CLASSICS 1G:
Beginning Greek
(Formerly CLASSGRK 1.) No knowledge of Greek is assumed. Vocabulary and syntax of the classical language.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
CLASSICS 1L:
Beginning Latin
(Formerly CLASSLAT 1.) Vocabulary and syntax of the classical language. No previous knowledge of Latin is assumed.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: Language
CLASSICS 2G:
Beginning Greek
(Formerly CLASSGRK 2.) Continuation of CLASSICS 1G. Vocabulary and syntax of the classical language.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
CLASSICS 2L:
Beginning Latin
(Formerly CLASSLAT 2.) Vocabulary and syntax of the classical language. Prerequisite: CLASSICS 1L or equivalent placement.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
CLASSICS 3G:
Beginning Greek
(Formerly CLASSGRK 3.) Vocabulary and syntax of the classical language. Prerequisite: CLASSICS 2G or equivalent placement. CLASSICS 3G fulfills University language requirement.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: Language
CLASSICS 3L:
Beginning Latin
(Formerly CLASSLAT 3.) Vocabulary and syntax of the classical language. Prerequisite: CLASSICS 2L or equivalent placement. CLASSICS 3L fulfills the University language requirement.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: Language
CLASSICS 4L:
Intensive Beginning Latin
(Formerly CLASSLAT 10/210) Equivalent to a year of beginning Latin (three quarters; CLASSICS 1L, 2: and 3L), this course is designed to teach the fundamentals of the Latin language in eight weeks. We will focus primarily on acquiring the basics of Latin grammar, morphology, and vocabulary and developing basic reading skills. At the end of the course, students should be able to read easy Latin prose and poetry. We will be using Wheelock's Latin textbook and meeting three hours a day, four days a week. Grades will depend on class participation and on performance in weekly quizzes and in a final written exam. Classics majors and minors must take course for letter grade. CLASSICS 4L fulfills the University language requirement.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 12
| UG Reqs: Language
CLASSICS 6G:
Biblical Greek (JEWISHST 5, RELIGST 171A)
(Formerly CLASSGRK 5.) This is a one term intensive class in Biblical Greek. After quickly learning the basics of the language, we will then dive right into readings from the New Testament and the Septuagint, which is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. No previous knowledge of Greek required. If demand is high for a second term, an additional quarter will be offered in the Spring.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 6L:
Latin 400-1700 CE (CLASSICS 208L, RELIGST 173X)
Readings in later Latin, drawing on the vast bodies of texts from the late antique, medieval and early modern periods. Each week students will prepare selections in advance of class meetings; class time will be devoted to translation and discussion. Students taking this course will gain exposure to a wide range of later Latin texts; hone translation skills; and develop an awareness of the grammatical and stylistic features of post-classical Latin. The course is aimed both at classical Latinists seeking to broaden their reading experience and at medievalists and early modernists seeking to consolidate their Latin language skills.nnSample readings:nK.P. Harrington et al, Medieval Latin 2nd edn.nM. Riley, The Neo-Latin Reader: selections from Petrarch to RimbaudnnPrior experience in Latin is required, preferably CLASSICS 11L. Equivalent accepted. Anyone unsure whether to take this course is encouraged to contact the instructor in advance.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 1-2
CLASSICS 7G:
Biblical Greek (JEWISHST 5B)
This is a continuation of the Winter Quarter Biblical Greek Course. Pre-requisite: CLASSICS 6G or a similar introductory course in Ancient Greek.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 11G:
Intermediate Greek: Prose
(Formerly CLASSGRK 101.) Transition to reading narrative Grammar review and vocabulary-building.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: Language
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 11L:
Intermediate Latin: Introduction to Literature
(Formerly CLASSLAT 101.) Phonology, morphology, semantics, and syntax. Readings in prose and poetry. Analysis of literary language, including rhythm, meter, word order, narrative, and figures of speech.May be repeat for credit.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: Language
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 12G:
Intermediate Greek: Sophocles' Antigone
(Formerly CLASSGRK 102.) Classics majors and minors may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: Language
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 12L:
Intermediate Latin: Cicero and Catullus
(Formerly CLASSLAT 102.) In this class you will practice with and reinforce the advanced vocabulary, forms, and syntax of classical Latin you have previously acquired. The primary emphasis of this course is on developing fluency in reading Latin. You will have opportunities to discuss topics and issues raised by the readings.Your knowledge of the content and syntax of the readings will be assessed by several short translation/grammar quizzes.Classics majors and minors may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: Language
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 13G:
Intermediate Greek: Homer's Iliad
(Formerly CLASSGRK 103.) Classics majors and minors may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: Language
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 13L:
Intermediate Latin: Vergil's Aeneid, Books 7-12
(Formerly CLASSLAT 103.) Vocabulary, forms and syntax. Classics majors and minors may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: Language
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 14:
Greek and Latin Roots of English
(Formerly CLASSGEN 9) Goal is to improve vocabulary, comprehension of written English, and standardized test scores through learning the Greek and Latin components of English. Focus is on patterns and processes in the formation of the lexicon. Terminology used in medicine, business, education, law, and humanities; introduction to principles of language history and etymology. Greek or Latin not required.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 3
CLASSICS 15N:
Saints, Warriors, Queens, and Cows
The literature of medieval Ireland (600-1400 AD) is rich in tales about war and adventure, pagan gods, and otherworld voyages. The sagas of kings and queens sit side by side (sometimes in the same medieval manuscripts) with stories of holy men and women, and exquisite poetry in praise of nature or important persons. We will explore this largely unfamiliar but fascinating world through careful reading of the primary texts, backed up by some secondary works on history, myth, and society. In addition, the influence of early Irish literature on such later writers as W. B. Yeats and Flann O'Brien will be investigated. Readings include heroic stories of Finn and Cú Chulainn; the Cattle Raid of Cooley; the Voyage of Bran; satires; bardic praise-poems; monastic poems; and Sweeney Astray (Buile Shuibhne).
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
CLASSICS 16N:
Sappho: Erotic Poetess of Lesbos (FEMGEN 24N)
(Formerly CLASSGEN 24N.) Preference to freshmen. Sappho's surviving fragments in English; traditions referring to or fantasizing about her disputed life. How her poetry and legend inspired women authors and male poets such as Swinburne, Baudelaire, and Pound. Paintings inspired by Sappho in ancient and modern times, and composers who put her poetry to music.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-CE, WAY-EDP
CLASSICS 17N:
To Die For: Antigone and Political Dissent (TAPS 12N)
(Formerly CLASSGEN 6N.) Preference to freshmen. Tensions inherent in the democracy of ancient Athens; how the character of Antigone emerges in later drama, film, and political thought as a figure of resistance against illegitimate authority; and her relevance to contemporary struggles for women's and workers' rights and national liberation. Readings and screenings include versions of Antigone by Sophocles, Anouilh, Brecht, Fugard/Kani/Ntshona, Paulin, Glowacki, Gurney, and von Trotta.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-EDP, WAY-ER
CLASSICS 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. nn nnWhy 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?nn nnPainted 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.nn nnSculptors 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).nn nnThe 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.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 19N:
Eloquence Personified: How To Speak Like Cicero
This course is an introduction to Roman rhetoric, Cicero's Rome, and the active practice of speaking well. Participants read a short rhetorical treatise by Cicero, analyze one of his speeches as well as more recent ones by, e.g., Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Obama, and watch their oratorical performances. During the remainder of the term they practice rhetoric, prepare and deliver in class two (short) speeches, and write an essay.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-CE
CLASSICS 21Q:
Eight Great Archaeological Sites in Europe (ARCHLGY 21Q)
(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, WAY-A-II, Writing 2
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.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 3
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 during regular academic quarters (Aut, Win, Spr)
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
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?
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
CLASSICS 37:
Humanities Core: Great Books, Big Ideas -- Europe, The Ancient World (DLCL 11, HUMCORE 11)
This course will journey through ancient literature from Homer to St. Augustine; it will introduce participants to some of its fascinating features and big ideas; and it will reflect on questions such as: What is a good life, a good society? Who is in and who is out and why? What is the meaning of honor, and should it be embraced or feared? Where does human subjectivity fit into a world of matter, cause and effect? When is rebellion justified? What happens when a way of life or thought is upended? Do we have any duties to the past?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 38:
Humanities: An Introduction to How Humans Think About Themselves (HUMCORE 1)
Ever since humans evolved, we have been asking ourselves what we are and how we should live. This course is an introduction to the answers that have been offered, asking why they have varied so much and how they might continue to change in the future. Combining literary, archaeological, and anthropological evidence from around the world with the insights of biology, psychology, and the social sciences, the class will trace the story from the origins of modern humans some 200,000-300,000 years ago forward to our own age. Central topics will include what makes humans different from other animals, whether there is a universal human nature, and how the humanities differ from the sciences. The course is intended as an introduction to the global history of humanistic thought and as a foundation for more detailed study in the humanities.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 39:
Reinventing the Sophomore Experience
The sophomore year brings a number of choices that undergraduates have to make. This course is a chance to explore those choices thoughtfully, without resorting to negative clichés ('sophomore slump'). Students will diagnose and discuss the issues at stake, including academic plans, campus life, work-life balance, longer-term life goals. The challenges and opportunities of leadership is an important theme, both in an abstract sense and practically: students will, in the course of the autumn term, design an event which will be held in the winter or spring term. This residentially-based course is aimed at students who have preassigned to Toyon's RISE program, Reinventing the Sophomore Experience. One unit only. Letter-grade only.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 1
CLASSICS 40:
Greek Philosophy (PHIL 100)
We shall cover the major developments in Greek philosophical thought, focusing on Plato, Aristotle, and the Hellenistic schools (the Epicureans, the Stoics, and the Skeptics). Topics include epistemology, metaphysics, psychology, ethics and political theory. No prereqs, not repeatable.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 41:
Herodotus
For Ancient History field of study majors; others by consent of instructor. Close reading technique. Historical background to the Greco-Persian Wars; ancient views of empire, culture, and geography; the wars and their aftermath; ancient ethnography and historiography, including the first narrative of ancient Egypt.
