2019-2020 University Catalog

Apr 19, 2024

2019-2020 University Catalog archived

Classics (CLAS)

Classics (CLAS), Greek (GR), Latin (LATN)

HONORS: An Honors Program in classics is offered for qualified students. See department head for details, or consult the departmental website.

Department Head: Rebecca Benefiel

Faculty

First date is the year in which the faculty member began service as regular faculty at the University. Second date is the year of appointment to the present rank.

Rebecca R. Benefiel, Ph.D.—(2005)-2018
Professor of Classics
Ph.D., Harvard University

Kevin M. Crotty, J.D., Ph.D.—(1999)-2004
J. Donald Childress Professor of Classics and Professor of Law
Ph.D., Yale University

Caleb M. Dance, Ph.D.—(2014)-2014
Assistant Professor of Classics
Ph.D., Columbia University

Michael Harold Laughy Jr., Ph.D.—(2012)-2018
Associate Professor of Classics
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley

Degrees/Majors/Minors

Major

• Classics major leading to BA degree

Minor

• Classics minor

Courses

CLAS 111 - Roman History

(HIST 111) FDR: HU
Credits: 3

The course covers a long chronological span, from the period of the city’s prehistoric foundations to the final years of the western Empire in the fifth century CE. The aim of the course is not only to treat the major political and social events of Roman history according to the annalistic tradition, but also to give special attention to various cultural norms and practices, the structure of Roman society and its institutions, and the interactions between different social groups in each period. Central to our study of these themes will be a consideration of the wide range of primary evidence available to ancient historians and an understanding of the methodological problems encountered in reconstructing the history of any society. Easton.

CLAS 180 - FS: First-Year Seminar

Credits: 3

First-Year seminar. Prerequisite: First-Year standing. Topic and FDR varies by term.

CLAS 200 - Greek Art & Archaeology

(ARTH 200) FDR: HA
Credits: 3

An introduction to ancient Greek art and archaeology. We encounter some of the greatest works of art in human history, as we survey the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and town planning of the ancient Greeks. We encounter the history of the people behind the objects that they left behind, from the material remains of the Bronze Age palaces and Classical Athenian Acropolis to the world created in the wake of Alexander the Great’s conquests. We also consider how we experience the ancient Greek world today through archaeological practice, cultural heritage, and the antiquities trade. Laughy.

CLAS 201 - Classical Mythology

FDR: HL
Credits: 3 in fall, winter; 4 in spring

An introduction to the study of Greek mythology, with an emphasis on the primary sources. The myths are presented in their historical, religious, and political contexts. The course also includes an introduction to several major theories of myth, and uses comparative materials drawn from contemporary society and media. Crotty.

CLAS 203 - Greek Literature from Homer to the Early Hellenistic Period

(LIT 203) FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: Completion of FW requirement. Readings in translation from Homer, Hesiod, the tragedians, the comedians, and the lyric and pastoral poets, including selections from Herodotus and Thucydides, and from Plato’s and Aristotle’s reflections on literature. The course includes readings from modern critical writings. We read some of the most famous stories of the Western world–from the Iliad and the Odyssey, to Milton’s Paradise Lost and Joyce’s Ulysses, via Virgil’s Aeneid and Lucan’s Civil War. All of these works are epic narratives, each presenting a different concept of the hero, and yet, at the same time, participating in a coherent, on-going and unfinished tradition. We consider such questions as the role of violence in literature; the concept of the heroic as it reflects evolving ideas of the individual and society; and the idea of a literary tradition. Crotty.

CLAS 204 - Augustan Era

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

An interdisciplinary course taught in English, using the tools of literature, history and art to examine a specific, complicated, and pivotally important period in the evolution of western culture, focused on the literary. Readings from the poets predominate (Virgil’s Aeneid and Ovid’s Metamorphosis, selections from Horace, Propertius, Tibullus and other poems of Ovid) and also including readings from ancient historians dealing with Augustus and the major events of his period (e.g., Suetonius, Plutarch, and Tacitus on such topics as Actium and problems of succession). The topic for each lecture is illustrated with slides of works of art and architecture from the period. Selections from historians and from material remains are chosen according to intersection points with the literature. Carlisle.

