CLST112F Three Great Myths: Prometheus, Persephone, and Dionysus (FYS)

This course is a detailed analysis of three important myths from classical antiquity: the stories of Prometheus, Persephone, and Dionysus. Students will examine literary and visual representations from antiquity and also consider how these myths live on in the Western tradition.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST115F Crafting (Un)Ideal States: Utopias and Games of the Mind, Past and Present (FYS)

Utopias are imaginary places that promise freedom, equality, and happiness. In this course, we will look at different visions of utopian living: What kinds of hope, longing, and impulses do these utopias fulfill? What kind of social critique do they imply? How can they offer freedom and happiness while built on strict programs of biological, psychological, and social engineering? When does one's utopia become another's dystopia?



We will start with ancient Greek poetry and philosophy--Homer, tragedy, Aristophanic comedy, and Plato--to trace the beginnings of utopian thinking and the promises that it makes. In the last part of the semester, we will look at how these early seeds of utopia are recast and developed in later and contemporary literature, theory, and television shows, including Thomas More's "Utopia" and Emily St. John Mandel's "Station Eleven"; selections from T. Adorno, E. Bloch, and F. Jameson; and select episodes from "Black Mirror."
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST118 The Fall of Rome and Other Stories

The fifth-century fall of Rome to barbarian invaders is an idea that slowly crystallized over time. This course will examine the birth and development of this "fall"--one of the most persistent stories in history--using the very texts in which it was first articulated. We will work with selections from a range of authors--Suetonius, Eusebius of Caesarea, Ammianus Marcellinus, Augustine of Hippo, Jordanes, Procopius of Caesarea and many other--to connect the fall of Rome with other attempts to explain catastrophe and change. The course will conclude by surveying the persistence of the fall of Rome as an idea, through the medieval, early modern, and modern periods, right into contemporary discourse.
Offering: Crosslisting
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-COL
Identical With: COL247, HIST247
Prereq: None

CLST120F From Democracy to Autocracy: Demagogues, Tyrants, and Popular Media in Ancient Greece and Rome (FYS)

Although different, the political systems of Greece and Rome, many of which serve as a model for our own government, were carefully designed to balance military, social, and political participation and empowerment, and to defend against the consolidation of power by any single citizen or group. Eventually, both Greek democracy and the Roman Republic failed. Why? This course examines in depth the political and legal structures of two ancient societies which began with participatory or representative governments and slid toward autocracy. Drawing on a range of sources in translation (historical, legal, poetic), we will explore the emergence and evolution of political systems, from the rise of democracy in Greece to its lapse into oligarchy, and from the Roman Republic to its subversion by charismatic leaders and the advent of empire. Along the way, we will discuss the rise of a celebrity culture and the impact of the increasing importance of public spectacles and entertainments as a vehicle for the demoralization of citizens and the slide into autocracy. Where did they go wrong?
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST129F Ancient Monuments: Landscape, History, and Memory (FYS)

In this course, we will examine some of the most renowned sites from Greek and Roman antiquity, such as the Parthenon and the other monuments on and near the Athenian Acropolis, the Colosseum and Forum in Rome, and Pompeii. The aim is to get a broad understanding of their significance, and so the sources will include ancient texts, modern scholarship and travel narrative, and visual representations such as drawings and photographs. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which the ancient sites interact with their surroundings.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-ENVS
Prereq: None

CLST130F Looking Back, Moving Forward: Identities, Politics, and Truth-Making in Classical Antiquity (FYS)

The world of classical antiquity has been both celebrated and reviled for its role in shaping historical notions of who and what matters, and whose truths are passed into posterity. From politics and media to social identities and the creation of canon, this course will explore constructions of authority, power, and truth-making in the classical world and their echoes in modern life. How does democracy enfranchise some and marginalize others? Who has the "authority" to decide what is natural law, scientific truth, divine right? Is there a difference between truth-telling and truth-making in the stories we tell, the information we share, the art that we make?



This course will turn to a variety of materials from the ancient Greek and Roman world--including myth, literature, medicine, law, drama, archaeological sites, and monuments--to address these questions. Class, status, race, ethnicity, the marginalized "other," religion, civic identity, and the writing of history and science will emerge as central to ancient thinking and offer critical perspectives for reconsidering intersectional identities today. By looking systematically at different facets of the ancient world, we may come to a more nuanced understanding of injustices, inequities, and constructions of modernity through their ancient origins, and look critically at our current practices and perspectives.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST153F Single Combat in the Ancient World (FYS)

This course celebrates the clash of warriors in warfare, sport, and spectacle in the classical world. Using primary sources and archaeological evidence, the class will survey traditions of combat in ancient art, literature, and society, beginning with Greek and Near Eastern epic; the modes of warfare in Greek society; ancient Olympic combat sports; and, finally, Roman gladiator spectacle. We will examine the role of violent sport in Greek and Roman society, the reception of the competitors, and the use of these events for political or nationalistic ends. Throughout the course we will explore the flexibility of concepts such as military ethics, "western" warfare, violence, honor, and excellence, both in the classical world and in our modern lives.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: ARCP153F
Prereq: None

CLST175F Hold My Wine: Drinking Culture in Ancient Greece (FYS)

Wine. Politics. Poetry. The potential for destructive behavior. All of these went hand-in-hand with the ancient Greek "symposium," or drinking party. In this course we will study this custom and the roles it played in Ancient Greek society and art, as an institution that regulated membership in elite society, a source of political and social unrest, a religious practice, an arena for the contestation of philosophical ideas, and a venue for the performance of music and poetry. In addition to the symposium itself, we will also consider related institutions, such as Spartan military feasting.



