DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS

In this course we will examine, and learn how to write about, the role of Ancient Greece and Rome in American film and culture. Preliminary steps in this study will involve introductions to various historic eras of the ancient Greco-Roman world as well as important elements of ancient culture. Our emphasis will, however, not be analysis of antiquity itself but rather of American engagement with that antiquity, particularly in film. From reflections of ancient Rome in Star Wars to the adaptation of Greek comedy in Spike Lee's Chiraq, we will examine not just how antiquity perseveres in American culture, but how popular art creatively and critically engages with inherited Classical traditions. We will also consider engagement with Classical antiquity in some non-cinematic media as well, such as the graphic novel and even the architecture of the city of Chicago. Through writing and research assignments students will hone their ability to interpret and explain the role of Classical traditions in the modern world.

In this course we will study the myths of the ancient Greeks through the reading of ancient texts themselves, in translation. We will begin by studying Greek myth broadly, focusing on our very earliest texts, and then gradually narrow our focus to mythology in Classical Athens. The legacy of Greek mythology is timeless yet the myths themselves grew out of unique times and a unique culture so we will work to understand these myths within their original contexts, yet we will also keep our eye on uses of Greek mythology in the modern world, including in contemporary Chicago.

This course starts with the Greeks' invention of law and the development of early law (including texts such as Homer), to focus on the laws and legal system of democratic Athens. We shall analyze courtroom speeches by Demosthenes, Plato, and others. Topics include Athens' laws of homicide, assault, libel, and hubris, and various courtroom strategies such as litigants' exploitation of legal procedures. We close with an examination of the scope of Greek law (especially, what matters were left unregulated), and the laws of strange societies (such as Sparta).

It is tempting to assume that in many ways the Romans were "just like us." TV shows and movies habitually promote this view, projecting a picture of the Romans through a conspicuously modern lens. This course highlights what was different about Roman society to provide both a historical perspective and a mirror for our modern society. It is perhaps unsurprising that our own time - obsessed as it is with GDP growth, the ups and downs of the stock market, inflation rates, the state deficit - produces scholarship that studies the ancient Roman economy. This scholarship has made us increasingly aware of how different Rome was from the modern world. Our industrialized, highly technological, post-demographic transition society is a relatively new phenomenon that has been developing only over the past two centuries. This course will focus on what that difference means for the realities of everyday life, both past and present. Questions to be addressed are: What did economic growth mean for the economy of the Romans? Can we even measure it? What role did energy consumption play in economic performance? What was the role of social class in business? What was the influence on the economy of a demographic regime in which life expectancy was low? How was trade conducted over long distances without fast means of communication and transport? What was the role of technology and technological progress in the economy?

Although the ancient Romans never made it to the new world, their legacy in Chicago is reflected in architecture, the visual arts, and sites devoted to recreation, education, politics, and business. This class will journey to Chicago's financial district, political and commercial core, cultural institutions, hotels, theaters, parks, schools, cemeteries, and ethnic neighborhoods. By walking the city, you will learn to "read" the streets, buildings, and monuments that showcase Chicago's engagement with the classical past. You will also learn how to use digital tools and practices - such as video editing, data analysis, and digital mapping - to produce an innovative and collaborative virtual walking tour mapping Chicago's ongoing dialogue with Roman antiquity.

This is the first course in the second-year ancient Greek series, designed to transition students into reading unaltered ancient texts while introducing them to some of the most important works written in the language. This first course will cover the Greek of the New Testament, introducing students to the history and idiosyncrasies of the texts, and allowing them their first real opportunity to know an ancient work in the original language. Accordingly, this course will focus on the gospel of Mark, the oldest, and shortest, of the gospels, which we will read nearly in its entirety. We will read selections from other gospels as well, to study the relationship between the texts. This course will also serve as a review of the grammar learned in first-year Greek and will include homework and classwork specifically geared toward that end.

Elementary Latin is a year-long course designed to provide students with the basic skills for reading, understanding, and translating both Latin prose and poetry. It helps lay the foundation for further study of western culture, as well as Medieval Latin, Renaissance Latin, and other Romance languages.

In the first quarter of the sequence students acquire knowledge of the essential grammar of the Latin language and basic Latin vocabulary, and develop an ability to read, understand, and translate simple passages in both adapted and unadapted Latin. In addition, the course provides an introduction to Roman culture, civilization, and history.

"In all of the records of Rome there can scarcely be another year that is so full of calamity or displays so clearly the strength and weakness of the Romans." (K. Wellesley) The year is 69 AD, the so-called "Year of the Four Emperors," and it is masterfully chronicled by Tacitus in his Histories, a dark narrative of violence, ambition, conspiracy and ideological conflict between outmoded values and new realities of power. Throughout this course, we will read extensive selections of Histories Book I, with particular attention to the work's political and literary context, as well as to the swift and dramatic prose style of Tacitus, and his vivid and haunting character sketches.