A cultural history of Middle Eastern civilization from the invention of
writing to the rise of Islam. We will look at the history, society and
culture of the various civilizations of the ancient Near East, in particular
Egypt and Mesopotomia during the third, second and first millennia BCE.
itilizing extensive readings from ancient texts in translation but also making
use of archaeological and art historical materials. The goal of the course is
to note both similarities and differences between the various societies of the
time, to understand some of their great achievements, and to appreciate the
rich heritage that they have left us.

RECITATION SECTIONS:

CLST 025 402 R 10:30-11:30 am WILL 316

CLST 025 403 R 9:00-10:00 am WILL 5

CLST 025 404 R 10:00-11:00 am WILL 4

The Greeks enjoy a special place in the construction of western culture and identity, and yet many of us have only the vaguest notion of what their culture was like. A few Greek myths at bedtime when we are kids, maybe a Greek tragedy like Sophocles' Oidipous when we are at school: these are often the only contact we have with the world of the ancient Mediterranean. The story of the Greeks, however, deserves a wider audience, because so much of what we esteem in our own culture derives from them: democracy, epic poetry, lyric poetry, tragedy, history writing, philosophy, aesthetic taste, all of these and many other features of cultural life enter the West from Greece. The oracle of Apollo at Delphi had inscribed over the temple, "Know Thyself. "For us, that also means knowing the Greeks. We will cover the period from the Late Bronze Age, c. 1500 BC, down to the time of Philip of Macedon, c.350 BC, concentrating on the two hundred year interval from 600-400 BC.

RECITATION SECTIONS:

Section 402 R 9-10 am Truesdale    COLL 311F        
Section 403 R 9-10 am Andrews COLL 318
Section 404 R 9-10 am Bauer  WILL 5    
Section 405 R 10:30-11:30 pm Andrews  DRLB 2C6         
Section 406 R 12-1 pm Bauer WILL 24

Section 407 R 12-1 pm Funderburk MEYH B6

Section 408 R 1-2 pm   Funderburk  WILL 24        
Section 409 F 9-10 am Truesdale    WILL 24      
Section 410 F 9-10 am Hafner   COHN 204       
Section 411 F 11-12 pm Hafner  MCNEIL 167-8        
Section 412 F 12-1 pm Cobb    COHN 204        
Section 413 F 1-2 pm   Cobb     WILL 24     

Multiculturalism increasingly characterizes our political, economic, and
personal lives. This course will focus on real and perceived differences
between the so-called "East" and "West." Taking a case study approach, we
shall read and compare literary materials from classical Greece and Rome, a
major source of "Western" culture, and Japan, an "Eastern" society. Through
analysis of these texts, we shall explore some of the concepts, values, and
myths in terms of which "East" and "West" define themselves and each other:
e.g., gender, sexuality, rationality, religion, society, justice, nature,
cultural diffusion, work, leisure, life, and death. Readings will include
selections from Greco-Roman and Japanese myths, poetry, drama, essays,
history, and philosophy. Class format will be lecture with opportunity for
questions and discussion. Grading will be based on midterm and final
examinations, a short paper, and class participation. No prerequisites.

The wealthy, literate aristocracy constituted only a tiny proportion of the

population of the Roman Empire. What of the rest, the numberless, nameless

masses who have left no written record of their own? This is a course about the

disempowered, the despised, the incidental inhabitants of the Roman world, who

hover on the fringes of our literary and documentary sources. Among other

topics, it explores the plight of the poor and disabled, the place of

foreigners and magicians, the criminal underworld and the position of bandits.

In the process, it explores a series of methodological questions. How does one

write a history of those who have written no history of themselves? How useful

is archaeological evidence? To what extent can comparative material from better

documented societies be used? Texts will be discussed in translation.

Selections from the correspondence of Cicero, Pliny, Fronto, Ausonius, Symmachus, Sidonius, and others in their literary and historical contexts.

(Permission required - Please complete attached permission form and see Department staff to register) registration form

(Permission required - Please complete attached permission form and see Department staff to register) registration form