CLAS 205 - Reading Rome: A Survey of Latin Literature

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

The course offers a survey of influential works composed in Latin between the 3rd century BCE and the 2nd century CE. Alongside poems, histories, and philosophical writings that were originally conceived of as literary projects, we also examine plays, military chronicles, speeches, and letters, all of which come down to the present as “literature” but may not have been created as such. The boundaries of “literature” is an ongoing topic of inquiry throughout the term. Students explore the literary traditions represented in the readings and consider their impact on other traditions, with the bulk of class sessions spent discussing the significance of the literary works and improving our knowledge of the contexts–historical and literary–in which they were composed. Dance.

CLAS 210 - Sex, Gender and Power in Ancient Literature

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Open to all students without prerequisite. An examination of literature in various genres (poetry, philosophy, drama, and history) in an attempt to understand the diverse ways in which Greeks and Romans conceived of gender identity, gender expression, and sexuality. We also interrogate the power dynamics that underpinned these conceptions. Readings include primary sources from antiquity (e.g., Homer, Euripides, Plato, Plautus, Livy, Ovid) as well as secondary sources that explore sex, gender, and power in both ancient and modern contexts. The course examines several influential works composed in Greek and Latin between the 8th century BCE and the 1st century CE. Alongside poems and philosophical writings that were originally conceived of as literary projects, we also examine plays, historical works, and even some inscriptions, all of which come down to the present as “literature”, although many may not have been conceived as such. The boundaries of “literature” is an ongoing topic of inquiry throughout the term. Dance.

CLAS 214 - The Athenian Acropolis

FDR: HA
Credits: 3

In this course. we study the art and architecture of the Acropolis, from the Neolithic period to today. with a particular focus on the Archaic and Classical periods. Our study is based upon a detailed and chronology survey of the buildings. dedications, and religious practices conducted on the Acropolis. We conclude the course with a discussion of the Acropolis in the post-Classical period, and the meaning of the Acropolis for Greeks today. Laughy.

CLAS 215 - Ancient Drama and Its Influence

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

In this course we study ancient tragedy and comedy, both Greek and Roman, and look, too, at the cultural forces shaping ancient drama and some of the influence on later drama and thought. In addition to later plays that hail from ancient drama, we consider some philosophical interpretations of the significance of drama, and, in particular, tragedy. Crotty.

CLAS 221 - Plato

(PHIL 221) FDR: HU
Credits: 3

An in-depth examination of the philosophy of Plato. We look at Plato’s epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, ethics, and political philosophy through a careful analysis of several dialogues, including some or all of the following: Euthyphro, Laches, Apology, Gorgias, Meno, Phaedo, Symposium, Phaedrus, and Republic. In addition, we consider certain challenges posed by Plato’s use of the dialogue form, such as whether we are justified in assuming that Socrates is a mouthpiece for Plato’s own views, and how we should interpret Plato’s frequent appeal to myths and other literary devices within his dialogues. Smith.

CLAS 223 - Ancient Greek Religion

(REL 223) FDR: HU
Credits: 3

In this course, we examine the strange and wonderful world of ancient Greek religion, beginning with stories of the gods that all Greeks knew: Homer and Hesiod. We then study religion on the ground, examining how religion functioned at a number of sanctuaries and shrines in Greece. Topics covered in this course include ancient conceptions of the cosmos; the nature of Greek deities and heroes; the distinction between myth and religion; the art and architecture of sanctuaries; ritual performances and festivals; ritual sacrifice; sacred games; oracles; the underworld; sacred mysteries; women and religion; and the socio-political role of Greek ritual practice. Laughy.

CLAS 224 - The World of Late Antiquity

FDR: HU
Credits: 3

This course introduces students to the historical period between the close of the ancient world and the rise of the Middle Ages ca. 250 to 650 AD). Students read primary sources and explore the historical evidence in order to investigate the reigning historical model of “Decline and Fall” inherited from Edward Gibbon and others, and study the development of Christianity and Judaism during this period. Finally, the course investigates the formation of Europe and the rise of Islam. Staff.

CLAS 225 - Ancient Greek History

FDR: HU
Credits: 3

This course is an introduction to ancient Greek history from the Bronze Age to Alexander the Great, with emphasis on the remarkable and often brutal world of the Archaic and Classical Greeks. During this time, warfare is a constant, but the legacy of the Greeks also contains radical experiments in egalitarian political life, philosophy, art, literature and science that emerge from their dynamic history. Most of our readings are from the ancient sources themselves, including Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Aristotle, and Plutarch. Apart from learning the history, therefore, we also ask such questions as how to interpret primary sources and how to resolve conflicts among them. Laughy.

