printer friendly pageCLASSICS 18N: The Artist in Ancient Greek Society (ARTHIST 100N)
Given the importance of art to all aspects of their lives, the Greeks had reason to respect their artists. Yet potters, painters and even sculptors possessed little social standing. n nWhy did the Greeks value the work of craftsmen but not the men themselves? Why did Herodotus dismiss those who worked with their hands as "mechanics?" What prompted Homer to claim that "there is no greater glory for a man¿ than what he achieves with his own hands," provided that he was throwing a discus and not a vase on a wheel?n nPainted pottery was essential to the religious and secular lives of the Greeks. Libations to the gods and to the dead required vases from which to pour them. Economic prosperity depended on the export of wine and oil in durable clay containers. At home, depictions of gods and heroes on vases reinforced Greek values and helped parents to educate their children. Ceramic sets with scenes of Dionysian excess were reserved for elite symposia from which those who potted and painted them were excluded.n nSculptors were less lowly but even those who carved the Parthenon were still regarded as "mechanics," with soft bodies and soft minds (Xenophon) "indifferent to higher things" (Plutarch).n nThe seminar addresses these issues. Students will read and discuss texts, write response papers and present slide lectures and gallery talks on aspects of the artist's profession.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, GER:DB-Hum
Instructors:
Maxmin, J. (PI)
CLASSICS 21Q: Eight Great Archaeological Sites in Europe
(Formerly
CLASSART 21Q.) Preference to sophomores. Focus is on excavation, features and finds, arguments over interpretation, and the place of each site in understanding the archaeological history of Europe. Goal is to introduce the latest archaeological and anthropological thought, and raise key questions about ancient society. The archaeological perspective foregrounds interdisciplinary study: geophysics articulated with art history, source criticism with analytic modeling, statistics interpretation. A web site with resources about each site, including plans, photographs, video, and publications, is the basis for exploring.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, Writing 2, WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Shanks, M. (PI)
CLASSICS 24N: What is a Map?
Exploration of the nature of maps via an overview of premodern mapping practices, combining theory and history of maps. Hands-on research involving Stanford's rare and historical maps, and chance to create own maps.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Parker, G. (PI)
CLASSICS 26N: The Roman Empire: Its Grandeur and Fall (HISTORY 11N)
(Formerly
CLASSHIS 24N.) Preference to freshmen. Explore themes on the Roman Empire and its decline from the 1st through the 5th centuries C.E.. What was the political and military glue that held this diverse, multi-ethnic empire together? What were the bases of wealth and how was it distributed? What were the possibilities and limits of economic growth? How integrated was it in culture and religion? What were the causes and consequences of the conversion to Christianity? Why did the Empire fall in the West? How suitable is the analogy of the U.S. in the 21st century?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:IHUM-3, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Saller, R. (PI)
CLASSICS 28N: Inequality: the Last 100,000 Years (HISTORY 15N)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 13N.) This seminar traces the evolution of resource inequality from the Stone Age to the present. Only this long-term perspective reveals the forces that drive inequality and allows us to address two key questions: what causes inequality, and what factors have been capable of reducing it, at least for a while? We are going to confront challenging arguments: that inequality has been closely tied up with overall economic and human development, and that over the long course of history, war, revolution and pestilence were the most effective equalizers of income and wealth. This class will help you appreciate contexts and complexities that are usually obscured by partisan polemics and short-term thinking. Seminar participants will be directly involved in the instructor's current research project on the history of inequality.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
Instructors:
Scheidel, W. (PI)
CLASSICS 31: Greek Mythology
(Formerly
CLASSGEN 18.) The heroic and divine in the literature, mythology, and culture of archaic Greece. Interdisciplinary approach to the study of individuals and society. Illustrated lectures. Readings in translation of Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus, and the poets of lyric and tragedy. Weekly participation in a discussion section is required.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, GER:DB-Hum
Instructors:
Martin, R. (PI)
;
Sheppard, A. (PI)
CLASSICS 32: Gender and Power in Ancient Greece (FEMGEN 17)
(Formerly
CLASSGEN 17.) Introduction to the sex-gender system of ancient Greece, with comparative material from modern America. How myths, religious rituals, athletics, politics and theater reinforced gender stereotypes and sometimes undermined them. Skills: finding clues, identifying patterns and making connections amongst the components of a strange and beautiful culture very different from our own. Weekly participation in a discussion section is required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
Instructors:
Gleason, M. (PI)
;
Weiss, S. (TA)
CLASSICS 34: Ancient Athletics
(Formerly
CLASSGEN 34.) How the Olympic Games developed and how they were organized. Many other Greek festivals featured sport and dance competitions, including some for women, and showcased the citizen athlete as a civic ideal. Roman athletics in contrast saw the growth of large-scale spectator sports and professional athletes. Some toured like media stars; others regularly risked death in gladiatorial contests and chariot-racing. We will also explore how large-scale games were funded and how they fostered the development of sports medicine. Weekly participation in a discussion section is required; enroll in sections on coursework.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 35: Becoming Like God: An Introduction to Greek Ethical Philosophy
(Formerly
CLASSGEN 35.) This course investigates key ethical philosophies in classical Greece. After reading several Greek tragedies (representing traditional Greek values), we examine the Greek philosophers' rejection of this tradition and their radically new ethical theories. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle offered different ethical theories, but they shared basic conceptions of goodness and happiness. They argues that we could "become like gods" by achieving philosophic wisdom. What kind of wisdom is this? How does it make us ethically good and supremely happy people?
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Nightingale, A. (PI)
CLASSICS 36: Gender and Power in Ancient Rome
(Formerly
CLASSGEN 119.) Interactions of gender and power in ancient Roman politics, religion, spectacles, and daily life. Masculinity and femininity in founding legends and public rituals; the ambiguous status of Vestal Virgins; gendered behavior in the Roman Forum; the spatial logic of prostitution; sexual characterizations of good vs. bad emperors in ancient texts; gender and time in Roman houses; inversions of gender and space in early Christian martyr narratives. Readings include modern gender theory as well as ancient Roman texts and material culture.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
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