Key - General Education Requirements, School of Arts and Sciences

Key - Basic Skills Requirements, School of Arts and Sciences

I   Workshop in Composition
A  Algebra

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CLASS Courses 2104

This course will survey the major achievements of ancient Greek civilization. Arranged on a roughly chronological basis, the readings and lectures will move from the epic poetry of Greece's heroic Bronze Age, through the great intellectual innovations of the Archaic Age, to the Classical era dominated by the contrasting contributions of Sparta and Athens. Although the social and economic background will not be neglected, the chief emphasis will be placed on those aspects of Greek civilization that have retained a perennial significance for Western societies— its literature, its politics, its historical writing, its philosophy, its art and architecture.

Prerequisite(s): none

Check with the department on how often this course is offered.

This course will survey the major achievements of ancient Greek civilization. Arranged on a roughly chronological basis, the readings and lectures will move from the epic poetry of Greece's heroic Bronze Age, through the great intellectual innovations of the Archaic Age, to the Classical era dominated by the contrasting contributions of Sparta and Athens. Although the social and economic background will not be neglected, the chief emphasis will be placed on those aspects of Greek civilization that have retained a perennial significance for Western societies— its literature, its politics, its historical writing, its philosophy, its art and architecture.

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

This course will survey the major achievements of ancient Greek civilization. Arranged on a roughly chronological basis, the readings and lectures will move from the epic poetry of Greece's heroic Bronze Age, through the great intellectual innovations of the Archaic Age, to the Classical era dominated by the contrasting contributions of Sparta and Athens. Although the social and economic background will not be neglected, the chief emphasis will be placed on those aspects of Greek civilization that have retained a perennial significance for Western societies— its literature, its politics, its historical writing, its philosophy, its art and architecture.

Prerequisite(s): none

Check with the department on how often this course is offered.

Who were the Romans? What was it like to live in Roman society? What was their understanding of the world? What kinds of technology did they develop? What did they do for work or entertainment? How were they educated? What kinds of personalities did they have? These questions and more will be addressed in this course which will focus both on the records we have (historical, archaeological, literary) from ancient Rome, and on the legacy of Rome which continues to influence the way we live today.

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

Our subject will be the traditional stories--myths, legends, and folktales--of the Greeks and Romans. Traditional stories are ones that, by virtue of some compelling attraction, manage to survive from generation to generation, so our main task will be to discover just what that 'compelling attraction' was. The creation of the universe, the first woman Pandora, the Twelve Gods and Goddesses, the theft of fire by Prometheus, Helen and the Trojan War, the foundation of Rome by Aeneas, and Ovid's fanciful metamorphoses are examples of the stories from our modern illustrated reader Classical Myth by Barry B. Powell. By way of providing a context for our stories, the instructor will also devote much attention to such topics as popular belief and superstition, cult rituals, sanctuaries of the gods, oracles and prophets, the conceptualization of male and female, sexuality, and the social and cultural basis of myth in general. Throughout, we shall examine the many theories about the meaning of traditional stories from antiquity down to our own day.

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

Helen of Troy, Sappho, Pericles' lover Aspasia, and Cleopatra, Achilles, Pericles himself, Plato, and Alexander the Great. These are names familiar to many of us, but to what extent was these individuals' gender an element of their achievement and fame? This course attempts to answer this question by examining the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations from the perspective of male and female. We shall proceed by topic, focusing on legal status and citizenship, marriage, the family, the citizen life course, public roles, education, sexuality, religion, popular attitudes, and the views and conceptualizations of ancient social and political theory. Throughout we shall isolate and discuss factors determining or conditioning the peculiar features of the gender roles before us and especially those that seemed to have prompted departures from the prevailing norms. Readings will include a historical narrative, a reader of excerpts from primary sources arranged by topic, and a selection of Athenian comedies and tragedies. The course material will be illustrated by films.

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

Writing students will fulfill the requirements of the College Writing Board by submitting a paper in draft form, to be revised and resubmitted in line with its evaluation by the instructor.

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

How can we understand our world? In western culture, science dominates all our answers to this question. But there are other ways. They can be found in the mythologies of ancient and modern peoples. This course will compare the scientific and mythological ways of seeing the world and their more subtle connections. In particular, we will turn to the remarkable events in Ancient Greece of 800-400 B.C. and discover how the scientific approach actually grew slowly out of mythological thought itself.

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

There are two main objectives in this course: (1) acquisition of the basic facts of Greek and Roman mythology, and (2) a critical treatment of these facts through various techniques of literary analysis. We will cover the names and attributes of the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, myths about some of the major heroes and heroines of Greek and Roman mythology, and the principal sources for our knowledge of classical mythology. The texts will be several paperbacks, including both a modern handbook of mythology and translations of works by ancient authors such as Homer, Aeschylus, and Virgil.

