DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS
Professors: William S. Greenwalt, John R. Heath (Department Chair)
Associate Professors: Scott LaBarge, Helen E. Moritz
Assistant Professor: Michael McCarthy, S.J.
Senior Lecturer: John R. Dunlap
Classics in the broad sense is the study of all aspects of the life and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. The Department of Classics offers courses that explore the most important areas of these ancient civilizations and their Mediterranean context: language (ancient Greek and Latin), literature, history, philosophy, mythology, religion, and art.
Most courses in the department are open to any interested student. Classics courses, such as Mythology, Classical Tragedy, Ancient Greek Religion, and Women in Antiquity, require no knowledge of an ancient language. Latin or Greek may be taken to satisfy the secondary language requirement. Because of the multidisciplinary nature of the field, classics provides an ideal liberal arts curriculum that is an excellent background for careers in many areas.
Majors and minors are available in several programs in the Department of Classics: ancient studies, classical studies, and classical languages and literatures (Latin or Greek). There is a major, but no minor, in Latin and Greek. Because course offerings in any one term are limited, students wishing a classics major are encouraged to plan their curriculum in consultation with a faculty advisor at the earliest possible date.
Students may fulfill their foreign language Core Curriculum requirement by successfully completing a proficiency examination in Latin or Greek at the level required for their program of study. Contact the department chair to make arrangements.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJORS
In addition to fulfilling University Core Curriculum and College of Arts and Sciences requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree, students majoring in classics must complete the following departmental requirements for each degree option:
Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies
- CLAS 60
- CLAS 61 or ENGL 11
- CLAS 62 or HIST 11
- Two additional lower-division courses (one of which must be ARTH 11, PHIL 11, or MUSC/THTR 11) from ARTH 11; CLAS 65, 67, 68, 75; MUSC/THTR 11; PHIL 11; various courses in religious studies from an approved list
- Seven upper-division courses from perspectives that include language and literature; philosophy and religious studies; art history, music/theatre and dance; and history and political science; at least one course must be taken in each of three of the four disciplinary perspectives, and three courses must be taken within one of these perspectives): CLAS 141, 175, 181, 182, 184; ENGL 161; CLAS 112, 114, 119, 177; PHIL 131; various courses in religious studies (consult with department chair); ARTH 104, 106, 110; CLAS 181, 182; CLAS 108, 109, 110, 111, 176, 183, 185, 186, 187; HIST 107, 112; POLI 111
- CLAS 198A and CLAS 198B
Bachelor of Arts in Classical Languages and Literatures
Major in Latin or Greek
- Nine upper-division courses in the language of concentration and a capstone project (CLAS 198A and CLAS 198B)
Major in Latin and Greek
- Nine upper-division courses in the ancient languages, with at least six of these in a single language, and a capstone project (CLAS 198A and CLAS 198B)
Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies
- Five courses in Latin or Greek, which may include the elementary sequence. Students entering with prior study of Latin or Greek may substitute up to two courses in classical literature with advance approval of the department chair.
- CLAS 65
- CLAS 61/ENGL 11
- CLAS 62/HIST 11
- One course from: CLAS 60, 67, 68, 75, PHIL 11, ARTH 11
- One course from: CLAS 141, 175, 181, 182, 184
- One course from the CLAS 120-, 130-, 150-, and 160-series
- Two courses from CLAS 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114, 119, 176, 183
- One course from CLAS 177, 178, 185, 186, 187; POLI 111; ARTH 104, 106, 110; PHIL 131
- CLAS 198A and CLAS 198B
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINORS
Students must fulfill the following requirements for a minor in each degree option:
Minor in Ancient Studies
- CLAS 60
- CLAS 62 or HIST 11
- Any one additional approved lower-division course of the student’s choice
- Four approved upper-division courses of the student’s choice, with at least two coming from different perspectives, which include language and literature; philosophy and religious studies; art history, music/theatre and dance; and history and political science
Minor in Classical Languages and Literatures
- Completion of 20 upper-division units in either Latin or Greek
Minor in Classical Studies
- Fulfillment of the second language requirement for the Bachelor of Arts in Latin or Greek
- CLAS 61 or ENGL 11
- CLAS 62 or HIST 11 or one upper-division course in ancient history
- Two upper-division courses in classical literature, in the original or in translation
- One upper-division course in ancient literature, history, philosophy, or art
LOWER-DIVISION COURSES: LATIN
1. Elementary Latin I
Introduction to vocabulary, forms, and grammar of classical Latin. Development of the reading skills with supporting exercises in writing. No language laboratory. (4 units)
2. Elementary Latin II
Continuation of Latin I. (4 units)
3. Elementary Latin III
Completion of elementary Latin. (4 units)
UPPER-DIVISION COURSES: LATIN
101. Intermediate Latin
