Catalogue 2020-2021 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Greek and Roman Studies Department
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Chair: Rachel Friedman;
Professor: Rachel D. Friedman, J. Bert Lottab;
Associate Professors: Barbara A. Olsen;
Assistant Professor: Curtis Dozierab;
Visiting Assistant Professors: Margaret Day Elsner; Carolyn Tobin.
ab On leave 2020/21
Students who study in the Greek and Roman Studies department explore aspects of the ancient Mediterranean world with an emphasis on the cultures of Greece and Rome. At the heart of this exploration are the languages of the Greeks and the Romans, their literature, their history, their art, their philosophy, their religion, their politics, their relations with the other peoples of the Mediterranean, and their reception and interpretation by later cultures.
The story of “Classical” scholarship goes back to the Library of Alexandria in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. The project that the scholars of the library undertook was to collect, copy and edit as many texts of Greek literature as they could find. The study of the Greeks and Romans still has at its core this act of preservation. But, like the Alexandrian scholars and perhaps more self-consciously, we acknowledge that we are also involved in an act of reinterpretation. Our goal is both to preserve the knowledge of ancient cultures but also to interpret that knowledge in the context of contemporary culture.
We bring to this project many different skills and many different methods. Again, at the heart of the enterprise is the philological skills that the Alexandrian scholars developed: the ability to look back at a “dead” language and imagine it in its living form, in order to be able to read the written remains as richly as possible. An ancient historian adds to this skill the ability to gather disparate kinds of fragmentary evidence, both literary and material, to reconstruct both the major national and international events that shaped these cultures and the texture of the lives of their peoples from day to day. In this they rely heavily on archaeologists who uncover the physical traces of the past and attempt to establish a chronology and a function for these remains. Literary scholars find in works of literature not only evidence for the aesthetic principles that govern the creation of literary works of art but also apply modern theoretical approaches that allow us to see literature as a reflection of social, political and religious assumptions.
But in the end every student of Greek and Roman Studies is using insights about the ancient world to enrich his or her understanding of our modern world. In the end what classicists develop is an intense self-consciousness about the nature of their own assumptions, fashioned by the world in which they live - assumptions which the study of antiquity allows us to question and assumptions which we must question in order to be able to focus our attention on the strange “otherness” of different cultures that have much to teach us.
Recommendations: All students are strongly advised to study either Greek or Latin language at the 300-level.
Recommendations for graduate study: Students considering graduate work in Greek and Roman Studies should at a minimum have at least 2 units of 300 level work in one ancient language and 1 unit of 300 level work in the other. Proficiency in at least one relevant modern foreign language (e.g. French, Italian, German) is also recommended.
Departmental honors: In addition to the senior project students must elect 300-level work in the department both semesters of their senior year to be considered for honors.
Advisers: The department.
Major
Correlate Sequence in Greek and Roman Studies
Greek and Roman Studies: I. Introductory
Courses in English Translation
Courses in English translation, numbered X00-X19 are taught entirely in English. No knowledge of Greek or Latin is required. -
GRST 100 - Then and Now: Reinterpreting Greece and Rome Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Here we are at the beginning of the 21st century, yet all around us we continue to see allusions to and creative engagements with Greek and Roman antiquity. From the bestseller list which features a novel claiming to reveal recently discovered books of the Odyssey to an HBO series that takes place in ancient Rome and comparisons of the post 9/11 United States to the Roman Empire in the news, the worlds of ancient Greece and Rome continue to be viscerally alive and compelling as sources for artistic and cultural production. Why is this so? In this course we examine the ways that the legacies of classical antiquity continue to be felt today and invite us to explore the cultures of Greece and Rome. The course serves as an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of Greek and Roman languages, literature, history, and archaeology and the interpretation of these cultures by subsequent civilizations. The course addresses both the complex political, social, intellectual, and cultural settings of the ancient world and the ways in which the study of antiquity can challenge and enrich our experience of the present. To pursue these questions we read ancient texts, examine material artifacts, study linguistic evidence, and engage with creative contemporary responses to antiquity and recent theoretical work on the study of the ancient world. In serving as an overview of the kinds of questions that contemporary culture inspires us to ask of and about antiquity and the materials and approaches that scholars use for their inquiries, the course prepares the student for further work in the department. Rachel Friedman.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 101 - Civilization in Question
1 unit(s)
