Courses
The following courses are currently offered by the Department of Classical and Mediterranean Studies. Courses offered in affiliated units that contribute to the major and minor in classical and Mediterranean studies are listed under approved courses. For a full list of current courses, please see the Vanderbilt undergraduate catalog or YES (enrolled students only).
Greek
The elements of classical Greek. Reading of simplified texts from authors of the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. [3] (No AXLE Credit)
Continuation of 1101. Completion of the elements of classical Greek through readings from classical authors. Introduction to Homeric and Hellenistic Greek. [3] (INT) (CORE LA)
Review of Greek grammar, and reading from classical and biblical texts. [3] (INT) (CORE LA)
Selected reading and interpretation; history and literary characteristics of the Homeric epic; practice in reading of meter. [3] (INT) (CORE LA)
Classical Athenian authors, with a focus on Lysias and Demosthenes. Historical context, rhetorical technique, and prose style. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA)
Selections from the major Greek historians, especially Herodotus and Thucydides, and study of their philosophy of history; investigation of the development of historical prose writing. Prerequisite: 2201 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA)
Selected readings from the dialogues of Plato and from the ethical writings of Aristotle. Corollary readings and discussions of the pre-Socratic philosophers and the post-Aristotelian schools. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA)
Selections from the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Survey of the development of tragedy. May be repeated for credit with change of subject matter. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA)
The Greek melic, elegiac, and iambic traditions, with an introduction to the Greek dialects and special emphasis on Archilochus, Tyrtaeus, Alcaeus, and Sappho. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA)
Writings of Greek Christians, from the New Testament to critical works and letters by the Cappadocian fathers. Historical and intellectual context. Rhetoric and style. The Roman East. Prerequisite: 2201 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA)
Designed for majors wanting to familiarize themselves with works and authors not covered in the regular curriculum. Prerequisite: 6 hours above 2202. [Variable credit: 1–3 each semester, not to exceed a total of 6] (No AXLE Credit)
May be repeated for credit with change of subject matter. [3] (No AXLE Credit)
Latin
Designed to enable the student to understand elementary Latin, whether written or oral. Some practice in speaking and writing in Latin. [3] (No AXLE Credit)
Continuation of 1101, and transition to literary Latin. Emphasis on the comprehension of texts. [3] (INT) (CORE LA)
The equivalent of Latin 1101 and 1102. This course presents the elements of the Latin language at an accelerated pace. Designed for students who have completed one or two years of Latin in high school but are not prepared to enter Latin 1102. [5] (INT) (CORE LA)
Review of Latin grammar and selected reading from major Latin prose authors. No credit for students who have earned credit for a more advanced Latin language course except 2202. [3] (INT) (CORE LA)
Review of Latin grammar and selected reading from major Latin poets. No credit for students who have earned credit for a more advanced Latin language course [3] (INT)
Selections from The Civil War and The Gallic War. Literary style and historical context. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Study of Cicero’s career and thought, and of his contribution to the development of the concept of humanitas. Readings from his letters, speeches, or philosophical works. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
The literary letters of Seneca and Pliny, with a brief introduction to the personal correspondence of Cicero and the letters discovered at Vindolanda. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Selections from Sallust, Livy, and Tacitus, with attention to their objectives and methods; analysis of Roman historiography and its relation to Greek and early Christian historiography. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Selections from the works of one of Rome’s most important biographers,read in the context of the Latin biographical tradition as well as the political and social background. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Selections from the works of one of Rome’s most important historians, read in the context of historiographical tradition and political and social background. