Undergraduate Courses 2002-2003

• Classical Civilization
• Greek Language and Literature
• Latin Language and Literature

The University of Chicago follows the quarter system: the regular academic year consists of three terms, each comprising ten weeks of classes and one week of examinations. Undergraduate courses observe a reading period on the last two days of tenth week (classes are normally not held or, if they are held, are used for review).

 Classical Civilization

20700.  Ancient Mediterranean World I.  (=HIST 16700, ANST 20700). This course, which fulfills the Common Core requirement in civilizational studies, surveys the social, economic, and political history of Greece to the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.). The main topics considered include the development of the institutions of the Greek city-state, the Persian Wars and the rivalry of Athens and Sparta, the social and economic consequences of the Peloponnesian War, and the eclipse and  defeat of the city-states by the Macedonians. W. Scheidel. Autumn 2002.

20800. Ancient Mediterranean World II. (=Hist 16800, ANST 20800). This sequence meets the Common Core requirements in civilizational studies by surveying the social, economic, and political history of Greece to the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.) in autumn quarter;  the Roman Republic (509-27 B.C.) in winter;  and concludes in spring with the five centuries between the establishment of imperial autocracy in 27 B.C. and the fall of the Western empire in the fifth century A.D.  C. Grey. Winter 2003.

20900. Ancient Mediterranean World III. (=Hist 16800, ANST 20800). This course involves discussion concerning principal features of cultural, religious, social, and economic experiences of the Mediterranean World between the third and sixth centuries AD.  Geographical scope includes the western as well as eastern Mediterranean.  The instructor will consider Near Eastern and Germanic perspectives as well as Graeco-Roman ones.  The course will involve review of modern scholarly controversies as well as investigation of range of primary sources in translation.  Mid-term examination, final examination and one short paper. W. Kaegi.  Spring 2003.

21200. History and Theory of Drama I (=ANST 21200, CLAS 31200, CMLT 20500/30500, ENGL 13800/31000, GSHU 24200/34200). May be taken in sequence with ENGL 139/311 or individually. This course is a survey of major trends and theatrical accomplishments in Western drama from the ancient Greeks through the Renaissance: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, medieval religious drama, Marlowe, Shakespeare, and Jonson, along with some consideration of dramatic theory by Aristotle, Horace, Sir Philip Sidney, and Dryden. The goal is not to develop acting skill but, rather, to discover what is at work in the scene, and to write up that process in a somewhat informal report. Students have the option of writing essays or putting on short scenes in cooperation with other members of the class. End-of-week workshops, in which individual scenes are read aloud dramatically and discussed, are optional but highly recommended. D. Bevington, D. N. Rudall. Autumn 2003, 2004.

21300.  Contextualizing Ancient Historians (=HIST 20401/30201, CLAS 31300). Writing history is not simply a matter of assembling dates and facts. Those dates must be linked together, the facts interpreted and shaped into a narrative. Each historian creates a unique narrative, reflecting his or her political and social circumstances. In this course, we examine the historical narratives of both ancient and contemporary historians of Greece and Rome. Historians covered will include Thucydides and de Ste Croix, Livy and Finley, Arrian and Bosworth, Ammianus Marcellinus and Jones. In each case, we will ask a series of questions. What is the historian's aim in writing? In what context was the historian writing? How have these factors affected the presentation of material? Why is the historian important in the historiographical tradition of the ancient or modern world? No prior knowledge of Ancient History is required, and texts will be discussed in translation.  C. Grey.  Winter 2003.

21400.  Marginal Populations of the Roman Empire (=HIST 20500/30500, CLAS 21400). The wealthy, literate aristocracy constituted only a tiny proportion of the population of the Roman Empire. What of the rest, the numberless, nameless masses who have left no written record of their own? This is a course about the disempowered, the despised, the incidental inhabitants of the Roman world, who hover on the fringes of our literary and documentary sources. It explores the plight of the poor and disabled, the place of foreigners and magicians, the criminal underworld and the position of bandits. In the process, it explores a series of methodological questions. How does one write a history of those who have written no history of themselves? How useful is archaeological evidence? To what extent can comparative material from better documented societies be used? Texts will be discussed in translation, no prior knowledge of Ancient History is required.  C. Grey. Spring 2003.