In this course, the symposium will be viewed through a variety of lenses. We will survey Greek literature from Homer down through Athenian drama and Plato. We will also study the archaeological record, with units on Greek vases and drinkware, and on the architecture of public and private drinking spaces. But the Greek symposium will itself be a lens through which we consider drinking culture in our own society, and its representation, for instance, in music and film.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST190F Beware the Ides, Beware the Hemlock: Roleplaying Crisis in Ancient Greece and Rome (FYS)

The Thirty Tyrants have at long last been expelled from Athens, and now it is up to you and your closest friends and enemies to determine the future of the greatest city-state in the Mediterranean. The conspiracy of Catiline has been uncovered, and the fate of the conspirators and of Rome rests in your hands. Two decades later, the dictator Julius Caesar has been assassinated, and it falls upon you to negotiate the Senate to decide what the People of Rome should do. Students will play in a number of "Reacting to the Past" scenarios set in ancient Greece and Rome--becoming stakeholders in these world-changing crises as they fight, speak, study, sweet-talk, and coerce their way to power over their classmates, be they allies or adversaries. This course is suitable for students of all interests and backgrounds and will offer opportunities to develop writing public-speaking, critical thinking, and persuasion skills.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST201 Art and Archaeology of the Bronze Age Mediterranean

This course is an introduction to the history, art, and archaeology of the Bronze Age Mediterranean. Throughout the semester we will explore the development of civilization and high society in the Aegean world (mainland Greece, the islands, Cyprus, and Crete), the rise of Minoan and Mycenaean palace power, the origin of the biblical Philistines, and, of course, the historical evidence for the Trojan War. We also look at the contemporary Near Eastern cultures with which these societies interacted, exploring the reciprocal exchange between the Aegean world and Egypt, Syria, and the Hittite kingdoms. For each period we will survey the major archaeological sites (civic and cultic), examine archaeological questions, and study the development of sculpture, painting, ceramics, and architectural trends in light of political and social changes.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS, SBS-CLAS
Identical With: ARHA202, ARCP201
Prereq: None

CLST202 Greek Drama: Theater and Social Justice, Ancient and Modern

This course introduces students to Greek drama as produced in its original setting in ancient Athens and then adapted in modern times. The majority of our readings will be drawn from classical material: tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, comedies by Aristophanes, and selections from Aristotle's Poetics and Plato's Republic. We will look at production practices, acting and audience experience, and the role of theater in shaping cultural values. Questions will include: How does theater as art reflect the personal, social, and political life of the Athenians? What is the connection between the development of Greek drama and the growth of the first democracy? What are the emotions of tragedy ¿ for its mythic characters and for its real audience? And why have we been talking about catharsis for centuries? What is the relationship between emotions, drama, and social justice? For the last part of the semester, we will turn to adaptations of Greek tragedy in the 20th and 21st centuries by Jean-Paul Sartre, Bertolt Brecht, Sarah Kane, and Yael Farber. We will discuss how the dilemmas and emotions of tragedy are replayed in response to World War II, the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, PTSD, and consumer culture, among others.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: THEA202
Prereq: None

CLST205 Myths, Monsters, and Misogyny: An Introduction to Greek and Roman Mythology

In this class we will read literary versions of myths from Greece and Rome and look at representations in ancient and later art. Starting with myths of the creation, we will move on to look at the individual gods and goddesses, their powers, and their place in ancient religion, then to the often perilous interactions of humans and gods. In the second half of the semester, we will concentrate on the heroes and heroines of mythology, ending with the Trojan War and its aftermath. The course aims to give a basic grounding in the stories and the images--creating mythologically literate students. As that analogy implies, we will also analyze myth as a system of communication and consider how these myths portray the world, the divine, and the place of men and women in relation to the gods, to nature, and to society.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: WLIT253
Prereq: None

CLST205Z Myths, Monsters, and Misogyny: An Introduction to Greek and Roman Mythology

In this class we will read literary versions of myths from Greece and Rome and look at representations in ancient and later art. Starting with myths of creation, we will move on to look at the individual gods and goddesses, their powers, and their place in ancient religion, then to the often perilous interactions of humans and gods. In the second half of the semester, we will concentrate on the heroes and heroines of mythology, ending with the Trojan War and its aftermath. The course aims to give a basic grounding in the stories and the images--creating mythologically literate students. As that analogy implies, we will also analyze myths as a system of communication and consider how these myths portray the world, the divine, and the place of men and women in relation to the gods, to nature, and to society.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST214 Survey of Greek Archaeology and Art

This course introduces the art and archaeology of Greek civilization from Mycenaean palaces of the Bronze Age, to tombs of warriors and battlefields of Marathon, through the theatrical and political centers of democratic Athens. Throughout the semester we will survey the major archaeological sites (civic and cultic) for each period and study development of sculpture, painting, ceramics, and architectural trends in light of political (propaganda!) and social changes. More than a tour of monuments and mosaics, however, this course will show students how to interpret and apply literature, material science, anthropology, and art history to address archaeological questions, and to consider the relationship (ancient and modern) between social trends and material evidence.