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Selected works of one of Rome's most important historians, read in the context of historiographical tradition and political and social background. Prerequisite: LAT 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Reading of selected comedies of authors such as Plautus and Terence: study of the form of Roman comedy and its relation to the Greek New Comedy. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Reading and interpretation of Catullus’ poems; aesthetic, political, and rhetorical contexts; fundamentals of Latin meter. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Lucretius’ poem studied both in the tradition of Epicurean philosophy and as a landmark in the development of the Latin didactic epic; background material in the fragments of Epicurus and some treatment of the Epicurean movement in Italy and especially in Rome. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
An intensive study of the entire poem, in the context of the epic tradition. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Reading and interpretation of Horace’s Epodes and Odes; relation to the Greco-Roman lyric tradition and to Augustan politics. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Authors who created a new type of love poetry during the rule of emperor Augustus: Tibullus, Propertius, Ovid, and Sulpicia. Construction and contestation of gender roles; political contexts; development of the elegiac couplet; modern responses. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA)
Reading and interpretation of selections from the Metamorphoses or other works of Ovid. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
The satires of Horace, Persius, and Juvenal; the origins of Roman satire; history and conventions of the genre; background reading in other Roman satirists. 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Selections from authors in the literary renaissance during the reign of the artistic Emperor Nero, including Seneca, Lucan, Persius, and Petronius. Stylistic innovations, literary merits, and cultural contexts. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Selections from the writings of Latin Christians, from the account of Perpetua’s martyrdom to the Confessions of Augustine. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Selected works of two of Rome's most important historians, Livy and Sallust, and Cicero's speeches; Bacchanalian and Catilinarian conspiracies, read in the context of historiographical tradition and political and social background. Prerequisite: 2202 or departmental placement. [3] (HCA) (CORE LA)
Designed for majors wanting to familiarize themselves with works or authors not covered in the regular curriculum. Prerequisite: 6 hours above 2202. [Variable credit: 1–3 each semester, not to exceed a total of 6] (No AXLE Credit)
May be repeated for credit with change of subject matter. [3]
Classics (Courses requiring no knowledge of either Greek or Latin)
Topics vary. [1] (No AXLE Credit)
History and geography of southern Europe, north Africa, and Near East from Iron Age through Middle Ages (ca. 1000 BCE-1500 CE). Greeks, Romans, and related peoples. Abrahamic religions. Case studies in complexity and change, community and identity, innovation and prosperity, power and conflict, and environment and cosmos. Cultural transmission and reception. [3] (INT) (CORE C, E) (LE HFA)
Iron Age through Middle Ages (ca. 1000 BCE-1500 CE). Remains of Greeks, Romans, and related peoples of southern Europe, north Africa, and the Near East. Society, economy, religion, urbanism. Human settlement and natural environment. Classical and Renaissance paradigms. Modern theory of material and visual culture. Techniques of data collection, analysis, and curation [3] (SBS) (CORE C) (LE HFA)
A survey of the history and achievements of Greece from its Mycenaean origins to the Roman domination. Topics include literature, art, athletics, Periclean Athens, theconquest of Alexander, and the Hellenistic age. [3] (INT) (CORE B, C) (LE HFA)
A study of the nature of the Greek myths, with consideration of the related Near Eastern myths and the early history of myths in Greece. Both the divine and the heroic myths, with some attention to the development of these myths in Italy and to their influence upon art and literature. [3] (HCA) (CORE C) (LE HFA)
Theories and practices of medicine in the ancient Greco-Roman world; Hippocratic and Galenic writings. Ethics and socio-cultural values. Interactions with philosophical traditions. The Classical heritage of modern medicine. [3] (SBS) (CORE C) (LE HFA)
Ancient Roman civilization from mythical foundations to the fall of the empire. A historical survey of topics including art and architecture, city life, agriculture, religion, law, slavery, public entertainment, and literature. [3] (INT) (CORE B, C) (LE HFA)
Reception and appropriation of Greco-Roman culture by the Western world and its relationship to contemporary critical issues. Sociopolitical concerns, including racism, colonialism, and political extremism. Offered on a graded basis only. [3] (P) (CORE A, E) (LE HFA)
