Courses
Greek
GRK 101 Elementary Ancient Greek I
The objective of the course, the first half of a yearlong sequence, is to begin a study of ancient Greek as a foundation for upper-level reading courses. It covers the basics of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary building. Students learn to read Greek sentences and passages and to translate from English into Greek. During the early stage much learning by rote of forms and rules is necessary, but students find that Greek is a structured and beautiful language, and the pleasure of reading “in the original” is inestimable.
GRK 102 Elementary Ancient Greek II
A continuation of GRK 101, and designed to be taken in the same academic year, this course develops the understanding of Greek syntax. By the end of the year students are competent to read extended passages of classical Greek. Prerequisite(s): GRK 101.
GRK 201 Greeks and “Barbarians”: Racing the Other
The Greeks were united by their belief that they were unique and distinct from their Mediterranean neighbors. We study how the Greeks defined themselves in relationship to those they encountered, respected, and fought against such as the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, Scythians, and Persians. Readings may include Herodotus’ Histories, Aeschylus’ Persians and Suppliants, the Alexiad of Anna Comnena, etc. Prerequisite: Students should have a working knowledge of ancient Greek and should select either the intermediate 201 or advanced 301, depending on their skills.
GRK 202 Homer’s Poetry, Then and Now
We read selections from Homer’s Odyssey or Iliad, and ancient receptions such as Plato’s Ion, the Battle of the Mice and Frogs, Plutarch’s Gryllus. We conclude by considering one contemporary reception such as David Malouf’s Ransom, Pat Barker’s Silence of the Girls or Madeline Miller’s Circe. Prerequisite: Students should have a working knowledge of ancient Greek and should select either the intermediate 202 or advanced 302, depending on their skills.
GRK 203 Violence, Gender, and the Social Contract in Ancient Greece
We explore the causes and consequences of violence among men and male gods, between men and women, and between parents and children. Readings may include Hesiod’s Theogony, Homeric Hymns, Attic orations, Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, Euripides’ Heracles Raging, or his Medea, etc. Prerequisite: Students should have a working knowledge of ancient Greek and should select either the intermediate 203 or advanced 303, depending on their skills.
GRK 204 Love and Sexuality in Ancient Greece
The Greeks celebrated and were wary of the power of love and sexuality. We study how they represented relationships between men and women, solely among men, and solely among women. Readings may include authors such as Sappho and the other lyric poets, Euripides’ Hippolytus, Plato’s Symposium, Lysias’ On the Murder of Eratosthenes, Longus’ Daphne and Chloe etc. Prerequisite: Students should have a working knowledge of ancient Greek and should select either the intermediate 204 or advanced 304, depending on their skills.
GRK 301 Ancient Greeks and Barbarians: Racing the Other
This course covers the same material as GRK 201 but is designed for students who have completed two or more years of college-level Greek. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.
GRK 302 Homer’s Poetry, Then and Now
This course covers the same material as GRK 202 but is designed for students who have completed two or more years of college-level Greek. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.
GRK 303 Violence, Gender, and the Social Contract in Ancient Greece
This course covers the same material as GRK 203 but is designed for students who have completed two or more years of college-level Greek. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.
GRK 304 Love and Sexuality in Ancient Greece
This course covers the same material as GRK 204 but is designed for students who have completed two or more years of college-level Greek. May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.
GRK 360 Independent Study
Latin
LATN 101 Elementary Latin I
A humanistic introduction to classical Latin vocabulary, forms, and syntax, with special emphasis on reading the actual words of ancient authors. Relations to English grammar and etymology are stressed. The course concentrates on Latin-English translation, with some English-Latin composition. Latin 101 is not open to students with two or more years of Latin in secondary school.
LATN 201 Constructing Gender and Imperialism in Rome
Imperial power in the Roman Empire, and after, was rooted in patriarchy and worked by defining and perpetuating acceptable identities for men and women. With an emphasis on the treatment of women and the operation of power, we study how gender was imagined and constructed in readings such as Vergil’s Aeneid, Livy’s Histories, the so-called Laudatio Turiae, Roman love poetry, the Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, and the Anthologia Latina. Prerequisite: Students should have a working knowledge of Latin and should select either the intermediate 201 or advanced 301, depending on their skills.
LATN 202 Everyday Life in the Roman and Medieval Worlds
While the traditional Latin literary canon centers on elite perspectives and literary genres, many texts were dedicated to everyday concerns. By reading Roman and post-Roman sources critically we construct an image of the everyday lives of people across a range of social classes in the ancient and medieval worlds. Readings may include texts by authors such as Cicero, Columella, Pliny the Younger and Elder, alongside funerary inscriptions, tenancy agreements, and legal texts. Prerequisite: Students should have a working knowledge of Latin and should select either the intermediate 202 or advanced 203, depending on their skills.
LATN 203 Humor, Satire, and Power
In the past as in the present, humor is a powerful tool. We study how Latin authors used humor to celebrate, uphold, criticize, and/or undermine the social order. Readings may include authors such as Plautus, Terence, Seneca, Suetonius, Petronius, Juvenal, Luxorius, Hrotswitha, and Walter Map. Prerequisite: Students should have a working knowledge of Latin and should select either intermediate 203 or advanced 303, depending on their skills.
LATN 204 Narrating the Past in Latin Literature
Stories about origins—of the universe, of communities, of heroic deeds or personal journeys—narrate the past to justify and explain the present and control the future. We study how Roman and post-Roman authors narrated the past to both make sense of and shape their world. Readings may include texts such as Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura, Suetonius’ Lives of the Caesars, Apuleius’ Golden Ass, Jordanes’ History of the Goths, or Braulio of Zaragoza’s Life of Aemilian. Prerequisite: Students should have a working knowledge of Latin and should select either intermediate 204 or advanced 304, depending on their skills.
LATN 301 Constructing Gender and Imperialism in Rome
This course covers the same material as LATN 201 but is designed for students who have completed two or more years of college-level Latin. May be repeated with permission of the instructor.
LATN 302 Everyday Life in the Roman and Medieval Worlds
This course covers the same material as LATN 202 but is designed for students who have completed two or more years of college-level Latin. May be repeated with permission of the instructor.
LATN 303 Humor, Satire, and Power
This course covers the same material as LATN 203 but is designed for students who have completed two or more years of college-level Latin. May be repeated with permission of the instructor.
LATN 304 Narrating the Past in Latin Literature
This course covers the same material as LATN 204 but is designed for students who have completed two or more years of college-level Latin. May be repeated with permission of the instructor.
LATN 360 Independent Study
LATN 365 Special Topics
LATN S50 Independent Study
Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term.