Classics Courses

Essentials of the grammar and syntax of Ancient Greek, both classical and Koine. Reading of easy passages from classical prose writers and the New Testament. Understanding of the Greek elements in western culture. Fall and spring.

Grammar review and study of more advanced syntactical structures. Selected readings from classical Greek prose and poetry; in recent years students have read one of Plato's dialogues. Fall.

Translation and study of Greek to improve grasp of grammar and syntax and to acquire a sense of style. Required for majors whose primary language is Greek and for those seeking accreditation to teach it. Offered every other year.

Extensive reading from either the Iliad or the Odyssey. Study of the Homeric world, Homeric language and poetic style. Offered every other year.

Reading of one or more dialogues with an emphasis upon their literary form and philosophical content. Offered every other year.

A reading of selections from the Histories, on the supposition that Herodotus is a philosophical historian, the knowledge of whose logos is crucial for understanding his work. Therefore, the course emphasizes the early books. 

This course will read one of the seven fully extant plays of Sophocles in Greek, investigating such topics as the mechanics of ancient performance, tragedy as a means of exploring human nature, and man’s relationship to the city, the nature of the tragic genre, and the historical environment in which the play was composed.

This course will read one of the fully extant plays of Euripides in Greek, investigating such topics as the mechanics of ancient performance, tragedy as a means of exploring human nature, and man’s relationship to the city, the nature of the tragic genre, and the historical environment in which the play was composed.

 An introduction to reading Greek poetry, emphasizing Archilochus, Sappho, Alcaeus, Solon, Xenophanes and other early elegiac and lyric poets. The aim is to understand the power of lyric monody that developed so quickly after Greek epic. 

A reading of selections from one or more of Xenophon’s works. Typically, selections have been drawn from the Hellenika, the Education of Cyrus, the Anabasis, and On Tyranny. The aim is to renew our appreciation of Xenophon as a profound thinker.

Begins with an introduction to Koine Greek, focusing on its distinctive grammar, vocabulary and syntax. Longer continuous passages are read from the Septuagint, a Gospel and a letter of Paul. Some exegesis of select texts.

An introduction to the rich tradition of Greek patristic literature that analyzes texts of four or five major writers from the 2nd to the 5th century, usually including Ignatius, Athanasius, one of the Cappadocians, Cyril of Jerusalem and John Chrysostom.

Three-credit courses offered as needed, focusing on particular authors, periods, genres or other topics of interest to teachers and students. For advanced students only.

A reading of selections from his history of The Peloponnesian War, with a view to understanding Thucydides’ conception of historical causation and his presentation and analysis of political speech.

This course will read one of the six fully extant plays of Aeschylus in Greek, investigating such topics as the mechanics of ancient performance, tragedy as a means of exploring human nature, and man’s relationship to the city, the nature of the tragic genre, and the historical environment in which the play was composed.

A reading of substantial portions of the Theogony and the Works and Days, with the possibility of including some of the Homeric Hymns. The aim is to discover why Hesiod might be called a philosophical poet.

A reading of selections from one or more of Aristotle’s works, typically from the Ethics, the Politics, or the Poetics. The aim is to acquire an appreciation for how Aristotle develops his arguments.

A reading of selections from one or more of Aristophanes’ comedies, with a view to understanding the nature and structure of Old Comedy. Typically, selections have been drawn from the Frogs, Clouds, and Birds. The aim is to discover, among other things, why he was not indicted for impiety.

A reading of selections from the epinician odes of Pindar, with the possibility of including some of the odes of Bacchylides. The aim is to understand why Pindar has been considered the poet, unsurpassed, at least in the opinion of the Greeks, if not in everyone's.

A reading of selections from the Greek orators, including especially Demosthenes, but on occasion also Lysias, Aeschines, and Isocrates.

The senior project enables the student to bring together the fruits of his experiences in the various courses to produce an original critical treatment of a major author, work or theme. Students present the results of the project to an audience of faculty and students near the end of the spring semester.

This course provides the individual student with an opportunity to examine any topic, problem or work within the discipline of classics. Content will be determined by consultation with the instructor.

Latin grammar and syntax with some emphasis on the historical background of the language and the principles of word-formation. Reading of simple texts. Fall and spring.

Designed for students who have studied the equivalent of at least two years of Latin at the secondary school level but need an intensive review in order to study at the intermediate level. Open to students with no prior training in Latin by permission of the program adviser. Fall only.