From the neolithic period to the conquests of Alexander the Great, in the geographical area from Persia to Troy and Egypt. Special attention to the history of Israel. [3] (INT)
The Greek world from the beginning of the Mycenaean Age (1650 BCE) to the end of the Classical period. Special attention to the relationship between political history and the development of Hellenism. [3] (INT)
From Alexander’s conquest of the Persian Empire to the ascendancy of Christianity in the late fourth century. Emphasis on social, cultural and religious transformations, within the framework of political history. [3] (INT)
The growth and evolution of the Roman world, from the foundation of the city in the seventh century BCE to the reign of Caesar Augustus. The Romans’ unification of Italy, conquest of the Mediterranean and western Europe, adoption of Hellenism, and overthrow of the Republic. [3] (INT)
The Roman world from Augustus to the collapse of the western empire in the fifth century CE. Political, military, social, and religious history. Special attention given to problems arising from use of the primary sources as well as to controversies in modern scholarship. [3] (INT)
The Eastern Roman Empire from Constantine to the Arab conquests. Political, social, cultural, and religious history, including monasticism, barbarian invasions, and the changing roles of the Emperor and Church. Special attention to developments in urban life and landscape. Counts toward the minor in Islamic Studies. [3] (INT)
Sculpture, vase painting, architecture, and the minor arts from about 1000 BCE to the late fifth century BCE Formal and stylistic developments in relation to changing cultural background. [3] (HCA)
Sculpture, vase painting, architecture, and the minor arts from after the Parthenon to the Roman Empire. A focus on those media (wall painting and mosaic) that develop significantly in this period. [3] (HCA)
Comparative studies around the Mediterranean and adjacent regions, 4th millennium BCE to 4th century CE. Origins and evolution; environmental, social, and economic determinants of urban form; city planning and amenities; engineering and architecture. Formal, material, comparative, and theoretical approaches. Serves as repeat credit for HART 2200. No credit for students who have earned credit for HART 5200. [3] (SBS)
Sculpture, architecture, and painting from the tenth century BCE to the early fourth century CE. Daily life of the Romans as seen in the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. [3] (HCA)
Religious art of the Roman Empire in late antiquity. Visual art reflecting religious beliefs and practices. Greco-Roman cults, early Christianity, and Rabbinical Judaism. [3] (HCA)
The development of architecture, sculpture, painting, and the minor arts from the third through eleventh centuries. [3] (HCA)
Major traditions of scientific thought and practice in the ancient Mediterranean world: emergence, aims, methods and achievements. Relationship between science and society, ancient and modern. [3] (SBS)
Influences of classical Greece and Rome on the literature, politics, architecture, and values of the United States from the colonial period to the present. [3] (US)
Religious oppositions in the eastern Mediterranean world from the Maccabean revolt to the Muslim conquests of the seventh century; beginnings of religious militancy; challenges of monotheism to Greco-Roman civilization; conversion, persecution, and concepts of heresy and holy war in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Counts toward the minor in Islamic Studies. [3] (P)
Modern cinematic depictions of the mythology, drama, and history of ancient Greece and Rome, accompanied by readings from ancient sources. The Trojan War, Greek tragedy, and the Roman empire. Emphasis on how antiquity is used to express modern concerns and ideologies. [3] (HCA)
Biological history of the Greeks, Romans, and other Mediterranean peoples from the Bronze Age to early Christianity and Late Antiquity. Changing concepts of death and afterlife, interpretations of disease, medical thought and practice, healing, epidemics, natural catastrophe, dietary variation. Classical literature, archaeology, bones and teeth. [3] (SBS)
The status and role of women, law and the regulation of the private sphere, sexuality and gender roles, demography and family structure, marriage, children, religion, domestic architecture and the household economy, ancient critiques of the family, and the impact of Christianity. [3] (SBS)
Continuity and change in ancient Greek and Roman warfare 800 BCE to CE 120. Social, political, and religious aspects of war. Effects of war, imperialism, and militarism on internal and external populations. [3] (INT)
Ancient comic forms juxtaposed with modern theories of humor. Aristophanic Old Comedy, New Comedy, and Satire. Modern parallels. [3] (HCA)
Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Development of the genre in ancient Athens. Historical, political, and religious contexts of production. Modern stage adaptations. Not open to students who have completed CLAS 1111 section 6. [3] (HCA)
History of practices and ideologies in Greek and Roman cultures from Archaic Period to end of Roman Empire. Representation through literary, archaeological, and artistic evidence. Relationship with religion, politics, and economics. Comparison of values and practices with modern athletics and Olympic Games. [3] (INT)
The relationship between law and society as illustrated by cases drawn from Roman legal and literary sources. The development of legal reasoning and the rise of an autonomous legal profession at Rome. [3] (SBS)
Relationship of law and society as illustrated by legal, literary, epigraphic, and papyrological evidence. Views and methodologies of leading modern scholars. Focus on methodology. Marriage, family, personal status, the economy, and judicial system. Basic familiarity with Roman history or law is expected. [3] (SBS)
Ancient Rome in the Age of Augustus. Social, administrative, religious, and military reforms. Common themes in architecture, art, and literature; development of a new national identity in the transition between Republic and Empire. Pre-requisite: Classics 1150, 2150, or 2160. [3] (HCA)
The example of ancient Athens. The stoa, the theater, the house, and fortifications. Institutions such as the courts, the public assembly, and the family. Literary, historical, archaeological, and philosophical sources. [3] (SBS)
Ancient religious practices and beliefs through the evidence of archaeological sites, material remains, and written texts. Cross-cultural comparisons of sanctuaries, rituals, priesthoods, and sacred texts and objects. Consideration of mystery cults, magic, and alternative groups. [3] (INT)
Representations in Classical Greek art, literature, and archaeological evidence. The composition of the Homeric epics; the meaning of the Trojan War to later audiences. [3] (HCA)
Alexander's rise to power and conquests in Europe, Asia, and Africa; the legacy of his introduction of Greek culture to the East; his significance to later audiences. Offered on a graded basis only. [3] (HCA)
Literature, culture, and politics from the 1st to 4th centuries AD. Developments in rhetoric, elite and popular entertainment, scholarship, and medicine. Relationship of literature to imperial rule. Administration through the prisms of cultural identity, cosmopolitanism, citizenship, religion, and the development of ruling classes. [3] (INT)
From the seventh century BCE to ca. 1500 CE. Sites of interaction, languages, cultural ties, religious tensions, political conflicts, and competing philosophies. Works by Elephantine, Alexander the Great, the Maccabees, the Septuagint, Aristeas, Josephus, Philo, the rabbis, the New Testament, Ezekiel the Tragedian, Byzantium. [3] (INT)
Major works of one of the most influential thinkers in history. The dialogues: Meno, Phaedo, Republic, and others. Theory of the forms, arguments for immortality, nature of the good. Relevant contemporary thinkers. [3] (HCA)
Introduction to the cuneiform script and to the grammar of Akkadian, the language of ancient Mesopotamia. Selected readings in Old Babylonian (CODEX Hammurabi, Mari letters) and Neo-Assyrian texts (Creation Poem, Gilgamesh Epic). [3–3] (INT)
A survey of highly sophisticated Near East cultures of the last three millennia before the common era (B.C.). Discussion of political histories, and the social, religious, and intellectual heritage of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Anatolia through excavated artifacts and written documents. [3] (INT)
The Amarna period from the sixteenth through the twelfth centuries BCE, as illumined by excavations of palaces and temples in Egypt, Anatolia, Canaan, and Mesopotamia as well as the vast historical, legal, and literary documents of the period. Focus on the internationalism and theological speculation of the period as seen through the powerful personalities and accomplishments of leaders such as Thutmoses III, Suppiluliumas, Ramses II, and the spiritually influential Akehnaten. [3] (INT)
Christians who spoke the Aramaic dialect during Late Antiquity to modern times from the Near East to the Persian Gulf, India, and China. Culture and literature under the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic States in the Middle East. History and theology of religious communities. Historiographical debates about Syriac origins and development. [3] (INT)
Rise of asceticism in Late Antiquity. History and geography of asceticism in Syria and Egypt. Diversification and spread across the Mediterranean region. Selected readings in translation of sayings, hagiography, theology, and verse. Legacy in modern belief. [3] (INT)
