reconstruct what life might have been like in ancient Rome, Pompeii and in the Roman provinces, particularly Roman Greece. In addition to exploring architecture, coins, inscriptions, sculpture, paintings, ceramics and other ancient material, students also consider the methods, results, and theory of archaeological research, in the areas of field excavation and intensive surface survey. Major themes to be discussed include Roman imperialism, acculturation (especially so-called "Romanization"), ethnicity, urbanism, government, paganism, the imperial cult (emperor worship), death and burial, Christianity, and the discrepant identities of women, children, slaves, freedmen, and freeborn under imperial Rome.

In this course the development of Greek monumental architecture, and the major problems that define it, will be traced from the 8th to the 2nd centuries B.C., from the late Geometric through the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods. Among themes to be related are the relationship between landscape and religious architecture, the humanization of temple divinities, the architectural expression of religious tradition and even specific history, architectural procession and hieratic direction, emblem and narration in architectural sculpture, symbolism and allusion through architectural order, religious revival and archaism, and the breaking of architectural and religious canon.

Ancient Greek and Latin literature - history, epic, tragedy, novels, oratory - has a second life in English literature as it is reproduced, echoed, or recalled. Pairing important works in Greek and Roman literature (in translation) with works of English literature, this course will look at some of the ways that writers in English have used the traditions of western antiquity. Shakespeare uses Julius Caesar and Ovid, Milton reanimates Hesiod and Vergil, Alexander Pope and James Joyce share a Homeric inspiration but little else, and Victorian novelists plunder their classical educations to raise up and to tear down the social pretentions of their time. Students will study the ancient texts in their own right and will develop skills in interpreting the remarkable range of uses to which they are put by their modern translations, borrowings, and adaptations.

Herodotus has been called both the "Father of History" and the "Father of Lies." Thucydides is revered by some as the first "scientific" historian; others deny him the title of historian altogether. The most famous tales in Roman history come from the early books of Livy, and yet it is unlikely that he had any way of obtaining reliable information for that period. The historians of the classical Greek and Roman world stand among the greatest writers of the Western tradition. But to what extent were they performing the task that we call "history?" How did the ancient historians envision their project? What claims to knowledge did history make, and how did these differ from other forms of knowledge? In this course we will survey (in English translation) the works of seven of the major historians of ancient Greece and Rome: the Greek authors Herodotus, Thucydides, and Polybius, and the Roman authors Sallust, Livy, Tacitus, and Ammianus Marcellinus. Our survey will take us through a vast expanse of time (the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD) and space (from Iberia to the Russian steppe, from the North Sea to North Africa). We will examine the origins of ancient historiography, the methods espoused and practiced by Greek and Roman historians, the effect of political and social changes on the writing of history, the place and purpose of history in Greek and Roman culture, and the relationship of ancient historical writing to that of modern scholars.

Coco Chanel once claimed that “Luxury is a necessity that begins where necessity ends.” This seminar explores the nature of that necessity through the ancient Roman world’s many material expressions of luxury. Examining works ranging from gem-studded jewelry to ivory furniture adornments, from shimmering silver dining services to pleasure gardens planted with exotic species, we will consider a breadth of visual culture that both expands our understanding of Roman art beyond the canon of architecture, painting, and sculpture and raises important ethical questions. How could material luxuries express imperialist ideologies? Were the Romans concerned by the environmental costs of acquiring the latest status symbol? These questions will be explored alongside themes such as identity construction and spatializing power. Class sessions will be devoted to exploring case studies while developing skills in visual analysis and critical reading and writing.

Individual or small group study under the direction of a departmental faculty member.

This course introduces students to the basic grammar and vocabulary of Coptic, the final descendant of ancient Egyptian. Coptic is important for any who are interested in, among other things, early translations of the Bible, monasticism, early Christianity, liturgy, hagiography, homilies, "Gnosticism" (Nag Hammadi), and Manichaeism. This introduction will be focused on the two best attested Coptic dialects, Sahidic and Bohairic. The course is designed to enable students who have no previous training in Coptic to read simple to moderately difficult texts. A Coptic reading course will follow in the next semester. This course satisfies language requirements for certain programs; please check with your academic advisor.

This two-semester sequence of courses introduces students to the language of the ancient Greeks for the first time. It emphasizes the fundamentals of ancient Greek grammar and vocabulary, and prepares students to read original Greek texts. An appreciation for ancient Greek culture is also fostered through secondary readings and class discussion.

This two-semester sequence of courses introduces students to the language of the ancient Greeks for the first time. It emphasizes the fundamentals of ancient Greek grammar and vocabulary, and prepares students to read original Greek texts. An appreciation for ancient Greek culture is also fostered through secondary readings and class discussion.

This two-credit course will provide students the opportunity to "bridge the gap" between fall and spring semesters by reading small portions of Greek prose texts, in a structured setting with regular Classics faculty. We will read passages from Plato, Xenophon, Lysias and Lucian. The class will meet for 15 live sessions over 4 weeks and will consist of translating Greek texts, reviewing grammar and syntax, and discussing stylistic features. Texts will be provided to students beforehand in PDF format. Students will be asked to prepare to translate certain segments of the text for each session; on occasion, we will spend class time translating passages at first sight as well. Assessment will consist of written translation assignments, to be turned in at the end of each week, as well as preparation and participation. Must have completed CLGR 10002/60002 or equivalent.

This second-year language course builds on the work of Beginning Greek I and II. It combines a review of grammar with careful reading of classical Greek authors such as Homer and Plato. The course improves students' translating skills, introduces methods for studying Greek literature in its historical and cultural contexts, and prepares students for more advanced work in the rich literature of the ancient Greeks. Offered every semester.

(Recommended for students who have completed CLGR 20003 or equivalent.) This fourth-semester language course continues the review of grammar and translating of texts begun in CLGR 20003. It introduces students to stylistic analysis through close readings of excerpts from a variety of Ancient Greek authors (mostly in prose). Knowledge of syntax will be reinforced by composing sentences and larger units in Greek.

This is an advanced course on Hesiod, the “other” epic bard of Archaic Greece. Through close reading and in-depth analysis of Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days, we will trace the genealogy of the Greek pantheon from Chaos to the creation and organization of the Cosmos under the Olympian god Zeus and finally to the cycle of seasons in the mortal realm. Over the course of the semester we will read some of the most famous myths in the Greek tradition, including the succession stories of Kronos and Zeus, Prometheus’s theft of fire, Pandora’s jar, and the Ages of Man. Although the focus of this class will be on Hesiod’s language and questions of poetics, we will also examine the poems in light of the early poetic tradition of Greek literature and of the broader epic tradition, considering Hesiod alongside Homer and the Near Eastern background of the poems.

Homer’s Odyssey is one of the most influential works of the western tradition. This course builds on Intermediate Greek to provide a solid introduction to Homer, looking at the language, meter, poetics, narrative, and tradition of the Odyssey. This class will focus primarily on the Apologoi, Odysseus’ narration of his journeys in Books 9-12. Over the course of our study, we will examine how Odysseus’ encounters with the Cyclops Polyphemos, the sorceress Circe, the god Helios, and the suitors of Penelope reflect the important Greek institution of xenia, the guest-host relationship, upon which the framework of the Odyssey is established. Alongside our focus passages, we will read the entire poem in English and investigate what the epic hero’s journey reveals about core cultural concepts, including leadership, societal and familial duty, gender roles, hospitality, alterity, and mortality.

