Graduate

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–44 BC) was the most accomplished orator of the Roman Republic.  Among the most fascinating of his speeches are the three “Caesarian” speeches delivered to Julius Caesar on behalf of persons who had opposed Caesar in the civil war.  In the speeches Cicero, in many different ways, uses his hard-won rhetorical and literary skills, practiced over a lifetime in lawsuits, political debates, and philosophizing, not merely to speak on behalf of the immediate subjects of the speeches, but also to suggest social and political roles for Caesar himself.  Caesar’s place in the Roman world is as much a topic of the three speeches as the immediate issue of each speech.  The chief purpose of this class is to reach an understanding of the basic issues of each speech and the roles that Cicero scripts for Caesar in them. B. Krostenko. Autumn.

Tertullian was the first to attribute the authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews to Barnabas, and that ascription found favor with no less an ancient figure as Jerome, and even with notable scholars of the late nineteenth and early 20th centuries, such as Albrecht Ritschl and Friedrich Blass. Although no one can know who wrote it, there are fruitful literary and thematic parallels between the Epistle that bears the name Barnabas and the canonical Hebrews, including their critique of Judaism and their interpretatio Christiana of the Hebrew Bible, with particular regard to Levitical institutions and the temple. We will read thoroughly the Greek text of each treatise with focus on the language and style of the two texts, their relation to Hellenistic Judaism, and their respective treatments of Hebrew Bible/Septuagintal themes. D. Martinez.  Winter.

In this course we will read book 1 of Thucydides, his description of the run-up to the Peloponnesian War, in Greek. We will pay attention to Thucydides' style and approach to historiography, sinking our teeth into this difficult but endlessly fascinating text.

We will read in Greek substantial parts of three of Aristophanes‘ plays and two of Menander’s. We will discuss and analyze various aspects of the evolution of Greek comedy, textual tradition, the language of comedy and its political background. Coursework will include translation as well as secondary readings. S. Torallas Tovar. Spring

This class will read selections from the poetry of the Hellenistic period, especially the hymns of Callimachus, the pastoral poetry of Theocritus, and the epic parody “The Battle of the Frogs and Mice.” Alongside these Hellenistic texts we will read some of their poetic predecessors (Homer, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, choral and monadic lyric), with an eye to the Hellenistic poets’ interest in poetic form, self-positioning, and play. E. Austin. Autumn.

A workshop for students who have completed coursework and qualifying exams, it aims to provide practical assistance and a collaborative environment for students preparing the dissertation prospectus. It will meet bi-weekly for two quarters. S. Torallas Tovar Autumn, Winter.

Ancient Greek tragedy has been of continuous interest to philosophers, whether they love it or hate it.  But they do not agree about what it is and does, or about what insights it offers.  This seminar will study the tragic festivals and a select number of tragedies, also consulting some modern studies of ancient Greek tragedy.  Then we shall turn to philosophical accounts of the tragic genre, including those of Plato, Aristotle, the Greek and Roman Stoics (especially Seneca), Lessing, Schlegel, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Iris Murdoch, Sartre, and Bernard Williams. If we have time we will include some study of ancient Greek comedy and its philosophical significance. M. Nussbaum. Autumn. 

The anachronism of the course title constitutes our program: to what extent can Plato’s thinking about artworks, images, poets in the polis, beauty, the visual world, the senses, subjectivity and criticism be viewed coherently as an aesthetic theory? Does his style and dramatic mode of writing interact significantly with these views? How have they been received, and to what extent are they right?  A. Pop. Winter.

I shall discuss Leo Strauss’s “Notes on Lucretius” (1968) and Lucretius’ De rerum natura with a special focus on the relation of philosophy and poetry. H. Meier. Spring.

Cicero famously called history the “schoolmistress of life.” This course explores how ancient and early modern authors – in particular, Livy, Plutarch and Machiavelli – used the lives and actions of great individuals from the Greek and Roman past to establish models of political behavior for their own day and for posterity. Such figures include Romulus, Brutus, Camillus, Agathocles, Nabis, Cleomenes, Fabius Maximus, Scipio Africanus, Julius Caesar, and Augustus. We will consider how their actions are submitted to praise or blame, presented as examples for imitation or avoidance, and examine how the comparisons and contrasts established among the different historical individuals allow new models and norms to emerge. No one figure can provide a definitive model. Illustrious individuals help define values even when we mere mortals cannot aspire to reach their level of virtue or depravity. Course open to undergraduates and graduate students. Readings will be in English. Students wishing to read Latin, Greek, or Italian will receive support from the professors. M. Lowrie, J. McCormick. Winter