Selected readings of Roman prose writers, primarily Cicero. Prerequisite: Latin 1302, Latin 1305 or equivalent. A placement exam is required for those who have not completed either of these courses. Fall and spring.

Selected readings from the works of Catullus, Vergil and Ovid. Prerequisite: Latin 2311. Fall and spring.

A reading of selections from the satires of Horace and Juvenal.  A specific aim of the course is to understand what Quintilian meant when he said satura tota nostra est.  A more general aim is to answer the question, “What is satire?”

A reading of the poem that emphasizes its somewhat neglected second half, especially Books 6, 7, 8, 10, and 12. One needs to take the whole poem with one on one’s journey.

A reading of the “Latin Love Elegists,” starting with Catullus, but emphasizing Tibullus, Sulpicia, Propertius, and Ovid.  The aim of the course is to understand why love is elegiac, and why elegiac love requires poetry to express itself.

A close reading of selected letters of Cicero, Seneca, and Pliny.  In connection with the readings, students will be introduced to letter writing as a practice among the Romans, and each letter will be situated in its historical context.  Relevant secondary sources will be incorporated into class discussion.

A close reading of selections from Petronius’s Satyricon or Apuleius’s Metamorphoses.  Relevant secondary sources will be incorporated into class discussion, in particular scholarship on the relationship between the ancient and the modern novel.

A close reading of one or more of Cicero’s orations. Relevant secondary sources will be incorporated into class discussion, and students will be introduced to the art and theory of Greek and Roman oratory with an emphasis on figures of speech.

Selections from the Confessions and the City of God reveal a fascinating human being, a most influential Christian thinker and a great master of Latin prose writing. Offered every other year.

This course explores the rich heritage of medieval Latin literature from the fifth century of Leo the Great to the thirteenth century of Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure: prose and poetry, texts of history and philosophy, theology and spiritual writings. Offered as needed.

A close reading of selections from Caesar’s Bellum Gallicum or Bellum Civile with the aid of a philological commentary.  Attention will be paid to the historical, literary, and stylistic dimensions of the work, and relevant secondary sources will be incorporated into class discussion.

A reading of selections from the four books of the Odes.  The aim is to understand Horace’s extraordinary artistry and to see why he has had such an impact on the entire tradition of European poetry.

A reading of one of the fully extant plays of Plautus in Latin with the possibility of exploring some of his other works in translation.  Topics covered may include important themes in Roman comedy, the nature and function of the comedic genre, the historical context of Republican Rome, and ancient Roman performance practices, influences, and reception.

A close reading of selections from Sallust’s Bellum Catilinae or Bellum Iugurthinum with the aid of a philological commentary.  Attention will be paid to the historical, literary, and stylistic dimensions of the work, and relevant secondary sources will be incorporated into class discussion.

Courses offered as needed, focusing on topics of interest to teachers and students. 

Translation and study of Caesar and Cicero to improve grasp of grammar and syntax and to acquire a sense of style. Required for majors whose primary language is Latin and for those seeking accreditation to teach Latin in secondary school. Offered every other year.

A reading of selections from the De Rerum Natura, with a view to acquainting ourselves with Lucretius’ version of Epicureanism, his radical understanding of soul, and, in general, his contribution to the history of philosophy.

A reading of selections from the works of Horace that are studied less than the Odes but that have been enormously influential on the subsequent tradition of European poetry and literary theory.

A reading of one of the fully extant plays of Terence in Latin with the possibility of exploring some of his other works in translation.  Topics covered may include important themes in Roman comedy, the nature and function of the comedic genre, the historical context of Republican Rome, and ancient Roman performance practices, influences, and reception.

A close reading of selections from Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita with the aid of a philological commentary.  Attention will be paid to the historical, literary, and stylistic dimensions of the work, and relevant secondary sources will be incorporated into class discussion.

A close reading of selections from the Annals with the aid of a philological commentary.  Attention will be paid to the historical, literary, and stylistic dimensions of the work, and relevant secondary sources will be incorporated into class discussion. 

A reading of two enormously influential works of Vergil that often live in the shade of the Aeneid.  This course brings them into the light.

A reading of selections from Ovid’s most influential work, with a view to understanding, in its furthest reaches, the concept of metamorphosis.  What does one mean by “change of form?” What did Ovid mean by it?

A reading of selections from such works as the De Re Publica, De Legibus, De Officiis, and the Disputationes Tusculanae.  The aim is to discover how Cicero created Roman philosophy out of his reading of the Greeks and how he added to what the Greeks had given him, and then gave that to us.