Herodotus has been called both the "Father of History" and the father of lies. His Histories, written in the second half of the fifth century BCE, is one of our earliest fully-surviving Greek prose texts and our most important source for the Greco-Persian Wars. But Herodotus offers so much more than political and military narrative: ethnography, geography, religious history, political theory, rhetoric, and a welter of short stories, all delivered by a master storyteller. In this advanced Greek course, we will read a selected book of the Histories in Greek, as well as the entire work in English and a selection of modern scholarship. We will consider the historical and intellectual context, questions of genre and prose style, and the tradition of historical writing begun by Herodotus and his work.

Greek tragedy raises some of the fundamental questions about human society. Why do states engage in warfare? How can the closest friends become the bitterest enemies? What role does the divine have in human lives? How responsible are humans for their actions? How do relationships between the sexes work? What is more important - the individual or the common good? In this class we will read one or more Greek tragedies which address these questions. Recommended for students with advanced Greek skills.

This advanced course in ancient Greek language features literature written in Athens during the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. As the centerpiece of the course, we will read Sophocles' masterpiece Oedipus Rex. Additional readings will be drawn from various genres original to this period, including history, oratory or philosophical essays. The history and culture of democratic Athens will provide an important context for analyzing the authors and texts that are read. (Recommended for students who have completed CLGR 20003 or equivalent.)

In this upper-level Greek language course, we will read selected passages from the Jewish War (Bellum Judaicum) written by Flavius Josephus. Before Josephus was a Roman citizen and a Greek historian, he was Yosef ben Mattityahu: a member of the priestly upper class in Jerusalem and a general during the Jewish Revolt against Roman rule (66–70 CE) that ended with the destruction of the city and the Jewish diaspora. Josephus straddled multiple worlds and sometimes contradictory roles: Jewish, Greek, Roman; elite local insider, traitor, imperial confidant; provincial subject, Roman citizen; Jewish scion, Greek scholar. These facets of his identity lend extra weight to his decision to write, among other works, a history of the momentous events in which he took part. In addition to selected Greek passages, we will read the entire Jewish War in English and will dip into Josephus’ other works at various points. We will consider the historical, social, and intellectual context in which Josephus produced his history. This includes the world of the Roman empire and its provinces in the first century CE, Judaism and the emergence of Christianity, and the status of Greek as the language of culture in the eastern Mediterranean during the “long” Hellenistic period. The course is designed to help students improve their skills in reading Greek prose while expanding the usual horizons of what is considered Greek literature and the Greco-Roman world.

This is an advanced course on Hesiod, the “other” epic bard of Ancient Greece. Through close reading and in-depth analysis of Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days, we will trace the genealogy of the Greek pantheon from Chaos to the creation and organization of the Cosmos under the Olympian god Zeus and finally to the cycle of seasons in the mortal realm. Over the course of the semester we will read some of the most famous myths in the Greek tradition, including the succession stories of Kronos and Zeus and the account of Prometheus’s theft of fire, Pandora’s jar, and the Ages of Man. Although the focus of this class will be on the language and poetics of Hesiod, we will also examine the poems both as seminal works of the archaic Greek literary tradition and as interlocutors with a broader epic tradition, considering Hesiod alongside Homer and the Near Eastern background of the poems.

In this advanced language course, students will read selections from Greek poetry composed during the Archaic Age (before the ascendancy of Athenian literature). Students will explore how poets such as Archilochus, Sappho, Solon, Theognis, and Xenophanes reacted to the didactic epic tradition established by Homer and Hesiod. The course will focus both on the literary style and social agenda of the archaic poets, who expressed wide-ranging opinions about love, sacrifice, nobility, and justice. "Recommended for students with advanced Greek skills."

This course offers readings in a wide variety of Greek texts from the Hellenistic and Roman imperial periods. It is designed to build upon Intermediate Greek, further improving students' knowledge of Greek vocabulary, morphology, and syntax. After completing this course students will have reached an advanced level of reading proficiency in ancient Greek. Authors to be read include, among others, Philo, Josephus, Plutarch, Pausanias, Lucian, Dio Chrysostom, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, Julian, and Libanius. Books of the Septuagint and the New Testament may also be read. The aim of the course is to show students the literary culture in which Judeo-Christian literature developed and of which it came to form a part. This course may fulfill the Greek requirement for graduate students in Theology. Please consult your advisor.

The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire holds a crucial place in the history of Greek literature. Not only did Byzantine scribes forge the vital link between antiquity and modernity, but Byzantine mystics, poets, philosophers, and statesmen have left behind a vast and varied corpus of texts expressing the diverse discourses contributing to the formation of Byzantium. In this course, students will engage this corpus through a survey of texts composed in different historical and geographical contexts and encompassing a variety of genres (including historiography, hagiography, mystical literature, and poetry). In this course, students will encounter the writings of John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nazianzus, Romanos Melodos, the nun Kassia, Michael Psellos, Anna Komnene, and others. Prerequisite: At least three semesters of classical or Koine Greek.

Homer's epic poems stand at the head of the tradition of European literature; their themes and poetic style have substantially influenced the works of Dante, Milton, and many other European writers. This advanced Greek course offers close readings of passages from the Iliad and Odyssey. The selection of texts will vary with every iteration of the course. In addition to reading the Greek texts, we will discuss the poems in their historical, cultural, linguistic and literary context, and reflect on aspects of Greek religion, Greek warfare and the place of men and women in Greek society.

Up until 1989, when B. P. Reardon's translation of the Greek novels was published, scholars of ancient Greek literature, who previously denied any interest in what they suspiciously defined as post-classical literature, had largely neglected the study of ancient novels. In recent decades, this trend has been inverted. Many studies have now been published which mostly focus on the five extant ancient novels: Chariton's Callirhoe, Xenophon's Ephesiaca, Longus's Daphnis and Chloe, Achilles Tatius' Leucippe and Cleitophon and Heliodorus' Aethiopica. Moreover, in the last few years, a new trend has been emerging within Classics, namely to compare at greater length these ancient novels with both Jewish and Christian narratives. For example, the study of Joseph and Aseneth and the Acts of Paul and Thecla, among other texts, has pointed out the existence of strong similarities within all these texts in both their narrative form and their focus on love. This has led some to suggest that the genre of the Greek novel might be both a multicultural enterprise and a key component of the literature of the Imperial Era. This advanced Greek class follows this recent trend and invites students to read and compare selections of the following texts: Longus' Daphnis and Chloe, Achilles Tatius' Leucippe and Cleitophon, Heliodorus' Aethiopica, Joseph and Aseneth, and The Acts of Andrew. Students will be introduced to a close analysis of both the koine Greek and the main structural components of these texts. In particular, students will be taught with the help of narratology, intertextuality with the Odyssey and Plato's Phaedrus, characterization and gender studies. Special attention will be given to the identification of shared themes between the texts, and to the intriguing relationship between faithful love as it is portrayed in the Greek novel, and Jewish and Christian love to God. Finally, students will reflect on how all these narratives respond to the challenges of their contemporary historical context, which was characterized both by the Romans' control over the Greeks, the rise of Christianity, and the emergence of a new attention to the human person and to women in particular.