Theory, method, and applications in history, classics, and religious studies. Focus on historical data and research tools in the study of the Mediterranean world. Integration and manipulation of textual and spatial data. Scholarly interfacing and public access. New media. Developing research plans. [3] (SBS)
Travel to Greece to survey Greek religion: its deities, sanctuaries, and festivals. Examine the wide variety of pagan cults from prehistory to late Antiquity; the roots of early Christianity; and the influence of ancient pagan cults on modern Greece. Related topics include Athenian democracy; the impact of cults and festivals on warfare, the economy, athletics, and literature; and the role of women and other marginalized groups. No credit for students who have earned credit for 3210. [3] (INT)
Archaeological field school at the site of Kenchreai with seminars and excursions in southern Greece. Basic techniques in excavation, survey, and the analysis of architecture, artifacts, and bones. Explorations of churches, temples, houses, and tombs. Focus on Greece during the Roman Empire and late antiquity. Landscape settlement, cult practice, cultural and social diversity, and funerary ritual. [3] (INT)
The mid-second century BCE to the mid-second century CE. Investigating significant sites, monuments, and museum collections in Rome and locations throughout southern Italy. Monumental and domestic architecture, wall paintings, sculpture, coins, and ancient sources. [3] (INT)
From Herod the Great to the Mamluk conquest. Excavation of the site of Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast. Social, cultural, economic, and religious history. Maritime commerce; Roman rule; and the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities. Archaeological methods, geospatial analysis, and processing artifacts. Monumental architecture, urban topography, and littoral environment. Daily field and laboratory work with additional seminars and excursions. [3] (INT)
Completion of a substantial research paper in either classics or the classical tradition under the direction of a faculty sponsor. Consent of both the faculty sponsor and the director of undergraduate studies is required. [Variable credit: 1–3 each semester, not to exceed a total of 6] (No AXLE Credit)
Under faculty supervision, students can gain experience in a range of Classics-related programs at public or private institutions including museums and/or federal agencies. Skills can be developed in the areas of public speaking and engagement, digital humanities and cultural heritage management. Credit hours earned are based upon actual work performed at the internship site. A minimum of 1 credit hour in background readings and research must be completed in CLAS 3881 concurrently with, and regardless of, the number of hours earned in 3880. A substantial research paper or report must be submitted at the end of the semester during which the internship is completed. These credit hours may NOT count in the minimum required for the CLAS major or minor. Normally, a 3.0 grade point average, 6 hours of prior work and and prior approval of a specific plan of work by the director of undergraduate studies in Classical and Mediterranean Studies are required. Offered on a Pass/Fail basis only and must be taken concurrently with CLAS 3881. Corequisite: 3881. Variable credit. [1-9] (No AXLE credit)
Under faculty supervision, students can gain experience in a range of Classics-related programs, at public or private institutions, including museums and/or federal agencies. Skills can be developed in the areas of public speaking and engagement, digital humanities, and cultural heritage management. Credit hours earned are based upon readings or research supervised by CLAS faculty to lend some intellectual foundation to the internship experience. A minimum of 1 credit hour in background readings and research must be completed in 3881 concurrently with, and regardless of, the number of hours earned in 3880. A substantial research paper or report must be submitted at the end of the semester during which the internship training is completed. These credit hours may count in the minimum required for the CLAS major or minor. Normally, a 3.0 grade point average, 6 hours of prior work and prior approval of a specific plan of work by the director of undergraduate studies in Classical and Mediterranean Studies are required. Offered on a graded basis only and must be taken concurrently with 3880. Co-requisite: 3880. Variable credit: [1-6] (No AXLE credit)
May be repeated for credit more than once if there is no duplication in topic. Students may enroll in more than one section of this course each semester. [3] (INT)
Open only to seniors in the departmental honors program. [3] (No AXLE credit)
Open only to seniors in the departmental honors program. [3] (No AXLE credit)
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