GREK

Students undertake a review of the fundamentals of Attic Greek in the context of developing their reading proficiency. A general ability to recognize common Greek case uses and regular constructions, as well as a strong basis in Attic Greek vocabulary is assumed. Students continue to increase their reading proficiency by engaging with longer, more complex, and more interesting selections of authentic Greek, including Xenophon and Plato. Through these readings, students explore a range of authors and genres, who touch upon various aspects of the ancient Greek world, including the history of the language, the societies, cultures, politics, and religious practices of its people.

Successful completion of this course will prepare students for intermediate Greek courses (GREK 20200-20300). This course is appropriate for students who have earned an appropriate language placement or by permission of the instructor.

Immerse yourself in the Greek poetry written by various authors from ancient Greece and the subsequent Hellenic tradition. This course involves reading (a) substantial selection(s) from (an) important moment(s) in this literary history (e.g. Homer’s Iliad). In addition to translation, regular discussion will focus on the relationship between language and literary art, the legacy of the work or works under consideration, and the study of grammar and vocabulary as necessary. 

Immerse yourself in the Greek poetry written by various authors from ancient Greece and the subsequent Hellenic tradition. Readings this quarter concentrate on (a) substantial selection(s) of Greek poetry (e.g. Sophocles, Euripides). This class focuses on the literary and historical context of the text(s) in question, as well as the rhetorical and stylistic qualities of Greek poetry. Review of grammar and the development of vocabulary will occur as necessary. 

Immerse yourself in the prose written by various authors from ancient Greece and the subsequent Hellenic tradition. Readings this quarter involve increasingly longer selections of Greek prose (e.g. Plato, Xenephon), with an aim to review grammar and improve reading proficiency. Discussion in class will focus on the literary, historical, and cultural contexts necessary to appreciate the authors and texts. In addition to review, more advanced grammar will occasionally be introduced and vocabulary will be surveyed as necessary. 

Introduction to Attic Greek introduces students to the fundamentals of the ancient Greek language through which students may access the worlds of Homer, Sappho, Plato, Thucydides, and Sophocles (among countless others). This course represents the third and final step in the sequence. Course work continues to involve the reading and writing of Attic Greek, alongside the further development of vocabulary, the formal study of grammar, and the critical appreciation of composition and style. Students engage with increasingly longer selections from authentic texts as the course progresses. Successful completion of this course will prepare students for intermediate coursework beginning with GREK 201. 

Introduction to Attic Greek introduces students to the fundamentals of the ancient Greek language through which students may access the worlds of Homer, Sappho, Plato, Thucydides, and Sophocles (among countless others). This course represents the second step. Course work continues to involve the reading and writing of Attic Greek, alongside the further development of vocabulary and the formal study of grammar. Students will increase their reading proficiency as they engage with longer, more complex, and more interesting sentences and passages, including selections from authentic texts. Successful completion of this course will prepare students for GREK 103. 

Introduction to Attic Greek introduces students to the fundamentals of the ancient Greek language through which students may access the works of Homer, Sappho, Plato, Thucydides, and Sophocles (among countless others). This course represents the first step. Course work involves the reading and writing of Attic Greek, alongside the development of vocabulary and the formal study of grammar. Students encounter authentic texts throughout the course. Successful completion of this course will prepare students for GREK 102. 

We read the text of the historian in Greek and contextualize his contribution to the classical period, with some discussion of his perspectives on the past, people, and artifacts he records.

This class on Euripides’ Medea will work in lockstep with an upcoming production at the Court Theatre of the Luis Alfaro’s Mojada, a Medea that will be set in the Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen, which examines the tragedy of the American immigration system through the story of one family from Mexico. We will discuss the construction of the play through its performance, both in its original setting and each time it is adapted and staged, and will examine the circumstances of immigration in American portrayed by Luis Alfaro, who will be involved in the course as well as the production. We will attend rehearsals and talk to the director, crew and performers of the play as the production takes shape and will also attend the play at the end of the term. Readings will include Medea by Euripides, as well as a number of adaptions and critical texts. (No knowledge of Greek is required for the course, but those who wish to take it as a Greek course will have additional reading assignments in Greek.)

Lucian of Samosata (b. approx. AD 120), like many authors of the New Testament, wrote in Greek but was born and grew up in an Aramaic speaking community. His idiosyncratic literary output comprises around 70 prose pieces which reflect a engaging synthesis of comedy, satire, popular philosophy, and theological musing. Many of his works present a savvy commentary on his cultural and religious environment, and especially enjoyable is his mirthful abandon in identifying religious quackery and the victims of it. As one of the most important and prolific pagan authors of the early centuries AD, Lucian's works form an important background to the early Christian movement, both in his direct references to Christians (in the Peregrinus and Alexander) and in his sensitive description of the vast religious amalgam in which early Christianity grew.

The class will focus on daily close reading and analysis of Lucian's Greek and discussion of his ideas. We will read the first 20 or so of the Dialogues of the Gods, Lover of Lies, Alexander the False Prophet, and the Death of Perigrinus. These works represent a sampling of genres in which Lucian is at his best: mythic paraphrase and parody and religious and social satire.