This seminar will focus on reading in Greek Plato's Symposium, one of the gems of world literature. The seminar is appropriate only for students whose Greek skills are already advanced. We will also work through some Greek prose composition to enrich our understanding of Plato's prose technique. Throughout, our goal will be to understand Plato's Greek with the accuracy and precision necessary to appreciate his literary accomplishment.

This advanced course introduces students to the most famous biographical literature from antiquity, Plutarch's Parallel Lives. Illuminating the virtues and vices of famous and infamous men from Greek and Roman history, the Parallel Lives offers an important guide to understanding the ethical imperatives of the Greco-Roman world. Plutarch's literary style, his conception of biography, and the Roman imperial context in which he wrote are key themes for discussion in the course. "Recommended for students with advanced Greek skills.

The figure of Socrates, about whom we know nothing directly from himself, truly captured the imagination of his contemporaries and subsequent generations, and not only in philosophical writings. In many ways, he appears to have created his own 'myth' that required interpretation. In this course, we will be reading in the original Greek and discussing some key texts both from the philosophical and the literary traditions. Plato's staging of Socrates, for instance in his Symposium and Phaedrus, is the most well-known, but it was not the only account in Antiquity, and so we will also be reading excerpts from Xenophon's Memorabilia. Nor was Plato the only philosopher to have claimed Socrates for his views; we will read some of the lectures of a later Stoic, Epictetus, for whom Socrates continued to be a central role model. Finally, we will turn our attention to the ways in which the 'strangeness' of Socrates could also capture the literary imagination, as in Aristophanes' comedy the Clouds. In all these accounts and through all these perspectives, the enigma of Socrates remains.

This course is an introduction to Greek paleography and provides an overview of uncial and minuscule scripts used in papyri, manuscript books, and the early imprints. Students will develop the skills necessary to read, transcribe, and contextualize Greek manuscripts. Areas include: letter forms, abbreviations, ligatures, dating, localization, formal vs. informal hands, scriptoria, and individual scribes. Emphasis is placed on manuscripts and scripts from Late Antiquity through the Byzantine period and Italian Renaissance. Students will work with Notre Dame's small but illustrative collection of papyri, Byzantine manuscripts, and Greek imprints. Intermediate knowledge of Greek is required.

This survey of archaic and classical Greek literature traces the development of the major genres and literary movements from Homer to Plato. We shall read in Greek selections from the major texts of epic, lyric, tragedy, comedy, historiography, oratory, and philosophy. Additional readings will include other Greek literary works and a sampling of the most important scholarly studies. This course will also introduce students to scholarly interpretation and scholarly methods in the literary and cultural criticism of Greek literature.

This survey of Greek literature in the Hellenistic and Roman periods traces the development of the major genres and literary movements in "post-Classical" Greek. We shall read in Greek selections from the Alexandrian poets, Greek historians of Rome, authors of the Second Sophistic, and orators of the Late Roman Empire. Additional readings will include other Greek literary works and a sampling of the most important modern studies. This course will also introduce students to scholarly interpretation and methods in the literary and cultural criticism of Greek literature.

Individual or small group study under the direction of a departmental faculty member.

This Latin course initiates a two-semester sequence that introduces students to the language and culture of the ancient Romans. It emphasizes the fundamentals of Latin grammar and vocabulary, and prepares students to read original Latin texts. During the academic year, this course is taught as a hybrid course; a significant portion of the learning will be done by students working independently online. A deeper appreciation for English grammar and ancient Roman culture will be fostered through class discussion and attentive reading. This course is offered every semester.

This two-semester sequence of courses introduces students to the language of the ancient Romans for the first time. It emphasizes the fundamentals of Latin grammar and vocabulary, and prepares students to read original Latin texts. An appreciation for ancient Roman culture is also fostered through secondary readings and class discussion.

This course is designed to help students to take advanced Latin courses in the spring. We will focus on original readings from Livy and Younger Pliny and learn about the mythical foundation of Rome, the war against Hannibal, the eruption of mount Vesuvius and the Roman persecutions of Christians. Class time will be devoted to translating together assigned Latin readings, commenting on matters of style, literature and history, and practicing some sight translation. 2 credits, fifteen classes of 75 minutes, two review sessions and a final exam. No book required, all material will be provided by the instructor.

This second-year language course builds on the work of Beginning Latin I and II. It combines a review of grammar with careful reading of classical Latin authors such as Cicero and Ovid. The course improves students' translating skills, introduces methods for studying Latin literature in its historical and cultural contexts, and prepares students for more advanced work in the sophisticated literature of the ancient Romans. Offered every semester.

This intermediate language course builds on the work of Beginning Latin I and II. It combines a review of grammar with careful reading of Christian Latin authors such as Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Bede. The course improves students' translating skills, introduces methods for studying Christian Latin in its historical and cultural contexts, and prepares students for more advanced work in the sophisticated Latin literature of pagans and Christians alike. Offered in the summer.

In this advanced Latin language class students will read accounts of virtuous behavior related by ancient Romans. What virtues and vices did the Romans extol or criticize? How did they fashion fables or stories to educate and entertain their audiences? In order to review and master the harder elements of Latin syntax, in addition to carefully reading Latin texts students will submit regular composition exercises. We will read selections from poets and prose writers such as Cornelius Nepos, Valerius Maximus, Phaedrus, Aulus Gellius, Macrobius, Livy, Pliny or Horace. Pre-requisite: CLLA 20003 or equivalent.

In this intermediate-level Latin course, students will study the literature and culture of the reign of Nero (AD 54-68), the last of the Julio-Claudian emperors and one of the most notorious figures in all of Roman history. Readings will focus on: 1) the philosophical writings of Seneca the Younger, Nero’s tutor and political advisor; 2) the picaresque novel Satyricon by Petronius, a member of Nero’s court. In the process, students will strengthen their skills in translation and stylistic analysis of Latin prose. This course ultimately prepares students for advanced study in Latin prose literature.

This course reviews major topics in Latin syntax, which students practice through compositions and specially designed, targeted readings, to the end of learning to group syntactic phenomena in sets, the fundament of quick and accurate reading. The course also introduces students to stylistic analysis and historical syntax and semantics through a survey of exemplary texts from various stages of Latin literary history.

This third-year course on the Aeneid, Vergil's literary masterpiece written in Rome in the last decades of the first century BC, aims to develop students' skills in: translating Latin poetry; reading aloud and analyzing Latin hexameters; analyzing Latin poetic style; interpreting classical epic poetry. Class will consist primarily of close study of assigned passages from the Latin text of the poem. Students will also read the entire poem in English translation and consider its cultural and historical context. The course prepares students for advanced study in Latin language and literature.

This third-year course builds on CLLA 20003 and CLLA 20004, and offers close reading of passages from the works of Roman historical writers such as Caesar, Sallust, Livy and Tacitus. Particular authors and themes will be emphasized according to the needs and interests of the class. Latin historiography is a sophisticated instrument for narrating past events, for showing how notions of cause and effect and change over time develop in historical thinking, and for indicating the relevance of the past to the present. The political and social conditions of Rome that informed the historical writings of Roman authors are discussed, and the compositional techniques of their works are examined. The course prepares students for advanced offerings in Latin literature.