(Same as CLCS 101 and MRST 101 ) In the past, college curricula in this country were often organized around the idea of the “Great Books” of “Western Civilization.” Today though, the very idea of a Western literary canon has been challenged as a vehicle for reinforcing questionable norms and hierarchies and silencing other important perspectives. In this class we read well-known ancient, medieval and Renaissance texts with a view to how they themselves question the civilizations from which they emerge. A unique feature of this class is that it is taught by faculty from three different disciplines who bring a variety of interpretive practices to bear on the texts. This creates a classroom environment in which dialogue is the means to discovery. Students are encouraged to be part of the conversation both during class and in weekly discussion sections. Readings may include such authors as Homer, Aeschylus, Plato, Augustine, Chretien de Troyes, and Machiavelli.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 102 - Cleopatra
1 unit(s)
A famous historian once wrote “The true history of Antony and Cleopatra will probably never be known; it is buried too deep beneath the version of the victors.” This course examines the life and times of Egypt’s most famous queen, who was both a Hellenistic monarch, last of a dynasty founded by a companion of Alexander the Great, and a goddess incarnate, Pharaoh of one of the world’s oldest societies. However, the ways in which Cleopatra has been depicted over the centuries since her death are equally intriguing, and the course considers versions of Cleopatra from the Romans to Chaucer, Boccacio, Shakespeare, Gauthier, Shaw, and film and television to explore how different authors and societies have created their own image of this bewitching figure.
Open only to first-year students; satisfies the college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 103 - Homer’s Iliad in Modern Adaptations Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Homer’s Iliad, dating from over 2 millennia ago, continues to inspire poets, playwrights and novelists working today. In this class we study contemporary responses to the poem, all of them composed in English within the past five to ten years. The adaptations include poetry, drama and novelistic responses. Among the questions we consider are: Why does the poem, which offers an account of the last year of the mythological war between the Greeks and the Trojans, continue to capture our imagination? What is it about our current cultural moment that has drawn so many artists to the ancient poem? How can we consider the role that the Homer’s poem plays in these modern works while also taking these modern receptions seriously on their own terms? After a close reading of the Iliad, among the modern adaptations we consider are Simon Armitage’s The Story of the Iliad (2015), Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles (2012), David Malouf’s Ransom (2011) and Alice Oswald’s Memorial (2013). Rachel Friedman.
Open only to first-year students; satisfies the college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 104 - Greek Archaeology Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
This course examines sites and monuments of the ancient Greek world from the Bronze Age to the Classical period. We introduce archaeological methods, examine the history and developement of Greek archaeology from the origins of the field in the 1870’s to the present, and trace the chronological development of Greek art and architecture across several major sites including Knossos, Mycenae, Olympia, Delphi, and Athens. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding and interpreting monuments in terms of their political, social, and economic contexts. Barbara Olsen.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 144 - Living in the Ancient City
0.5 unit(s)
(Same as ART 144 and URBS 144 ) The great Mediterranean cities of Classical Antiquity, Athens in the 5th c. BC and Rome in the 1st-2nd c. CE (along with some of their satellite cities), are synonymous with the rise of western civilization. The city plans and monumental architecture dominate our view, but this course also focuses on the civic institutions housed in the spectacular buildings and the social worlds shaped by the grand public spaces, as well as the cramped working quarters. Neighborhoods of the rich and the poor, their leisure haunts, and places of congregation and entertainment are explored to reveal the rituals of everyday life and their political consequences.
Second six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
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GRST 180 - Health and Healing in the Ancient Mediterranean Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 180 ) This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to health and healing in the ancient Mediterranean, beginning with Egypt and moving on to Greece, Rome, and the early Middle Ages. Through a variety of readings from medical “literature” (broadly defined), we focus on how patients and practitioners of ancient medicine understood the human body and managed disease. Topics for discussion include medicine and mythology, theories of medicine (such as humoral theory, miasma, and plague), pharmacology, folk medicine, and women’s health, among others. Class discussion and assignments consider how these topics shape our understanding of disease today and what role storytelling plays in the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery of patients. Margaret Elsner.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
Greek and Roman Studies: II. Intermediate
Independent Work
Independent work may be pursued in Greek, Latin, or English translation. Greek and Roman Studies: III. Advanced
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GRST 301 - Seminar in Classical Civilization Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Barbara Olsen.