This course counts toward the archaeology/archaeology science track.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: ARHA203, ARCP214
Prereq: None

CLST215 Religion and Politics in Early Christianity

The first four centuries of the Christian era will illustrate the lively twists and turns of social experimentation that set the stage for the emergence of the Christian religion. This course will be concerned with fundamental arenas of intellectual and social conflict, including constructions of Christian myths of apostolic origins and authority; the appropriation of the Jewish epic; the challenge of gnosticism; the domestication of Greek philosophy; interpretations of sexuality and gender; experiences of martyrdom and prosecution; theological reflections on human nature and society; and the ways Christians were seen by Romans. The objective will be to grasp the beginnings of the Christian religion as a human achievement of cultural consequence.
Offering: Crosslisting
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-RELI
Identical With: RELI215, MDST215
Prereq: None

CLST217 Philosophical Classics I: Ancient Western Philosophy

This course provides an overview of the development of Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, from its inception in the 6th century BCE through to Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Epicureans, and the Stoics. In exploring this material, we will touch on all or nearly all of the central concerns of the Western philosophical tradition: metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, politics, aesthetics, religion, and logic. Our focus in class will be on the close analysis of primary texts. Students must be willing to engage with readings that are fascinating but at the same time dense, difficult, and perplexing. The course requires no prior experience in philosophy and should be of equal interest to students who are pursuing or intend to pursue other majors.
Offering: Crosslisting
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-PHIL
Identical With: PHIL201, COL359
Prereq: None

CLST220 Homer and the Epic

In this course we will read both the Iliad and the Odyssey (in English translation). These two great epics are recognized as the first major texts of the Western literary tradition, and they have had an incalculable influence on everything from literature, to history, to the visual arts. Through a close reading of both epics, we will consider issues such as Homeric composition and poetic practice, heroes and the heroic code, the relation between humans and gods, the role of fate, and the structure of Homeric society (e.g., the status of women; clan and community). We will also read a number of contemporary critical essays to help us frame our discussions.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: ENGL219
Prereq: None

CLST220Z Homer and the Epic

IN-PERSON COURSE: 10:00am-noon and 1:00pm-3:00pm, Monday through Friday. Please note: Students should expect some readings and assignments to be due during winter break, prior to the beginning of Winter Session class meetings.



In this course we will read both the Iliad and the Odyssey (in English translation). These two great epics are recognized as the first major texts of the Western literary tradition, and they have had an incalculable influence on everything from literature, to history, to the visual arts. Through a close reading of both epics, we will consider issues such as Homeric composition and poetic practice, heroes and the heroic code, the relation between humans and gods, the role of fate, and the structure of Homeric society (e.g., the status of women; clan and community). We will also read a number of contemporary critical essays to help us frame our discussions.



Syllabi for Winter Session courses will be posted to https://www.wesleyan.edu/wintersession/courses.html as soon as they are available.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: ENGL219Z
Prereq: None

CLST221 Law, Politics, and Order in the Ancient World

Legal texts--law codes, decrees, and edicts, juristic discussions, law court cases--help us understand the history of legal thinking and strategy, and the construction of constitutional frameworks. Yet Greek and Roman legal sources offer something more than a history: Although these texts in many ways served as the foundation for European legal systems, they nonetheless offer radically different ways of thinking about concepts such as private and public, rights versus responsibilities, and the possibility of freedom and happiness--some more progressive than our own. In an era when many of our institutions and conventions appear open to challenge, the classical sources offer alternate legal and social ways of thinking, and new tools for understanding our own time. This course will provide an introduction to legal thinking in classical antiquity and, drawing from a range of sources, will speak to the intersection of constitutional frameworks with political theory. Through narratives and case studies, we will examine Greek and Roman approaches to thorny legal issues that are still contested today: women's rights, wartime codes, the right to trial, torture, capital punishment, and immigration and citizenship, among others. The ancient sources will be brought into dialogue with current cases and debates. We will also explore the construction of constitutional frameworks and see how these are deployed alongside religious beliefs and collective mores to cultivate "civic thinking." For CLST Major requirements and for Classics/CCIV Major requirements, this course falls under the History, Politics, and Social Justice track.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: COL369
Prereq: None

CLST221Z Whose Rights? Law, Personhood, and Democracy, Ancient & Modern

Please note: Students should expect some readings and assignments to be due during winter break, prior to beginning Winter Session. Please visit the Winter Session website for the full syllabus -- http://www.wesleyan.edu/wintersession.



Legal texts--law codes, decrees, and edicts, juristic discussions, law court cases--help us understand the history of legal thinking and strategy, and the construction of constitutional frameworks. Yet Greek legal sources offer something more than a history: Although these texts in many ways served as the foundation for European legal systems, they nonetheless offer radically different ways of thinking about concepts such as private and public, rights versus responsibilities, and the possibility of freedom and happiness--some more progressive than our own. In an era when many of our institutions and conventions appear open to challenge, the classical sources offer alternate legal and social ways of thinking, and new tools for understanding our own time.