(Recommended for students who have completed CLLA 20003 or equivalent.) This third-year course builds on CLLA 20003 (Intermediate Latin) and CLLA 20004 (Reading and Writing Latin Prose), and offers close reading of passages from the lyric poetry of such authors as Catullus and Horace. The lyric form gives precise and economical expression to a wide range of human thoughts and emotions, from the highly personal to the grandly patriotic. The range of Roman lyric, the technique of its practitioners, and the place of lyric poetry in Roman life are themes that receive special attention. This course prepares students for advanced offerings in Latin literature, especially CLLA 40023 (Roman Elegiac Poetry), CLLA 40033 (Roman Satire), CLLA 40043 (Roman Comedy), and CLLA 40053 (Roman Tragedy).

Recommended for students who have completed CLLA 20003 or equivalent. Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-44 BC) was the most accomplished orator of the Roman Republic. This course offers close reading of select speeches of Cicero. The art of persuasion was an essential requirement for success in Roman public life, and no one was more persuasive than Cicero. The flexibility and complexity of Cicero's grammatical expression, the range of his styles, and the political contexts in which his speeches were delivered are all given careful treatment.

This advanced course introduces students to Lucretius' epic poem, De rerum natura, whose mission is to free the reader from fear and convention so as to see the world and one's place in it with unclouded eyes. This vision is a poetic re-understanding of Epicurean philosophy. Chief topics include the atomic nature of matter, the mortality of the soul, the vanity of religion, and the importance of achieving intellectual tranquillity. We shall examine Lucretius' contribution to Roman intellectual and literary history by reading select passages in his sources (Epicurus, Ennius, Homer, Hesiod) and in the two poets he most influenced, Virgil and Ovid. His importance for the development of scientific method and his influence on English poetry will be considered briefly. Recommended for students who have completed CLLA 20003 or equivalent.

(Recommended for students who have completed CLLA 20003 or equivalent.) This third-year course builds on CLLA 2003 (Intermediate Latin) and offers close reading of the poetry of Martial and Juvenal, two poet friends living and writing in Rome during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan (late 1st c. - early 2nd c. BCE). Martial's epigrams and Juvenal's satires are famous for their vivid and often wry portraits of city life and people, including everybody from emperors to slaves. Students will develop skills in translating and analyzing Latin epigram and satire and study the history and culture of the early Roman empire in which these literary genres flourished. This course prepares students for advanced offerings in Latin literature, especially CLLA 40033 (Roman Satire) and CLLA 40043 (Roman Comedy).

This advanced course in Latin on the writings of the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca (aka Seneca the Younger, 4BCE- 65CE) will focus on Seneca’s letters, and then on his essay De Ira "On Anger". We will read selections of other dialogues of his in English, as well some recent critical commentary on Seneca’s work. Students will learn to read Seneca’s Latin and to recognize the particular characteristics of his style as a means to learning Seneca’s philosophical outlook, and thinking about it critically. We will also read a couple of his plays in English to consider what this philosopher does when he takes his philosophy to literature.

This advanced course in Latin prose literature examines the Roman epistolary tradition. Focusing on the letters of the younger Pliny, it studies them first as a self-conscious portrait for posterity of a prominent Roman senator of the early Antonine age, and second as a set of documents that reveal features of Roman social, political, economic, and cultural life. In addition to Pliny's letters, students will read selections from the letters of Cicero, Seneca, Augustine, or Jerome. Close attention will be given to the different prose styles of each author and his innovations within the genre. Latin language skills are necessary for this course.

How have ancient books been preserved, and what did it take to make them accessible in modern editions? In this course, we will discuss all aspects of the material and intellectual process that links ancient literature to modern scholarship. Books were written on papyrus and copied onto parchment or paper multiple times until the arrival of the printing press. Over time, the ancient texts themselves changed: they were rewritten and reread, or simply copied with errors. We will then look into the many facets of the process that endeavors to recover the original text: manuscript studies, philology, textual criticism and editorial techniques. We will address both traditional editions and new forms, such as various forms of online editions, as well as tools for the editor. Coursework will include many practical exercises; finally, we will work towards a "real" edition of a short Latin text. The course is suitable for students with intermediate or advanced Latin knowledge. No prior knowledge of paleography or codicology is necessary. Students will be offered an overview of the textual history of classical texts, as well as practical knowledge and practical experience in textual criticism and editing.

This course introduces students to the genre of Latin Love Elegy through close reading of the poetry of Propertius and Ovid. We will be concerned mainly with the practice of translation, analysis of poetic meter and style, and literary interpretation. However, our work will also involve examination of the socio-political conditions in Rome in the late 1st c. BC that provided an essential context for the development of the genre. Related to this, we will be paying close attention to the ways in which Roman elegy constructs gender and how it defines itself in relation to other genres, especially epic. In addition to daily translation assignments, students will recite selected poems to the class, take two semester exams and a final exam and write an essay of 5-6 pages.

In this course, we translate and discuss selected passages from the Metamorphoses, Ovid's idiosyncratic poetic history of the world. Topics for our discussions include the spiritual, moral, religious, political, and physical transformations portrayed between the creation story at the beginning and the deification of Caesar at the end of the text; the tension between Ovid's adherence to Roman traditions and his irreverent, sometimes subversive, artistic originality; the poem's narrative techniques, poetic style, and structure; the significance of intertextual allusions to Greek drama, Virgilian epic, and Ovid's own love poetry; the instability of gender; portraits of the poet within the work; and the innumerable faces of love, as presented through characters who are pious, raging with passion, inseperable, violent, infatuated, lovesick, devoted, and much more. Above all, this course aims at clarifying how Ovid's inexhaustible playfulness and delightful wit contributed to shaping a work of both epic grandeur and lyric intimacy that continues to inspire poets, composers, novelists, painters, and at least one playwright whose version recently made it all the way to Broadway. Daily preparation and active participation in class are essential components of the course; brief written assignments, one mid-term exam, one brief project, and a final exam also count towards the final grade. Recommended for students who have completed CLLA 20003 or equivalent.

"Recommended for students who have completed CLLA 20003 or equivalent." Romans thought they were wise. Sapientia (wisdom) was understood as better than Greek philosophy. Cicero and others thought of wisdom as a blend of tradition, hard practicality, and good government of the state, of the familia, of one's self. Finally, Greek philosophy had to be accommodated to Roman needs. Who were the Romans' sages and what was their wisdom literature? We shall read Cornelius Nepos' Life of Cato, Cicero's On old age, and consider other sages as well--the old men of comedy, Virgil's Anchises, and Ovid's Pythagoras. Latin language skills are necessary for this course.

Ovid's Metamorphoses enjoyed a wide circulation from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages, and the poem's influence on later Latin poets such as Claudian and Ausonius as well as vernacular authors like Chrétien de Troyes, Dante, John Gower, Petrarch, and Chaucer remains unparalleled. This course will focus on the ways the Metamorphoses was read over time spanning its literal, allegorical, historical, and moral interpretations. A survey of major Ovidian expositors and commentators such as Ps-Lactantius, Arnulf of Orléans, the "Vulgate" Commentator, John of Garland, Giovanni del Virgilio, and Pierre Bersuire will illustrate the poem's movement throughout different contexts and milieus. We will read selections of the Metamorphoses together with medieval texts to understand the exegetical workings of paratextual genres such as glosulae, tituli, allegoriae, integumenta, and prose paraphrases. This course also has a material culture component where students will work with manuscripts and early printed books which transmit Ovidian paratexts to further appreciate the utilitarian traditions of the objects in tandem with the texts used to explicate perhaps the most stylistically innovative Roman poem ever written. Recommended for students who have completed intermediate Latin.

