Classics

Courses

CLAS/RELG106Introduction to New TestamentThis course explores the writings of the New Testament, their relationship to the history and culture in which they were produced, and their relevance to more recent issues in modern religious discourse. We will cover a range of topics, including the historical perspective on who Jesus was, the impact of Paul on Christianity, the formation of the canon, political religion in the Roman empire, ethics, and gender. We will apply several modern approaches as well as survey at various points the "afterlife" of the Christian scriptural traditions in Christianity. No prior knowledge of or experience with the subject is assumed or required.

CLAS/PHIL205Ancient PhilosophyA study of ancient views on nature, knowledge, soul, the self, morality, and the good life. This is a history of philosophy course rather than a history course; we will be studying the ideas, arguments, and theories put forth by ancient philosophers, rather than biographical, cultural, anthropological, or historical issues about them or their time period. We will largely be trying to understand what these thinkers were trying to say, and why they thought what they did. In addition, we will be discussing the merits of the various positions and reasons offered. Readings will focus on selections from Plato and Aristotle, but will also include readings from the pre-Socratic and Hellenistic philosophers, all major sources of the Western philosophical tradition. Recommended for classics students. . (This is a designated Greek literature or culture course in Classics.)

CLAS/ARTX208Introduction to Greek Art and ArchaeologyThis introduction to the multidisciplinary field of Greek archaeology examines the art and architecture of the Greek world from a contextual perspective. The course traces Greek material culture from Bronze Age origins through Hellenistic transformations. (This is a designated Greek literature or culture course in Classics.)

CLAS/ARTX209Introduction to Roman Art and ArchaeologyThis introduction to the multidisciplinary field of Roman archaeology examines the art and architecture of the Roman world from a contextual perspective. The course traces Roman material culture from Iron Age and Etruscan origins through Early Christian transformations. (This is a designated Roman literature or culture course in Classics.)

CLAS210Classical MythologyA literary and art-historical survey of the major myths from ancient Greece and Rome; examination of how myths were viewed and used in antiquity and how they have been used in subsequent literature and culture; introduction to the most important schools of myth-interpretation. (This is a designated Greek and Roman literature or culture course in Classics.)

CLAS220Ancient Comedy and SatireSurvey of literary and dramatic works in English translation that reveal the nature and types of humor among the ancient Greeks and Romans. Readings include plays by Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus, and Terence; satires by Horace, Juvenal, and Lucian; and Petronius' Satyricon. (This is a designated Greek and Roman literature or culture course in Classics.)

CLAS/HIST224Archaeology of Death in the Greco-Roman WorldThis course examines the public and private funerary art, architecture, epigraphy and literature of the Greek and Roman world in their ancient social and religious contexts. It also considers the influence of these ancient practices on modern burial customs. This course presents the new technological and forensic advances in burial archaeology, such as DNA testing and non-invasive scanning techniques, that promise to extract more information than ever before from ancient remains. (This is a designated Greek and Roman literature or culture course in Classics.)

CLAS/HIST225Greek CivilizationFrom Homer to Alexander the Great with emphasis on arts and letters.

CLAS/HIST226Roman Civilization

CLAS/HIST227The Roman Army and the Frontiers of EmpireThis course considers the Roman army from the perspectives of both military and social history. After a chronological survey of the development of the Roman army, case studies of the army in action in specific frontier provinces will be considered. From Hadrian's Wall in Britain to the desert wastes of Egypt, ancient texts and archaeological evidence illuminate the army-driven process of "Romanization," through which former barbarian enemies became assimilated Roman citizens. (This is a designated Roman literature or culture course in Classics.)

CLAS/HIST229Multiculturalism in Greco-Roman EgyptThis course examines the dynamic cultural pluralism that thrived for almost a millennium after Egypt, with its deeply-rooted pharaonic heritage, was integrated into the Classical world, first as a Hellenistic Kingdom under the Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty and then as an imperial province in the Roman Empire. The monuments of Graeco-Roman Egypt are spread across a varied cultural landscape, from the cosmopolitan Mediterranean metropolis of Alexandria, through the agricultural towns of the Fayum oasis, to the Nile Valley cities of Middle and Upper Egypt, and the imperial mines and Red Sea ports of the Eastern Desert. Egyptians, Nubians, Jews, Greeks, and Romans coexisted in Graeco-Roman Egypt with cooperation and conflict to produce art and architecture as well as to practice cults and customs in which both pharaonic survivals and Classical responses can be traced. (This is a designated Greek and Roman literature or culture course in Classics.)