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
CLASSICS 42:
Philosophy and Literature (COMPLIT 181, ENGLISH 81, FRENCH 181, GERMAN 181, ITALIAN 181, PHIL 81, SLAVIC 181)
Required gateway course for Philosophical and Literary Thought; crosslisted in departments sponsoring the Philosophy and Literature track. Majors should register in their home department; non-majors may register in any sponsoring department. Introduction to major problems at the intersection of philosophy and literature, with particular focus on the question of value: what, if anything, does engagement with literary works do for our lives? Issues include aesthetic self-fashioning, the paradox of tragedy, the paradox of caring, the truth-value of fiction, metaphor, authorship, irony, make-believe, expression, edification, clarification, and training. Readings are drawn from literature and film, philosophical theories of art, and stylistically interesting works of philosophy. Authors may include Sophocles, Chaucer, Dickinson, Proust, Woolf, Borges, Beckett, Kundera, Charlie Kaufman; Barthes, Foucault, Nussbaum, Walton, Nehamas; Plato, Montaigne, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Sartre. Taught in English.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 43:
Exploring the New Testament (JEWISHST 86, RELIGST 86)
To explore the historical context of the earliest Christians, students will read most of the New Testament as well as many documents that didn't make the final cut. Non-Christian texts, Roman art, and surviving archeological remains will better situate Christianity within the ancient world. Students will read from the Dead Sea Scrolls, explore Gnostic gospels, hear of a five-year-old Jesus throwing divine temper tantrums while killing (and later resurrecting) his classmates, peruse an ancient marriage guide, and engage with recent scholarship in archeology, literary criticism, and history.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 51:
Introduction to Greek Archaeology (ARCHLGY 51)
An introduction to the archaeology of ancient Greece, from the first city states through the cultural achievements of classical Athens to the conquest by Rome.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 52:
Introduction to Roman Archaeology (ARCHLGY 81)
(Formerly CLASSART 81.) This course will introduce you to the material culture of the ancient Roman world, from spectacular imperial monuments in the city of Rome to cities and roads around the Mediterranean, from overarching environmental concerns to individual human burials, from elite houses and army forts to the the lives of slaves, freedmen and gladiators. Key themes will be change and continuity over time; the material, spatial and visual workings of power; how Roman society was materially changed by its conquests and how conquered peoples responded materially to Roman rule.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
CLASSICS 54:
Introduction to World Architecture (ARTHIST 3)
This lecture course surveys the history of architecture and urbanism, from the first societies to the present, in Europe, West and East Asia, the Americas, and Africa. The course progresses by case studies of exemplary monuments and cities, and examines the built environment as both cultural artifact and architectural event. It considers the social and political circumstances of architectural invention as well as plumbing the depth of artistic context by which particular formal choices resonate with an established representational culture.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 56:
Introduction to the Visual Arts: Prehistoric through Medieval (ARTHIST 1A)
A survey of the art and architecture from the cave paintings of Lascaux to the Gothic Cathedrals of France; the material is organized both chronologically and thematically and covers a multiplicity of religions: pagan, Christian, and Islamic.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
CLASSICS 57:
Introduction to Digital Archaeology (ARCHLGY 47)
While the tools of Digital Archaeology frequently change, using digital tools has been part of the discipline for decades. These tools and approaches provide new forms of research, visualization, and outreach to archaeological investigations. This course is designed to introduce students of archaeology to the digital research methods useful to the discipline, and provide them with hands-on experience in three types of digital method: digital mapping, visualization, and 3D modeling. The goal of the course is for students to learn about the state of digital archaeology, to become familiar with common methods, and become aware of the resources available for research.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
CLASSICS 81:
Ancient Empires: Near East
Why do imperialists conquer people? Why do some people resist while others collaborate? This course tries to answer these questions by looking at some of the world's earliest empires. The main focus is on the expansion of the Assyrian and Persian Empires between 900 and 300 BC and the consequences for the ancient Jews, Egyptians, and Greeks. The main readings come from the Bible, Herodotus, and Assyrian and Persian royal inscriptions, and the course combines historical and archaeological data with social scientific approaches. Weekly participation in a discussion section is required.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
CLASSICS 82:
The Egyptians (AFRICAAM 30, HISTORY 48, HISTORY 148)
Overview of ancient Egyptian pasts, from predynastic times to Greco-Roman rule, roughly 3000 BCE to 30 BCE. Attention to archaeological sites and artifacts; workings of society; and cultural productions, both artistic and literary. Participation in class is required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 83:
The Greeks (HISTORY 101)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 101.) 250 years ago, for almost the first time in history, a few societies rejected kings who claimed to know what the gods wanted and began moving toward democracy. Only once before had this happened--in ancient Greece. This course asks how the Greeks did this, and what they can teach us today. It uses texts and archaeology to trace the material and military sides of the story as well as cultural developments, and looks at Greek slavery and misogyny as well as their achievements. Weekly participation in a discussion section is required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 84:
The Romans (HISTORY 102A)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 60.) How did a tiny village create a huge empire and shape the world, and why did it fail? Roman history, imperialism, politics, social life, economic growth, and religious change. Weekly participation in a discussion section is required; enroll in sections on Coursework.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 101G:
Advanced Greek: Lyric Poetry
(Formerly CLASSGRK 111.) Invectives, love songs, drinking songs, elegies, and choral odes from 700-500 B.C.E. Readings include Sappho, Alcaeus, Archilochus, Mimnermus, Alcman, Solon, and Pindar. Classics majors and minors may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: Language
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 101L:
Advanced Latin: Seneca
(Formerly CLASSLAT 111.) Classics majors and minors must take for a letter grade and may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: Language
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 102G:
Advanced Greek: Greek Scientific Writings
(Formerly CLASSGRK 112.) Classics majors and minors may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: Language
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 102L:
Advanced Latin: Rebel with a cause: Catiline
(Formerly CLASSLAT 112.) Beguiling. Riotous. Fallen. Lucius Sergius Catilina (108-62 BCE): Who was he? Reading of selections of Cicero's Catilinarians and In Defense of Caelius, and Sallust's Catilinarian Conspiracy. We will compare the three different Catilinarian villains within the framework of rhetoric, Cicero's and Sallust's styles (esp. metaphors), and explore the historian's possible debts to the orator. As needed, we will review questions of grammar and syntax, rhetorical terms, and historical context. Classics majors and minors must take course for letter grade. May be repeated for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: Language, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 103G:
Advanced Greek: Plato's Crito
(Formerly CLASSGRK 113.) Classics majors and minors must take for a letter grade and may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: Language
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 103L:
Advanced Latin: Ovid's Metamorphoses
(Formerly CLASSLAT 113.) Classics majors and minors must take course for a letter grade and may repeat for credit with advance approval from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: Language, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 104A:
Latin Syntax (CLASSICS 204A)
(Formerly CLASSLAT 175A/275A.) Intensive review of Latin syntax. Begins Autumn Quarter and continues through the fifth week of Winter Quarter. See CLASSICS 206A/B for supplemental courses. Prerequisite for undergraduates: three years of Latin. First-year graduate students register for CLASSICS 204A.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 4
CLASSICS 104B:
Latin Syntax (CLASSICS 204B)
(Formerly CLASSLAT 175B/275B) Intensive review of Latin syntax. Began with 104A/204A in Autumn Quarter and continues through the fifth week of Winter Quarter. See CLASSICS 206A/B for supplemental courses. Prerequisite for undergraduates: three years of Latin. First-year graduate students register for CLASSICS 204B.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 2
CLASSICS 105A:
Greek Syntax: Prose Composition (CLASSICS 205A)
(Formerly CLASSGRK 175A/275A.) Review of Greek grammar and instruction in Greek prose composition skills. Begins sixth week of Winter Quarter and continues through Spring Quarter. Prerequisite for undergraduates: three years of Greek. First-year graduate students register for 205A/B.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
CLASSICS 112:
Introduction to Greek Tragedy: Gods, Heroes, Fate, and Justice (TAPS 167)
(Formerly CLASSGEN 110.) Gods and heroes, fate and free choice, gender conflict, the justice or injustice of the universe: these are just some of the fundamental human issues that we will explore in about ten of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 116:
Human Rights in Historical Perspective (HUMRTS 106)
The course will examine the way in issues now considered to be at the core of human rights concerns have been dealt with in different historical and cultural contexts. The themes of the course will center on human trafficking and slavery, sexual violence, and mass atrocity crimes such as genocide. The course will thus not be a chronological survey but rather thematic and comparative in its approach, including consideration, of course, of ancient societies in Greece, Rome, and China.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 121:
Ecology in Philosophy and Literature
(Formerly CLASSGEN 116.) The basic principles of ecological thinking, exploring the ways that different writers represent and relate to the natural world. Some key questions: What is nature, and where do humans fit in the natural world? How exactly do humans differ from other animals? Do these differences make us superior beings? What are our ethical responsibilities towards the earth and its inhabitants? In what ways have the technologies of writing, television, and computers affected humankind's relationship to the natural world?