Before Vergil wrote the <i>Aeneid</i> he was famous for his <i>Eclogues</i> ("Selections")--short pastoral poems with embedded political notes--and for his <i>Georgics</i>--a poem in four books ostensibly about agricultural practice but which tells tales from mythology, Roman politics and society, along with instructions on animal husbandry, astronomy, and the manners of Hellenistic poetics. In this course we will read these poems and, while enjoying their stunning poetry, will also be considering how and why Vergil weaves so many ethical and aesthetic themes into his contemplation of work, leisure, and the Italian landscape. The background of the Roman civil wars looms behind the poems. Some acquaintance with the <i>Aeneid</i> (in translation is fine) is recommended.

This class considers the figure of the autocrat in the literature of the late Republic and Early Empire as it develops from a rogue figure of loathing, to a necessary evil, to a wicked overlord or benevolent father. Questions to be considered include: what is tyranny? autocracy? What makes autocracy an evil or a good when and why? How do attitudes towards autocracy link to other social and political issues and crises? Texts to be considered include: the Verrines of Cicero, which attack the high-handed abuses of a provincial governor; Cicero's de lege Manilia, which contemplates an ideal commander; the "Caesarian speeches," where Cicero tries to fashion a voice to talk to Caesar, now dictator; the Satires and Odes of Horace, which contemplate the politics and ideology of life under an autocracy; the Georgics of Vergil, which use the tropes of didactic poetry to meditate on the price of establishing order; Satire 1.4 of Juvenal, a mock-epic attack on the emperor Domitian; and the Panegyricus of Pliny, a praise of the virtues of Trajan. Some selections from these works will be read in Latin and the remainder in English.

This class surveys the development of Christian Latin language and literature from their origins through Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. It introduces students to the various important linguistic, stylistic and literary influences that contributed to Christian Latin poetry and prose. Students will also be introduced to the varieties of Christian Latin texts and the bibliographical and research skills needed to pursue research into these texts. All along we will be concerned to improve our abilities to read and understand the Latin of the tradition that stretches from the first translations of scripture to the treatises of Jerome and Augustine. The survey of Medieval Latin language and literature in the spring semester follows and builds upon this course.

In this course, students will read a wide variety of Latin texts from the Middle Ages, both prose and poetry, both stylized rhetorical texts and private documents, texts in a highly technical language, or texts in specific dialects and sociolects of medieval Latin. A different geographical focus will be chosen for each semester. The general methodological approach is careful and linguistically sensitive close-reading, with various other strategies of reading and criticism applied throughout the semester. The main course goal is to provide students from various branches of medieval studies (graduate students and advanced undergraduates) with a core knowledge in medieval Latin and the philological analysis of Latin texts, which may serve them in their scholarly work in whichever area of the Western Middle Ages. This includes proficiency in the language itself, but also a basic knowledge of subjects such as intertextuality, textual criticism, manuscript studies, rhetoric, allegorical language, literary genres, metrics and prose rhythm.

The life of Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace) spanned the tumultuous years of the transition from Republic to Empire. Born two years before Cicero became consul, he died the year the Roman senate renamed a month for the first emperor. An officer in the last battle fought by republican forces, he became a poet supported by, and supportive of, the Augustan regime. Over that span he refined or introduced many genres of Latin poetry: hexameter satire, invective iambic poetry, lyric poetry of many tones and shades, and verse epistles. This course follows Horace's career with a double focus on his literary creativity and the ambient social and cultural forces which that poetry reflects. Issues to be considered include: the nature of friendship; responses to autocracy; poetic independence; the place of poetry and the creative arts in the Augustan regime; and Horace's adaptation of Greek and earlier Latin models. Some attention will also be paid to the reception of Horace in other literary traditions.

This advanced course introduces students to Roman writings on rhetoric, the science and practice of persuasive speech. Roman theorists of rhetoric understood the state as a community of speech to be led by a great orator. In practice, rhetoric was the chief component of the educational curriculum and the basis for written and much spoken communication. We shall read selections from the Rhetorica ad Herennium, Cicero, the elder Seneca, Quintilian, and Tacitus. We shall also consider the ongoing history of classical rhetoric--its influence on theorists of language, communication, and power. Recommended for students with advanced Latin skills.

This advanced course introduces students to Latin comic drama. Comic plays were a popular attraction at Roman religious festivals, and Rome produced two outstanding comic writers of completely opposite temperament, the boisterous and broad Plautus, and the wry and elegant Terence. Both continue to influence Western dramatic forms. Readings from Plautus and Terence reveal the conventions of comic drama and its use as a distinctive instrument to reflect upon the concerns of Roman life.

This class considers the figure of the autocrat in the literature of the late Republic and Early Empire as it develops from a rogue figure of loathing, to a necessary evil, to a wicked overlord or benevolent father. Questions to be considered include: what is tyranny? autocracy? What makes autocracy an evil or a good when and why? How do attitudes towards autocracy link to other social and political issues and crises? Texts to be considered include: the Verrines of Cicero, which attack the high-handed abuses of a provincial governor; Cicero's de lege Manilia, which contemplates an ideal commander; the "Caesarian speeches," where Cicero tries to fashion a voice to talk to Caesar, now dictator; the Satires and Odes of Horace, which contemplate the politics and ideology of life under an autocracy; the Georgics of Vergil, which use the tropes of didactic poetry to meditate on the price of establishing order; Satire 1.4 of Juvenal, a mock-epic attack on the emperor Domitian; and the Panegyricus of Pliny, a praise of the virtues of Trajan. Some selections from these works will be read in Latin and the remainder in English.

A reading of Augustine’s Confessions, partly in Latin and in its entirety in English, with a special emphasis on close reading and precise grammatical and stylistic analysis. We will focus on understanding Confessions as a work of Latin literature and Christian philosophy, part of the great late ancient endeavor to develop new genres and styles to mirror the new belief system, yet connected to the classical world in multiple ways. In addition to the narrative itself, Augustine’s personal experience, Confessions allows the reader to gain insight into his major philosophical tenets and the conversations and controversies of his life. We will also discuss important scholarly questions (origin, historical setting, sources and parallels, biblical framework, structure, philosophical background, modern readings, etc.) and read selections of scholarly literature.

This course will examine the phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic and stylistic development of the Latin language from Proto-Italic to early medieval Latin. Analysis of sample texts will alternate with discussion of relevant topics, which will include the principles of historical and comparative linguistics, Latin and its sister languages, the creation of the Latin inflectional system, the varieties of classical Latin, the development of Latin poetics and metrics, and the influence of Greek on Latin. Recommended for students with advanced Latin skills.