Prerequisite(s): Previous course work in Greek and Roman Studies or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 302 - The Blegen Seminar Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Topic for 2020/21b: What do you think of when you hear the word “animal”? Your pet cat or an elephant in the zoo? The English word “animal” does not translate the words zoon (Greek) or animal (Latin) exactly and has come to distinguish humans from non-humans today—but did the Greeks and Romans feel the same way? Taking this question as our starting point, this course explores whether classical philosophy, literature, art, and material culture ever show a real concern for animals or simply treat animals as ciphers for anthropocentric issues. It also considers current issues in the animal rights movement and the effects of climate change and the Industrial Meat Complex on animals today. After establishing the status of animals in ancient literature and philosophy, we move on to the use of animals in daily life in Greece and Rome. We also discuss archaeological evidence for animal sacrifice and farming, as well as how ancient people rationalized fossils and mass extinction events. Finally, we look at the influence of Buddhism, Christianity, and other ethical and religious movements on the development of and push back against animal rights (particularly through factory farming, veganism, and climate change). Readings and assignments introduce you to a variety of sources from the ancient world; no prior knowledge of animal studies or Greek and Roman Studies is required. Margaret Elsner.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 314 - Seminar in Ancient Art Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ART 314 and URBS 314 ) Topic for 2020/21b: Pompeii: Public and Private Life. The volcanic eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79 blotted out life in Pompeii, but the Roman town lives on as a study site and tourist attraction. Its urban development with grand theaters and amphitheaters alongside of taverns and brothels exemplifies high and low Roman culture. The homes of private citizens demonstrate intense social competition in their scale, grounds, and the Greek myths painted on walls. Pompeii gave shape to the world of Roman citizens and others through its raucous street life and gleaming monumental centers. Eve D’Ambra.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 321 - Advanced Greek: Topics in Greek Literature Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as GRST 226 ) This Intensive allows students at the intermediate and advanced levels to read Greek together in an informal setting. Readings will vary as will the amount of time spent on grammar review, which wil depend on the need of those enrolled. Rachel Friedman.
This course should be elected by students before electing any advanced Greek course in the department.
Students enrolled in GRST 226 have an extra hour of grammar review and students enrolled in GRST 321 have longer Greek assignments.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: INT -
GRST 326 - Readings in Greek Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Students read from prose and verse in Greek in order to advance their reading skills and study a particular topic in Greek literature or history. Readings in Greek are supplemented with secondary readings in English. Barbara Olsen.
Prerequisite(s): GRST 125 -126 or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: INT -
GRST 360 - a or b Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
1 unit(s)
One semester senior thesis. Seniors only
Course Format: INT -
GRST 361 - Thesis Preparation Seminar Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 unit(s)
Seminar required of all Greek and Roman Studies majors in the Fall semester of their senior year to prepare to complete a senior project or thesis in the Spring. Topics include: defining a research question and/or topic; identifying and working with appropriate source materials; finding and evaluating existing scholarship related to the topic; organizing my information; and considering appropriate methodology. After this course students should be ready to write a directed senior thesis or project. Rachel Friedman.
Senior Greek and Roman Studies majors only.
Course Format: INT -
GRST 362 - Senior Thesis Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
Full Year Thesis (1/2 unit per semester). Seniors Only.
Course Format: INT -
GRST 363 - Senior Project Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 unit(s)
Extended writing or other project elected concurrently with a seminar in Greek and Roman Studies. Seniors only.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor of the concurrent seminar.
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GRST 399 - Senior Independent Study
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Course Format: OTH
Courses in Greek Language and Literature: I. Introductory
Courses in Greek Language and Literature
Courses numbered X20-X39 require appropriate reading ability in ancient Greek. -
GRST 125 - Elementary Greek Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Introduction to the language. In order to fulfill the language requirement, students must also take GRST 126 . Rachel Friedman.
Open to all classes. No previous Greek is required.
Four 50-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 126 - Elementary Greek
1 unit(s)
Introduction to the language. In order to fulfill the language requirement, students must also take GRST 125 .
Open to all classes.
Four 50-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 127 - Intensive Elementary Greek Semester Offered: Spring
2 unit(s)
An intensive introduction to the fundamentals of classical Greek grammar and syntax. Students with no background in ancient Greek learn to read Homer, Plato, Greek tragedy, Herodotus, and other classical texts after one semester’s intensive work. This course is the equivalent of GRST 125 - 126 and fulfills the language requirement by itself. Rachel Friedman.