CLAS/HIST230Women in Classical AntiquityA literary, historical, and cultural survey of social structures and private life in ancient Greece and Rome. Issues covered include constructions of sexuality, cross-cultural standards of the beautiful, varieties of courtship and marriage, and contentions between pornography and erotica. Students will examine sources from medical, philosophic, lyric, tragic, comic, and rhetorical writers as well as representative works from vase painting, the plastic arts, graffiti, etc. (This is a designated Greek and Roman literature or culture course in Classics.)

CLAS240Homer and Greek TragedyReadings in translation from Homer's Iliad and selected tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; study includes the history and origins of tragedy, the influence of the Homeric heroic tradition, Greek dramaturgy, and the place of dramatic festivals in Greek life and thought. (This is a designated Greek literature or culture course in Classics.)

CLAS/RELG255Religion From Alexander to ConstantineThis course examines various forms of ancient religion and worship in the classical world. Topics included are concepts of divinity, varieties of religious space and practices, distinctions between civic and private worship, religious festivals and rituals, attitudes towards death and afterlife, importations of Near-Eastern and African religions, and political and philosophical appropriations of religion. Specifically, the course will focus on classical Greek and Roman religion, new religious movements, Judaism, and Christianity within classical culture. Students will become acquainted with a variety of texts, archaeological sites, and religious art and artifacts. (This is a designated Greek and Roman literature or culture course in Classics.)

CLAS/POLS257Justice and Political Community in AntiquityThis course examines political thought from the Greek period through the Italian Renaissance. We will pay particular attention to classical conceptions of human nature, justice, the ideal political order, and the obligations of citizens to their political communities. We will also form an appreciation for the Greek and Roman foundations of subsequent political systems. Thinkers covered include Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, St. Augustine, and Machiavelli.

CLAS/RELG261Judaism in AntiquityThis course examines the history and literature of Judaism from the Second Temple Period to the beginnings of Rabbinical Judaism (400 BCE - 400 CE). This course explores the diversity of ancient Judaism and explores themes of religious and cultural identity. We shall consider the political and religious implications for Jews living under the Persian, Greek, Roman, and Christian empires, while briefly ruling themselves in the Hasmonean period. We will read a series of primary sources in translation from ancient Jews and non-Jews, as well as modern scholarly treatments of these works.

CLAS270Vergil and the Age of AugustusExamination in English translation of the major literary products that characterize Rome's Augustan Age; some consideration of social, political, religious, and art historical trends of the era; special attention given to Vergil and the Aeneid. (This is a designated Roman literature or culture course in Classics.)

CLAS295Pirates, Prostitutes, and Politicians: Crime, Crimincals & Criminological Theory in Ancient Greece & RomeWhy do people commit crimes? Is it possible to detect criminal tendencies in an individual, and if so, how? How do theories about crime and criminals play a role in the detection and punishment of criminals, especially through the legal system? Greek and Roman responses to these questions provide a deeper understanding of ancient law and society, and provide the historical background for the modern science of criminology. The course will focus especially on the history of physiognomics, the pseudo-science of detecting inherent criminality by examining the body.

CLAS390Junior SeminarAn examination of current trends in the field of Classics, through the exploration of cross-cultural exchange in the ancient Mediterranean. Students will be introduced to various subspecialities within the field, but emphasis will be on writing, research skills and the development of the students' own research interests. This course will also prepare students for the writing of the SIP and for the essay portion of the comprehensive exam.Prerequisite: Junior standing and declared major in Classics, Greek, Latin, or Classical Civilization, or permission of the instructor.

CLAS593Senior Individualized ProjectEach program or department sets its own requirements for Senior Individualized Projects done in that department, including the range of acceptable projects, the required background of students doing projects, the format of the SIP, and the expected scope and depth of projects. See the Kalamazoo Curriculum -> Curriculum Details and Policies section of the Academic Catalog for more details.Prerequisite: Permission of department and SIP supervisor required.