This course will provide an introduction to legal thinking in classical antiquity and, drawing from a range of sources, will speak to the intersection of constitutional frameworks with political theory. Through laws, narratives, and case studies, we will examine Greek approaches to thorny legal issues that are still contested today: the right to trial, women's rights, democratic (dis)enfranchisement, torture and confession, imprisonment, capital punishment, immigration and citizenship, and the "equity" of law, among others. The ancient sources will be brought into dialogue with current cases and debates. We will also explore the construction of constitutional frameworks and see how these are deployed alongside religious beliefs and collective mores to cultivate "civic thinking."





On the last day of the course we will hold a mock trial.







For Classics/CCIV Major requirements, this course falls under the History/Social Justice track
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST223 Survey of Roman Archaeology and Art

This course begins with the art, archaeology, and culture of the Etruscans and their important contributions to the early history of Rome. After a brief examination of the influences of Hellenistic culture on Rome, the course surveys the archaeological evidence illustrating the principal architectural and artistic achievements of the Romans down to the reign of Constantine the Great.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-ART
Identical With: ARHA207, ARCP223
Prereq: None

CLST225 Witches & Magic in Ancient Literature

This course will look at the role of magic and witchcraft in the culture and literature of the ancient world. What is "magic," who is a "witch," and how do these categories change through the centuries and fit into the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome? Using examples from material culture and different genres of literature (epic, philosophy, history, tragedy, elegy, satire, etc.), this course will examine the social function of magic, the complex relationship between magic/religion, the role of magic and the witch archetype in ancient literature, and how the witch relates to societal systems of gender, sexuality, and colonialism. Through understanding magic and witches' position in the ancient world, this course will provide critical insight into their reverberation through modern society.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST228 Classical Allusions in Film

This course surveys the influence of classical antiquity on Western filmmaking from the late 1970s to the present day, with an emphasis on exploring the ways in which filmmakers allude to and encounter classical themes, settings, characters, history, and literature in their works. Classical mythology and history have been a source of fascination for filmmakers since the beginning of filmmaking itself. Ben Hur (1907), Quo Vadis (1913) and Cabiria (1914) were all silent but ambitious films depicting aspects of classical antiquity on an epic scale that would have a profound impact on the classical blockbusters of the 1950s and 1960s. Cecil B. DeMille reintroduced the classical model with Ten Commandments (1956), and the epic(ally expensive) Ben-Hur (1959), Spartacus (1960), and Cleopatra (1963) would follow under other directors. These films can be analyzed for their interpretation of ancient material; their contemporary political subtexts and attitudes towards race, ethnicity, and gender; and their influence on the way 20th century Western cultures viewed Greco-Roman antiquity. Other film classics depicted an ancient world that ranged from dreamlike (Fellini's Satyricon [1969]) to pornographic (Caligula [1979]), to fantastical (Clash of the Titans [1981]). We will briefly examine these films as a springboard for looking at late-20th and early-21st century adaptations of classical material.



Classical material in film regained popularity in the 2000s: Gladiator (2000), Troy (2004), Alexander (2004), 300 (2006), Clash of the Titans (2010), and Pompeii (2014), and the 2016 remake of Ben Hur. But beyond these obviously classically-inspired films, situated as they are in a version of classical antiquity, there are other modern films that draw less obviously on classical material. O Brother Where Art Thou? (2001) takes the Odyssey from Homer's Mediterranean world and drops it into Depression-era Southern America. Chi-raq resituates Aristophanes' Lysistrata in gang-ravaged Chicago. The Star Wars (1977-83) and Hunger Games (2012-15) trilogies use a reimagined Roman Empire to comment on spectacle and society in contemporary America.



We will study these films and others to analyze the trajectory of classical allusion in modern film: why do directors continue to revisit classical antiquity? What themes are pervasive? How do ancient archetypes like the seductive queen, evil sorceress, noble enslaved man, old philosopher, and debauched aristocrat help characterize modern film characters? What is the difference between adaptation and inspiration? How closely must modern interpretations cleave to the ancient material to be deemed "acceptable" by scholars and enthusiasts? How do these interpretations reshape our understanding of the ancient material? And why is classical antiquity still so compelling today?
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST231 Greek History

Using primary sources wherever possible, this course will examine the development of Greek civilization from Mycenaean times through the death of Alexander the Great. Special attention will be given to the connection between political events and cultural and intellectual trends. No prior acquaintance with ancient history is required.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-CLAS
Identical With: HIST204
Prereq: None

CLST232 Roman History

This course traces the history of Rome from its foundation, through its rise as an Italic and Mediterranean power, up to the transfer of the empire to Constantinople. It focuses on the political, military, and social achievements of the Roman people and the contributions of its principal historical figures, from the legendary kings of the regal period, to Republican leaders such as Marius, Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar, through Augustus and the establishment of the principate and subsequent emperors such as Vespasian, Hadrian, and Diocletian. This course will fall under the History/Social Justice track.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-CLAS
Identical With: HIST205
Prereq: None