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
CLASSICS 123:
Ancient Medicine
Contemporary medical practice traces its origins to the creation of scientific medicine by Greek doctors such as Hippocrates and Galen. Is this something of which modern medicine can be proud? The scientific achievements and ethical limitations of ancient medicine when scientific medicine was no more than another form of alternative medicine. Scientific medicine competed in a marketplace of ideas where the boundaries between scientific and social aspects of medicine were difficult to draw.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 124:
Ancient and Modern Medicine
Imagine a world where the Universe has a built-in purpose and point. How would this belief impact man's place in nature? Imagine a world where natural substances have "powers." How might this impact diet and pharmacology? Magical vs. scientific healing: a clear divide? Disease and dehumanization: epilepsy, rabies. Physical and mental health: black bile and melancholy. The ethical and scientific assumptions hidden in medical language and imagery. How ancient medicine and modern medicine (especially alternative medicine) illuminate each other.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
CLASSICS 136:
The Greek Invention of Mathematics (MATH 163)
How was mathematics invented? A survey of the main creative ideas of ancient Greek mathematics. Among the issues explored are the axiomatic system of Euclid's Elements, the origins of the calculus in Greek measurements of solids and surfaces, and Archimedes' creation of mathematical physics. We will provide proofs of ancient theorems, and also learn how such theorems are even known today thanks to the recovery of ancient manuscripts.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 137:
Ancient Dance and its Modern Legacy (CLASSICS 237, TAPS 165C, TAPS 265C)
Descriptions of dance in the Greek and Greco-Roman world; theories about dance in antiquity; dance and the senses; modern and modernist dancers and choreographers discussing ancient dance
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 146:
Winged Bulls and Sun Disks: Religion and Politics in the Persian Empire (CLASSICS 246, RELIGST 229, RELIGST 329)
Stretching from India to Ethiopia, the Persian Empire the largest empire before Rome has been represented as the exemplar of oriental despotism and imperial arrogance, a looming presence and worthy foil for the West and Greek democracy. This course will provide a general introduction to the Persian Empire, beginning in the 6th century BCE to the fall of Persia to Alexander the Great in 331 BCE. We shall not only examine the originality of the first world empire of antiquity, but the course will also attempt to present a broad picture of the diverse cultural institutions and religious practices found within the empire. Readings in translation from the royal edicts and the inscriptions of Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes will allow us to better appreciate the subtle ways in which these Persian kings used religion to justify and propagate the most ambitious imperial agenda the world had ever seen. In concluding the quarter, students will evaluate contemporary representations of Persia and the Persians in politics and popular culture in a wide array of media, such as the recent film 300 and the graphic novel on which it is based, in an attempt to better appreciate the enduring legacy of the Greco-Persian wars.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
CLASSICS 147:
Priests, Prophets, and Kings: Religion and Society in Late Antique Iran (CLASSICS 247, RELIGST 209, RELIGST 309)
This course is designed as a broad introduction to the religious and social history of the Sasanian Empire, encompassing the period from 224-651 CE as well as the early years of Islamic rule in Iran. Among the topics we will discuss are: the lives and deeds of the powerful Iranian emperors such as Shapur I and II in relation to the the Roman emperors Diocletian and Constantine; the transformation of Zoroastrianism into a powerful official religion of the state and its subsequent orthodoxy; the emergence of the prophet Mani and the confrontation of Manicheism with the Zoroastrian priesthood; the conversion of Constantine to Christianity and its political and social ramifications in Iran; the establishment of an independent Iranian Christian church; the importance of Armenia in the Sasanian- Roman conflict; and a brief discussion of the history of the Jewish community under the Sasanians. We will end the quarter by examining the Arab¿Islamic¿conquests of Iran and the profound social changes experienced by the Zoroastrian communities in the early centuries of Islam in Iran.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 148:
Imperishable Heroes and Unblemished Goddesses: Myth, Ritual, and Epic in Ancient Iran (CLASSICS 248, RELIGST 209E, RELIGST 309E)
Designed as a broad introduction to the world of ancient Iran, students will be introduced to the Indo-European inheritance in ancient Iranian culture; the shared world of ritual, religion, and mythology between Zoroastrianism in Iran and Vedic Hinduism in India; and to the contours of early Zoroastrian religious thought. We will also survey mythoepic literature in translation from the archaic Avesta through the late antique Zoroastrian Middle Persian corpus to the early medieval national epic of Iran, the Book of Kings of Ferdowsi.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 150:
Majors Seminar
(Formerly CLASSGEN 176.) Required of Classics majors and minors in junior or senior year; students contemplating honors should take this course in junior year. Advanced skills course involving close reading, critical thinking, editing, and writing. In-class and take-home writing and revising exercises. Final paper topic may be on any subject related to Classics. Fulfills WIM requirement for Classics.nnWinter Quarter topic: investigating a wide range of ethical dilemmas raised by the ownership of the classical past in the 21st centurynSpring Quarter topic: Why study Classics? The uses and abuses of classical studies.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
CLASSICS 151:
Ten Things: An Archaeology of Design (ARCHLGY 151)
(Formerly CLASSART 113/213.) Connections among science, technology, society and culture by examining the design of a prehistoric hand axe, Egyptian pyramid, ancient Greek perfume jar, medieval castle, Wedgewood teapot, Edison's electric light bulb, computer mouse, Sony Walkman, supersonic aircraft, and BMW Mini. Interdisciplinary perspectives include archaeology, cultural anthropology, science studies, history and sociology of technology, cognitive science, and evolutionary psychology.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 154:
Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Maritime Archaeology of the Ancient Mediterranean (ARCHLGY 145)
(Formerly CLASSART 145.) Why do we care about shipwrecks? What can sunken sites and abandoned ports tell us about our past? Focusing primarily on the archaeological record of shipwrecks and harbors, along with literary evidence and contemporary theory, this course examines how and why ancient mariners ventured across the "wine-dark seas" of the Mediterranean for travel, warfare, pilgrimage, and especially commerce. We will explore interdisciplinary approaches to the development of maritime contacts and communication from the Bronze Age through the end of Roman era. At the same time, we will engage with practical techniques of maritime archaeology, which allows us to explore the material record first hand.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 156:
Design of Cities (ARCHLGY 156, CLASSICS 256)
Long-term, comparative and archaeological view of urban planning and design. Cities are the fastest changing components of the human landscape and are challenging our relationships with nature. They are the historical loci of innovation and change, are cultural hotspots, and present a tremendous challenge through growth, industrial development, the consumption of goods and materials. We will unpack such topics by tracking the genealogy of qualities of life in the ancient Near Eastern city states and those of Graeco-Roman antiquity, with reference also to prehistoric built environments and cities in the Indus Valley and through the Americas. The class takes an explicitly human-centered view of urban design and one that emphasizes long term processes.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 157:
The Archaeology of Cyprus (CLASSICS 257)
This seminar course introduces students to the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean and its archaeology, from the origins of human occupation to the end of antiquity. Readings and discussions of material culture and texts will explore the history and practice of Cypriot archaeology in relation to those of Greece and the Near East. Key themes will include: islands and insularity, continuity vs. change, sex and identity, the rise of the state, regionalism, and imperial conquest. Suitable for both graduate and undergraduate students.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 158:
Iconoclasm (ARTHIST 209C, ARTHIST 409, CLASSICS 258, REES 409)
By the seventh century three large political entities formed in the Mediterranean the Umayyads, the Carolingians, and the Byzantines each competed for legitimacy; all three emerged from the ashes of Late Antique culture, yet each tried to carve out an identity out of this common foundation. In this parting of the ways, the three empires took among others the issue of what constitutes an image and what role it plays in devotion. Eik'n, imago, ura became the basis on which to built differences and accuse the other political players of idolatry. This course explores medieval image theory, especially the phenomena of iconoclasm, iconophobia, and aniconism. The discussions focus on monuments in the Mediterranean as well as objects in the Cantor collection and facsimiles of manuscripts at the Bowes Art Library.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 5
CLASSICS 159:
Appropriations of Greek Art
Upper division seminar. The history of the appropriation of Greek art by Rome, the Renaissance, Lord Elgin, and Manet. Enrollment limited to 6. Prerequisite: ARTHIST 102 or consent of instructor.
