Global Arc

This course aims to introduce students to the intellectual world of late antiquity, a period of the history of Western cultural development that was, contrary to common belief, far more formative and influential than the cherished classical or Hellenistic periods. Participants will study texts that exemplify the way in which elite discourses of rationality first developed in the context of the Greek polis collided with the religious experiences and sentiments of eastern ethnic groups to create an entirely new paradigm of human existence.

A special topic concerning the adaptation of one or more classical themes in contemporary culture through media such as literature, film, and music. Two 90-minute seminars.

A classical genre or literary theme will be studied as it was handed down and transformed in later ages, for example, the European epic; ancient prose fiction and the picaresque tradition; the didactic poem. Two 90-minute seminars.

This course provides an introduction to the study of the Indo-European language family from both a historical and a comparative perspective. The emphasis will be on the phonology, morphology, and vocabulary of the earliest representatives (Ancient Greek, Latin, Vedic Sanskrit, Hittite, Old Irish, Old English, etc.) and what they have to tell us about Proto-Indo-European and the culture of the speakers of this reconstructed "mother tongue."

The ancients were fascinated by dreams and debated a variety of views about the nature, origin, and function of dreams. Are dreams divine messages about the future, our souls' indications of impending diseases, or just distorted versions of earlier thoughts? Do dreams have meaning and if so, how can we understand them? We will explore ancient approaches to dreams and their enigmas in literature and philosophy, medical texts, and religious practices. Although our focus will be on Greek and Roman texts, we will also pay attention to earlier Near Eastern sources as well as modern dream theories from Freud to scientific dream research.

This course will introduce concentrators to the study of classical antiquity. Students will become acquainted with different fields of study within the Department, including literature, ancient history, ancient culture, linguistics, and reception studies; gain experience in the methods of their chosen area(s) of study; and acquire an understanding of the history of the discipline and its place in the twenty-first century. Sessions will involve guest visits from members of the faculty. Particular attention will be paid to acquiring the skills necessary to pursue independent research and the selection of a topic for the spring Junior Paper.

Few technologies of domination have been wielded with more sweeping and devastating global consequence than race. The research and teaching taxonomies of predominantly White institutions such as Princeton bear witness both to this history and to the intricacy of those mechanisms that work to conceal it. Taking our cue from Achille Mbembe - "racial thinking... has been the ever-present shadow hovering over Western political thought and practice" - we'll examine the role of race and racialization in the formation of the intellectual disciplines around which universities like ours are organized, with a particular emphasis on the humanities.

This course is for undergraduates from all backgrounds with an interest in ancient Greco-Roman medicine and the historical roots of contemporary biomedicine. We will examine how a medical tradition forms around the body as an object of knowledge and therapy, paying close attention to socio-historical context. We also explore issues that remain relevant to medicine, such as the construction of scientific authority, pain and knowledge, error and chance in medicine, narrative and disease, the "naturalization" of cultural categories, the privileging of anatomy, and body-mind interaction. Reading from primary and secondary sources in translation.

An introduction to the archaeology of the Roman Empire. Key themes include urban systems and lived experience, economies, agricultural production, resource extraction, trade, the army, and the provinces. Emphasis will be placed on methods of interpreting archaeological data by focusing on key sites and types of material, including hands-on experience with pottery and coins in the collections of the Art Museum. No experience in ancient history or archaeology assumed.

This course offers a survey of the book in the Latin West, its cultural history and its functions as both object and text. It discusses production, readership and censorship, from antiquity up until the printing revolution.