A reading of selections from the Pharsalia, in the expectation of understanding why he removed the gods from his epic and what effect that had on his poem and how it might have changed the notion of an epic poem.

A close reading of selections from one or more of Seneca's philosophical treatises. To provide context for the reading assignments, students will be introduced to Stoicism as a school of philosophy, and Seneca's involvement in Roman political affairs and its effect on his perspective as a philosopher will be explored. Relevant secondary sources will be incorporated into class discussion.

This course provides the individual student with an opportunity to examine any topic, problem, or work within the discipline of Classics. Content will be determined by consultation with the instructor.

The senior project enables the student to bring together the fruits of his experiences in the various courses to produce an original critical treatment of a major author, work or theme. Students present the results of the project to an audience of faculty and students near the end of the spring semester.

Introduction to the art of speaking persuasively, as taught by the Greeks and Romans. Systematic approach to composing and delivering speeches. Study of model orations, ancient and modern, in English translations. Extensive practice.

The structural and the comparative approach with an emphasis on Indo-European languages. The formal, historical and cultural connotations on man's symbol-creating capacity as manifested in vocabularies and grammar. Conducted in English.

A study, through the reading of a series of texts in English translations, of the nature, the uses and the development of classical mythology as it appears in poetry and philosophy.

This three-credit special topics course on Mediterranean Archaeology is offered every other year and is an especially useful course for Classics students in need of interesting elective credits.

Three-credit courses offered as needed, focusing on particular authors, periods, genres or other topics of interest to teachers and students. For advanced students only.

Students in both the Classical Philology and Classics majors complete the senior comprehensive examination appropriate to that major, primarily in the fall semester.  Through the performance on the three parts of the comprehensive examination (ancient history, philology, interpretation of literature), each student reveals their increased knowledge of the classical languages and their understanding of antiquity as a whole. 

The senior project enables the student to bring together the fruits of his experiences in the various courses to produce an original critical treatment of a major author, work or theme. Students present the results of the project to an audience of faculty and students near the end of the spring semester.  

The senior project enables the student to bring together the fruits of his experiences in the various courses to produce an original critical treatment of a major author, work or theme. Students present the results of the project to an audience of faculty and students near the end of the spring semester.

A history of the art and architecture of Greece and/or Rome. The instructor may choose to emphasize a particular aspect of ancient art.

Studies of the major works of these two genres with a view toward understanding two alternative but concurrently enduring vistas upon the human condition. Readings normally include selections from the major Greek authors through Shakespearean examples of the dramatic genre.

Beginning with the Mycenaean age, the course surveys the political and cultural development of Greece to the Hellenistic era. Topics include the character of the polis, Greece commerce and colonization, the Persian wars, the Athenian empire and its achievements, the Peloponnesian war, fourth-century philosophy, Alexander the Great, and the Hellenistic successor states.

A survey of Roman history beginning with the founding of the city and concluding with the death of Julius Caesar. Topics include the regal period, the struggle of the orders, Roman imperialism, the development of Roman culture, and the crisis of the republican constitution.

Surveys of the history of Rome from the Augustan age to the fall of the empire in the West. Topics include the principate and the development of absolutism, imperial culture, the impact of Christianity, the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine, and the causes of Roman decline.

A detailed study of selected aspects of ancient culture and civilization.
 

Study of the nature and kinds of language, with particular attention to syntactical, semantic, and logical characteristics. Examination of major past and contemporary theories. Offered as needed.

A careful reading of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. The themes of the course include Thucydides' account of international relations, the justice of imperialism, the connections between foreign and domestic politics, rhetoric, and the grounds of politics in necessity and morality. Alternate years.

An examination of ancient, Christian and modern conceptions of the human soul, morality and the political order. It will focus on the works of Plutarch or Cicero, St. Augustine and Machiavelli. Special attention is paid to the different analyses of the Roman Republic and the empire, and the ways of life found in each. Fall and spring.

The Socratic method in politics studied through a careful reading of the Republic, the seminal book in political philosophy in the Western tradition. An adequate approach to the dialogue form is emphasized in the interpretation. Fall and spring.

A careful reading of the fundamental work on politics. Aristotle is said to have systematized and made more practical the philosophic speculations of Socrates and Plato. Discussion of the extent to which this is true, and why Aristotle' s work remains fundamental to the understanding of political life. Fall and spring.

The ethical basis of political life as it comes into sight through a study of the Nichomachean Ethics. Alternate years.