Undergraduate

New trends in Roman numismatics (from the late Republic to the early Empire, 3rd c. BCE-1st c. CE). Archaeology from coins. Barter, money and coinage. The introduction of coinage in Rome and the provinces. Making money (coin production), using money (monetary, non-monetary and ritual uses), losing money (coin circulation, hoards, single finds): contextual interpretations. Monetary systems: coins from Rome and coins from the provinces. Coinage and identity. False coinage.

Given the importance of art to all aspects of their lives the Greeks had reason to respect their artists.  Yet potters, painters and even sculptors possessed little social standing. Why did the Greeks value the work of craftsmen but not the men themselves?  Why did Herodotus dismiss those who worked with their hands as "mechanics?"  What prompted Homer to claim that, "there is no greater glory for a man¿ than what he achieves with his own hands," provided that he was throwing a discus and not a vase on a wheel?

This is a one term intensive class in Biblical Greek.  After quickly learning the basics of the language, we will then dive right into readings from the New Testament and the Septuagint, which is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.  By the end of the term everyone will be able to read the Greek Bible with ease.  No previous knowledge of Greek required.  Those wishing to continue study of Biblical Greek may enroll in Biblical Greek II (CLASSGRK 5B) when offered.

Representation of women in ancient Chinese and Greek texts.  How men viewed women and what women had to say about themselves and their societies. Primary readings in poetry, drama, and didactic writings. Relevance for understanding modern concerns; use of comparison for discovering historical and cultural patterns.

Ancient ethnography was a highly conventionalized tradition stretching from "the father of History," Herodotus, to the last historian of the ancient world, Procopius. We will read selections of these two authors' works as well as of Sallust, Tacitus, and lesser known ones. Within various theoretical frameworks'rhetorical, anthropological, structuralist we will reconstruct the shifting images of The Other, explore what they tell us about their producers, and reflect on what ancient ethnography contributed to its modern descendant.

An exploration of Christian gospels of the first and second century.  Emphasis on the variety of images and interpretations of Jesus and the good news, the broader Hellenistic and Jewish contexts of the gospels, the processes of developing and transmitting gospels, and the creation of the canon.  Readings include the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary and other canonical and non-canonical gospels.

We examine the basic principles of ecological thinking, exploring the ways that different writers represent and relate to the 'natural' world.  Some key questions:  What is nature, and where do humans fit in the natural world?  How exactly do humans differ from other animals?  Do these differences make us superior beings?  What are our ethical responsibilities towards the earth and its inhabitants?  In what ways have the technologies of writing, television, and computers affected humankind's relationship to the natural world?

This course investigates key ethical philosophies in classical Greece.  After reading several Greek tragedies (representing traditional Greek values), we examine the Greek philosophers' rejection of this tradition and their radically new ethical theories.  Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle offered different ethical theories, but they shared basic conceptions of goodness and happiness.  They argued that we could ¿become like gods¿ by achieving philosophic wisdom.  What kind of wisdom is this?  How does it make us ethically good and supremely happy people?<

How the Olympic Games developed and how they were organized. Many other Greek festivals featured sport and dance competitions, including some for women, and showcased the citizen athlete as a civic ideal.  Roman athletics in contrast saw the growth of large-scale spectator sports and professional athletes. Some toured like media stars; others regularly risked death in gladiatorial contests and chariot-racing. We will also explore how large-scale games were funded and how they fostered the development of sports medicine.

Contextual study of archaeological objects linked to funerary practices and traditions during the late Roman Republic and the early Empire (2nd c. BCE-1st c. CE). Funerary rituals and ritualization of space - the outskirts of the city. Beautiful and dangerous dead. Ancestor cult and ancestor representation. Funerary landscapes: monumental and not so monumental tombs. Grave offerings and grave assemblages. Public personas and funerary iconography: gender, age, occupation. Death in Rome and death in the provinces.