22000.  History of Philosophy I: Ancient Philosophy (=ANST 25000, PHIL 25000). PQ: Completion of the general education requirement in humanities. This course is an introductory survey of ancient philosophy, focusing on some key works of Plato, Aristotle, and Epicurus. Topics include the good life and its relation to philosophy, methods of scientific explanation, and the nature of the soul. R. Barney.  Autumn 2002.

22100.  Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius (=Fund 24200). The Emperor Marcus Aurelius was a fervent admirer of Epictetus, a former slave, who set up a school for teaching Stoic philosophy. Both thought deeply about problems of fate and free will, and about the obligations of daily life. While Epictetus was intent on launching young men on the right path of life, Marcus Aurelius was prone to look back on his life with probing introspection. We will read their works in their entirety, as we explore each author's profoundly original response to his situation.  E. Asmis.  Winter 2003.

24100.  Classical Heroines and Beyond (=CLAS 34100, MUSI 22400). This course focuses on two women of Greek mythology, Medea and Phaedra, and how the erotic and tragic narratives of their lives were rendered by artists working in the different social, political and cultural contexts of Nero's Rome (1st century) and early modern (17th-18th century) Europe.  Gender and genre are central issues of the course.  Primary texts to be read (in translation) include Seneca's Medea and Phaedra, Euripides' Medea and Hippolytus, Corneille's Médée, Racine's Phèdre, and a Roman tragedy on Nero's first wife Octavia by an ancient imitator of Seneca. Operas to be studied, partly in audio recording and partly through viewing, include Charpentier's Médée, Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie, Traetta's Ippolito ed Aricia and Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea.  No knowledge of Latin or music required. R. Kendrick  &  D. Wray. Spring  2003.

24200.  The Invention of the Love Poem (=HumA 24601). This course will explore the invention of the love poem in ancient Greek and Roman litrature and consider the following questions:  Why do discourses of love emerge in a culture at certain times?  Are "love poems" about love or politics?  What are the signs of being in love?  Are they similar across cultures and time periods?  If so, why?  We will first examine Greek lyric poetry (Sappho, Alcaeus, etc.) and epigram and discuss the ways in which these poems provide a foundation for the development of the love poem in ancient Rome.  We will then turn to Roman love elegy and focus on the poems of Catullus, Horace, Tibullus, Propertius, Sulpicia, and Ovid.  Not only will we discuss the ways in which these authors respond to and transform Greek models to make the love poem a Roman phenomenon, but we will also consider how the Roman love poem changes and develops over time.  Finally, the conclusion of this course will look at how later authors, such as John Donne, and Veronica Franco, appropriate and transform motifs found in the Roman elegiac tradition. J. Connelly, Spring 2003.

26200.  Roman Archaeology (=CLAS 36200). This course traces the development of the discipline of Roman archaeology from the responses of ancient Romans to their antiquity to contemporary methods of excavation and interpretation.  It considers how approaches to ancient material  reflect the period in which they have been formulated, and how they are influenced by developments in other fields.  We examine major sites such as Rome, Pompeii and Dura Europos, and topics such as tourism, developing excavation techniques, antiquity in the service of politics and Roman archaeology in popular culture.P. Laird.  Autumn 2002.

26300.  Society in the Roman City (ClAS 26300) Using literary, inscriptional and archaeological evidence, this seminar examines the Roman city of the Imperial period,. focusing on the topography of Rome itself and civic centers such as Ostia, Pompeii and Constantinople.  We consider a variety of public and domestic buildings -- sacred precincts, sites of leisure and entertainment, commercial areas, villas/palaces, streets and neighborhoods -- to explore the ways in which various social groups experienced and manipulated urban spaces and interacted within them.  No prior knowledge ofLatin is required. P. Laird. Winter. 2003  M. Laird. . Winter.  2003.

27100. Ancient Studies Seminar (=ANST 27100). The ancient studies seminar is an annual seminar of changing content but with an interdisciplinary focus.  Its aim is to teach students how to combine historical, literary, and material evidence in studying the ancient world.  Staff. Spring.

