Classics

As inhabitants of the "west," our culture often invokes the influence of the Greeks and Romans without understanding the contributions the ancient Near East (here called Middle East as very few people outside the field know what "Near East" represents) had on the Greeks and Romans and several crucial points in their histories. Thus the class will study the cultures of ancient Mesopotamia (Iraq), Persia (Iran), Turkey (Hittites), Syria (including Palestine), Phoenicia (Lebanon), the Greco-Roman Middle East (Asia and Mesopotamia), late antiquity in the Middle East and, finally, the Abassid dynasty that preserved Greek learning and fostered a renaissance of learning while the West continued to rely on the received tradition of the Latin West.

Classical Archaeology introduces students to the material culture of the Greco-Roman world as well as the methodologies that allow scholars to reconstruct such a distant time period. Students develop an appreciation of the contributions of the Greeks and Romans in such fields as art, architecture, urban planning, and landscape that will enable the student to appreciate the extensive impact such a culture (or cultures) had on the evolution of western culture. Within the scope of the course, students look at the formative periods of the Greco-Roman world, from the period of Iron Age Greece to the transitional period of the late antique. In addition, students learn how to distinguish between different artistic styles (archaic, classical, Hellenistic, Roman, etc.).

The World of Late Antiquity studies the transformation of what had been the Roman Empire, beginning with the reign of Diocletian, into the worlds of Byzantium, Islam, and the West. In this course, the student focuses on the major political, social, and cultural changes from 284-750 when the culture is no longer considered "classical." Students will also discover how ancient civilizations, as we understand them, disappear for all time and how in the deeply fragmented remains of a once-homogeneous world three different (Medieval, Byzantine, and Islamic) cultures arise. The impact of Christianity's emergence is central to the study of this period.

A study of how the Greeks and Romans perceived those who lived outside their respective cultures, how they interacted with them, how they treated marginalized elements of their society (women, slaves, foreigners), and how they reacted to physical differences that existed among races. In sum, the course deals with definitions of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and "otherness" in general (using both modern and ancient definitions).

An introduction on how to conduct research through the focus on one topic from the following disciplines: philosophy, religion, or classics. The class will focus on learning how to distinguish and evaluate primary and secondary sources; to write a researched paper; to recognize different approaches (theoretical) to a given topic; and to become familiar with the work of representative classicists/philosophers/theologians/ historians.

An intensive and interdisciplinary approach to one of the most seminal periods in Western history: the Age of Pericles. Called the Golden Age of Athens, this period bequeathed to Western culture ethical philosophy, the ideals of democracy, the classical style as perfected in the Parthenon, and masterpieces of tragedy and history. Students will read the literature of the time, study Athens' monuments and art, and come to understand how, under the driving force of one person, all these disciplines interacted with each other

Supervised on-site archaeological fieldwork experience (e.g., field recording systems, computer applications, surveying, cataloging, small finds analysis, conservation, and drafting) and research problems (e.g., approaches to site selection and stratigraphical analysis. This course is often taught overseas.

Introduction to classical (ancient) Greek. Focus is on grammar and the reading of simple passages in Attic Greek (Alpha to Omega) and the predecessor of koine (or Biblical Greek), as well as the culture of Athens of the fifth century BCE. A prerequisite for Elementary Greek 102.