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 160:
Design Thinking for the Creative Humanities (CLASSICS 260)
This class introduces Design Thinking to students in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Under a growth mindset of creative exploration and experiment, we will share a tool kit drawn from design thinking and the arts to develop our imaginative capacity to innovate. The standpoint is that creative imagination is not a property of the artistic or design genius but comprises skills and competencies that can be easily learned and adapted to all sorts of circumstances ¿ personal, organizational, business, community.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 161:
Introduction to Greek Art I: The Archaic Period (ARTHIST 101)
This lecture course explores Greek art and culture from 1000-480. In the beginning archaic art forms are more abstract than life-like, closer to Calder than Michelangelo. While Homer describes the rippling muscles (and egos) of his heroes, vase-painters and sculptors prefer abstraction. This changes in the 7th C. as a result of commerce with the Near East and Egypt. Imported Near Eastern bronzes and ivories awaken the Greeks to a wider range of subjects, techniques and ambitions. Later in the century, Greeks in Egypt learn to carve hard stone from Egyptian masters. Throughout the 6th C. Greek artists assimilate what they had borrowed, compete with one another, defy their teachers, test the tolerance of the gods and eventually produce works of art that speak with a Greek accent. When the Persians invade the Acropolis in 480, they find artifacts with little trace of alien influence or imprint - omens of the defiant Greek military that would prevail at Salamis and Plataea.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 162:
Introduction to Greek Art II: The Classical Period (ARTHIST 102)
The class begins with the art, architecture and political ideals of Periclean Athens, from the emergence of the city as the political and cultural center of Greece in 450 to its defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404. It then considers how Athens and the rest of Greece proceed in the fourth century to rebuild their lives and the monuments that define them. Earlier artistic traditions endure, with subtle changes, in the work of sculptors such as Kephisodotos. Less subtle are the outlook and output of his son Praxiteles. In collaboration with Phryne, his muse and mistress, Praxiteles challenged the canons and constraints of the past with the first female nude in the history of Greek sculpture. His gender-bending depictions of gods and men were equally audacious, their shiny surfaces reflecting Plato¿s discussion of Eros and androgyny. Scopas was also a man of his time but pursued different interests. Drawn to the inner lives of men and woman, his tormented Trojan War heroes and victims are still scarred by memories of the Peloponnesian War, and a world away from the serene faces of the Parthenon. His famous Maenad, a devotee of Dionysos who has left this world for another, belongs to the same years as Euripides' Bacchae and, at the same time, anticipates the torsion and turbulence of Bernini and the Italian Baroque. In the work of these and other fourth century personalities, the stage is set for Alexander the Great and his conquest of a kingdom extending from Greece to the Indus River. (Formerly CLASSART 102)
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 163:
Artists, Athletes, Courtesans and Crooks (ARTHIST 203)
The seminar covers a range of topics devoted to the makers of Greek art and artifacts, the ancient Greeks who used them in life and the afterlife, and the miscreants - from Lord Elgin to contemporary tomb-looters and dealers- whose deeds have damaged, deracinated and desecrated temples, sculptures and grave goods. Readings include ancient texts in translation, books and articles by eloquent experts, legal texts and lively page-turners. Classes meet in the seminar room and the Cantor Center.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 164:
Roman Gladiators (ARCHLGY 165)
In modern America, gladiators are powerful representatives of ancient Rome (Spartacus, Gladiator). In the Roman world, gladiators were mostly slaves and reviled, barred from certain positions in society and doomed to short and dangerous lives. A first goal of this course is to analyze Roman society not from the top down, from the perspective of politicians, generals and the literary elite, but from the bottom up, from the perspective of gladiators and the ordinary people in the stands. A second goal is to learn how work with very different kinds of evidence: bone injuries, ancient weapons, gladiator burials, laws, graffiti written by gladiators or their fans, visual images of gladiatorial combats, and the intricate architecture and social control of the amphitheater. A final goal is to think critically about modern ideas of Roman ¿bloodthirst.¿ Are these ideas justified, given the ancient evidence?
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
CLASSICS 166:
The Body in Roman Art (ARCHLGY 166)
(Formerly CLASSART 105.) Ancient and modern ideas about the body as ideal and site of lived experience. Themes include representation, portrayal, power, metamorphosis, and replication. Works that exemplify Roman ideas of heroism and power versus works portraying nude women, erotic youth, preserved corpses, and suffering enemies. Recommended: background in ancient Mediterranean art, archaeology, history, or literature. May be repeated for credit.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 4-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 167:
Archaeology of Roman Slavery
The archaeology of Roman slavery embodies a paradox: slavery was ubiquitous in Roman society but did not leave distinct material traces that archaeologists can easily identify. Explore that paradox by examining ancient writings on Roman slavery in conjunction with built spaces, visual images, and artifacts. Discuss more recent slave societies for purposes of comparison and contrast. Learn to analyze different kinds of historical and archaeological evidence, how to reconstruct social and spatial dynamics, and how ancient Roman slavery and society worked.
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 168:
Engineering the Roman Empire (ARCHLGY 118)
(Formerly CLASSART 117.) Enter the mind, the drafting room, and the building site of the Roman architects and engineers whose monumental projects impressed ancient and modern spectators alike. This class explores the interrelated aesthetics and mechanics of construction that led to one of the most extensive building programs undertaken by a pre-modern state. Through case studies ranging from columns, domes and obelisks to road networks, machines and landscape modification, we investigate the materials, methods, and knowledge behind Roman innovation, and the role of designed space in communicating imperial identity.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 169:
Archaeology of Britannia (ARCHLGY 169)
Life in the Roman Empire: this course is a broad introduction to the archaeology of one of the best known provinces of the empire.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 3-4
CLASSICS 171:
Byzantine Art and Architecture, 300-1453 C.E. (ARTHIST 106, ARTHIST 306)
(Formerly CLASSART 106/206.) This course explores the art and architecture of the Eastern Mediterranean: Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Damascus, Thessaloniki, and Palermo, 4th-15th centuries. Applying an innovative approach, we will probe questions of phenomenology and aesthetics, focusing our discussion on the performance and appearance of spaces and objects in the changing diurnal light, in the glitter of mosaics and in the mirror reflection and translucency of marble.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
CLASSICS 172:
Art & Architecture in the Medieval Mediterranean (ARTHIST 105, ARTHIST 305)
Chronological survey of Byzantine, Islamic, and Western Medieval art and architecture from the early Christian period to the Gothic age. Broad art-historical developments and more detailed examinations of individual monuments and works of art. Topics include devotional art, court and monastic culture, relics and the cult of saints, pilgrimage and crusades, and the rise of cities and cathedrals.
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
CLASSICS 173:
Hagia Sophia (ARTHIST 208, ARTHIST 408, CLASSICS 273)
By employing a methodology based in psychoacoustics, semiotics, and phenomenology, this course explores the relationship among sound, water, marble, meaning, and religious experience in the sixth-century church of HagianSophia built by emperor Justinian in Constantinople. We will read medieval sources describing the interior and ritual, make short movies exploring the shimmer of marble in buildings on campus, and study the acoustics of domed buildings through computer auralization done at Stanford's CCRMA (Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics)
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
CLASSICS 174:
Art and Religious Experience in Byzantium and Islam (ARTHIST 209, ARTHIST 309)
This course presents a comparative study of Christian and Islamic paradigms (sixth to the thirteenth centuries) in the construction of religious experience through the material fabric of the building, the interior decor, objects, and rituals. We will read medieval ekphrastic texts and poetry, which stirred the viewer/participant to experience the building/object as animate. Among the sites we will study are: Hagia Sophia, the Ka'ba, the Dome of teh Rock, the Mosque at Damascus and at Cordoba. We will read Byzantine and Arabic writers such as Paul the Silentiary, Patriarch Germanos, Maximus Confessor, Shahrawardi, and Ibn Arabi.
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum
CLASSICS 175:
Architecture, Acoustics and Ritual in Byzantium (ARTHIST 208C, ARTHIST 408C, MUSIC 208C, MUSIC 408C, REES 208C, REES 408C, RELIGST 208C, RELIGST 308C)
Onassis Seminar "Icons of Sound: Architecture, Acoustics and Ritual in Byzantium". This year-long seminar explores the creation and operations of sacred space in Byzantium by focusing on the intersection of architecture, acoustics, music, and ritual. Through the support of the Onassis Foundation (USA), nine leading scholars in the field share their research and conduct the discussion of their pre-circulated papers. The goal is to develop a new interpretive framework for the study of religious experience and assemble the research tools needed for work in this interdisciplinary field.
| Units: 1-3
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 9 units total)
CLASSICS 176:
History of Muslim Science: from Alexandria to Baghdad
How the Muslim world in the Middle Ages preserved and transformed ancient science - and thus made modern science possible. The class follows the ideas and contributions of several key authors such as Al-Khwarizmi (author of the Algorithm), Omar Khayyam and Ibn-Sina, always looking for a key question: what was distinctive about Muslim science, in its own civilization?