28200. Ancient and Modern Satire: Contextualizing Corrective Invective (=HUMA 27303).  Satire is a literary genre that, however vicious, aims at the correction of human faults, at least in theory.  As a comic tool with critical potential, it has proved variously useful in particular historical contexts, e.g. 18th century France of Restoration England. The roots of satire, however, stretch back to ancient Rome and its traditional classifications are actually based on the classical satirists, Menippus, Horace, Varro, and Juvenal. This course surveys the roots of the satiric genre by considering contextualized excerpts (in translation) from the ancient satirists.  It will investigate what the historical and political conditions were under which such "corrective" verse might be written and could be effective.  Having developed a literary and historical foundation for ancient satire, the class will proceed to examine select models of modern satire, each within its own historical and political context.   J. Zuber.  Winter 2003.

28300.  Ephron Seminar. (The Ephron seminar is an annual seminar of changing context meant to promote innovative course design.  Past Ephron seminars have been about violence in the ancient world.) Staff.  Spring
 Speaking of Women: Gender and Roman Poetry.  This class is an introduction to the role of women in Roman poetry from Catullus to Martial.  We will examine the different ways women are depicted by male (and one female) authors.  Our main focus will be on primary texts (all in translation), but we will also consider some secondary literature pertaining to contemporary approaches to gender issues in ancient poetry.  We will look at gender as a rhetorical construct and consider its socio-cultural context.  In general, the course will be not a chronological examination, but rather a thematic one, arranged by categories of women (i.e. mythical women, mistresses, famous women etc)  S. Raucci.  Spring
 

297. Reading Course. PQ: Consent of faculty sponsor and director of undergraduate studies. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

29800. B.A. Seminar. This seminar is designed to teach students research and writing skills necessary for writing their B.A. paper. Lectures cover classical bibliography, research tools, and electronic databases. Students discuss research problems and compose preliminary drafts of their B.A. papers. They are expected to exchange criticism and ideas in regular seminar meetings with the preceptor and with other students writing papers, as well as to take account of comments from their faculty readers. The grade for the B.A. Seminar is identical with the grade for the B.A. paper and, therefore, is not reported until the B.A. paper has been submitted in spring quarter. The grade for the B.A. paper depends on participation in the seminar as well as on the quality of the paper. J. Zuber. Autumn, Winter 2000 & 2003.

 Greek Language and Literature

    10100. Introduction to Attic Greek I. PQ: Knowledge of Greek not required. This course introduces students to the basic         rules of ancient Greek. Class time is spent on the explanation of grammar, translation from Greek to English and from English to Greek, and discussion of student work. H. Dik. Autumn 2002, 2003.

    10200. Introduction to Attic Greek II: Prose. PQ: GREK 10100. The remaining chapters of the introductory Greek textbook are covered. Students apply and improve their understanding of Greek through reading brief passages from classical prose authors, including Plato and Xenophon. D. N. Rudall. Winter 2002, 2003.

    10300. Introduction to Attic Greek III: Prose. PQ: GREK 10200. Students apply the grammatical skills taught in GREK 10100-10200 by reading a continuous prose text by a classical author such as Lysias, Xenophon, or Plato. The aim is familiarity with Greek idiom and sentence structure. Staff. Spring 2002, 2003.

11100-11200-11300. Accelerated Introduction to Attic Greek I, II, III. This sequence covers the introductory Greek grammar in fifteen weeks. Like GREK 10100-10200-10300, this sequence prepares students to move into the second-year sequence (GREK 20100-20200-20300).

    11100. Accelerated Introduction to Attic Greek I. PQ: Knowledge of Greek not required. This course introduces students to the basic rules of ancient Greek. Class time is spent on the explanation of grammar, translation from Greek to English and from English to Greek, and discussion of student work. Staff. Autumn 2002, 2003.

    11200. Accelerated Introduction to Attic Greek II. PQ: GREK 11100. The remaining chapters of the introductory textbook are covered. Students then apply and improve their knowledge of Greek as they read selections from Xenophon. H.Dik. Winter 2002, 2003.

    11300. Accelerated Introduction to Attic Greek III. PQ: GREK 11200. Students apply the grammatical skills taught in GREK 11100-11200 by reading a continuous prose text by a classical author such as Lysias, Xenophon, or Plato. The aim is familiarity with Greek idiom and sentence structure. Staff. Spring 2002, 20003.