CLST234 Art and Society in Ancient Pompeii

This seminar surveys the art, architecture, and material remains of the cities buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. Through readings, class discussions, and student research presentations, we will explore the ways in which this material can be used to study the social and political life of a small Roman city and examine the unique evidence for reconstructing the private life of Roman citizens, from their participation in local politics and government, to their religious beliefs and lives, to the interior decoration of their homes and their burial customs.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: ARCP234, ARHA206
Prereq: None

CLST235 Greeks-Romans-Christians

Western civilization emerged, in part, out of the achievements of ancient Greeks, Romans, and Christians. Art, architecture, philosophy, and literature were all forged in a crucible of clashing cultures. This course will introduce students to the religious worlds of Greek, Roman, and Christian antiquity. Attention will be given to the mythologies of the gods and cultic practices of the people, including religious sanctuaries, festivals, and sacrifices; divination, magic, and the mysteries; philosophy, ethics, and theology. We will conclude with an assessment of the rise and eventual triumph of Christians, their appropriation and critique of Greco-Roman culture, and their obsession with martyrdom and the cult of the dead.
Offering: Crosslisting
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-RELI
Identical With: RELI231
Prereq: None

CLST244 Pyramids and Funeral Pyres: Death and the Afterlife in Greece and Egypt

This course explores the archaeology of death and burial in Egypt and Greece, from the royal burials in the pyramids at Giza, to the cremated remains of warriors in Lefkandi, Greece, to the humble burials of infants under house floors. Drawing upon a blend of archaeological, art historical, and mythological evidence, we will examine how the funerary practices and the very notions of the soul, the body, and the afterlife compare in these two societies. We will also explore how social class, gender, and ethnicity influenced those ideas. The course will also provide an introduction to archaeological theory and the interpretive strategies employed by archaeologists, art historians, and historians in the reconstruction of ancient societies.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: ARCP244, ARHA201
Prereq: None

CLST248 Language Matters: Etymology and the Roots of Social Injustice

Etymology is a course designed to prepare students for disciplines outside what is traditionally considered "classics." The course will provide a strategic presentation of key Latin and Greek roots, constructions, and linguistic frameworks, which pervade the terminology of numerous fields and disciplines: law, medicine, biology, ecology, sociology, religion, and many more.



This course is a history of words: how they are formed, what they mean, and how they change and change us. In addition to teaching how to deconstruct terminology, the course will explore the origins and evolution of many of the commonly used modern terms in their original historical contexts, providing a glimpse into the rich background that gave rise to their use and meaning today.



Each week we will focus on a specific modern discipline, our "unit." Mondays and Wednesdays will be devoted to the workings of the language itself. We will examine how Greek and Latin roots make up the technical language of that discipline, so that students learn to identify, break down, and understand such terminology and its uses. 2020 is an important year: social justice and how we talk about it, language itself, is a political issue as we come to the presidential election. On Fridays we will explore a divisive issue confronting each discipline today and investigate the roots of the problem in antiquity. Topics include: biological race, abortion, debt slavery, climate crisis, extinction, deforestation, the First Amendment, and many others. By thinking about the roots and words that shaped and expressed Greek and Roman ideas, as well as how they negotiated important social, political, legal, medical, and environmental issues, we can understand better the crucial issues facing our own language and society.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST249 Classics Beyond Whiteness

This course offers a vision of "classics" that decenters the white, elite, and masculine in favor of a more egalitarian approach to the discipline. Students will interrogate misconceptions that ancient Greeks and Romans were white, race and ethnicity in Graeco-Roman societies, the role of classics in modern racial politics, the name of "classics" itself, and non-white approaches to classics. This course considers race as social construct; white supremacy, fragility, and privilege; and critical-race theoretical study of ancient cultures. For CLST Major requirements and for Classics/CCIV Major requirements, this course falls under the History, Politics, and Social Justice track
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST250 Comedy in Translation

The American comic tradition starts here. Raunchy comedies like Bridesmaids or American Pie, melodramatic sitcoms like Modern Family, and super-"meta" shows like Parks and Rec ultimately find their roots in the raunchy comedy of Aristophanes, the melodramatic sitcoms of Menander, and the often-"meta" plays of Plautus and Terence. This class will involve the reading (in translation), discussion, and performance of some of these playwrights' weirdest and funniest plays, culminating in public presentation (by you!) of adaptations of plays.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST252 Ancient Epic and Gangster Film

This course explores the limits of epic in different historical contexts and media: Classical epic poetry (Greek and Roman) and gangster film traditions from the US, Europe, and Asia. How do these works define or align themselves with epic as a genre? What are their characteristics, and how do audiences participate in creating them? Primary material will include classical epics (the Iliad, Ovid's Metamorphoses), drama and literary criticism (Sophocles, Aristotle), and contemporary film and television, with critical and theoretical bibliography.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST255 Democracy and its Discontents

Today we are confronting enormous questions about democracy: how it is defined, how it is practiced, and, in some places, whether it can survive. Such questions, however, are not new. From its inception in ancient Athens through centuries of political development, democracy has drawn both fervent support and intense criticism. In this class we will read a selection of ancient and modern sources as a basis for our discussion of fundamental issues such as participation vs. representation, citizenship and civic responsibility, and the tension between private and public interests.