As the Roman republic was failing, to be replaced by a system of empire, the memory of the past became a source of reflection, anxiety, and debate. Romans remembered their dead, their ancient customs, language, religion, warfare, and their vanishing liberty. Much of this remembering involved a fabrication of the past. What to remember and how to remember (writing literature, erecting monuments, passing laws, performing rites) are central concerns for Romans from Cicero through the early Roman empire. Memory was theorized by philosophers and rhetoricians. We shall study the theories and practices of remembering through an examination of texts and material culture (architecture, city planning, art history). Texts and topics will include the antiquarianism of the great republican scholar Varro, Cicero's dialogic imagination, memory and intertextuality in Virgil's Aeneid, and the rearrangements of memory in the early imperial historical writers Velleius Paterculus and Valerius Maximus, the encyclopedist Pliny the elder, and the scholarly collector of the past Aulus Gellius.

This advanced Latin course focuses on the myths of Rome’s foundation as depicted in Livy’ history, Ab Urbe Condita, and Ovid’s poem on the Roman calendar, Fasti. Students will study Livy’s and Ovid’s portraits of the major figures associated with the origins of Rome, including Aeneas, Romulus, and Lucretia, in order to explore the Romans’ cultural understanding of their legendary past. In addition, students will study the literary qualities of Livy’s and Ovid's writings and reflect on the social and political environment of the Augustan Age in which they wrote.

By the time the Romans came closely into contact with Greek culture, it had been flourishing for half a millennium. Its habits of life and its artistic productions both captivated and repelled the Romans, who saw in Greek culture both habits antithetical to their own ideals and artistic forms that could give expression to those very same ideals. Greek culture, in that way, forced Romans to think about what it meant to be Roman. This course probes the historical shape of that debate and considers texts which reflect both sides of it in all its variations. Primary texts, to be read in Latin, will include selections from archaic inscriptions (which are often “secretly Greek”), writers of early epic (whose output takes implicit positions on Hellenization), Cato (who professed suspicion to all things Greek), Terence’s Adelphi (which contrasts modern and old-fashioned child-rearing), the Rhetorica ad Herennium (which enthusiastically adapts Greek models, rejecting older Italic speech habits), Cicero’s oratory (in which anti- and philHellenic tropes can both be found), Cicero’s de Oratore (which contains both praise and blame of Greek-style rhetorical study), Catullus (whose wide poetic output includes both “Roman” and “Greek” insult poems), and Livy (who describes the moral decline caused by Hellenizing and who provides a vivid account of a Roman attempt to suppress certain Greek religious practices).

The course is an intensive survey of Latin scripts from antiquity through the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Students will be able to accurately read and transcribe Latin scripts, expand systems of abbreviation, identify, date, and localize (when possible) different hands, and defend their interpretations. There will be a strong emphasis on the different varieties of Gothic script (textualis, cursiva, hybrida).Once the class reaches the twelfth century, students will work extensively with Notre Dame¹s medieval collection of codices and fragments. Note: The Medieval Academy of America's Committee on Centers and Regional Associations (CARA) offers competitive stipends for students taking either Medieval Latin or Latin Paleography for credit through the Medieval Institute at Notre Dame. Application details and eligibility information are available on the Medieval Academy web site?: http://www.medievalacademy.org/?page=CARA_Scholarships?

Recommended for students with advanced Latin skills. In this course, we will explore the multifaceted life and legacy of Augustine of Hippo, greatest of the Latin Church Fathers. As a saint, a thinker and a writer, Augustine has deeply shaped the Western world (not only the Catholic Church). We will read a widespread array of selections from Augustine's best known works (Confessions, City of God), but also from his sermons, letters and theological treatises. We will take a look at Augustine's exegesis and preaching, at the religious controversies in which he was involved, and at his role as a leader of the African Church. We will situate Augustine's works within the framework of classical culture, late ancient politics and the early Christian Church, and discuss their enduring influence.

This class offers an overview of Latin literature from its origins in the 3rd century to the late Republic. During this period, as the poet Horace put it, Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit "Captured Greece captured her savage conqueror": Greek literary forms - epic, drama, historiography and rhetoric - provided the models for literature in Latin. But these adaptations were never simple copies: the values of the Romans' militarist and hierarchical society lie close to the surface. Furthermore the values of that society were hardly static but themselves developed as Rome grew from a regional power into a world empire. The chief purpose of this class is to grasp the dual identity of Roman literature: what does it owe to the Greek world? and what does it owe to its own developing social world? Additional topics include the history of the Latin morphology and syntax and the development of Latin meters, especially the hexameter. Authors to be read include Plautus, Naevius, Ennius, Terence, Cicero, Lucretius, Caesar, Sallust and Catullus.

This survey of Latin literature from the end of the republic through the mid empire traces the development of the major genres and literary movements in "Silver" Latin. We shall read in Latin selections from the Augustan poets, the historians of the empire, the tragedies and philosophical works of Seneca, Petronius, the epic poets, Statius' and later lyric, and a few late Latin works. Additional readings will include other Roman and Greek literary works and a sampling of the most important modern studies. This course will also introduce students to scholarly interpretation and methods in the literary and cultural criticism of Latin literature.

Individual or small group study under the direction of a departmental faculty member.

This two-semester sequence of courses is a basic introduction to all aspects of the Arabic language through a comprehensive and integrated method. The focus is on language proficiency in all areas of the language including speaking, reading, and writing. The course also introduces students to aspects of Arabic culture and everyday life in the Middle East. MEAR 10001 is offered each fall semester and MEAR 10002 is offered each spring semester.

This two-semester sequence of courses is a basic introduction to all aspects of the Arabic language through a comprehensive and integrated method. The focus is on language proficiency in all areas of the language including speaking, reading, and writing. The course also introduces students to aspects of Arabic culture and everyday life in the Middle East. MEAR 10001 is offered each fall semester and MEAR 10002 is offered each spring semester.

Second semester elementary Arabic.

This second-year Arabic course builds on the previous two semesters. The emphasis is on speaking and writing for self-expression with continued study of the basic grammatical structures. Proficiency remains the focus through readings and conversations in the language. Students develop skill in the use of the Arabic dictionary.

This course is geared to consolidating skills gained in the previous three semesters while enhancing the ability to converse and conduct oneself in Arabic. Reading skills are enhanced by exposure to more sophisticated examples of literature. Original written expression is encouraged through the composition of short essays.

This course emphasizes language structure, including phonetics (the sounds of language), phonology (the sound systems of language), morphology and lexicon (structured meanings in words), morphemes (units of meaning), syntax, and semantics.

This third-year Arabic course emphasis is on developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in interactive settings. Vocabulary building will be the focus of drills; we will cover basic vocabulary in various authentic uses of the language. Special attention will also be given to media Arabic. Basic Arabic grammar should be completed by the end of the year. We will continue with part 2 of the KITAAB sequence. Supplementary materials, mainly from Arabic media (BBC Arabic News, newspapers, magazines), will be provided. Tests, both oral and written, will cover the textbook materials, in addition to the basic grammar and the cumulative vocabulary.

This third-year Arabic course emphasis is on developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in interactive settings. Vocabulary building will be the focus of drills; we will cover basic vocabulary in various authentic uses of the language. Special attention will also be given to media Arabic. Basic Arabic grammar should be completed by the end of the year. We will continue with Part 2 of the KITAAB sequence. Supplementary materials, mainly from Arabic media (BBC Arabic News, newspapers, magazines), will be provided. Tests, both oral and written, will cover the textbook materials, in addition to the basic grammar and the cumulative vocabulary.