CLAS 241 - Law, Litigation & Justice in the Ancient World

FDR: HU
Credits: 3

This course studies justice and law in the ancient world by looking at Greek and Roman philosophical texts about the nature of justice and law, and by considering actual legal cases from the ancient world. The course aims to show how litigation and theory mutually correct and inform one another, while also showing the inherent and continuing interest of ancient thought about law and justice. Students hear lectures, engage in in-class discussion, participate in an on-line discussion, moderated by the instructor, and write two research papers. Crotty.

CLAS 287 - Supervised Study Abroad: Athens

(HIST 287) FDR: HU
Credits: 4

Prerequisite: Permission of the department. Classics and history of Greece. A survey of the development of art, archaeology, history, and literature in ancient and modern Greece, with an emphasis on the relationship between past and present conceptions of Greek identity. Gildner, Laughy.

CLAS 288 - Supervised Study Abroad: Rome and Ancient Italy

FDR: HA
Credits: Not yet approved for new spring term.

Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Offered when interest is expressed and faculty resources permit. This course traces the growth of Rome and Roman civilization from its modest beginnings to its glory during the Republic and Empire. Lectures and readings prepare students for daily visits to sites, excavations, monuments and museums in Rome and its environs, and to locations in the Bay of Naples area. Benefiel.

CLAS 295 - Topics in Classical Civilization

Credits: 3 credits in Fall or Winter; 4 credits in Spring

Selected subject areas in classical civilization. The topic selected varies from year to year. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Fall 2019, CLAS 295A-01: The Roman Empire and Its Peoples (3). Meets requirements in the History major. The ranks of Roman society below the elite were occupied by numerous social groups which we might identify as marginal. Although often overlooked in our literary sources, the behaviors and experiences of ordinary men and women, slaves and ex-slaves, and freeborn foreigners from the provinces are essential for understanding the inner workings of Roman social hierarchies and the economy. This course examines how such groups made their way in the Roman world by operating within existing institutions or by forging new avenues for civic engagement and upward social mobility. In order to access their voices, we must look to their depictions in the world of Roman comedy and novels, the art and material culture they produced, and the most important body of evidence available to grasp the lives of ancient Romans, their personal inscriptions. (HU) Easton.

CLAS 326 - The Trojan War

FDR: HU
Credits: 3

The Trojan War ranks among the greatest tales ever told. But is the story real? In this course, we begin with the literary evidence, including the epics of Homer, as well as contemporary accounts from the Bronze Age Greeks, Hittites, and Egyptians. We then follow the archaeological evidence, from the palaces of mainland Greece to the presumed site of Troy itself. Our search leads not just to the truth that lies behind the destruction of Troy, but reveals a long-lost international community of world superpowers whose cities were nearly all destroyed at the same time that Troy fell, an international cataclysm on a scale never before seen in ancient history. Laughy.

CLAS 338 - Pompeii

FDR: SS4
Credits: 3 in fall-winter; 4 in spring

The site of ancient Pompeii presents a thriving Roman town of the first century AD, virtually frozen in time by the devastating eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. In this course, we examine Pompeii’s archaeological remains-public buildings, domestic architecture, painting, artifacts, inscriptions, and graffiti-in order to reconstruct the life of the town. We also consider religion, games and entertainment, politics, and the structure of Roman society. Benefiel.

CLAS 343 - The Roman Emperor

FDR: HU
Credits: 4

An exploration of the figure of the Roman Emperor in art, architecture, monuments, and the urban fabric of the ancient world. Analysis and assessment use innovative digital scholarly resources that are currently available to students and scholars of the classical world. Each week, a different discipline within Classics (e.g., history and historiography, epigraphy, numismatics) is presented, followed by hands-on assignments working with the scholarly tools that can be used to query or conduct research in that field. Group projects focus on a particular time period and evaluate how the figure of the Roman emperor, his public relations, Roman society, and the expression of political power shifted over the centuries of empire. Benefiel.