Readings will include selections from ancient sources such as Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato and Aristotle and modern scholars such as Paul Cartledge, Melissa Lane, Josiah Ober and Kurt Raaflaub.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST257 Plato's REPUBLIC

"The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato." This declaration, famously made by Alfred North Whitehead in the early 20th century, seems especially true of Plato's Republic. No other work in the Western tradition can lay claim to setting the tone so influentially for the development of philosophy as a discipline. Almost every branch of philosophical thought we are familiar with today--on matters of ethics, politics, moral psychology, epistemology, metaphysics, and aesthetics--receives a major formulation in this text. This seminar will be devoted to a close reading of each of the 10 books of The Republic alongside various perspectives that have been taken on this magisterial work in contemporary philosophy, journalism, and literature. We will focus on The Republic primarily as a work of moral psychology by investigating the topical question of the dialogue: Why is it better to live justly rather than unjustly? For Plato, a just life is one governed by the pursuit of wisdom or learning, and this he believes will also be a psychologically healthy one. By contrast, a life governed by the indiscriminate pursuit of power--the life of a tyrant--is psychologically corrupted. These are bold claims. What is Plato's argument for them? In raising this question, we will consider the political project Plato embarks upon in the Republic in constructing a just society, as well as connected issues he raises in the dialogue concerning the nature of human motivation, the distinction between belief and knowledge, the distinction between appearance and reality, the importance of a proper education to the human good, and the role of art and beauty in furthering the common good. Alongside Plato, we will read various works of secondary literature, journalistic pieces, and works of fiction this semester, all inspired by The Republic.
Offering: Crosslisting
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-PHIL
Identical With: PHIL303, COL341
Prereq: None

CLST260 The Archaeology of Identities in the Ancient Mediterranean and Beyond

Human beings all hold a wide range of socially constructed and physically lived identities, expressed and experienced sometimes continuously and simultaneously, and sometimes only occasionally under specific circumstances. These identities might include, but are not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, social status, occupation, and health. Many of these identities, expressed and experienced in various tangible and intangible ways in our lived reality, can only be accessed indirectly through the physical proxy of the archaeological record when it comes to people living in the past. This course will explore a variety of archaeological methodologies for accessing the social identities of past lives, as well as the sometimes problematic role that archaeology has played in this type of research over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries (is ancient DNA bringing us back full circle to scientific racism?). The primary focus of the course will be on the ancient Mediterranean, with additional case studies drawn from other parts of the world serving to illustrate the cross-regional applicability of approaches to past identities.
Offering: Crosslisting
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: SBS-ARCP
Identical With: ARCP255
Prereq: None

CLST280 Social Justice Warriors: Inequality, Injustice, and Activism from Antiquity to Today

We tend to think of social justice as a modern preoccupation, but many Greek and Roman politicians, thinkers, and activists identified and attempted to alleviate issues of inequality, unequal distribution of power, and access to resources. Each week we will explore a divisive issue confronting America today and investigate its roots in antiquity. Topics include political representation, land rights, biological race and slavery, abortion, debt, climate crisis, extinction, deforestation, free speech, and many others.



Through a mixture of historical research and academic roleplaying of moments of political crisis, we will explore the roots of these issues and how ancient societies attempted to navigate them.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST283 Off with its Pedestal! The Greek Vase as Art and Artifact

This course explores the dual role of the Greek vase--as objét d'art and as material culture. The first half of the course will trace the origins and development of Greek vase painting from Mycenaean pictorial vases to the masters of Attic Red Figure, examining the painters, the themes, and (often titillating!) subject matter in its social and historical context. The second half will focus on the vase as an artifact and tool for reconstructing social values and economic trends throughout the Mediterranean. We will look at rip-offs, knock-offs, and how much Attic pottery was really worth, and evaluate the use of pottery as an indicator of immigration or cultural imitation. The course will include work with 3D scanning and digital optimization, as well as the construction of a virtual museum exhibit.



The course falls under the Archaeology/Archaeological Science track of the Classics/CCIV Major requirements.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: ARCP285, ARHA204
Prereq: None

CLST324 Tales of Hope or States of Delusion? Utopias, Past and Present

Utopias are imaginary places that promise freedom, happiness, and justice. In this course, we will look at different visions of utopian living: What kinds of longing and impulses do different utopias fulfill? What kind of social critique do they imply? How can they offer freedom and happiness, while built on strict programs of biological, psychological, and social engineering? What makes for the distinction between utopia and dystopia?



We will start with ancient Greek poetry, drama, and philosophy--Homer, tragedy, Aristophanic comedy, and Plato--to trace the beginnings of utopian thinking, its promises and failures. In the last part of the semester, we will look at how these early seeds of utopia are recast and developed in later and contemporary literature, theory, and shows, including Thomas More's "Utopia," and Emily St. John Mandel "Station Eleven"; selections from T. Adorno, E. Bloch, J. Rawls, R. Nozick, and F. Jameson; and episodes from Black Mirror.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST327 Dangerous Acts: Theater, Transgression, and Social Justice, Ancient and Modern

The first plays in the history of theater feature transgressive acts: murder, illicit sex, violence, and torture. Action-packed, gory, and heart-wrenching, these spectacles of mass entertainment were also staged specifically to "train" citizens to be thoughtful legislators, jurists, and policy makers. They were deliberately crafted to make audiences grapple with demanding questions--legal, ethical, and moral: the "laws" of war; discrimination (based on gender, class, ethnic background); privacy and political participation; confession, guilt, and punishment; anger and sympathy in decision-making, and much more.