20100.  Intermediate Greek I:  Plato Phaedo  PQ: GREK 10300 or equivalent. We will read Plato's text with a view to understanding both the grammatical constructions and the artistry of the language. We will also give attention to the dramatic qualities of the dialogue. Grammatical exercises will reinforce the learning of syntax. E. Asmis. Autumn 2002, 2003.

20200. Intermediate Greek II: Sophocles  PQ: GREK 10300 or equivalent. This course includes analysis and translation of the Greek text, discussion of Sophoclean language and dramatic technique, and relevant trends in fifth-century Athenian intellectual history. S Bartsch. Winter 2002, 2003.

20300. Intermediate Greek III: Homer PQ: GREK 10300 or equivalent. An introduction to the Homeric dialect and to the convention of oral epic through a study of the Iliad. J. Marks. Spring 2002, 2003.

21400. Aristophanes (=GREK 31400) PQ: GREK 20300 or equivalent. We will read Aristophanes'  Acharnians, his first extant play, and do forays into Aristophanes' relationship to Euripides in other plays.  The course will examine the close relationship between Tragedy and Comedy in the last years of the Athenian Empire.  D. N. Rudall. Autumn 2002.

21500. Herodotus (=GREK 31500).  PQ: GREK 20300 or equivalent. Book I is read in Greek; the rest of the Histories are read in translation. With readings from secondary literature, historical and literary approaches to the Histories are discussed, and the status of the Histories as a historical and literary text. H. Dik. Winter 2003.

21600. Euripides (=GREK 31600).  PQ: GREK 20300 or equivalent.
A careful reading of Euripides' Bacchae, with  attention to language, structure, and the important position which the play holds in the history of Greek religion. As time permits we will read selections from other plays as well as other Dionysiac literature, including recent papyrus finds. D. Martinez. Spring 2003.

21700. Greek Lyric and Epinician Poetry (=GREK 31700).   PQ: Greek 20300 or equivalent This class involves reading of the major fragments of Greek monody and of selections from choral poetry, with special ephasis on the lyrics of Sappho and Alcaeus and the odes of Pindar and Bacchylides.  There is a discussion of lyric meters and also of the occasions for which these early poems were composed.  Staff.  Autumn.  2003.

21800. Greek Epic (GREK 31800). PQ: Greek 20300 or equivalent. This course investigates a key text or texts in the Greek Epic tradition.  Homer, Hesiod, and Apollonius are among the authors taught in the course.  The course may focus on one author or employ a survey method.  Staff.  Winter 2004.

21900. Greek Oratory/Rhetorical Writing (GREK 31900). PQ: Greek 20300 or equivalent. This course introuduces students to Attic oratory (e.g. Lysias, Demonsthenes, Aeschines) and to philosophical writings about rhetoric (Gorgias, Plato, Aristotle).   The course may focus on one orator or adopt a survey method.  Staff.  Spring  2003.

24500.  Justin Martyr (GREK 34500) PQ. UG consent of instructor.  A careful reading of the Greek text of first and second apologiae of Justin (and selections from other treatises as time permits), with attention to his language and literary style.  We will also concentrate on Justin as an early defender of and advocate for the Christian faith, the importance of his logos doctrine, his demonology, and his sacramental ideas and theology of worship. D. Martinez.  Autumn 2002.

25100.  Introduction to  Greek Philology (=BIBL 41800, GREK 35100). This course will survey what we know and do not know about the Greek language, and how we know it, in two ways. An overview of the history of the Greek language, from Mycenaean to modern times, will help to place Homer, Plato, the New Testament and Seferis in the continuum of the Greek language, and we will study general principles of language change and how they apply to Greek. Secondly, there is the synchronic grammar of Classical Greek. Approaching the language as a system - rather than a random set of rules, we will study a number of central issues in Greek linguistics: how should we approach particles, aspect, and something as deceptively simple as the definite article?  H. Dik. Autumn 2002.