A course for students who have finished basic Latin grammar. Students will review Latin forms and syntax while reading prose and poetry of increasing complexity. Students will be prepared to enroll in Latin reading courses covering individual authors and genres. Offered in fall quarter only. (5 units)
121. Caesar
Representative selections from the Commentarii on the Gallic War and/or Bellum Civile. Consideration of the adaptation of history to political ends. (5 units)
122. Catullus
Lyric poems, short epigrams, and longer mythological poems by the late Republican poet of personal love and sophisticated society. (5 units)
123. Roman Comedy
One or more plays by Plautus or Terence. Origins and nature of Roman comedy. (5 units)
124. Ovid
Selections from the major works, which include love poems, Amores; a handbook for amatory success, Ars Amatoria; and the epic compendium of mythology, the Metamorphoses. (5 units)
125. Cicero: Philosophical Works
Consideration of Cicero’s eclectic philosophy through a careful reading of one or more of his philosophical dialogues. (5 units)
126. Cicero: Oratory and Rhetoric
One or more exemplars of Cicero’s rhetorical style or rhetorical theory. Consideration of rhetorical form, figures, and topoi. (5 units)
127. Vergil: Aeneid
The epic poem on the effort of founding Rome and the cost of its greatness. Consideration of the traditional and innovative features of Vergil’s epic style and purpose. Attention to epic meter. (5 units)
131. Vergil: Eclogues and Georgics
Vergil’s earlier works: pastoral poems set in an idealized landscape and the didactic poem on the agriculture and countryside of his native Italy. (5 units)
132. Horace
Selections from the odes and epodes. Attention to the adaptation of Greek lyric forms and rhythms to the Latin language. (5 units)
133. Livy
Selections from the Ab Urbe Condita—the history of Rome from its semimythical founding through monarchy, early Republic, and Punic Wars. (5 units)
134. Roman Satire
Representative selections from among the works of Horace, Juvenal, and others. Origins and development of the satiric mode in Latin literature. (5 units)
135. Medieval Latin
Major works of prose and poetry from the fourth century to the Renaissance. St. Augustine’s Confessions; the histories of Gregory of Tours, Bede, and Einhard; Latin fables; popular songs such as the Carmina Burana; and the humanistic writings of Dante and Petrarch. (5 units)
137. Special Topics: Poetry
Occasional courses in selected authors or genres for advanced students. Possible topics: Lucretius or elegy. (5 units)
138. Special Topics: Prose
Occasional courses in selected authors or genres for advanced students. Possible topics: Cicero’s letters, Tacitus, or other Roman historians. (5 units)
LOWER-DIVISION COURSES: GREEK
21. Elementary Greek I
Introduction to vocabulary, forms, and grammar of Attic Greek. Development of reading skills with supporting exercises in writing. No language laboratory. (4 units)
22. Elementary Greek II
Continuation of Greek I. (4 units)
23. Elementary Greek III
Completion of Greek grammar. Introduction to reading Greek literature. (4 units)
UPPER-DIVISION COURSES: GREEK
105. Advanced Greek
Selected aspects of Greek grammar in the context of reading excerpts from Greek prose and poetry. Prerequisite: CLAS 23 or equivalent. (5 units)
151. Lucian
Selections from the author’s satirical treatments of mythology, history, philosophy, and rhetoric and/or from the fantasy called A True Story. Lucian’s place in the Second Sophistic. (5 units)
152. Homer: Odyssey
Selected passages demonstrating the fusion of the heroic and the romantic in an epic of peacetime. Consideration of epic meter and conventions. (5 units)
153. Euripides
A complete tragic drama. Attention to characterization, dramatic structure, and poetry, and to Euripides’ place in the history of tragedy. Metrical reading of dialogue. (5 units)
154. Herodotus
Selections from the Persian Wars. Herodotus’ achievements and limitations as the “Father of History.” Peculiarities of the Ionic dialect. (5 units)
155. Plato
Careful reading from one or more dialogues such as Apology, Crito, Phaedo, and Republic. Detailed study of dialogue mode of discourse; overview of Plato’s philosophy. (5 units)
156. Greek New Testament
Readings selected from the Koine Greek text of the New Testament with a concentration on the gospels, John, or the epistles. Close reading of the text with a view to theological implications of the vocabulary. Introduction to primary research tools. (5 units)
161. Homer: Iliad
Selected passages illustrating the course and consequences of the wrath of Achilles and the nature of the hero. Consideration of epic meter and conventions. (5 units)
162. Sophocles
A complete tragic drama. Attention to characterization, dramatic structure, and poetry, and to the author’s particular contributions to the development of the tragic form. Metrical reading of the text. (5 units)
163. Aeschylus
A complete tragic drama. Attention to characterization, dramatic structure, and poetry, and to the author’s particular contributions to the development of the tragic form. Metrical reading of the text. (5 units)
164. Oratory
Selections from a representative Greek orator such as Demosthenes or Lysias. Consideration of classical rhetorical forms and topoi. (5 units)
165. Lyric Poetry
Fragments of Alcaeus, Archilochus, Sappho, Simonides, and others. Development of elegiac, iambic, and melic forms. (5 units)
167. Special Topics: Poetry