CLAS 401 - Directed Individual Study

Credits: 1

Prerequisite: Instructor consent. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

CLAS 402 - Directed Individual Study

Credits: 2

Prerequisite: Instructor consent. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

CLAS 403 - Directed Individual Study

Credits: 3

Prerequisite: Instructor consent. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

CLAS 423 - Directed Individual Research

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: Senior standing, major in classics, and instructor consent. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

CLAS 433 - Archaeological Fieldwork in Italy

Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Students should be in good physical condition. Undergraduates with an interest in archaeology, ancient history, classical studies, art history, and related subjects are invited to apply. Additional fee required. Applicants are chosen by the Classics Department on the basis of academic qualifications, references, and personal statements. Previous archaeological field experience is welcome but not required. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. Students work on-site at an archaeological excavation in Italy. Fieldwork includes excavation and/or analysis of at least one of the following: artifacts or material culture; architecture; epigraphy; pottery; urbanism; digital methods. Benefiel.

CLAS 434 - Archaeological Fieldwork in Greece

Experiential Learning (EXP): YES
Credits: 4

Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Students should be in good physical condition. Undergraduates with an interest in archaeology, ancient history, classical studies, art history, and related subjects are invited to apply. Additional fee required. Applicants are chosen by the Classics Department on the basis of academic qualifications, references, and personal statements. Previous archaeological field experience is welcome but not required. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. An experiential-learning course conducted during eight weeks in the summer from early June to early August. Students participate in an excavation in the Athenian Agora, the civic and commercial center of ancient Athens, and one of the most historic and fruitful archeological sites in the world. Laughy.

CLAS 473 - Senior Thesis

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: Senior standing, major in classics, and instructor consent. The student researches and writes a senior thesis under the direction of a faculty member.

CLAS 493 - Honors Thesis

Credits: 3-3

Prerequisites: Senior standing, honors candidacy in classics, and instructor consent. Honors Thesis.

GR 101 - Elementary Ancient Greek

Credits: 3

An introduction to the ancient Greeks through a study of their language and material culture. This course focuses upon the essentials of grammar and vocabulary of Classical and Koine (Biblical) Greek. Language lessons are complemented with an introduction to Classical archaeology, with a focus on ancient Athens. This course is a prerequisite to GR 102, which focuses upon the language and ancient history of the Greeks. Note: GR 202, taking in the second year of language study, satisfies the FL FDR. Laughy.

GR 102 - Elementary Ancient Greek

Credits: 3

Prerequisite: GR 101. A continuation of GR 101. Further work on grammar and vocabulary of Classical and Koine (Biblical) Greek. Language lessons are complemented with an introduction of ancient Greek history, with a focus upon the Persia, Athens, and Sparta. Laughy.

GR 201 - Intermediate Ancient Greek

Credits: 3

Prerequisite: GR 102 or instructor consent. Readings in Greek prose. Staff.

GR 202 - Homer

FDR: FL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: GR 201. An introduction to the language of Homer and to the Greek oral and written tradition; a reading of the Iliad or the Odyssey in Greek and in translation. Crotty.

GR 301 - Tragedy

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: GR 202 or equivalent, or instructor consent. A study of the Greek dramatists through close textual analysis; readings from ancient and modern theatrical writers and theories. Staff.

GR 302 - The Greek Philosophers

FDR: HU
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: GR 202 or instructor consent. Readings in Greek and English from the corpus of Greek philosophical works, including the pre-Socratic fragments, Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics and Epicureans. Staff.

GR 303 - Old and Middle Comedy

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: GR 202 or instructor consent. A study of the comic tradition in general and of Greek comedy in particular. Readings in Greek and English from Aristophanes and from the corpus of ancient and modern comic plays. Staff.

GR 306 - The Greek Historians

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: GR 202 or instructor consent. Herodotus and Thucydides through Greek texts and English translations; Greek historiography and its relationship to tragic, epic and philosophical literature. Staff.

GR 395 - Topics in Advanced Greek Literature

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: GR 202 or equivalent. Selected subject areas in Greek literature. The topic selected varies from year to year. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

GR 401 - Directed Individual Study

Credits: 1

May be repeated for degree credit with permission of the instructor and if the topics are different.

GR 402 - Directed Individual Study

Credits: 2

May be repeated for degree credit with permission of the instructor and if the topics are different.

GR 403 - Directed Individual Study

Credits: 3

May be repeated for degree credit with permission of the instructor and if the topics are different.

GR 423 - Directed Individual Research

Credits: 3

May be repeated for degree credit with permission of the instructor and if the topics are different.