This course is intended to increase spoken Arabic proficiency and socio-cultural competence by focusing on the development and enhancement of intermediate skills in speaking and listening through the use of texts and multimedia materials in Modern Standard Arabic. It also takes into consideration dialectical diversity. Class time will be spent in conversation and discussions after students read chosen texts and prepare assignments on audio-visual materials outside of class.

In this special course designed for inquisitive international economics / Arabic majors, students will attend a number of lectures, panels, and seminars on campus during the semester, with a follow-up discussion for each led by either a visitor or a member of the economics or Arabic faculty. Before each session, students will be expected to complete a short reading assignment. At each follow-up session, the students will submit a 1-2 page summary and analysis of the talk, with a critical question for discussion. The goal is to encourage students to enrich their major experience by participating in the intellectual discussions that occur amongst ND and visiting scholars across the campus, distinguished alumni, and professionals in the field.

The goal of this course is to continue to develop a basic knowledge of the Classical/Qur'anic Arabic, with an emphasis on an overview of grammar and syntax, vocabulary acquisition, and serial readings of Islamic texts. We will read selections from Qur'an, Qur'anic exegeses, hadith (Prophetic tradition), and other related material, such as Islamic legal texts. We will learn how to use Arabic/Islamic bibliographical references (in print and online). The prerequisite for this class is a working knowledge of the Arabic alphabet. The instructor will assess your level before the class begins and make recommendations, as needed. The textbook, Alan Jones' Arabic through the Qur'an, commences with basic syntactic structures.

This course equips students with skills to understand and interpret classical Arabic texts-- Qur'an, Hadith, and other legal, theological, philosophical, mystical and literary texts. It also offers a foundational understanding of Islamic sources and guides students to proper venues for academic engagement with Islam. Level 1 Arabic is required.

This is an advanced Arabic language course designed to enhance and develop students' reading, speaking, and writing skills. The substantial component of this course comprises a close textual study and critical analysis of a variety of selected stories from "The Arabian Nights" designed to evoke aesthetic and intellectual discussions of Arabic folk literature.

Individual or small group study under the direction of a faculty member.

An introduction to the seminar method of instruction that explores the major methodologies of the historical discipline and which accents the organization and expression of arguments suggested by readings in historical topics.

The Thousand and One Nights, also known as the Arabian Nights, is a collection of tales originated in the Arab lands that has become a masterpiece of world literature. These enchanting stories, framed by the tale of Scheherazade (or Shahrazad), have enjoyed a widespread and varied reputation over the centuries and across cultures. It is said that the Thousand and One Nights is the most read (or heard about) book in human history, second only to Bible. In this class, we will examine these stories from a variety of academic and cultural perspectives, taking advantage of the wealth of material available (both textual and audio-visual). We will examine issues of provenance: where did these stories originate and when? We will study the stories as literary texts as well as historical documents, asking what, if anything, they tell us about the cultures they reflect and the societies in which they are set. We will examine how these tales have been interpreted by later societies, both Arab and Western, and what those interpretations tell us about the interpreters. We will use this class and its content to introduce ourselves to the study of the Middle East, its languages, history, literature, and peoples. We will gain a better understanding of the analytical tools and techniques for the study and appreciation of literature in general.

The gateway course will provide students with initial preparation and acquaint them with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). More specifically, the course will introduce students to the historical milieu of MENA cultures and societies as well as the various dynamics that continue to shape them. It will survey the history of the region from the end of late antiquity to the present. Themes will include the rise of Islam; Muslim-Christian interactions; the caliphate; the age of gunpowder empires; engagements with modernity; encounters with European expansion; Islamic and secular reform movements; nationalism and revolution.

This course examines the history of the Middle East from the late eighteenth century to the Arab uprisings of 2011. We will approach cultural, social, political and intellectual transformations in the Middle East. We will pursue a number of themes including engagements with modernity; reactions to Western colonial expansion; religious and secular reform movements; nationalism and revolution; changes in gender and family experiences; the Arab-Israeli conflict; the impact of oil and the Cold War; postcolonial state-building; the rise of political Islam and piety movements; globalization and economic disparities; and movements for democracy and social justice.

This course is designed to introduce students to Islamic civilization and Muslim culture and societies. The course will cover the foundations of Islamic belief, worship, and institutions, along with the evolution of sacred law (al-shari`a) and theology, as well as various aspects of intellectual activities. The Koran and the life of the Prophet Muhammad will be examined in detail. Both Sunni and Shi`i perspectives will be considered. Major Sufi personalities will be discussed to illuminate the mystical, and popular, tradition in Islam. Topics on arts, architecture, literary culture, and sciences will be covered. Although the course is concerned more with the history of ideas than with modern Islam as such, it has great relevance for understanding contemporary Muslim attitudes and political, social, and cultural trends in the Muslim world today. MMME minors will need to secure an override from the Department office to register.

This course aims at introducing students to the history of the Arab world. Through a panoramic view encompassing twelve centuries of Arab history and culture, we look at all sides of this rich and venerable civilization: the beauty of the Alhambra and the great mosques, the importance attached to education, the achievements of Arab science—but also internal conflicts, widespread poverty, the role of women, and the contemporary Palestinian question. We explore how the religion of Islam created a far-flung Arab Muslim world that embraced lands reaching from the shores of the Atlantic to Iraq and the Indian Ocean. Each has its own geographical features and historical traditions, yet certain themes and experiences are common to all: the rise and spread of Islam, the growth of the Ottoman Empire, the expansion of European trade and empire, and in the last decades, the challenge of Islamic resurgence and integration into a new kind of world. We attempt at a clear and comprehensive interpretation of the paths of the Muslim religion, its divisions, its authorities and traditions, its current contradictory powers to unite and to divide. Throughout, social institutions and culture are intertwined with politics and economics. The texts we read in this class are studded with famous names from the past—Ibn Khaldun, al-Ghazali, and Ibn Sina (Avicenna); Saladin and ‘Abd al-Nasir (Nasser)—as well as with those of the recent memory—Hafiz al-Asad and Saddam Husayn; the Nobel Prize winner Najib Mahfuz, the cultural critic Edward Said and popular singer Umm Kulthum.

The course explores the history, culture, religion and society of Roman North Africa, one of the centers of early Latin Christianity. Important authors such as Cyprian, Tertullian, Lactantius, Perpetua, and above all Augustine of Hippo lived and wrote in the region dominated by the ancient Phoenician city of Carthage, and this is where some of the greatest writings of ancient Christianity were produced. In this course, we will situate the culturally and economically fertile environment of 3rd to 5th-century North Africa in its context in terms of geography (surrounded by the Mediterranean, the Sahara desert, the African provinces to the East, first and foremost Egypt, and lastly the Iberian Peninsula, from where the Vandal invaders would arrive), politics and history (from the Phoenician colonization to the arrival of the Arabs), economics, multiethnicity and religious diversity. We will discuss literary works, works of art, archaeological relics and historical sources to gain a multifaceted understanding of a complex and fascinating era whose legacy would contribute so much to shaping the Christian Middle Ages. Knowledge of Greek or Latin is not required. No prerequisites.