Four 50-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
Courses in Greek Language and Literature: II. Intermediate
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GRST 224 - Reading Greek
0.5 unit(s)
Students are introduced to the reading of continuous and unadapted Greek prose while paying particular attention to the review and consolidation of the fundamentals of Greek grammar and syntax.
Prerequisite(s): GRST 127 or permission of instructor
First six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: INT -
GRST 225 - Intermediate Greek
1 unit(s)
Authors may include Sophokles, Euripides, Xenophon, Lysias, and Plato. In addition to consolidating knowledge of grammar, the selection of passages brings into focus important aspects of Athenian culture.
Prerequisite(s): GRST 125 -GRST 126 or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
Courses in Greek Language and Literature: III. Advanced
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GRST 322 - Greek Tragedy
1 unit(s)
A reading of a play by Sophokles or Euripides. Careful study of the text helps us to understand the playwright’s style. We also consider how the play examines and responds to the historical, social and political conditions of Athens in the fifth century BCE.
Prerequisite(s): Two units in 200-level courses in the language or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 323 - Homer
1 unit(s)
Extensive selections from the Iliad, the Odyssey, and/or Homeric Hymns with attention given to oral theory, thematic structure, and social issues raised by the poems.
Prerequisite(s): Two units in 200-level courses in the language or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 324 - Reading Greek, Homer Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 unit(s)
Readings in Greek from Homer’s Odyssey. Rachel Friedman.
Prerequisite(s): GRST 224 or permission of the instructor.
Second six-week course.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: INT
Courses in Latin Language and Literature: I. Introductory
Courses in Latin Language and Literature
Courses numbered X40-X59 require appropriate reading ability in Latin. -
GRST 145 - Elementary Latin Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Introduction to the language. Carolyn Tobin.
Open to all classes. No previous Latin is required.
Yearlong course 145-GRST 146 .
Four 50-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 146 - Elementary Latin Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Introduction to the language. Carolyn Tobin.
Open to all classes.
Yearlong course GRST 145 -146.
Four 50-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
Courses in Latin Language and Literature: II. Intermediate
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GRST 245 - Intermediate Latin I Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Selected readings from authors such as Plautus, Cicero, Catullus, Caesar, Sallust, and Virgil. The selection of readings is designed to consolidate knowledge of grammar, provide an introduction to the translation of continuous, unadapted Latin, and highlight interesting features of Roman culture in the last two centuries of the Republic. Margaret Elsner.
Prerequisite(s): GRST 145 -GRST 146 or permission of the instructor or chair.
Three 50-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 246 - Intermediate Latin II Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Authors may include Horace, Livy, Ovid, Seneca, Petronius, Suetonius, and Virgil. Readings are selected to illustrate the diversity of literary forms that flourished in the early Empire and the interaction of literature with society, politics, and private life. Carolyn Tobin.
Prerequisite(s): GRST 245 or permission of the instructor.
Three 50-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
Courses in Latin Language and Literature: III. Advanced
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GRST 341 - Topics in Latin Literature Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Topic for 2020/21b: Metamorphoses in Ovid and Apuleius: This course uses the theme of transformation—cosmic and individual, permanent and liminal—to explore transitional moments in Roman history and culture in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. We begin by reading Book 1 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a work which explores the beauty and horror of creation, before transitioning to selections from Apuleius’ Metamorphoses (or Golden Ass), the only complete surviving novel from antiquity which sees its protagonist transform from human to beast and back again. Deeply interested in the social life and upheavals of the Roman Empire, both Ovid and Apuleius use transformation as a way to explore issues of identity, bodily integrity, power, religion, and narrative. Additional readings from antiquity (in translation) and the classical tradition may be assigned to enhance class discussions and assignments. Margaret Elsner.
Prerequisite(s): GRST 246 or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 342 - Virgil Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Selections from the Eclogues, Georgics, or Aeneid. Subjects of study include the artistry of the Virgilian hexameter, the relationship of Virgil’s works to their Greek models, and general topics such as his conception of destiny, religion, and the human relation to nature. Carolyn Tobin.
Prerequisite(s): GRST 246 or permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
GRST 343 - Tacitus
1 unit(s)
Close readings from the works of the imperial historian and ethnographer Tacitus. In connection with further developing students’ reading skills, the class focuses on particular literary, cultural, or historical issues.
Prerequisite(s): GRST 246 or permission of the instructor.
Not offered in 2020/21.
Course Format: CLS
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