25200.  Papyrology (=GREK 35200, BIBL 51000). This course will concentrate on the methods and perspectives of the discipline of papyrology, including the “hands on” experience of working with actual texts in Chicago’s collections of documents in Regenstein and Oriental Institute.  No previous knowledge of the field is assumed; we will begin from ground up.  Among the topics we will cover are: the major branches of papyrology (including documentary, literary, magical, and Christian texts), including analysis of the form and structure of different kinds of papyrus documents; the linguistic phenomenon of koine Greek; and the contribution of papyrology to other areas of the study of antiquity such as literature, social history, linguistics, and religion. D. Martinez.  Autumn 2002.

29700. Reading Course. PQ: Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter. 2002, 2003.

34400. Greek Prose Composition. PQ: Consent of instructor. Intensive study of the structures of the Greek language and the usage of the canonical Greek prose, including compositional exercises.  Not offered 2002-03 will be offered 2003-04.
 

 Latin Language and Literature

101-102-103. Introduction to Classical Latin I, II, III. This sequence covers the introductory Latin grammar in twenty-two weeks and is intended for students who have more complex schedules or believe that the slower pace allows them to better assimilate the material. Like Latin 111-112, this sequence prepares students to move into the second-year sequence (Latin 204-205-206).

101. Introduction to Classical Latin I. PQ: Knowledge of Latin not required. This course introduces students to the basic rules of ancient Latin. Class time is spent on the explanation of grammar, translation from Latin to English and from English to Latin, and discussion of student work. L. Behnke. Autumn.

102. Introduction to Classical Latin II. PQ: Latin 101. This course begins with the completion of the basic text begun in Latin 101 and concludes with readings in Latin from Cicero, Caesar, or other prose. L. Behnke. Winter.

103. Introduction to Classical Latin III: Cicero. PQ: Latin 102. After finishing the text, the course involves reading up to 500 lines of Ovid's Metamorphoses during which reading the students consolidate the grammar and vocabulary taught in Latin 101 and 102. Students are also prepared for poetic figures and scansion. L. Behnke. Spring.

111-112. Accelerated Introduction to Classical Latin I, II. This sequence covers the introductory Latin grammar in fifteen weeks. Like Latin 101-102-103, this sequence prepares students to move into the second-year sequence (Latin 204-205-206).

111. Accelerated Introduction to Classical Latin I. PQ: Knowledge of Latin not required. This course covers the first half of the introductory Latin textbook (Wheelock). Classes are devoted to the presentation of grammar, discussion of problems in learning Latin, and written exercises. Staff.  Winter.

112. Accelerated Introduction to Classical Latin II. PQ: Latin 111. This course begins with the completion of the basic text begun in Latin 111 and concludes with readings in Latin from Cicero, Caesar, or other prose. Staff. Spring.

20100.  Intermediate Latin I: Republican Latin Prose. PQ: LATN 10300 or 11200.  The purpose of this course is to provide experience in reading connected passages of unsimplified Latin prose and at the same time to consolidate the understanding of Latin grammar acquired during the preceding year.  There will be additional material on the social and historical background of the texts we read.  Course work includes written homeworks and weekly quizzes as well as a mid-term and a final examination. S. Bartsch. Autumn 2002.

20200. Intermediate Latin II:  Seneca. PQ: LATN 20100 or consent of the instructor.  Readings consist of a tragedy of Seneca and selections from his prose letters and essays.  The point of the juxtaposition is to try to understand the feverish violence of Seneca’s tragedies in relation to the philosophical project to which he devoted his life.  Secondary readings on Rome in the Age of Nero are also assigned. P. White. Winter 2003.

20300. Intermediate Latin III: Virgil: Aeneid. PQ:  LATN 20200 or equivalent.   Reading in Latin of Book 9 or other selections from the second half of the Aeneid, together with reading of the entire epic in translation.  Discussions will focus on the literary traditions of Virgil's epic and its cultural and historical contexts. D. Wray. Spring 2003.