Occasional courses in selected authors or genres for advanced students. Possible topics: Hesiod or Pindar. (5 units)
168. Special Topics: Prose
Occasional courses in selected authors or genres for advanced students. Possible topics: Thucydides or Xenophon. (5 units)
LOWER-DIVISION COURSES: CLASSICS
60. Introduction to Ancient Studies
An exploration of the nature of political and religious authority; that is, the relationship between the individual, the state, and the divine—in three different ancient civilizations. The primary “texts” for this investigation are the representative monuments of each culture: the pyramids of Egypt (particularly the Old Kingdom), the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem in the united monarchy, and the Parthenon of 5th-century Athens. (4 units)
61. Survey of Classical Literature
Also listed as ENGL 11. For course description see ENGL 11. (4 units)
62. Western Civilization: Ancient
Also listed as HIST 11. For course description see HIST 11. (4 units)
65. Classical Mythology
Principal gods and heroes of Greek and Roman antiquity: their stories, significance, and pictorial representations. Implications of myth in society and possible origins of myth. Important background for European and English literature. (4 units)
67. Ancient Greek Religion
Consideration of the differing attitudes and expectations of polytheisms and monotheisms, and of religious expression in the context of classical Greek cult and ritual. Readings are drawn from a wide variety of literary, historical, philosophical, and epigraphical texts. Also listed as HIST 16. (4 units)
68. Ancient Roman Religion
Examination of religious practices, institutions, and beliefs of the ancient Romans. Special consideration of interconnections in Roman religiosity between the acts/beliefs of individuals and the concerns of the state. Concludes with philosophic mysticism, magic, mystery religions, and Christianity. Also listed as HIST 17. (4 units)
75. Classics in Cinema
A survey of the classical world through selected dramatic films illustrating sequentially the cultural and political history of ancient Greece and Rome. Close viewings of popular films, with comparative reference to sources and practice in the techniques of film criticism. (4 units)
UPPER-DIVISION COURSES: CLASSICS
108. Ancient Greece
A survey of Hellenic history from the Bronze Age to Alexander the Great. Emphasis on the rise and fall of the polis as an independent social, cultural, and political community. Also listed as HIST 108. (5 units)
109. The Hellenistic Age
A cultural, social, and political review of Alexander the Great’s conquests and their Hellenistic ramifications through the reign of Egypt’s Cleopatra VII. Also listed as HIST 109. (5 units)
110. Roman Republic
A political, military, social, and cultural review of the rise and fall of the most successful state the West has ever known. Also listed as HIST 110. (5 units)
111. Roman Empire
A political, social, and cultural survey of the Roman Empire beginning with Augustus and tracing changes in Rome from the development of the Roman Empire as a world state to the development of Christianity as a world religion. Also listed as HIST 111. (5 units)
112. World of Augustine
In his life and writings, St. Augustine marks the point of transition from the ancient to the medieval world. Augustine’s personal odyssey, culminating in his conversion to Christianity, in The Confessions; in the City of God and excerpts from other treatises, examination of the three principal controversies to which Augustine directed his intellectual energy: the Manichaean, the Donatist, and the Pelagian. Also includes an overview of late antiquity: major figures, key movements, and decisive events amid the dissolution of the Western empire. (5 units)
114. Imperialism and Religion: Roman Britain
Focus on Roman Britain in order to illustrate how imperialistic powers manipulate the religions of the peoples who come under their sway both to foster pacification in newly won territories and to redirect the political loyalties of new subjects. Course compares and contrasts the religious traditions of the Romans and the Celts and notes how religious policy in Britain was not historically unique; cross-cultural comparisons will be made using more modern comparisons and contrasts. Also listed as HIST 114. (5 units)
119. History of Early Christianity
Exploration of how and why the church evolved from a marginal Jewish apocalyptic sect in the tumultuous world of 1st-century Judaea to become the official religion of the previously pagan Roman Empire. Development of a greater appreciation for the rich tapestry of religious, social, and political events during the Roman Empire that contributed to the rise of Christianity. Also listed as HIST 128. (5 units)
141. Love and Relationships in Classical Antiquity
An examination of the many forms of loving and erotic relationships as they pertained to the Greek and Roman quest for the best human life. Readings in Euripides, Sappho, Ovid, Plato, Aristotle, and many others from genres of poetry, essays, letters, tragedy, and philosophy. (5 units)
146. Age of Socrates
A study of Socrates as both historical and literary figure, with special attention to his political and cultural context, and to our three chief sources on him and his philosophical activities: Aristophanes, Plato, and Xenophon. (5 units)
175. Topics in Classical Literature
Occasional courses or seminars in specialized topics. Consult current course descriptions for details.