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
CLASSICS 177:
Describing and Identifying Ancient Coins (CLASSICS 277)
In numismatics, as in all other disciplines dealing with documentary sources of the ancient world (like epigraphy and papyrology), it is essential to work hands-on with the primary material. This course, an optional accompaniment to the graduate seminar in ancient numismatics, will focus on practical work with ancient coins from the collection at the Cantor Arts Center: students will learn how to describe and identify ancient coins and how to properly catalogue and classify them. A special focus will be on the identification of fakes. Participants will be trained to use the main reference works on ancient coinages in the Frank L. Kovacs library, recently donated to Stanford University.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 178:
Ancient Greek Political Thought
This class traces some of the intellectual roots of modern political thought to authors of classical antiquity, such as Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Xenophon, and Aristotle. We will read portions of their work, in translation, as well as discuss the historical background. Topics will include: political duty, citizenship, and leadership; the origins and rise of Athenian direct democracy; the development of Greek law, constitutional change, and responses to civic strife and civil war.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 181:
Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought (CLASSICS 381, PHIL 176A, PHIL 276A, POLISCI 230A, POLISCI 330A)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 133/333.) Political philosophy in classical antiquity, focusing on canonical works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. Historical background. Topics include: political obligation, citizenship, and leadership; origins and development of democracy; and law, civic strife, and constitutional change.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
CLASSICS 184:
Ancient and Modern Slavery
The ancient Greeks and Roman created the largest and most durable slave system in world history. It formed one of the foundations of classical civilization. While cruelty and exploitation were ever-present features, ancient slavery was not race-based and many slaves came to be freed and fully integrated into society. We will investigate this complex institution from a comparative perspective and in the context of the experience of modern colonial slavery.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 198:
Directed Readings (Undergraduate)
(Formerly CLASSGEN 160.) May be repeated for credit.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Ceserani, G. (PI);
Devine, A. (PI);
Gleason, M. (PI);
Klopacz, J. (PI);
Krebs, C. (PI);
Leidwanger, J. (PI);
Martin, R. (PI);
Maxmin, J. (PI);
McCall, M. (PI);
Morris, I. (PI);
Netz, R. (PI);
Nightingale, A. (PI);
Ober, J. (PI);
Parker, G. (PI);
Peponi, A. (PI);
Rehm, R. (PI);
Saller, R. (PI);
Scheidel, W. (PI);
Shanks, M. (PI);
Stephens, S. (PI);
Trimble, J. (PI)
CLASSICS 199:
Undergraduate Thesis: Senior Research
(Formerly CLASSGEN 199.) May be repeated for credit
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-10
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Ceserani, G. (PI);
Devine, A. (PI);
Gleason, M. (PI);
Klopacz, J. (PI);
Krebs, C. (PI);
Leidwanger, J. (PI);
Martin, R. (PI);
Maxmin, J. (PI);
McCall, M. (PI);
Morris, I. (PI);
Netz, R. (PI);
Nightingale, A. (PI);
Ober, J. (PI);
Parker, G. (PI);
Peponi, A. (PI);
Rehm, R. (PI);
Saller, R. (PI);
Scheidel, W. (PI);
Shanks, M. (PI);
Stephens, S. (PI);
Trimble, J. (PI)
CLASSICS 201G:
Survey of Greek Literature: Archaic Greek
(Formerly CLASSGEN 208A.) Required two-year sequence focusing on the origins, development, and interaction of Greek and Latin literature, history, and philosophy. Greek and Latin material taught in alternate years.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 201L:
Survey of Latin Literature: Literature of the Roman Republic
(Formerly CLASSGEN 207A.) One-year sequence focusing on the origins, development, and interaction of Latin literature, history, and philosophy. Greek and Latin material taught in alternate years. Focus is on translation, textual criticism, genre, the role of Greece in shaping Roman literature, and oral versus written discourse.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 201LA:
Survey of Latin Literature: Special Topics
One-year sequence focusing on the origins, development, and interaction of Latin literature, history, and philosophy. Greek and Latin material taught in alternate years. Focus is on translation, textual criticism, genre, the role of Greece in shaping Roman literature, and oral versus written discourse.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 202G:
Survey of Greek Literature: Classical Greek
(Formerly CLASSGEN 208B.) Required two-year sequence focusing on the origins, development, and interaction of Greek and Latin literature, history, and philosophy. Greek and Latin material taught in alternate years.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 202L:
Survey of Latin Literature: Augustan Age Latin
(Formerly CLASSGEN 207B.) Required two-year sequence focusing on the origins, development, and interaction of Greek and Latin literature, history, and philosophy. Texts of Augustan literature required by the graduate syllabus, emphasizing poetry and major authors.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 203G:
Survey of Greek Literature: Hellenistic and Late Greek
(Formerly CLASSGEN 208C.) Required two-year sequence focusing on the origins, development, and interaction of Greek and Latin literature, history, and philosophy. Greek and Latin material taught in alternate years.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 203L:
Survey of Latin Literature: Imperial Latin
(Formerly CLASSGEN 207C.) One-year sequence focusing on the origins, development, and interaction of Latin literature, history, and philosophy. Greek and Latin material taught in alternate years.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 204A:
Latin Syntax (CLASSICS 104A)
(Formerly CLASSLAT 175A/275A.) Intensive review of Latin syntax. Begins Autumn Quarter and continues through the fifth week of Winter Quarter. See CLASSICS 206A/B for supplemental courses. Prerequisite for undergraduates: three years of Latin. First-year graduate students register for CLASSICS 204A.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 4
CLASSICS 204B:
Latin Syntax (CLASSICS 104B)
(Formerly CLASSLAT 175B/275B) Intensive review of Latin syntax. Began with 104A/204A in Autumn Quarter and continues through the fifth week of Winter Quarter. See CLASSICS 206A/B for supplemental courses. Prerequisite for undergraduates: three years of Latin. First-year graduate students register for CLASSICS 204B.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 2
CLASSICS 205A:
Greek Syntax: Prose Composition (CLASSICS 105A)
(Formerly CLASSGRK 175A/275A.) Review of Greek grammar and instruction in Greek prose composition skills. Begins sixth week of Winter Quarter and continues through Spring Quarter. Prerequisite for undergraduates: three years of Greek. First-year graduate students register for 205A/B.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2
CLASSICS 205B:
Greek Syntax: Prose Composition
(Formerly CLASSGRK 175B/275B.) Review of Greek grammar and instruction in Greek prose composition skills. Begins sixth week of Winter Quarter and continues through Spring Quarter. Prerequisite for undergraduates: three years of Greek. First-year graduate students register for 205A/B.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
CLASSICS 206A:
The Semantics of Grammar
(Formerly CLASSGEN 205A.) Supplements CLASSICS 104A/204A. 206A: Tense, Aspect, Argument Structure, Location. 206B: Quantification, Plurality, Modification, Negation, Modality.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 2
CLASSICS 206B:
The Semantics of Grammar
(Formerly CLASSGEN 205B.) Supplements CLASSICS 104B/204B. 206A: Tense, Aspect, Argument Structure, Location. 206B: Quantification, Plurality, Modification, Negation, Modality.
Last offered: Winter 2017
| Units: 2
CLASSICS 207L:
The Pastoral in Post-Classical LiteratureÂ
For modern readers, the words pastoral and bucolic evoke picturesque scenes of pastureland and flocks of sheep an Arcadian paradise first envisaged by the classical poets Theocritus and Virgil. This weekly reading group traces the long legacy of pastoral poetry in post-classical Latin literature, including the works of Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Sannazaro, and Milton. Through the songs of their shepherds, we will rediscover the pastoral landscape as a site of intergenerational conflict between poets from antiquity to the Renaissance. All readings will be done in the original Latin. Prerequisite: at least one full year of Latin or permission of instructor. Course may be taken independently or as an optional extra weekly session of CLASSICS 102L Advanced Latin: Virgil's Eclogues and Georgics (in the latter case, please register for CLASSICS 102L).
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 1
CLASSICS 208L:
Latin 400-1700 CE (CLASSICS 6L, RELIGST 173X)
Readings in later Latin, drawing on the vast bodies of texts from the late antique, medieval and early modern periods. Each week students will prepare selections in advance of class meetings; class time will be devoted to translation and discussion. Students taking this course will gain exposure to a wide range of later Latin texts; hone translation skills; and develop an awareness of the grammatical and stylistic features of post-classical Latin. The course is aimed both at classical Latinists seeking to broaden their reading experience and at medievalists and early modernists seeking to consolidate their Latin language skills.nnSample readings:nK.P. Harrington et al, Medieval Latin 2nd edn.nM. Riley, The Neo-Latin Reader: selections from Petrarch to RimbaudnnPrior experience in Latin is required, preferably CLASSICS 11L. Equivalent accepted. Anyone unsure whether to take this course is encouraged to contact the instructor in advance.
Terms: Win, Spr
| Units: 1-2
CLASSICS 211:
PROSEMINAR: LATIN WORD ORDER
Latin word order is grammatically free but not pragmatically free. We will analyse the syntactic structures underlying the various Latin word orders and identify the pragmatic meanings they encode. Prerequisite: Classics 204.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 2
CLASSICS 213:
Proseminar: Documentary Papyrology
The focus will be on documentary papyrology. Students will be introduced to the basics of the discipline.
