printer friendly pageCLASSICS 116: Human Rights in Comparative and Historical Perspective (CLASSICS 216, ETHICSOC 106, HUMRTS 106)
The course examines core human rights concepts and issues as they arise in a variety of contexts ranging from the ancient world to today. These issues include slavery, human trafficking, gender based violence, discrimination against marginalized groups, and how these and other issues are linked to war, internal conflict, and imperialism. We will consider the ways in which such issues emerge, are explicitly treated, or are ignored in a variety of historical and contemporary settings with a particular emphasis on the impact that war and conflict have on laws and norms that in principle aim to protect individuals from violence and exploitation. This inquiry also entails consideration of the modern notion of the universality of human rights based on a conception of a common humanity and how alien that concept is in states and communities that define or embody hierarchies that systematically exclude groups or populations from the protections and respect that other groups and individuals are
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The course examines core human rights concepts and issues as they arise in a variety of contexts ranging from the ancient world to today. These issues include slavery, human trafficking, gender based violence, discrimination against marginalized groups, and how these and other issues are linked to war, internal conflict, and imperialism. We will consider the ways in which such issues emerge, are explicitly treated, or are ignored in a variety of historical and contemporary settings with a particular emphasis on the impact that war and conflict have on laws and norms that in principle aim to protect individuals from violence and exploitation. This inquiry also entails consideration of the modern notion of the universality of human rights based on a conception of a common humanity and how alien that concept is in states and communities that define or embody hierarchies that systematically exclude groups or populations from the protections and respect that other groups and individuals are afforded. Nowhere do the devastating consequences of such exclusions become clearer than in times of crisis and conflict. The course draws upon a variety of case studies from the Greco-Roman world and other temporal and geographical contexts to explore the political and social dynamics that shape and inform the violence inherent in such events.
Last offered: Winter 2023
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 118: Slavery, human trafficking, and the moral order: ancient and modern (CLASSICS 218)
Slavery and trafficking in persons in the Greco-Roman world were legal and ubiquitous; today slavery is illegal in most states and regarded as a grave violation of human rights and as a crime against humanity under international law. In recent trends, human trafficking has been re-conceptualized as a form of "modern day slavery. " Despite more than a century since the success of the abolition movement, slavery and trafficking continue in the 21st century on a global scale. The only book for the course is: Peter Garnsey, Ideas of Slavery from Aristotle to Augustine, Cambridge University Press
Last offered: Spring 2021
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
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.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 128: Europe Before the Romans: Early Complex Societies (ARCHLGY 128)
This course will provide a broad introduction to theories of change in early complex societies and polities. Over the course of the quarter, we will examine a series of hotly debated theoretical frameworks. From the beginning, you will develop a case study for your final research paper using an appropriate theoretical framework. The course will look at a series of global case studies but will focus specifically on western Europe¿s protohistoric Iron Age (c.800¿100BCE), a period of technological innovation, rich art and cultural expression, rapidly growing connectivity and trade, alongside rapid social and political change.
Last offered: Winter 2021
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
CLASSICS 143: The Use of Classical Antiquity in Modern China (CHINA 151, CHINA 251)
This course examines the roles played by classical antiquity--Greek, Roman, and Chinese--in China's modernization process. Central topics of discussion include: the relationship between tradition and modernity, the relationship between China and the West, the politics and techniques of appropriation in the reception of classical heritage, and the evolving and highly contentious nature of the differences among various approaches to classical antiquity. Tackling the most fundamental questions that have confronted an ancient civilization from the turn of the twentieth century to the present, the course investigates how "classics" and "classical tradition" acquire different meanings and functions in changed contexts, and serves as a convenient introduction to key moments and figures in modern Chinese cultural and intellectual history.
Last offered: Spring 2023
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
CLASSICS 149: Democracy Ancient and Modern: From Politics to Political Theory (CLASSICS 249, PHIL 176J, PHIL 276J, POLISCI 231A, POLISCI 331A)
Modern political theorists, from Hobbes and Rousseau, to Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss, to Sheldon Wolin and Robert Dahl, have turned to the classical Greek theory and practice of politics, both for inspiration and as a critical target. The last 30 years has seen renewed interest in Athenian democracy among both historians and theorists, and closer interaction between empiricists concerned with 'what really happened, and why' and theorists concerned with the possibilities and limits of citizen self-government as a normatively favored approach to political organization. The course examines the current state of scholarship on the practice of politics in ancient city-states, including but not limited to democratic Athens; the relationship between practice and theory in antiquity (Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and others); the uses to which ancient theory and practice have been and are being put by modern political theorists; and experiments in democratic practice (citizen assemblies, deli
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Modern political theorists, from Hobbes and Rousseau, to Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss, to Sheldon Wolin and Robert Dahl, have turned to the classical Greek theory and practice of politics, both for inspiration and as a critical target. The last 30 years has seen renewed interest in Athenian democracy among both historians and theorists, and closer interaction between empiricists concerned with 'what really happened, and why' and theorists concerned with the possibilities and limits of citizen self-government as a normatively favored approach to political organization. The course examines the current state of scholarship on the practice of politics in ancient city-states, including but not limited to democratic Athens; the relationship between practice and theory in antiquity (Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and others); the uses to which ancient theory and practice have been and are being put by modern political theorists; and experiments in democratic practice (citizen assemblies, deliberative councils, lotteries) inspired by ancient precedents. Suggested Prerequisites: Origins of Political Thought OR The Greeks OR other coursework on ancient political theory or practice. (For undergraduate students: suggest but do not require that you have taken either Origins of Political Thought, or The Greeks, or some other course that gives you some introduction to Greek political history or thought. )
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Ober, J. (PI)
CLASSICS 150: Majors Seminar: Why Classics?
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. Winter Quarter Topic: Why Classics? The question is pressing both politically and intellectually and we will explore its long history, from the culture wars in ancient Greece and Rome, to modern conflicts about ownership of classical monuments and ideals, to the choice of whether to major in Classics today. Critical analysis, discussion, reading (all in English) and writing about case studies (Parthenon, Hadrian's Wall, Pantheon, Thucydides, Tacitus, ancient drama, ancient and modern politics, textual transmission) exercising historical, literary and archaeological approaches.Students who enroll in this course will have the opportunity to apply for a spring break in Rome, Italy from March 23 - March 30.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Ceserani, G. (PI)
;
Macksoud, J. (PI)
CLASSICS 151: Ten Things: An Archaeology of Design (ARCHLGY 151)
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: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Lugardo, J. (PI)
;
Shanks, M. (PI)
CLASSICS 153: Ancient Urbanism
Ancient Greek, ancient Roman, and historical Islamic cities succeeded one another in western Asia and around the Mediterranean Sea. This course compares and contrasts these three great urban traditions. Cities studied include Athens, Olynthos, Rome, Pompeii, Constantinople, Tunis, Damascus. Themes include the organization of political, religious and commercial space; concepts of public and private; gendered experiences of urban life; interconnections among cities; the long-term histories of ancient cities, some of which continue to shape life today. Students will learn about historical places and developments; strengthen critical thinking skills; practice oral and written analyses of urban space.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SI
Instructors:
Trimble, J. (PI)
CLASSICS 154: Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Maritime Archaeology of the Ancient Mediterranean (ARCHLGY 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 2023
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-SI
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