This interdisciplinary course offers a topical survey of the relationships between biological sex, culturally bound notions of "masculinity" and "femininity," and the gendered body in the Islamic tradition. The primary aim of the course is to explore the intersection of religion and social constructions of gender and the body in a variety of historical and cultural contexts in the Muslim World. Students read and interpret religious texts and commentaries, literary and legal texts, women's writings, and media in English translation. Coursework focuses on increasing students' understanding of the diversity of scholarly views on women's bodies as sites of piety and sites of political and social contestation (reproductive rights, public vs. private space, etc.).

This course introduces students to classical/medieval Arabic literature from its beginnings in the pre-Islamic period to the eve of the Ottoman Empire (600-1517). Its emphasis is on direct examination of Arabic literature through a close reading of the representative texts in English translation. Among the topics to be discussed: the impact of Islam on the Arabic literary tradition, the relationship between convention and invention, the emergence of lyric genres and the development of a concept of fiction. Readings include pre-Islamic Arabian poetry, the Qur'an (as literary text), lyric poetry and Sufi poetry, the Arabian Nights and medieval Arabic narrative romances. No knowledge of Arabic is required.

This course studies the major themes of Islamic theology. It starts from the early debates concerned with Muslim views of God, the nature of the Qur?an, the prophethood of Muhammad and ends with current debates about the status of Islamic law (shari?a). It also discusses divine vs. human will, the role of politics in Muslim view of salvation and the limits of rationality. It traces how these topics moved from simple formulae to complex concepts due to socio-political controversies and conditions, whether they were sectarian or interreligious conflicts, crises of legitimacy, colonialism or modernity. The arguments of various schools are presented, and translated excerpts from prominent theologians are studied. As we read these texts we ask ourselves a number of questions. For example, what alternatives were possible for theologians other than what later became standard Muslim doctrines? What is the importance of imagination in the creation of these theological systems? Did modern Muslim theologians have better options to handle ancient traditions that most of them ended up adopting? Do some modern Muslim theologians have an alternative view to offer? The course is meant to help students see the problems of theology from an Islamic viewpoint that may deepen their understanding of wider religious questions.

In 1965, the Second Vatican Council issued a "Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions", which contains a statement that Muslims "submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God." While the Declaration can be understood as recognizing the possible validity of Islam's claim to Abrahamic status, some scholars have introduced the notion of "Abrahamic religions" as a way of associating Judaism, Christianity and Islam as related faiths. This course will explore the defining features of the Abrahamic religions that tie them closely together as well as their particularities and differences. As the youngest of the three Abrahamic religions, Islam has a lot of things to say about Abraham which largely correspond to the Biblical story although the Qur'an also contains some novel features, including the claim that Abraham, together with Ishmael, built the Ka‘bah. This course will discuss how the scriptures of the three religions emerged within the same cultural milieu, and explore their intertwined histories and the ways in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims developed their own independent religious identities from their early encounters to the present. Students will also be introduced to some basic teachings of Islam. No prior knowledge of Islam is required.

‘Islam and Violence’, ‘Islam and Conflict’, ‘Islam and Peace’, and ‘Islam and Justice’ are familiar topics that have become increasingly popular in the media in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. These topics were spawned by events such as the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the attacks on the United States of America in September 2001, the Bush administration’s subsequent ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Arab Spring which began in North Africa in 2011, followed in 2014 by the grotesque violence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In contradistinction, to the plethora of courses focusing on Islam and Terrorist Violence, this course seeks to critically examine the Islamic theologies of nonviolence and peacebuilding articulated and embodied by a number of Muslim scholars. In order to develop a complex set of insights into these and other current conflicts in which Muslims are implicated, it is important to have a greater understanding of the Islamic view of peace and justice. This course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the Islamic view of justice and peacebuilding by examining the major theories and principles of Islamic ethics of Peacebuilding and applying it to analyze contemporary Muslim perspectives on justice and peacebuilding. Furthermore, this course is grounded in the nascent academic sub-discipline of religion, violence, and the practices of peace (RVP). The intention is to introduce students into this sub-discipline and help them expand their theoretical and analytical lenses. Finally, students are not expected to emerge from this course as experts on the Islamic Ethics of Peacebuilding, but will be exposed to major authors and arguments and be provided with a number of conceptual lenses that can be applied to their analysis of the diverse ways in which Islam is implicated in conflict, violence and peacebuilding on both a global and local level.

How does one make sense of the moral vocabularies of contemporary Islam? Prominent in the media are debates about Sharia, known as Islamic law. On other occasions people talk about Islamic ethics and values in Muslim societies and communities. These categories are often non self-evident to even the most casual observer. How do we get a better grasp of moral debates in Muslim societies on questions as diverse as suicide terrorism, organ transplantation to democratic politics and fetal life? These ethical debates impact policy questions ranging from gender, democratic citizenship, technology and sexual violence to matters related to issues of Islamic family law and constitutional debates. But of equal importance is the need to give attention to the various contexts in which Muslim ethical discourses and moral vocabularies are deployed. Some of the contexts range from nation-states in-the-making, liberal democracies in the West, societies disintegrating as a result of failed states to countries being occupied by global powers. Hegemonic capitalist globalization, triumphant political liberalism and misrule all contribute to the social context. This course will explore a select sample of questions from an ethical and moral perspective. One of the presumptions that this course makes is that Muslim ethics is not only the site for the renewal of an ethical tradition; in many instances it is also the site of resistance against cultural and political imperialism, as well as that of accommodation. These complicated maneuvers account for the diversity and multiplicity of contemporary Muslim ethical discourses and moral vocabularies. Studying Muslim moral vocabularies do not provide a CT-scan of the ?Muslim mind? as some have egregiously averred, but provide maps of the histories of interpretative communities in the past and present. This approach will enable us s to identify the various typologies as well as trajectories of the Muslim subject over time. In a mediatized world of real-time communication, moral terms are poorly communicated, distorted and often come across as a cacophony of voices, confusing to insiders and outsiders alike. Needless to say, ethics is not neutral to political debates: it is often at the center of fractious and divisive debates. Often the representation of ethical debates are caricatured and manipulated in the media to serve political ends. Students will get an introduction to Muslim moral philosophy, a history of the jurisprudence and a set of case studies dealing with concrete questions. Muslim religious discourses are, of course, essentially regimes of interpretation. Students will get an opportunity to become familiar with the interpretation of the primary religious sources of Islam that result in diverse iterations and accounts of Muslim ethics in various contexts.

This course studies a group of texts that cover developments in Arab thought starting with Napoleon's Egyptian campaign of 1798 and ending with the late twentieth century. It centers on analyzing the positions of Arab intellectuals on the interaction between Arab and Western culture (looking into their positions within their respective contexts, concerns and challenges). The aim of the course is to equip students with a good understanding of the main trends in Arab culture in the last two centuries and encourage a critical examination of the problems that defined public discussion during this period. Because these questions are still very influential in contemporary debates, our knowledge of their origins and developments is essential for understanding current events and studying present Arab societies.

This is a survey course in Islamic law and ethics aimed at upper level undergraduates and law school students. The course will provide an outline of Islamic legal theory and jurisprudence and then cover topics such as Muslim family law, fatwas on a range of topics such as gender, sexuality and cultural and political conflict.

Individual or small group study under the direction of a faculty member. Permission of the Department required.

A research course for the capstone essay for the minor in Mediterranean/Middle East Studies. May not be double-counted for thesis credit in a major.