21400. Roman Philosophical Poetry/Prose: Lucretius. De Rerum Natura. (=LATN 31400). PQ: Latin 20300 or equivalent. Lucretius' poem on The Nature of Things, an influential and "dangerous" text for ancients and moderns alike, is our fullest surviving exposition of Epicurean philosophy, with its materialist atomic physics, its ethics based on pleasure (rightly understood), and its cosmology in which gods exist but take no part.  This poem of the universe is itself a universal poem, treating the nature of matter and spirit, the cosmos and its workings, the gods, human senses and passions, civilization and language, and setting forth Epicurus' answer to the question how best to live.  The course will include selected readings in Latin from the De Rerum Natura and the entire poem in translation, together with additional readings and discussion on philosophical and poetic issues raised by this unique text in Roman literature. D. Wray. Autumn 2002.

21500. Roman Satire (=LATN 31500). PQ: LATN 20300 or equivalent. Readings include Horace, Satires 1.1, 1.4, 1.6, 1.10, 2.1, 2.5, and 2.7; Persius 5; and Juvenal 1, 3, and 6. The object of the course is to study the evolution of Roman satire as a literary genre with a recognized subject matter and style. P. White.  Winter 2003.

21600. Roman Oratory: Cicero (=LATN 31600). PQ: LATN 23600 or equivalent. A close reading of two deliberative orations of Cicero (one from the Catilinarians delivered at the peak of his career in 63 and one from the Philippics given at the close of it in 43), with special attention to the styles and poses of the orator and the role of political speech in the Late Republic. P. White. Spring 2003.

21700. Post-Virgilian Epic. (=LATN 31700) PQ: LATN 20300 or equivalent. This class will cover selections from Lucan's Bellum Civile as well as Statius's Thebaid, Valerius Flaccus's Argonautica and Silius Italicus's Punica. We also read in the secondary literature to get a feel for the positive and negative aspects of approaches scholars have taken toward these works over the years. Among the approaches considered are ones that emphasize possible subversive political critique in the poems, intertextuality, the poems' status as works of art, and, of course, their relationship to Vergilian epic.  Staff.  Autumn 2003.

21800.  Roman Historical Prose. (=LATN 31800) PQ: LATN 20300 or equivalent.  The Latin reading for this course comprises roughly 80 pages that may alternate in different years between Caesar, Livy, Sallust, Suetonius, and Tacitus.  The aim of the course is to convey through both primary and secondary readings a sense of the style, historical methods, and distinctive qualities of the major historians. Staff.  Winter 2003.

21900. Roman Drama (=LATN 31900). PQ: LATN 20300 or equivalent. This course focuses alternately on Roman comedy (Plautus, Terence) or Roman tragedy (Seneca), through contextualized reading of one or more plays.  Possible topics for discussion include the relation between the Roman theater and other genres of social performance at Rome such as rhetorical declamation;  Roman drama's relation to classical and Hellenistic Greek drama; and issues specific to each playwright, such as Plautine metatheatricality, Terentian humanitas, or Senecan Stoicism. Staff.  Spring 2003.

25100.  Fear of Death.  (=LATN 35100, PHIL 2/31800, LAW XXXXX, RETH 35100).  All human beings fear death, and it seems plausible to think that a lot of our actions are motivated by it.  But is it reasonable to fear death? And does this fear do good (motivating creative projects) or harm (motivating greedy accumulation, war, and too much deference to religious leaders)?   Hellenistic philosophers, both Greek and Roman, were preoccupied with these questions and debated them with a depth and intensity that makes them still highly influential in modern philosophical debate about the same issues (the only issue on which one will be likely find discussion of Lucretius in the pages of The Journal of Philosophy).  The course will focus on several major Latin writings on the topic: Lucretius Book III, and extracts from Cicero and Seneca.  We will study the philosophical arguments in their literary setting and ask about connections between argument and its rhetorical expression.  In translation we will read pertinent material from Plato, Epicurus, Plutarch, and a few modern authors. Prerequisite: ability to read the material in Latin at a sufficiently high level. M. Nussbaum. Winter 2003.

29700. Reading Course. PQ: Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Staff. Autumn, Winter, Spring 2002, 2003.

34400. Latin Prose Composition. PQ: Consent of instructor. This is a practical introduction to the styles of classical Latin prose. After a brief and systematic review of Latin syntax, the course combines regular exercises in composition with readings from a variety of prose stylists. The course is intended to increase the students' awareness both of the classical artists' skill and their own command of Latin idiom and sentence structure.  M. Allen.

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