Spring

In this course we read the story of Medea as a means through which ancient authors across the Greek and Roman world, and after them, early modern, modern, and contemporary ones, explored issues of foreignness or otherness, gender, race, language, and representation. Ancient authors include Euripides, Ovid, and Seneca, and we read authors from Cherrie Moraga to Countee Cullen, Percival Everett, and Toni Morrison. Modern critical theory of reception from Hans Robert Jauss, Charles Martindale, and Simon Goldhill provide frameworks for discussion, and we will be attentive to the media of reception (literature, art, and film). There is no prerequisite for the class. Students enrolled for graduate credit in the classics program (and undergraduates who would like extra language exposure) will read material in Greek and Latin (primarily Euripides’ Medea, Ovid’s Heroides, and Seneca’s Medea) during the first three weeks of class. Translations in English will be provided for all students. 

The course will treat several problems arising in the historical development of Roman law: the history of procedure; the rise and accommodation of multiple sources of law, including the emperor; the dispersal of the Roman community from the environs of Rome to the wider Mediterranean world; and developments in the law of persons. We will discuss problems like the relationship between religion and law from the archaic city to the Christian empire, and between the law of Rome and the legal systems of its subject communities. 

The course continues to consolidate the foundations extended in the autumn course based on readings from Cicero. We shall cover a variety of poetry and prose from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, including selections from Boethius, Bede, Lupus of Ferrières, Nithard, and others. The authors chosen will all be significant for their efforts to reflect the highest classical standards. 

The course continues the work of grammatical extension and consolidation. We shall cover a variety of poetry and prose by great Latin stylists from the twelfth to the fourteenth century, including Bernard of Clairvaux, Peter of Blois, Petrarch, and Dante. The authors chosen will all be significant for their efforts to reflect the highest classical standards. 

Immerse yourself in the Latin poetry written by various authors from ancient Rome through the long tradition and reception of Latin literature. This course involves reading (a) substantial selection(s) from (an) important moment(s) in this literary history (e.g. Vergil's Aeneid, Ovid’s Metamorphoses).  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.  This course is appropriate for students who have completed LATN 112, LATN 201, LATN 202, or their equivalent. 

Introduction to Classical Latin introduces students to the fundamentals of the Latin language through which students may access the works of Vergil, Horace, Cicero, Tacitus, and Ovid (among countless others).  This course represents the third and final step in the sequence.  Course work continues to involve the reading and writing of Latin, 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 LATN 201.  This course is appropriate for students who have completed LATN 102 or its equivalent. 

Mastering Greek is an intensive Greek language course for pre-professional Hellenists. Do you find yourself fudging accents sometimes? Wondering about the use of infinitives versus participles? Pondering the future less vivid? Have you found yourself speaking Greek while looking in the mirror? This course will help you review Attic Greek from the level of the word to the short paragraph. Recommended for advanced undergraduates and graduate students, especially those who aspire to teach Greek. Assignments will include extensive written homework in Attic Greek, analytic exercises, creative writing exercises, as well as regular quizzes in order to advance to strong, active mastery of the language.  

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.  This course is appropriate for students who have completed GREK 201, GREK 202, or their equivalent. 

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.  This course is appropriate for students who have completed GREK 102 or its equivalent. 

Plautus' Pseudolus is read in Latin, along with secondary readings that explain the social context and the theatrical conventions of Roman comedy. Class meetings are devoted less to translation than to study of the language, plot construction, and stage techniques at work in the Pseudolus.