CLAS 295 - Topics in Classical Civilization

Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.
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.

Winter 2017, CLAS 295A-01: Survey of Roman History (3). This course provides a survey of Roman history from the founding of the city to the fall of the Western Empire. We discuss the major political, military, and social developments of a civilization that has fundamentally shaped our own culture. Students learn about Rome’s major political and military players, get an idea of what it was like to live in the Roman Empire, read foundational Roman authors, and explore the empire’s most significant moments. Throughout the course, we critically assess the sources of our knowledge about Roman history. HU

Spring 2017, CLAS 295-01: Nature and the Environment in Antiquity (4). How did people in the ancient world conceive of nature from a philosophical, religious, and scientific standpoint? What attitudes did they hold towards animals and other forms of life? How did they shape the world around them through practices such as agriculture, mining, water management, and deforestation? Did they share our modem concerns about the use and conservation of natural spaces? Students in this course investigate these questions using literature, art, and artifacts from the ancient Mediterranean world (primarily Greece and Rome but also Egypt, the Near East, and Britain) as well as works by contemporary scholars of ecocriticism and environmental thought (e.g., William Cronon and Wendell Berry). Readings are in English, with the opportunity to read portions of some texts in Greek or Latin if desired by students with prior knowledge of these languages. (HU). Hagen.

Fall 2016, CLAS 295A-01: Survey of Roman History (3). This course provides a survey of Roman history from the founding of the city to the fall of the Western Empire. We discuss the major political, military, and social developments of a civilization that has fundamentally shaped our own culture. Students learn about Rome’s major political and military players, get an idea of what it was like to live in the Roman Empire, read foundational Roman authors, and explore the empire’s most significant moments. Throughout the course, we critically assess the sources of our knowledge about Roman history. HU