Spring

This seminar examines the interplay between social and environmental actors, practices, and changes across time in the Mediterranean basin, as well as explores the study and analysis of those interactions from the beginnings of classical scholarship to the present. Key themes include: environmental determinism, human and non-human interactions, interpretive approaches to space and place, the role of science in archaeological and historical practice, and the compartmentalization of “environment” and “landscape” as analytic focus. These themes loom large now - during what might be called the “environmental turn” spurred on by the controversial Anthropocene in the humanities and social sciences - and their intensifying resonance provides the basis for critical reflection of past and future trends in classics, history, archaeology, and anthropology.

The goal of this course is to pick up habits from introductory Greek class: producing Attic Greek sentences and longer pieces. The most obvious benefits of this exercise will be thorough review of basic morphology and syntax as well as fine-tuning our grasp of the more subtle nuances of the language, which should pay off when we go back to reading the ancient Greek texts themselves — or teach them! While this is a graduate level course, undergraduates are welcome to petition to take it. 

Immerse yourself in real writings from Ancient Greece, and the long subsequent tradition of Latin literature. This course involves reading selections from a major monument of Greek literature (for instance, The Iliad). There will be discussion of the relationship between language and literary art, the legacy of the work or works studied, and study of grammar and vocabulary as necessary.  

For thousands of years, people have learned this language to go deeper into the thoughts and worlds of Plato, Homer, Sappho, and Early Christianity and more. In this course sequence, you too can begin to learn this language. GREK 103 continues the study of basic Ancient Greek. Course work involves reading practice, writing individual sentences and coherent stories, formal study of grammar and vocabulary, and other linguistic skills as necessary. Throughout the course, students will encounter authentic Ancient Greek text. Students who complete this course will be able to track ideas across at least a paragraph of text and will be ready to move into the intermediate sequence (GREK 20100-20200-20300). 

Working together, we’ll try to produce an (at least partial) answer to why the western classical canon ended up taking the shape it has at present.  What were the historical, cultural, educational, political (etc) factors that gave us what we have today?  What has been lost, and why? Our goal will be to develop answers that take us beyond “imperialism.” The course’s final product will be a collaborative paper on the topic.  

Immerse yourself in real writings from Ancient Rome, and the long subsequent tradition of Latin literature. This course involves reading selections from a major monument of Roman literature (for instance, Vergil’s Aeneid). There will be discussion of the relationship between language and literary art, the legacy of the work or works studied, and study of grammar and vocabulary as necessary. 

For centuries people have learned this language to go deeper into the thoughts and worlds of Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. In this course sequence, you too can begin to learn this language. LATN 103 continues the study of basic Latin. Course work involves reading Latin, writing individual sentences and coherent stories, formal study of grammar and vocabulary, and other linguistic skills as necessary. Throughout the course, students will encounter authentic Latin text. Students who complete this course will be able to track ideas across at least a paragraph of text and will be ready to move into the intermediate sequence (LATN 20100-20200-20300)

Whether they are attacking personal enemies, poetic rivals, or political antagonists, sometimes poets are just plain mean. In this course we will begin by focusing on the art of talking trash in ancient Greek and Roman poetry, before moving on to examine other traditions and examples of invective poetry. We will consider a variety of different genres and traditions of invective, including ancient lyric and curse poetry, comedy and satire both ancient and modern, and contemporary genres such as hip-hop and Lebanese Zajal. In each case, we will study the formal features of the poetry and consider the specific contexts in which it was created, the individual(s) by whom it was created and at whom it was directed, and to what ends. We will also investigate broader themes and purposes of invective poetry, such as the advancement of notions of (often toxic) masculinity, the control of social norms, and the articulation of political protest.

This course will explore the history of the manuscript book: how it was made, papyrus and parchment, the different scripts used to copy texts and how they developed from the Roman Republic to the High Middle Ages. The class will meet in the Regenstein Library and students will be able to work with manuscripts there and in the Newberry Library, as well as with digitised manuscripts. By mastering the foundational types of writing, the students will develop skills for reading all Latin-based scripts, including those used for vernacular languages. In addition to learning how to transcribe different scripts we shall consider how to date scripts, who commissioned and copied manuscripts, and how they were read. What were the features of a manuscript culture and how was it different from our own experience of reading?

One of our best sources for the political, cultural, economic, and religious history of antiquity are texts written on stone or other durable materials (inscriptions). In this course, we will study a variety of inscriptions (laws, treaties, curses, epitaphs, dedications, etc.) dating to the period between the death of Alexander the Great and the promulgation of the Constitutio Antoniniana (323 BCE – 212 CE). By examining selected examples of various types of inscriptions, we will explore a range of topics: war and international treaties; death and emotions; women, children, and enslaved people; economy and commerce.