In this course, we will read a selection of Greek plays, ancient and modern critical works, and modern adaptations to consider the role of theater in politics, aesthetics, and social and emotional engineering.



Readings from antiquity will include plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes and readings from Plato and Aristotle. Modern works will include plays and writings by Jean-Paul Sartre, Bertolt Brecht, Sarah Kane, Yael Farber, and movie adaptations.



This course will fall under the Poetry & Performance and History/Social Justice tracks.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: THEA327
Prereq: None

CLST329 Roman Villa Life

This seminar will explore life in the Roman countryside, from the luxurious suburban villas near major urban centers to working estates in Italy and the Roman provinces. The course will begin with a general survey of Roman villa life and then move to a more focused inquiry into specific topics including art and architecture, production, slave life, and transportation. Readings will be drawn from ancient literary sources, inscriptions, and modern social and archaeological studies. The course is intended for students from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, but some knowledge of the Roman world is recommended.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: ARCP329
Prereq: None

CLST330 Classical Studies Today: Writing for a General Audience

This will be a seminar for junior and senior departmental majors, offered in association with the Calderwood Seminars in Public Writing. The purpose of the class is to have students write about scholarly issues in a way that makes them accessible to broad non-specialist audiences. This practice is what one scholar has called "responsible popularization." The course will concentrate on writing and public presentations, and each week the students will take alternating roles as writers and editors. The work load consists of reading scholarly articles or book chapters, on academic topics from Classical Studies, and re-work them in compact genres like personal essays, op-eds, blog posts,and reviews. For the final project, the students will form teams of two, each of which will interview an eminent Classical scholar of their choice and produce a brief profile.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Prereq: None

CLST335 Art and Society in Ancient Pompeii

This seminar surveys the art, architecture, and material remains of the cities buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. Through readings, class discussions, and student research presentations, we will explore the ways in which this material can be used to study the social and political life of a small Roman city and examine the unique evidence for reconstructing the private life of Roman citizens, from their participation in local politics and government, to their religious beliefs and lives, to the interior decoration of their homes and their burial customs.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: ARCP335
Prereq: None

CLST340 Daemons, Enigmas, and the Cosmic Image: Classical and Modern Allegory

Allegories are everywhere--from novels, art, and philosophy to news, political rhetoric and the law. They confront us as something strange, as overly baroque or disappointingly simplistic, as a symbolic mystery that becomes blandly prosaic once the proper interpretive key has been found. Allegories can be abstract and ethereal (e.g. Dante traveling through the heavenly spheres), but they can also make abstract ideas concrete: the idea of justice becomes the Roman goddess Iustitia, blindfolded, holding a sword and a set of scales, a statue in front of a courthouse. They try to explain life's complexities, but the stories they tell are much stranger than the lives that we live: the insatiable longing for our significant other is really the search for our other true half, since once we were round creatures rolling happily around but were cut in half by Zeus for our transgressions. What are these allegorical texts doing for us, and why are they doing it in such bewildering ways?



This course looks at the persistence of allegory. We will inquire into its origins in the Classical world, and we will try to understand how it has been found (or made) useful by writers and literary theorists in the 20th and 21st centuries.



The texts that interest us will make simple things mysterious and mysterious things simple, transforming the imaginable into the visible and the visible into the imaginary. And we will try to find our way through this mode of writing and of reading that insistently brings opposites together, connecting different realms of experience, knowledge, and language in ways that both produce and defy sense.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-COL
Identical With: COL340
Prereq: None

CLST341 Visualizing the Classical

This project-based learning course integrates archaeology, classical texts, and the technologies of virtual construction to rebuild the material remains of the ancient world. Student teams will draw upon theories of urban design, engineering, and performance theory to create a material or virtual reconstruction of a classical built environment or object. Through the reconstruction of such spaces, we will explore how the ancient builders and craftsmen--through landscape, sound, light, functionality/monumentality, and spatial relationships--shaped the experience of the ancient viewer.



The course is divided into three modules. The first module will use case studies to survey the principles of archaeological reconstruction and explore the concepts and language of design and planning used by archaeologists and design specialists. These case studies will range from Greek and Roman temples, to city blocks and houses, to public spaces for entertainment or governance. In the second module, a series of technology workshops and in-class projects will give students hands-on training in the analytical mapping, modeling, interpretive, and reconstructive approaches such as ArcGIS, CAD, Sketchup and 3D printing. This practical training will form the foundation for the third module, during which student teams will apply these technologies to collaborate on the reconstruction of an ancient built environment or object. During this section of the course, students will discuss and collectively troubleshoot the problems of design and reconstruction they encounter as they go. Students will present their work at the end of the course, and discussion will focus on the insight that the process of reconstruction has offered into principles of ancient design and the values of ancient communities.