Last offered: Autumn 2014
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 214:
Proseminar: Ancient Numismatics
Graduate proseminar. Introductory overview of the heterogeneous coinages of antiquity, from the earliest coins of the Mediterranean to classical and Hellenistic Greek coins, Roman Republican, Imperial and provincial coinages as well as various ancient Oriental coinages. Topics include: numismatic terminology; techniques of coin production in antiquity; numismatic methodology (die studies; hoard studies; metrological analyses); quantifying coin production and ancient financial history; coins vs. other forms of money in antiquity; the study of ancient coinages in the Early Modern world. Students are expected to prepare talks on specific topics to be agreed upon. Required for ancient history graduate students; others by consent of instructor.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3-5
| Repeatable
for credit
CLASSICS 217:
Western Receptions of Classical Latin Literature: Epic, Lyric, Elegy, Pastoral, Novel
This lecture class aims to explore the later reception of some major texts of Latin poetry and fiction in later European literatures and intellectual cultures from the medieval period until now, predominantly English but occasionally some other European modern languages [English translations supplied]. There will be some orientation in reception studies and its theory. Reading expectations will be mainly literary texts, no more than 100 pages in English per week; the course will look at translations and history of scholarship as well as literary adaptations. Particular attention will be paid to issues of cultural tension and later transformation of classical material in different historical and intellectual environments. It should be of interest to students of English and comparative literature as well as classicists.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 237:
Ancient Dance and its Modern Legacy (CLASSICS 137, TAPS 165C, TAPS 265C)
Descriptions of dance in the Greek and Greco-Roman world; theories about dance in antiquity; dance and the senses; modern and modernist dancers and choreographers discussing ancient dance
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 244:
Classical Seminar: Rethinking Classics (DLCL 321)
Literary and philosophical texts from Antiquity (including Homer, the Greek tragedians, Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, and Augustine). In each case, we will examine the cultural contexts in which each text was composed (e.g. political regimes and ideologies; attitudes towards gender and sexuality; hierarchies of class and status; discourses on "barbarians" and resident aliens). We will study various theoretical approaches to these books in an effort to "rethink" these texts in the 21st century.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 246:
Winged Bulls and Sun Disks: Religion and Politics in the Persian Empire (CLASSICS 146, RELIGST 229, RELIGST 329)
Stretching from India to Ethiopia, the Persian Empire the largest empire before Rome has been represented as the exemplar of oriental despotism and imperial arrogance, a looming presence and worthy foil for the West and Greek democracy. This course will provide a general introduction to the Persian Empire, beginning in the 6th century BCE to the fall of Persia to Alexander the Great in 331 BCE. We shall not only examine the originality of the first world empire of antiquity, but the course will also attempt to present a broad picture of the diverse cultural institutions and religious practices found within the empire. Readings in translation from the royal edicts and the inscriptions of Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes will allow us to better appreciate the subtle ways in which these Persian kings used religion to justify and propagate the most ambitious imperial agenda the world had ever seen. In concluding the quarter, students will evaluate contemporary representations of Persia and the Persians in politics and popular culture in a wide array of media, such as the recent film 300 and the graphic novel on which it is based, in an attempt to better appreciate the enduring legacy of the Greco-Persian wars.
Last offered: Autumn 2016
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 247:
Priests, Prophets, and Kings: Religion and Society in Late Antique Iran (CLASSICS 147, RELIGST 209, RELIGST 309)
This course is designed as a broad introduction to the religious and social history of the Sasanian Empire, encompassing the period from 224-651 CE as well as the early years of Islamic rule in Iran. Among the topics we will discuss are: the lives and deeds of the powerful Iranian emperors such as Shapur I and II in relation to the the Roman emperors Diocletian and Constantine; the transformation of Zoroastrianism into a powerful official religion of the state and its subsequent orthodoxy; the emergence of the prophet Mani and the confrontation of Manicheism with the Zoroastrian priesthood; the conversion of Constantine to Christianity and its political and social ramifications in Iran; the establishment of an independent Iranian Christian church; the importance of Armenia in the Sasanian- Roman conflict; and a brief discussion of the history of the Jewish community under the Sasanians. We will end the quarter by examining the Arab¿Islamic¿conquests of Iran and the profound social changes experienced by the Zoroastrian communities in the early centuries of Islam in Iran.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 248:
Imperishable Heroes and Unblemished Goddesses: Myth, Ritual, and Epic in Ancient Iran (CLASSICS 148, RELIGST 209E, RELIGST 309E)
Designed as a broad introduction to the world of ancient Iran, students will be introduced to the Indo-European inheritance in ancient Iranian culture; the shared world of ritual, religion, and mythology between Zoroastrianism in Iran and Vedic Hinduism in India; and to the contours of early Zoroastrian religious thought. We will also survey mythoepic literature in translation from the archaic Avesta through the late antique Zoroastrian Middle Persian corpus to the early medieval national epic of Iran, the Book of Kings of Ferdowsi.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 256:
Design of Cities (ARCHLGY 156, CLASSICS 156)
Long-term, comparative and archaeological view of urban planning and design. Cities are the fastest changing components of the human landscape and are challenging our relationships with nature. They are the historical loci of innovation and change, are cultural hotspots, and present a tremendous challenge through growth, industrial development, the consumption of goods and materials. We will unpack such topics by tracking the genealogy of qualities of life in the ancient Near Eastern city states and those of Graeco-Roman antiquity, with reference also to prehistoric built environments and cities in the Indus Valley and through the Americas. The class takes an explicitly human-centered view of urban design and one that emphasizes long term processes.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 257:
The Archaeology of Cyprus (CLASSICS 157)
This seminar course introduces students to the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean and its archaeology, from the origins of human occupation to the end of antiquity. Readings and discussions of material culture and texts will explore the history and practice of Cypriot archaeology in relation to those of Greece and the Near East. Key themes will include: islands and insularity, continuity vs. change, sex and identity, the rise of the state, regionalism, and imperial conquest. Suitable for both graduate and undergraduate students.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 258:
Iconoclasm (ARTHIST 209C, ARTHIST 409, CLASSICS 158, REES 409)
By the seventh century three large political entities formed in the Mediterranean the Umayyads, the Carolingians, and the Byzantines each competed for legitimacy; all three emerged from the ashes of Late Antique culture, yet each tried to carve out an identity out of this common foundation. In this parting of the ways, the three empires took among others the issue of what constitutes an image and what role it plays in devotion. Eik'n, imago, ura became the basis on which to built differences and accuse the other political players of idolatry. This course explores medieval image theory, especially the phenomena of iconoclasm, iconophobia, and aniconism. The discussions focus on monuments in the Mediterranean as well as objects in the Cantor collection and facsimiles of manuscripts at the Bowes Art Library.
Last offered: Spring 2017
| Units: 5
CLASSICS 260:
Design Thinking for the Creative Humanities (CLASSICS 160)
This class introduces Design Thinking to students in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Under a growth mindset of creative exploration and experiment, we will share a tool kit drawn from design thinking and the arts to develop our imaginative capacity to innovate. The standpoint is that creative imagination is not a property of the artistic or design genius but comprises skills and competencies that can be easily learned and adapted to all sorts of circumstances ¿ personal, organizational, business, community.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 273:
Hagia Sophia (ARTHIST 208, ARTHIST 408, CLASSICS 173)
By employing a methodology based in psychoacoustics, semiotics, and phenomenology, this course explores the relationship among sound, water, marble, meaning, and religious experience in the sixth-century church of HagianSophia built by emperor Justinian in Constantinople. We will read medieval sources describing the interior and ritual, make short movies exploring the shimmer of marble in buildings on campus, and study the acoustics of domed buildings through computer auralization done at Stanford's CCRMA (Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics)
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 5
CLASSICS 277:
Describing and Identifying Ancient Coins (CLASSICS 177)
In numismatics, as in all other disciplines dealing with documentary sources of the ancient world (like epigraphy and papyrology), it is essential to work hands-on with the primary material. This course, an optional accompaniment to the graduate seminar in ancient numismatics, will focus on practical work with ancient coins from the collection at the Cantor Arts Center: students will learn how to describe and identify ancient coins and how to properly catalogue and classify them. A special focus will be on the identification of fakes. Participants will be trained to use the main reference works on ancient coinages in the Frank L. Kovacs library, recently donated to Stanford University.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 298:
Directed Reading in Classics (Graduate Students)
(Formerly CLASSGEN 260.)
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-15
| Repeatable
for credit
(up to 15 units total)
Instructors: ;
Arthur - Montagne, J. (PI);
Austin, A. (PI);
Ceserani, G. (PI);
Devine, A. (PI);
Gleason, M. (PI);
Klopacz, J. (PI);
Krebs, C. (PI);
Leidwanger, J. (PI);
Martin, R. (PI);
Maxmin, J. (PI);
McCall, M. (PI);
Morris, I. (PI);
Netz, R. (PI);
Nightingale, A. (PI);
Ober, J. (PI);
Parker, G. (PI);
Peponi, A. (PI);
Rehm, R. (PI);
Saller, R. (PI);
Scheidel, W. (PI);
Shanks, M. (PI);
Stephens, S. (PI);
Trimble, J. (PI)
CLASSICS 301:
Gateways to Classics
(Formerly CLASSGEN 300A.) Focus on skills, methodologies and approaches in the study of Classics topics, with attention both to histories of the disciplines and to new developments. Required for first-year Classics graduate students.
