Winter

The goal of this course is to gain an understanding of the historical roots of the concept of nature (Greek physis), while being attentive to the diversity of ancient Greek thought about nature even in its early history. In the texts we will read, numerous notions of “nature” can be discerned: for instance, nature as the physical form of an individual, nature as an underlying reality of someone or something, nature as an autonomous thing distinct from human art and from the supernatural, nature as the all-encompassing natural order, or nature as the natural environment. The conceptual and ideological work done by these conceptions also varies wildly. Furthermore, the images associated with the concepts are similarly diverse, ranging from human bodies to magical plants and cosmic spheres, and with a comparable repertory of conceptual and ideological purposes. Yet discussions of the concept of nature typically deal almost exclusively in abstractions: this is true, for instance, of the standard study of physis written over a century ago as a U of C dissertation, which we will read in excerpt. Throughout this class, we will consider not only the explicit and abstract conceptualization of nature, but also a number of related images—especially in the form of metaphors, analogies and personifications—that ultimately fed into the literary and philosophical depictions of nature in the long traditions that have followed. 

Roman Asia Minor in the Imperial period provides an extraordinary case of religious plurality and creativity. Pagans, Jews, Christians, even already Christian heretics, interacted in the same space. The frontiers between Jewish and Christian communities were, at least at the beginning, more fluid than was long thought. But even the frontiers between paganism and Judaism or Christianity were certainly not as rigid as was later imagined. This does not mean, however, that there were no tensions between the various groups. This class will examine the various aspects of this religious diversity as well as the social and political factors that may explain the religious equilibrium prevailing at that time in Asia Minor. Course Requirements: two papers, two quizzes. 

This course examines aspects of death and disease in the Greco-Roman world through a wide range of evidence and historical approaches. We will focus on the major problems of individual and public health in these cultures, how they understood health philosophically, scientifically, and culturally and what measures they took to ensure it (or not). Topics will range from bacterial infections to environmental pollutants to personal hygiene. We will also examination how many aspects of ancient medicine were practiced and theorized. Later in the quarter we will consider various aspects of death: logistical and practical, cultural and religious

The comedies of Aristophanes are as uproarious, biting, and ribald today as they were more than 2,400 years ago. But they also offer a unique window onto the societal norms, expectations, and concerns as well as the more mundane experiences of Athenians in the fifth century BCE. This course will examine closely all eleven of Aristophanes’ extant plays (in translation) in order to address topics such as the performative, ritual, and political contexts of Attic comedy, the constituency of audiences, the relationship of comedy to satire, the use of dramatic stereotypes, freedom of speech, and the limits of dissent. Please note that this course is rated MA for adult themes and language.

Cleopatra is one of the most notorious women in history. The quintessential femme fatale, she has permeated Western cultural imagination for more than 2,000 years. Born of a bastard king, she rose to power in one of the most turbulent times in human history – Rome was waging bloody civil war, the empires of Alexander the Great’s legacy were falling, and Egypt was in revolt and uprising. Her story is one of political intrigue, sex, power, murder, war, and suicide. But her story was never her story alone. Once the asp took its fatal bite, Cleopatra’s story was coopted by her enemies and her legacy was built at the intersections of gender, sexuality, and race over the last two millennia.
This course has two main objectives: 1. to strip back the Western, male gaze of Cleopatra’s legacy and evaluate Cleopatra’s reign within its own context; and 2. to interrogate Cleopatra’s constructed identities and the role they have played and still play in society. In this course, students will take a critical look at the life and legacy of Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt, through a wide-array of primary source materials and a selection of her vast reception, including Roman, Arabic, and Renaissance literature; Shakespeare; Afrocentric art, literature, and pop culture; film; comedy; advertising; and popular music. 

How do hymns make use of myth in its various guises to develop their religious and literary programs? What is the functional difference between embedded narrative and indirect allusion? How do ideologies give shape to literary forms in different context of religious performance? These are some of the questions that will animate this course, which provides an introduction to the comparative skills useful in the study of poetics, myth, and religion in ancient literatures. Taking as our focus several of the major branches of the Indo-European language family, we will address the political and academic limitations and implications of the genealogical method (that is historically favored in the relevant scholarship) before moving onto newer methods, such as those of descriptive typology, that are both more ethical and more translatable to the study of literature more broadly. Students will be taught how to work intuitively with unfamiliar primary sources by relying on close-readings, discovering comparanda in unusual places, and generally learning to propose fresh interpretive solutions to ancient questions.

Objects from Classical antiquity that have survived into the modern era have enticed, inspired, and haunted those who encountered or possessed them. Collectors, in turn, have charged ancient objects with emotional, spiritual, and temporal power, enrolling them in all aspects of their lives, from questions of politics and religion to those of race and sexuality. This course explores intimate histories of private ownership of antiquities as they appear within literature, visual art, theater, aesthetics, and collecting practices. Focusing on the sensorial, material and affective dimensions of collecting, we will survey histories of modern classicism that span from the 18th century to the present, from the Mediterranean to the Pacific. Historical sources will include the writings of Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Joachim Winckelmann, Emma Hamilton, Vernon Lee, and Sigmund Freud, among others, while secondary source scholarship will draw from the fields of gender studies, history of race, history of art, and the history of emotions. We will supplement our readings with occasional museum visits and film screenings. This course is team taught as an interdisciplinary course, and we welcome students from all backgrounds, with no previous experience in ancient art or modern history required. 

This quarter surveys the social, economic, and political history of Rome, from its prehistoric beginnings in the twelfth century BCE to the end of the Severan dynasty in 235 CE. Throughout, the focus is upon the dynamism and adaptability of Roman society, as it moved from a monarchy to a republic to an empire, and the implications of these political changes for structures of competition and cooperation within the community.

Substantial selections are read from Cato, Caesar, Cicero, Livy, Seneca, and Tacitus at a rapid pace, with attention paid to their use of resources of the Latin language and their role in the development of Latin style. S. Bartsch-Zimmer. Winter.

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.