Courses for Summer 2020

Title Instructor Location Time All taxonomy terms Description Section Description Cross Listings Fulfills Registration Notes Syllabus Syllabus URL Course Syllabus URL
ANCH 026-910 ANCIENT GREECE WARNOCK, TIMOTHY MWF 0300PM-0430PM 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 Sophokles' 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 Alexander the Great, concentrating on the two hundred year interval from 600-400 BC.
    History & Tradition Sector (all classes) CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; HISTORY & TRADITION SECTOR; COURSE ONLINE: SYNCHRONOUS FORMAT; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
    ANCH 027-920 ANCIENT ROME PILIPOW, RYAN MTWR 0240PM-0415PM At its furthest extent during the second century CE, the Roman Empire was truly a "world empire", stretching from northern Britain to North Africa and Egypt, encompassing the whole of Asia Minor, and bordering the Danube in its route from the Black Forest region of Germany to the Black Sea. But in its earliest history it comprised a few small hamlets on a collection of hills adjacent to the Tiber river in central Italy. Over a period of nearly 1500 years, the Roman state transformed from a mythical Kingdom to a Republic dominated by a heterogeneous, competitive aristocracy to an Empire ruled, at least notionally, by one man. It developed complex legal and administrative structures, supported a sophisticated and highly successful military machine, and sustained elaborate systems of economic production and exchange. It was, above all, a society characterized both by a willingness to include newly conquered peoples in the project of empire, and by fundamental, deep-seated practices of social exclusion and domination. This course focuses in particular upon the history of the Roman state between the fifth century BCE and the third century CE, exploring its religious and cultural practices, political, social and economic structures. It also scrutinizes the fundamental tensions and enduring conflicts that characterized this society throughout this 800-year period.
      History & Tradition Sector (all classes) CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; HISTORY & TRADITION SECTOR; COURSE ONLINE: SYNCHRONOUS FORMAT; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
      CLST 100-910 GREEK & ROMAN MYTHOLOGY STRUCK, PETER W 0430PM-0600PM Myths are traditional stories that have endured many years. Some of them have to do with events of great importance, such as the founding of a nation. Others tell the stories of great heroes and heroines and their exploits and courage in the face of adversity. Still others are simple tales about otherwise unremarkable people who get into trouble or do some great deed. What are we to make of all these tales, and why do people seem to like to hear them? This course will focus on the myths of ancient Greece and Rome, as well as a few contemporary American ones, as a way of exploring the nature of myth and the function it plays for individuals, societies, and nations. We will also pay some attention to the way the Greeks and Romans themselves understood their own myths. Are myths subtle codes that contain some universal truth? Are they a window on the deep recesses of a particular culture? Are they entertaining stories that people like to tell over and over? Are they a set of blinders that all of us wear, though we do not realize it? We investigate these questions through a variety of topics creation of the universe between gods and mortals, religion and family, sex, love, madness, and death.
        Arts & Letters Sector (all classes) CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; ARTS & LETTERS SECTOR; ONLINE COURSE ONLY; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS
        CLST 191-920 WORLD LITERATURE PAPE, MARIA MW 1230PM-0420PM This course will introduce students to a wide array of literary works from across the world. It operates on the assumption that cultures have never been isolated from each other and that literature has always been in motion across national boundaries; it has been translated, adapted, and circulated. We will explore the genres, forms, and thematic preoccupations of major works that strive to imagine a wider world, while also studying the critical debates around the concept of world literature, from its origins with Goethe's essay on Weltliteratur to contemporary arguments about cosmopolitanism and globalization.
          COURSE ONLINE: SYNCHRONOUS FORMAT
          CLST 337-910 Reading the Iliad in an Age of War STRUCK, PETER T 0430PM-0600PM Homer's Iliad presents a dark and difficult vision of the world, but one that nonetheless inspires. Casual cruelty, divine caprice, and savage violence test heroes and lesser folk and provoke a reckoning with the stark realities of both human vulnerability and capability. It inspires kind of terror, but still also somehow provides a kind of comfort, albeit one whose character seems almost beyond comprehension. By a close and careful reading of Homer's text, along with some reflections and readings drawn from more contemporary wars, including the current ones, we will try to examine these issues with one eye on the past and one on the present. Our goal will be to achieve some further understanding of war and human experience. This course will be offered online.
            COURSE ONLINE: SYNCHRONOUS FORMAT
            CLST 517-941 MLA Proseminar: Reading the Iliad in an Age of War STRUCK, PETER T 0430PM-0600PM Homer's Iliad presents a dark and difficult vision of the world, but one that nonetheless inspires. Casual cruelty, divine caprice, and savage violence test heroes and lesser folk and provoke a reckoning with the stark realities of both human vulnerability and capability. It inspires kind of terror, but still also somehow provides a kind of comfort, albeit one whose character seems almost beyond comprehension. By a close and careful reading of Homer's text, along with some reflections and readings drawn from more contemporary wars, including the current ones, we will try to examine these issues with one eye on the past and one on the present. Our goal will be to achieve some further understanding of war and human experience. This course will be offered online.
              ONLINE COURSE ONLY
              LATN 112-910 INTEN ELEM LATIN (2 CUS) MACKEY, DANIEL MTWR 0530PM-0700PM An introduction to the Latin language for beginners, with explanation of basic grammatical concepts and intensive exercises in reading and writing. Ideal for undergraduates or graduate students from Penn or elsewhere with some background in learning other languages, or who need to learn Latin rapidly. The course covers the first year of college-level Latin, equivalent to LATN 101 + 102 at more than twice the normal pace. This is an online course. 2 c.u. Students are not required to be in Philadelphia. Course activities will involve a series of intensive online exercises completed each day according the students own schedule, plus one daily video-linked session 5.30-7.00pm EST (Monday thru Thursday). The textbook is Learn to Read Latin (Keller & Russell; textbook only, not workbook). The instructor for summer 2020 is Daniel Mackey, a Ph.D. student in Classical Studies. For further information about the course, please contact Prof. James Ker (jker@sas.upenn.edu).
                ONLINE COURSE ONLY
                LATN 212-920 INTEN INTER LATIN 2 CUS ELLIOTT, ZACHARY MTWR 0530PM-0700PM An introduction to the basic history and conventions of Latin prose and poetry, with continuous readings from classical authors accompanied by grammar review and exercises. Ideal for undergraduates or graduate students from Penn or elsewhere who have completed the equivalent of one year Latin (e.g., LATN 112). The course covers the second year of college-level Latin, equivalent to LATN 203 + 204 at more than twice the normal pace. This is an online course. 2 c.u. Students are not required to be in Philadelphia. Course activities will involve a series of intensive online exercises completed each day according the students own schedule, plus one daily video-linked session 5.30-7.00pm EST (Monday thru Thursday). The focus of the course will be Romans and Carthaginians, combining readings on Hannibal and the second Punic war (mostly in prose, focusing on Cornelius Nepos Life of Hannibal) with readings from the story of Dido (mostly in poetry, focusing on Ovids Heroides). The instructor for summer 2020 is Zachary Elliott, a Ph.D. student in Classical Studies. For further information about the course, please contact Prof. James Ker (jker@sas.upenn.edu).
                  ONLINE COURSE ONLY