Last offered: Autumn 2014
| Units: 1
CLASSICS 304:
Developing a Classics Dissertation Prospectus
This workshop concentrates on the development process of writing a successful dissertation proposal and clarifies expectations of the defense process. Includes peer reviews of draft proposals with an aim to present provisional proposals by the end of term. Highly recommended for current third-year Classics Ph.D. students.
Terms: Win
| Units: 1-3
CLASSICS 315:
Aristotle and the Object of Mathematical Reasoning (PHIL 318)
The concept of definition plays a central role in Aristotle's treatment of both philosophical and scientific inquiry, as well as explanation. A definition is an account of what something is, and some definitions are used to guide causal inquiry whereas others function as explanatory starting points. In this course we will examine texts from his logic, natural science and metaphysics in order to see what the different kinds of definition are, how they obtained, and how they are capture the nature or essence of a definable object. Particular attention will be given to the role of matter in the definition of the form of a natural substance, state, process or activity. For instance, what role does a specification of physiological processes play in the definitions of emotions such as anger? No knowledge of Greek is required. May be repeat for credit.
| Units: 4
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 12 units total)
CLASSICS 318:
Aristophanes: Comedy, and Democracy
(Formerly CLASSGEN 304.) Intensive study of three plays in Greek (Knights, Peace, Ecclesiazusae) and the rest of the corpus in English, with reference to formal features and a focus on how Old Comedy related to the democratic practices of Athens.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 327:
Petronius and Apuleius
Petronius' Satyricon and Apuleius' Metamorphoses represent the surviving Latin novel. Differences between them. Readings include Petronius' dinner at Trimalchio's and Apuleius' love story of Cupid and Psyche. Philological analysis, history of the novel, and social history of the Roman empire. The afterlife of these texts. Recent scholarship.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 328:
Augustine on Memory, Time, and the Self
(Formerly CLASSGEN 336.) This course examines Augustine's "Confessions" as an autobiographical discourse. It investigates his theories of memory and of time and address different theories of the "self." How does memory and the passing of time affect the notion of the self? Does Augustine's "subjective" theory of time offer an identifiable self? Is the self constructed by narratives? We will locate these issues in their cultural context by investigating Christian and pagan discourses and practices in Late Antiquity.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 329:
Roman Spaces
How might we make sense of the physical environment in the Roman world? What are the most useful units by which to make sense of its parts? What is the character and impact of human interventions? We'll take a detailed but wide-ranging look at Mediterranean landscapes, emphasizing the period of Roman hegemony. Proceeding systematically, we will get the measure of each province triangulating ancient texts (Strabo, Pliny the elder, Pausanias) and documents; the archaeological record; and the landscape itself.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 330:
Satire
The concept of "satire" as a social and literary force will be examined with equal attention given to examples in Greek and Latin. Texts to be analyzed include Greek iambos from the 7th century BC to early Byzantine times; selected portions of Old Comedy; Herodas; Lucian; Lucilius; Horace, Ovid, Juvenal, Persius, and Martial. Particular attention will be paid to authorial self-fashioning; limitations on verbal abuse; and ideas of propriety. All texts to be read in the original languages, with supplementary readings in English and on occasion French, German or Italian.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 331:
Words and Things in the History of Classical Scholarship (HISTORY 303F)
How have scholars used ancient texts and objects since the revival of the classical tradition? How did antiquarians study and depict objects and relate them to texts and reconstructions of the past? What changed and what stayed the same as humanist scholarship gave way to professional archaeologists, historians, and philologists? Focus is on key works in the history of classics, such as Erasmus and Winckelmann, in their scholarly, cultural, and political contexts, and recent critical trends in intellectual history and the history of disciplines.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 335:
Ekphrasis in Antiquity
What is "ekphrasis"? How was it theorized and practiced in antiquity? Description, interpretation, and the senses; The relationship between the verbal and the visual in antiquity from Homer to Philostratus.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 336:
Plato on Eros and Beauty (PHIL 306C)
We read Plato's Symposium and Phaedrus; topics: love, beauty, language (oral and written). Graduate seminar, but open to seniors.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 337:
The Second Sophistic
The class will introduce students to the most important aspects of the Second Sophistic: linguistic and literary classicism, rhetoric and performance, typical literary forms. Particular emphasis will be on the social and political background of the movement (Greek identity, social distinction, sophists and gender). For students who wish to take the class for 4 or 5 units, part of the readings will be in the original Greek.
Last offered: Autumn 2014
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 339:
Catullus: Textual Criticism and Literary Interpretation
This seminar will read much of the work of the major Latin poet Catullus (including some of the longer poems) from the perspective of textual criticism and literary interpretation: the two are necessarily closely bound up, and the minimal and imperfect nature of the Catullan textual transmission gives excellent opportunities to concentrate on trying to work out what the poet wrote and why, as well as analysing his work from a literary perspective. It will give orientation in the principles and practice of textual criticism as well as on Catullus and late republican Latin poetry. Metre will also figure. We will read up to 12 pages of Latin per week with some secondary literature. A good knowledge of Latin is required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 343:
Poetics of the Iliad
(Formerly CLASSGRK 354.)The entire poem in Greek, with attention to issues of style and interpretation in light of the last 50 years of Homeric studies. Readings in secondary literature including key articles in French and German.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 344:
Plato on Eros, Logos, and Madness
The course focuses on Plato's Symposium and Phaedrus. It investigates the following topics: the role that eros plays in Plato's philosophy; the relation of love and beauty; the creation of metaphysical desire; Plato's conception of the gods, the divine Forms, and inspiration; philosophic madness and ecstatic thinking; oral dialogue vs. the written word; rhetoric, dialectic, and the limits of logos in the contemplation of truth.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 345:
Pantomime Dance in the Greco-Roman World
This seminar will examine the irresistible allure of pantomime dancing and its impressive popularity for several centuries; the remarkable social and political implications of pantomime performances until their effective banning in the sixth century A.D.; the relationship between pantomime performance and ancient dramatic texts and performances; the physical, sensual, and intellectual aspects of the genre; the body as a hermeneutic topos in the Imperial period and in Late Antiquity.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 346:
Aristotle's Protrepticus and its Background (PHIL 315)
In this seminar, we shall read Aristotle's Protrepticus. This is an early work of Aristotle that attempts to turn the reader to a philosophic life and it is by far the least read of his works on ethics. It was only recovered in the 19th century and only in the past 15 years or so do we have a reliable text. Thus studies of it are very much underdeveloped. We shall also read as background some other protreptic works by Plato and the rhetorician Isocrates. 2 unit option is only for Philosophy PhD students beyond the second year.
Terms: Win
| Units: 2-4
CLASSICS 352:
Doing Business in Classical Antiquity: Mediterranean Exchange (ARCHLGY 327)
Exchange was everywhere in the Mediterranean, from the individual household to the state. Yet the specific models by which goods changed hands were as varied as the ideas and values that moved alongside them. This seminar will explore theoretical approaches to commercial and non-commercial exchange, drawing primarily on the crucial but uneven bodies of archaeological evidence and historical sources in an effort to investigate the simple but hardly straightforward question of how business was undertaken in the Greco-Roman world.
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 353:
Archaeology: Post-Humanist Agendas (ARCHLGY 353)
How do people and their artifacts connect? Just what is the subject of archaeological history? A seminar reviewing the latest materialist approaches in archaeology and heritage studies.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 355:
Landscape & Archaeology (ARCHLGY 355)
TBD
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 356:
Mediterranean Regionalism (ARCHLGY 356)
The ancient world enjoys scholarly traditions of both grand pan-Mediterranean narratives and focused studies of the individual landscapes and peoples who comprise them. Within archaeology, these latter explorations generally rely on expedient geographical designations, modern political boundaries, or survey areas as focused ¿regions¿ for discussion. Defining and interrogating the regions created and experienced by ancient peoples and assembling these into a coherent larger ancient picture proves far more difficult. This seminar explores the varied forms of ancient regionalisms¿from archaeological (architecture, ceramics, coinage, sculpture, etc.) to social (language, religion, etc.)¿and tools for investigating such patterns of human interaction.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 358:
The Archaeology of Ancient Mediterranean Environments
This seminar examines the interplay between classical archaeologists¿ conceptions and analyses of ancient Mediterranean environments. These themes loom large now - during what might be called the ¿environmental turn¿ of the Anthropocene in the humanities and social sciences - and their increasing resonance provides the basis for critical reflection of the discipline¿s past and future trends. Topics will include: environmental determinism, ¿non-human¿ agency, the role of science in archaeological/historical practice, and the compartmentalization of environment/climate as analytic focus.