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

This course will introduce students to the ancient Greek tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides in English translation. The content will include features of dramatic performances in antiquity and how the plays are produced in modern versions, interpretations and analyses of the plays, and the historical contexts. The methodology will include discussion, lecture, reading and viewing plays in class. This is a Self–Paced course. Workshop attendance is strongly advised. Workshop meeting dates: 1/23, 2/27, and 4/10/2010.

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

The course surveys the history of ancient Greece from the Bronze Age (the era of the Trojan War) to the Roman conquest of Greece. Within this framework, however, we shall focus our attention on the "Golden Age" of Athens. How does an historian view, and attempt to explain, such an Age? Did victory over a "national" enemy in the Persian Wars have an uplifting impact on the Athenian people? Did the empire headed by Athens, which grew out of a formerly free alliance, provide the necessary material conditions for "greatness"? What was the role played by domestic society? We shall examine the nature and impact of radical democracy; the Athenian citizen household; the status of women; childhood and old age; the practice of slavery; occupations (represented by farming, industry, and the military); and the economy in both its domestic and larger aspects. Ancient historians, especially Herodotus and Thucydides, will contribute their estimations of Athens's achievement and more general analyses of human behavior. Throughout, our goal will be to understand the "Golden Age" in terms of the constitutional, political, and societal arrangements of Athens herself. If ancient Athens was "great" in any sense, it is the purpose of this course to explain in historical terms why and how this one city achieved such "greatness."

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

The aim of this course is to introduce students to Aristotle's philosophy by focusing on three central topics. (1) Substance: What is the world made up of at the most fundamental level? (2) Ethics: What is the good life for a human being? How is life to be guided by such a conception? and (3) What is the nature of reasoning and argument? What is the purpose of different kinds of argument, e.g., proof? Are there different kinds of reasoning and argument appropriate for different kinds of subject matter? We will read parts of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Categories, Metaphysics, Prior and Posterior Analytics and Topics.

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

Before registering for a UHC course, students must obtain special permission from the University Honors College, 3600 Cathedral of Learning. 

This course will examine the many different and often competing forms of Christianity that existed during the first five centuries of our Common Era. We will include an historical survey of Mediterranean culture and society in the historical Roman Empire to help us understand the ways in which Christianity developed in relation to the philosophical, sociological, theological, and political environment of this period. We will also focus on the contribution of the early varieties of Christianity to modern western views of the relationship between the individual body and society. Specifically, we will begin with an examination of Greco-Roman "religiousness" and attitudes toward the body as part of the natural order comprising one's duty as a "citizen." Such views will then be compared to the emerging Christian view that denied civic duty to an inferior, material world, by emphasizing individual identification with "a commonwealth in heaven."

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

This course will examine the many different and often competing forms of Christianity that existed during the first five centuries of our Common Era. We will include an historical survey of Mediterranean culture and society in the historical Roman Empire to help us understand the ways in which Christianity developed in relation to the philosophical, sociological, theological, and political environment of this period. We will also focus on the contribution of the early varieties of Christianity to modern western views of the relationship between the individual body and society. Specifically, we will begin with an examination of Greco-Roman "religiousness" and attitudes toward the body as part of the natural order comprising one's duty as a "citizen." Such views will then be compared to the emerging Christian view that denied civic duty to an inferior, material world, by emphasizing individual identification with "a commonwealth in heaven."

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

Greek culture was the filter through which the cultural and artistic achievements of the older, urban civilizations of the Near East (Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Levant) were absorbed into the Mediterranean and redefined in terms which we now call “western”. The course will examine the development of Greek cultural and artistic relationships with the East from the Bronze Age (ca. 3000-1000 B.C.) to the Hellenistic Age (which began with the conquests of Alexander the Great, ca. 330 B.C.), with special emphasis on famous Greek archaeological sites like Mycenae, Delphi, Athens, Olympia and some attention paid to the Greek colonies of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and Magna Graecia (modern Italy).

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

The course will examine the development of Roman architecture from its origins in Etruria and Central Italy to the High Empire (ca. 150 AD). Special attention will be given to 1) the relationship of architectural forms, types and functions to changes in Roman politics and society, 2) the significance of materials and outside influences on the development of local Italian traditions and forms, and 3) the interaction between Roman architectural forms and local traditions in the provinces to create a Roman imperial "koine".

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

This course is a continuation of Sanskrit 1.

Prerequisite(s): Sanskrit 1 or equivalent.

This course is offered at least once a year.

This course is a continuation of Sanskrit 3, with a focus on Vedic Sanskrit. Besides the Vedic selections in Lanman's Sanskrit Reader, additional Vedic hymns will also be read.

Prerequisite(s): none

This course is offered at least once a year.

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