Global Arc

This course compares ideologies and practices of monarchic rule across Greece and the Near East. We will investigate how monarchs established their rule, how they faced opposition, and which strategies they adopted to legitimize their power. We will ask what makes a monarch a "tyrant" rather than a "king" and why monarchy turned out to be disgraceful for the Greeks compared to their neighbors. We will read texts produced by royal courts as well as compositions which sketch the profile of the "ideal monarch". We will also look at monuments which monarchs erected during their reigns and investigate their historical and political significance.

The subject of this course will be medieval Greek Romantic fiction. We will read translations of the four surviving novels written in twelfth-century Constantinople in a bid to answer questions about the link between eroticism and the novel, truth and invention in the middle ages, who read fiction and why, and what role, if any, did the medieval or Byzantine Romances have in the story of the European novel. Above all, we will seek to recover some of the pleasure felt by the medieval readers and audiences of these novels.

Designed to give students who are without knowledge of the Greek language the opportunity to read widely and deeply in the field of Greek drama, with particular emphasis on an intensive study of Greek tragedy, its origins and development, staging, structure, and meanings. Two 90-minute seminars.

Major classical historians, especially Herodotus and Thucydides, are studied in connection with the theory and practice of the art or science of history. Lectures and preceptorials treat the development of historical writing and its relationship to philosophy, politics, literature, and science, and problems such as that of fact and interpretation in historical writing. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

The historical development of Roman law and its influence on modern legal systems. Particular attention is given to the fundamental principles of Roman private law, including the law of persons, property, inheritance, and contract; and there is a close analysis of courtroom procedure. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

A period, problem, or theme in ancient history or religion with critical attention to the ancient sources and modern discussions. The topic and instructor vary from year to year. Format will change each time, depending on enrollment.

A period, problem, or theme in ancient history or religion with critical attention to the ancient sources and modern discussions. The topic and instructor vary from year to year. Format will change each time, depending on enrollment.

The theoretical and ideological bases of the Western attitudes toward sex and gender categories in their formative period in the Greco-Roman world through the study of myth and ritual, archaeology, art, literature, philosophy, science, medicine, law, economics, and historiography. Selected readings in classical and modern texts.

The development of Greek legal traditions, from Homer to the Hellenistic age. The course focuses on the relationship between ideas about justice, codes of law, and legal practice (courtroom trials, arbitration), and the development of legal theory. Two 90-minute seminars.

A study of medieval and modern women and men as gendered agents of the transmission, imitation, and adaptation of Greco-Roman literature and ideology. Our primary emphasis will be on the Latin Middle Ages and on 19th- and 20th- century America. Some representative issues: Is there a tradition of women's writing? Classical themes, ancient authors, and changing perceptions of Antiquity as sources of inspiration for women writers; gender, race and class in the curriculum and the profession of Classics; classical education and social action.