printer friendly pageCLASSICS 18N: The Artist in Ancient Greek Society (ARTHIST 100N)
Given the importance of art to all aspects of their lives, the Greeks had reason to respect their artists. Yet potters, painters and even sculptors possessed little social standing. 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
| 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
Instructors:
Krebs, C. (PI)
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, Writing 2, WAY-A-II
Instructors:
Shanks, M. (PI)
CLASSICS 28N: Inequality: the Last 100,000 Years (HISTORY 15N)
(Formerly CLASSHIS 13N.) This seminar traces the evolution of resource inequality from the Stone Age to the present. Only this long-term perspective reveals the forces that drive inequality and allows us to address two key questions: what causes inequality, and what factors have been capable of reducing it, at least for a while? We are going to confront challenging arguments: that inequality has been closely tied up with overall economic and human development, and that over the long course of history, war, revolution and pestilence were the most effective equalizers of income and wealth. This class will help you appreciate contexts and complexities that are usually obscured by partisan polemics and short-term thinking. Seminar participants will be directly involved in the instructor's current research project on the history of inequality.
Last offered: Spring 2015
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: WAY-A-II, GER:DB-Hum
Instructors:
Martin, R. (PI)
;
Ten-Hove, L. (PI)
;
Gardner, N. (TA)
...
more instructors for CLASSICS 31 »
Instructors:
Martin, R. (PI)
;
Ten-Hove, L. (PI)
;
Gardner, N. (TA)
;
Kim, H. (TA)
;
Zuckerman, V. (TA)
CLASSICS 34: Ancient Athletics
(Formerly
CLASSGEN 34.) How the Olympic Games developed and how they were organized. Many other Greek festivals featured sport and dance competitions, including some for women, and showcased the citizen athlete as a civic ideal. Roman athletics in contrast saw the growth of large-scale spectator sports and professional athletes. Some toured like media stars; others regularly risked death in gladiatorial contests and chariot-racing. We will also explore how large-scale games were funded and how they fostered the development of sports medicine. Weekly participation in a discussion section is required; enroll in sections on coursework.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 35: Becoming Like God: An Introduction to Greek Ethical Philosophy
(Formerly
CLASSGEN 35.) This course investigates key ethical philosophies in classical Greece. After reading several Greek tragedies (representing traditional Greek values), we examine the Greek philosophers' rejection of this tradition and their radically new ethical theories. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle offered different ethical theories, but they shared basic conceptions of goodness and happiness. They argues that we could "become like gods" by achieving philosophic wisdom. What kind of wisdom is this? How does it make us ethically good and supremely happy people?
Last offered: Spring 2017
| 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
Instructors:
Krebs, C. (PI)
;
Walsh, V. (TA)
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
Instructors:
Parker, G. (PI)
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