176. Topics in Ancient History
Occasional courses or seminars in specialized topics. Consult current course descriptions for details.
177. Topics in Ancient Philosophy
Occasional courses or seminars in specialized topics. Consult current course descriptions for details.
178. Topics in Classical Culture
Occasional courses or seminars in specialized topics. Consult current course descriptions for details.
180. Classical Epic
The Iliad and Odyssey, Argonautica, and Aeneid in translation. Characteristics and historical development of epic genre and epic hero. (5 units)
181. Classical Tragedy
Representative works of the principal Greek tragic playwrights: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Features of the tragic genre, its origins, and the conventions of its performance. At the discretion of the instructor, may include satyr drama and/or the Roman tragedy of Seneca. Also listed as ENGL 110 and THTR 181. (5 units) NCX
182. Classical Comedy
An exploration of various styles of and approaches to humor in the ancient Greek and Roman world, chiefly as seen through the genres of satyr drama, Greek Old and New comedy, and Roman comedy. At the discretion of the instructor, may include satire, spoof literature, and invective. Also listed as ENGL 111 and THTR 182. (5 units) NCX
183. Greek and Roman Historiography
A survey of the origin and development of historical prose from Herodotus through Ammianus Marcellinus. Consideration of history as an artistic genre; special attention to the authors’ various political and ideological purposes. (5 units)
184. Classical Mythology in the Western Tradition
An exploration of some of the ways authors from the classical period through the 20th century have manipulated Greek myths for their own poetic and political purposes. Focus is on the legends surrounding the fall of Troy, with particular attention paid to the shifting character of perhaps the two most protean figures in Greek mythology, Odysseus and Helen. Texts include selections from Homer’s Iliad, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Dante’s Inferno, and unexcerpted works by Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Gorgias and Isocrates, Ovid, Seneca, Dictys and Dares, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Giraudoux, modern Greek poets, and the Coen brothers. Also listed as ENGL 187. (5 units)
185. Women in Ancient Greece
Investigation into the representation and the reality of women’s lives in ancient Greece, from mythistoric times through the Hellenistic period, from the evidence of literature, history, philosophy, and religions, from legal and documentary texts, and from art. Significance of the status of and views about women in the ancient contexts and for modern times. Also listed as ENGL 186A. (5 units)
186. Women in Ancient Rome
Investigation into the representation and the reality of women’s lives in ancient Rome, from mythistoric times of the founding of Rome to the advent of Christianity, from the evidence of literature, history, philosophy, and religion, from legal and documentary texts, and from art. Significance of the status of and views about women in the ancient contexts and for modern times. Also listed as ENGL 186B. (5 units)
187. Family in Antiquity
A survey of family social, economic, political, and religious roles in various ancient Greek states and in Republican and Imperial Rome. Also listed as HIST 113. (5 units)
198A. Senior Thesis I
Identification of a coherent topic, development of a detailed outline, and preparation of an annotated bibliography, conducted under the active direction of a member of the Classics faculty. Prerequisites: for senior classics majors only; advance permission of instructor and department chair required. (3 units)
198B. Senior Thesis II
Supervised completion of the final draft, public oral presentation, and defense of the senior thesis. Prerequisites: CLAS 198A; for senior classics majors only; advance permission of instructor and department chair required. (3 units)
199. Directed Reading/Research
Individually designed programs of reading or research, in Latin, Greek, or classics (i.e., literature in translation or culture). Available to advanced students. Written permission of the instructor and department chair required in advance of registration. (5 units)