LATN 101 - Elementary Latin

Credits: 3

An introduction to Latin language and Roman culture. Students will learn about the structure of language, and will focus on the acquisition of Latin vocabulary and grammar. Benefiel.

LATN 102 - Elementary Latin

Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 101. A continuation of the materials and methods in LATN 101 with emphasis on syntax. Staff.

LATN 200 - Practicum: Latin in the Schools

Experiential Learning (EXP): YES
Credits: 1

Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. Prerequisite: LATN 201 and instructor consent. A service-learning course in which W&L students design a curriculum and teach beginning Latin in the local elementary school. Benefiel.

LATN 201 - Intermediate Latin

Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 102 or equivalent. Reading selections from some or all of the following: Cato, Nepos, Cicero, Caesar, Sallust, and Varro. Emphasis on style and syntax, along with the political and social background of the later Republican period. Staff.

LATN 202 - Introduction to Latin Poetry

FDR: FL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 201 or equivalent. Introduction to the language, meter, and style of Latin verse with readings from Horace, Ovid, Virgil, and Propertius. Benefiel.

LATN 301 - Advanced Latin Readings

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 202 or equivalent. Selections from among Cicero, Sallust, Livy, Seneca, and Quintilian. Crotty.

LATN 310 - Letters of Cicero and Pliny

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 202 or instructor consent. This course examines different styles and purposes of letter writing in the Roman world, focusing on the historically revealing letters of Cicero and Pliny, but also including samples from the Epistles of Horace and Seneca, as well as a few “fictional” letters by Ovid. Benefiel.

LATN 320 - Literature in the Age of Nero

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 202 or instructor consent. This course provides an opportunity for advanced Latin students to understand a very complicated period by examining representative literature of the age. Readings include the Thyestes of Seneca, as well as selections from his Moral Epistles, selections from Lucan’s de Bello Civili , Petronius’ Satyricon and Tacitus’ Histories. Images of art and architecture of the period are shown, and lectures cover such topics necessary for understanding the literature as slavery, public entertainment, and patronage. Carlisle.

LATN 321 - Lyric Poetry: Horace and Catullus

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 202 or instructor consent. Lyric Poetry: Horace and Catullus Carlisle.

LATN 323 - History: Tacitus

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 202 or instructor consent. History: Tacitus Benefiel.

LATN 324 - Roman Historiography: Livy

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 202 or instructor consent. Readings from the Augustan historian Livy’s History of Rome. Carlisle.

LATN 325 - Virgil’s Aeneid

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 202 or instructor consent. Virgil’s Aeneid Carlisle.

LATN 326 - The Poetry of Ovid

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 202 or instructor consent. Readings from the masterpieces of Ovid’s poetry, including one or more of the following: The Metamorphoses (a grand mythological epic), The Fasti (festivals and the Roman calendar), The Heroides (fictional letters written by mythological heroines, Ars Amatoria and Amores (love poetry) and Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto (his poetry from exile). Topic varies by term but course may be taken only once. Benefiel or Carlisle.

LATN 328 - Roman Elegy

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

This course explores the diverse genre of Roman elegy through a close reading of extensive portions of the poetry of Propertius, Tibullus, Ovid, and other writers. Themes to be discussed include different ideas about love, women in elegiac poetry, and the relationship between the poet/lover and his wider social and political environment. The course also addresses the place of elegy in Greek and Roman poetic traditions. Dance.

LATN 331 - Early Roman Comedy and Literature

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 202 or instructor consent. This course explores the literature of early Rome, most importantly Roman comedy. Crotty.

LATN 332 - Latin Prose Composition

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: One 300-level LATN course or instructor consent. A consideration of several masters of prose style, including Cicero, Caesar, Sallust, Livy, Tacitus and Pliny, as well as extensive exercises in Latin prose composition. Carlisle.

LATN 350 - Latin Epigraphy

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 202 or instructor consent. Study of the monuments of the Roman Empire and the importance of text in Roman culture. From religious offerings to building dedications, from wax tablets to statue bases listing an individual’s career, inscriptions were a central part of Roman culture from the time of the emperor Augustus through the fourth century. Laws, catacombs, dedications to the emperor, and other topics provide a view into Roman culture and civilization. Benefiel.

LATN 395 - Topics in Advanced Latin Literature

FDR: HL
Credits: 3

Prerequisite: LATN 202 or instructor consent. Selected subject areas in Latin literature. The topic selected varies from year to year. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.