This seminar will be of interest to students with experience in classical studies, archaeology, studio arts, and digital design.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: ARCP341, ARHA205
Prereq: None

CLST352 Ancient Medicine: Potions, Poisons, and Phytochemistry in the Ancient Mediterranean

This course brings a blend of ethnographic, environmental, philological, and scientific frameworks to the study of ancient medicine. For the first half of the class, students will explore the theories and concepts of medicine and the body in classical antiquity from Hippocrates to Galen. Students will tackle case studies (e.g., treatment of war wounds, epilepsy, gynecological ailments) and suggest appropriate treatments. The second half of the course will focus on medicinal plants as discussed in Dioscorides, considering their ecology, archaeology, and phytochemistry, with hands-on lab modules in which students will learn how to extract and analyze bioactive compounds of medicinal plant species. In final group-based projects, students will present a "plant biography," tracking the arc of the medicinal and cultural uses of a particular species from the ancient Mediterranean to the present day.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS
Identical With: ARCP352
Prereq: None

CLST363 Body Politics: Desire, Sexualities, and Gender, Past and Present

Sexuality as a category to define, construct, and control the "self" has been seen as a product of the 18th and 19th century. This course turns to ancient Greek society to look at body politics before sexuality and to examine the different ways in which sex and gender are experienced and constructed.



We will approach sex and gender roles as organizing principles of private and public life. Using literary, scientific, historical, legal, and philosophical sources as well as material evidence, we will address issues including the creation of woman, conceptions of the male and female body, the legal status of men and women; what constitutes acceptable sexual practices and for whom (e.g., heterosexual relationships, homoeroticism, prostitution, adultery); and ideas regarding desire, self-control, masculinity and femininity, and their cultivation in social and political contexts. How ancient approaches to gender and sexuality are in dialogue or have informed recent debates will be a question throughout the course by looking at theoretical approaches and contemporary movements and debates. We will end by looking at how ideas about sexuality in classical antiquity were used in Romer v. Evans, otherwise known as the 1993 Colorado Gay Rights Case.



For CLST Major requirements, this course counts toward the concentrations of Literature and Performance and History, Politics, and Social Justice.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS, SBS-CLAS
Identical With: FGSS363, COL364
Prereq: None

CLST390 Making Rome: Monuments of Life in Ancient Rome

The Colosseum, the Circus Maximus, and the Forum are just the most famous monuments to adorn the ancient city of Rome: its streets and temples were cluttered with honorific statues, dedications, and inscriptions; monumental fountains marked the terminus of the great aqueducts supplying the city and its public baths; shops and markets jostled with shrines and workshops in the public plazas; and public works like harbors and warehouses ensured a steady flow of food, wine, and materials into the city. Through in-depth research into the literary and archaeological record of Rome students will examine these monuments in the context of their original urban spaces and reconstruct them digitally or through other visual and written media.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-CLAS, SBS-CLAS
Identical With: ARCP390, ARHA301
Prereq: None

CLST393 Reading Theories

In this survey of theories that have shaped the reading of literature and the analysis of culture, emphasis is on key concepts--language, identity, subjectivity, gender, power, and knowledge--and on key figures and schools such as Marx, Freud, Nietzsche, Saussure, Barthes, Gramsci, Benjamin, Althusser, Foucault, Lacan, Deleuze, Jameson, Berlant, Moten, postmodernism, and U.S. feminism.
Offering: Crosslisting
Grading: OPT
Credits: 1.00
Gen Ed Area: HA-ENGL
Identical With: COL339, CEAS340, RL&L290, GRST231, RUSS340, RULE340, REES340, ENGL295
Prereq: None

CLST401 Individual Tutorial, Undergraduate

Topic to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT

CLST402 Individual Tutorial, Undergraduate

Topic to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT

CLST403 Department/Program Project or Essay

Project to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F

CLST404 Department/Program Project or Essay

Project to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F

CLST407 Senior Tutorial (downgraded thesis)

Downgraded Senior Thesis Tutorial - Project to be arranged in consultation with the tutor. Only enrolled in through the Honors Coordinator.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F

CLST408 Senior Tutorial (downgraded thesis)

Downgraded Senior Thesis Tutorial - Project to be arranged in consultation with the tutor. Only enrolled in through the Honors Coordinator.
Offering: Host
Grading: A-F

CLST409 Senior Thesis Tutorial

Topic to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT

CLST410 Senior Thesis Tutorial

Topic to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT

CLST411 Group Tutorial, Undergraduate

Topic to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT

CLST412 Group Tutorial, Undergraduate

Topic to be arranged in consultation with the tutor.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT

CLST420 Student Forum

Student-run group tutorial, sponsored by a faculty member and approved by the chair of a department or program.
Offering: Host
Grading: Cr/U

CLST465 Education in the Field, Undergraduate

Students must consult with the department and class dean in advance of undertaking education in the field for approval of the nature of the responsibilities and method of evaluation.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT

CLST466 Education in the Field, Undergraduate

Students must consult with the department and class dean in advance of undertaking education in the field for approval of the nature of the responsibilities and method of evaluation.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT

CLST491 Teaching Apprentice Tutorial

The teaching apprentice program offers undergraduate students the opportunity to assist in teaching a faculty member's course for academic credit.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT

CLST492 Teaching Apprentice Tutorial

The teaching apprentice program offers undergraduate students the opportunity to assist in teaching a faculty member's course for academic credit.
Offering: Host
Grading: OPT