CL 200: THE CLASSICAL WORLD
BO 208B MWF 11:15-12:10
Prof. Lisa George, x2497, Harder Hall 208b, Office hours: MW 1-2
This course serves as an introduction to classical antiquity for students pursuing studies in ancient Greece and Rome, for those interested in the classical tradition and the impact of the study of antiquity on Medieval and Renaissance Europe, and for those seeking a general background in the western tradition. The centerpiece of the course will be an examination of Greek and Latin literature within their larger social contexts. Readings (in English) will include Greek and Latin epic, tragic poetry, letters and orations; history and historiography; and philosophical, political, and mathematical treatises. The physical remains of classical antiquity, theoretical issues, and the classical tradition in the Middle Ages and Renaissance will also undergo scrutiny.
The theme for this year's "Classical World" course is "community." Through the examination and analysis of art and texts, we will focus on the ways in which the Greeks and Romans constructed their communities, who could belong and who could not, the values upon which their communities were predicated, the lengths they would go to reenter and/or to protect their created communities, and the ways in which their ideals of community have been preserved and passed on to us.
Required texts:
Required texts:
Greek
OHG=Boardman, J., O. Murray, and J. Griffin, Editors. The Oxford History of Greece and the Hellenistic World. Oxford, 1991.
Homer. Odyssey. Trans. R. Lattimore. Harper, 1965.
Grene, D., and R. Lattimore, Editors. Greek Tragedies, Volume I, Second Edition, including Aeschylus - "Agamemnon" and "Prometheus Bound"; Sophocles - "Oedipus the King" and "Antigone"; and, Euripides - "Hippolytus". University of Chicago Press, 1991.
Grene, D., and R. Lattimore, Editors. Greek Tragedies, Volume III, Second Edition, including Aeschylus - "The Eumenides"; Sophocles - "Philoctetes" and "Oedipus at Colonus"; and, Euripides - "The Bacchae" and "Alcestis". University of Chicago Press, 1991.
Aristophanes. Clouds. Translation by Jeffery Henderson. Focus, 1993.
Plato. The Symposium. Trans. Nehamas and Woodruff. Hackett.
Roman
OHR=Boardman, J., O. Murray, and J. Griffin, editors. The Oxford History of the Roman World..
Virgil. The Aeneid of Virgil. Trans. A. Mandelbaum. Bantam, 1981.
Cicero. Selected Works. Translated by Michael Grant. Viking Penguin, 1960.
Reserve Reading
Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. Verso, 1991.
Participating faculty:
Classics: Michael Arnush, Lisa George, Leslie Mechem, David Porter
Art History: Penny Jolly
English: Kate Greenspan
Italian: Giuseppe Faustini
History: David Baum
Library: Ruth Copans
Mathematics: Dan Hurwitz
Philosophy: Frank Gonzalez
Course requirements:
Essay: one 5-7 page paper (due week 6): 15%
Take-home Midterm Essay (due end of week 9): 20%.
Research Paper: one 7-10 page research paper (due week 15): 25% each
Final Exam (as scheduled by Registrar): 20%
Class Participation: 20%. Class participation is an essential aspect of this class and consists of two components: preparation of readings and assignments and participation in class discussions. If you do not attend class, you cannot participate. Throughout the semester we will select readings to be discussed by the class on an electronic chatroom accessible via Netscape. The Netscape CL 200 Chatroom will form an essential corollary to the course, for we will use it to generate discussion, disseminate texts, announcements and other information, and raise issues of interest. Reader responses will be required and will count towards the 20% of the grade devoted to class participation. In addition, attendance is mandatory at several special events during the semester: an evening showing of the film "The Name of the Rose" on Sunday, March 2, a lecture on Thursday, March 6, by Adele Haft of Hunter College entitled "Maps, Mazes, and Monsters: The Iconography of the library in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose," an evening lecture and presentation by Ruth Copans, Tuesday April 1st, in Scribner Library, and a bus trip to NYC on Saturday, April 19th.
NOTE: Absence from any exam without a written medical excuse will result in a grade of F for that exam. No late papers will be accepted.
Reading Schedule (subject to change)
Classics: Michael Arnush, Lisa George, Leslie Mechem, David Porter
Art History: Penny Jolly
English: Kate Greenspan
Italian: Giuseppe Faustini
History: David Baum
Library: Ruth Copans
Mathematics: Dan Hurwitz
Philosophy: Frank Gonzalez
Essay: one 5-7 page paper (due week 6): 15%
Take-home Midterm Essay (due end of week 9): 20%.
Research Paper: one 7-10 page research paper (due week 15): 25% each
Final Exam (as scheduled by Registrar): 20%
Class Participation: 20%. Class participation is an essential aspect of this class and consists of two components: preparation of readings and assignments and participation in class discussions. If you do not attend class, you cannot participate. Throughout the semester we will select readings to be discussed by the class on an electronic chatroom accessible via Netscape. The Netscape CL 200 Chatroom will form an essential corollary to the course, for we will use it to generate discussion, disseminate texts, announcements and other information, and raise issues of interest. Reader responses will be required and will count towards the 20% of the grade devoted to class participation. In addition, attendance is mandatory at several special events during the semester: an evening showing of the film "The Name of the Rose" on Sunday, March 2, a lecture on Thursday, March 6, by Adele Haft of Hunter College entitled "Maps, Mazes, and Monsters: The Iconography of the library in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose," an evening lecture and presentation by Ruth Copans, Tuesday April 1st, in Scribner Library, and a bus trip to NYC on Saturday, April 19th.
NOTE: Absence from any exam without a written medical excuse will result in a grade of F for that exam. No late papers will be accepted.
WEEK 1
22 WED
: Introduction
- George
- Selections from Anderson, Imagined Communities (on reserve): Ch. 3,
"The Origins of National Consciousness," and Ch. 5, "Old Languages, New
Models." Respond to Chatroom.
- 24 FRI: Introduction to GREEK ART
- Mechem
- OHG: Ch. 12 (Greek Art and Architecture)
- 27 MON
- Mechem
- OHG: Ch. 16 (Hellenistic and Graeco-Roman Art)