Last offered: Autumn 2015
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 367:
Mediterranean Networks (ARCHLGY 367)
The the ancient Mediterranean was highly interconnected is common knowledge, and the idea of integration has become a defining factory in current approaches to Greco-Roman cultural identities. Yet how connectivity functiond, and how we should effectively analyze it, are less well understood. This seminar highlights emerging network approaches--both broad theoretical network paradigms and specific network science methodologies--as conceptual tools for archaeological and historical investigations of cultural interaction (economic, religious, artistic, colonial, etc.) across the Mediterranean world.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 370:
Topics in Roman Art and Visual Culture
Ancient Roman visual culture both reflected and actively shaped political, social, cultural and economic situations. Artworks, imagery and things seen played roles in constructing experience, intervening in human relationships, representing meaning, and framing possibility in particular ways. This seminar explores some of the most exciting recent work on Roman art and visual culture. Topics may include viewing and reception, materiality and object relations, framing, and others.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 372:
Archaeology of Roman Slavery (ARCHLGY 342)
(Formerly CLASSART 342.) The archaeological study of Roman slavery has been severely limited by a focus on identifying the traces of slaves in the material record. This seminar explores a range of newer and more broadly conceived approaches to understanding slavery and slaves' experiences, including spatial analysis, bioarchaeology, epigraphy, visual imagery, and comparative archaeologies of slavery. Students will learn about the current state of research, work with different kinds of evidence and a range of methodologies, and develop original research projects of their own.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 373:
Reception and Literacy in Roman Art (ARTHIST 422)
(Formerly CLASSART 322.) Beyond a focus on artists and patrons: how Roman art was seen and understood by its contemporary viewers. Themes include memory, performance, gender, replication, and constructions of space. Goal is to draft a differentiated model of viewing and literacy, with attention to collective experience, hierarchy, access, and subversion.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 5
CLASSICS 375:
Julius Caesar in Context
We shall look at the material, cultural and intellectual, and political world of the late Roman republic through the eyes of Caesar. Topics include: engineering, the city of Rome, geography, ethnography, archaeology in Gaul, Latin linguistics, poetry and patronage, the calendar, and the idea of Romanitas. Historians, archaeologists, and philologists are all equally welcome.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 376:
Art, Ekphrasis, and Music in Byzantium and Islam (ARTHIST 405)
Focus is on the interrelation of art, architecture, verbal description, poetry, and music, including the singing of psalms and recitation of the Qur'an. How ekphrasis, the style of writing vividly intended to transform the listeners into spectators, structures the perception of and response to artistic production be it an art object, building, or a musical performance. The role of ekphrasis in animating the inanimate and the importance of breath and spirit, which become manifest in visual, acoustic, olfactory, and gustatory terms. Religious and courtly settings: Hagia Sophia, the Great Palace of Constantinople, the Dome of the Rock, the palaces of Baghdad and Samarra, the mosque at Cordoba, Medinat al-Zahra and the Alhambra. Greek and Arabic writers on ekphrasis in translation, juxtaposing the medieval material to the ancient theories of ekphrasis and modern scholarship.
| Units: 5
CLASSICS 377:
Animation, Performance, Presence in Medieval Art (ARTHIST 411)
(Formerly CLASSART 311.) This course will explore concepts of animacy, performance, and presence in the art of Byzantium, focusing on the concept of image understood as the living bodies of the saints, the space of Hagia Sophia and its Eucharist ritual, the polymorphism of the mixed-media icon, and the interaction with these objects in prayer and recitation of epigrams.
| Units: 5
| Repeatable
2 times
(up to 10 units total)
CLASSICS 378:
Ancient Greek Law and Justice (POLISCI 337L)
The development and practice of law and legal procedure in the ancient Greek world, emphasizing the well documented case of classical Athens. Constitutional, criminal, and civil law, approached through analysis of actual laws and speeches by litigants in Athenian courtrooms. Review of a growing scholarship juxtaposing Greek law to other prominent legal traditions and exploring the role of law in Greek social relations, economics, and literature, and its relationship to Greek conceptions of justice.
Last offered: Spring 2016
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 380:
Ancient Empires
What is an empire? How did they begin? Why have some imperialists been successful, while others failed dismally? Why do some people collaborate with imperialism, while others resist fiercely? This seminar examines the empires of the ancient East Mediterranean between 800 and 300 BC, focusing on two great imperial powers (Assyria, Persia) and three smaller societies on the receiving end of imperial conquest (Israel, Egypt, Greece), and asking why societies that were successful in resisting imperialism often then tried to create empires themselves. The evidence used comes mainly from epigraphy, the Hebrew Bible, and Herodotus. Some background in ancient history and/or comparative politics preferred.
Last offered: Winter 2016
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 381:
Classical Seminar: Origins of Political Thought (CLASSICS 181, PHIL 176A, PHIL 276A, POLISCI 230A, POLISCI 330A)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 133/333.) Political philosophy in classical antiquity, focusing on canonical works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. Historical background. Topics include: political obligation, citizenship, and leadership; origins and development of democracy; and law, civic strife, and constitutional change.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 382:
High-Stakes Politics: Case Studies in Political Philosophy, Institutions, and Interests (POLISCI 231, POLISCI 331)
Normative political theory combined with positive political theory to better explain how major texts may have responded to and influenced changes in formal and informal institutions. Emphasis is on historical periods in which catastrophic institutional failure was a recent memory or a realistic possibility. Case studies include Greek city-states in the classical period and the northern Atlantic community of the 17th and 18th centuries including upheavals in England and the American Revolutionary era.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 384A:
Ancient Greek Economic Development (POLISCI 430A)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 330A.) Drawing on Herodotus and other literary sources, ancient historians have traditionally seen classical Greece as a very poor land. Recent research, however (much of it conducted here at Stanford), suggests that Greece in fact saw substantial economic growth and rising standards of living across the first millennium BCE. This seminar tests the poor Hellas/wealthy Hellas models against literary and archaeological data. We will develop and test hypotheses to explain the rate and pace of economic change in the Greek world.
Last offered: Winter 2015
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 384B:
Ancient Greek Economic Development (POLISCI 430B)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 330B.) Drawing on Herodotus and other literary sources, ancient historians have traditionally seen classical Greece as a very poor land. Recent research, however (much of it conducted here at Stanford), suggests that Greece in fact saw substantial economic growth and rising standards of living across the first millennium BCE. This seminar tests the poor Hellas/wealthy Hellas models against literary and archaeological data. We will develop and test hypotheses to explain the rate and pace of economic change in the Greek world.
Last offered: Spring 2015
| Units: 1-5
CLASSICS 389:
Dark Ages Compared: Early Iron Age Greece and Early Medieval Britain
This seminar compares the collapse and revival of complex societies in Greece (1200-700 BC) and Britain (AD 400-800), looking at causes, economic, demographic, social, cultural, and political consequences, the uses of written and archaeological evidence, and what it means to call a period a "Dark Age."nSome background in early Greek and/or Late Roman and early medieval history or archaeology is preferred.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 390:
Origins of Political Thought (PHIL 276D, POLISCI 430)
Political philosophy in classical antiquity, focusing on canonical works of Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. Historical background. Topics include: political obligation, citizenship, and leadership; origins and development of democracy; and law, civic strife, and constitutional change
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
CLASSICS 391:
Early Empires: Han and Rome
(Formerly CLASSHIS 344.) This course systematically compares the Han Empire and the Roman Empire in order to provide insight into the distinctive features of the empires as a political and social type. Topics examined will include geographic frames, the nature of the ruler, the role of the city, the form and function of military forces, religious aspects, legal codes, structures of kinship, and the relation of these states to the outside world.
| Units: 4-5
CLASSICS 399:
Dissertation Research in Classics
(Formerly CLASSGEN 360.)
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 1-10
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Ceserani, G. (PI);
Devine, A. (PI);
Gleason, M. (PI);
Klopacz, J. (PI);
Krebs, C. (PI);
Leidwanger, J. (PI);
Martin, R. (PI);
Maxmin, J. (PI);
McCall, M. (PI);
Morris, I. (PI);
Netz, R. (PI);
Nightingale, A. (PI);
Ober, J. (PI);
Parker, G. (PI);
Peponi, A. (PI);
Rehm, R. (PI);
Saller, R. (PI);
Scheidel, W. (PI);
Shanks, M. (PI);
Stephens, S. (PI);
Trimble, J. (PI)
CLASSICS 801:
TGR M.A. Project
(Formerly CLASSGEN 801.)
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 0
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Ceserani, G. (PI);
Devine, A. (PI);
Gleason, M. (PI);
Klopacz, J. (PI);
Krebs, C. (PI);
Leidwanger, J. (PI);
Martin, R. (PI);
Maxmin, J. (PI);
McCall, M. (PI);
Morris, I. (PI);
Netz, R. (PI);
Nightingale, A. (PI);
Ober, J. (PI);
Parker, G. (PI);
Peponi, A. (PI);
Rehm, R. (PI);
Saller, R. (PI);
Scheidel, W. (PI);
Shanks, M. (PI);
Stephens, S. (PI);
Trimble, J. (PI)
CLASSICS 802:
TGR Ph.D. Dissertation
(Formerly CLASSGEN 802.)
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum
| Units: 0
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors: ;
Ceserani, G. (PI);
Devine, A. (PI);
Gleason, M. (PI);
Klopacz, J. (PI);
Krebs, C. (PI);
Leidwanger, J. (PI);
Martin, R. (PI);
Maxmin, J. (PI);
McCall, M. (PI);
Morris, I. (PI);
Netz, R. (PI);
Nightingale, A. (PI);
Ober, J. (PI);
Parker, G. (PI);
Peponi, A. (PI);
Rehm, R. (PI);
Saller, R. (PI);
Scheidel, W. (PI);
Shanks, M. (PI);
Stephens, S. (PI);
Trimble, J. (PI)
