Classical Studies Home  Classics Faculty Undergraduate Conference 2008 -CFP News and Events Major and Minor Requirements Student Research Study Abroad Why Study Classics? Classics VIPs FAQ         last updated: 8/31/07			Classes Fall 2007 Latin Greek Hebrew Classical Studies   The children's circus races Mosaic from a private Roman villa depicting boy "charioteers" who drive chariots pulled by birds; the boy in the lower right corner is receiving the palm of victory. Fourth century CE, Piazza Armerina (Sicily), Villa del Casale Latin Latin 131-01: Elementary Latin I (1) (Nickbakht) MWF 9:10am-10:10am, ETN 206 (Syllabus) (Answer Sheets) Latin 131-02: Elementary Latin I (1) (Warren) TTh 09:40am-11:10am, FAW 231 (Syllabus) Introduction to the language and culture of the ancient Romans. The course emphasizes the fast development of basic reading skills. Students will read three hit comedies by T. Maccius Plautus (c. 254-184 BCE), Aulularia, Bacchides, and Amphitruo, in gradually less simplified versions. Textbooks (also used for LATIN 132 in Spring 2008): • P. V. Jones and K. C. Sidwell, Reading Latin, vol. 1: Text, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-521-28623-9, $19.00. • P. V. Jones and K. C. Sidwell, Reading Latin, vol. 2: Grammar, Vocabulary and Exercises, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-521-28622-0, $30.00. A running slave scene (?) from a Roman comedy (Mosaic from Hadrumetum, 190-210 CE, Museum Sousse, Tunisia, photo: Hans Zimmermann, Goerlitz ) Back to top Latin 231: Latin Prose: Pliny, Epistles (1) (Nickbakht) MWF 10:20am-11:20am, WLT 140 The collection of letters by C. Plinius Caecilius Secundus (61/62 -c. 112 CE) is our most important source for the political and literary life during the reign of the emperor Trajan under whom the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent. Some of the highlights we read this semester will be Pliny's moving description of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (79 CE) that destroyed the city of Pompeii and killed Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder (author of the Natural History), and Pliny's exchange of letters with the emperor about the treatment of provincials that were accused of being Christians. Required textbook: • M. B. Fisher & M. R. Griffin (eds.), Selections from Pliny's Letters, Cambridge:   Cambridge University Press, 1973, ISBN 0-521-202981, $14.95. Pliny's villa near the sea at Laurentum, model (reconstruction). Back to top Greek Greek 131 Elementary Ancient Greek I (1) (Bachvarova) MWF 03:00pm-04:00pm, ETN 206 An intensive introduction to ancient Greek, the language of philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, historiographers like Herodotus and Thucydides, tragic poets like Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, comic geniuses like Aristophanes and Menander, and the writers of the New Testament. These and other Greek authors stand at the beginning of Western civilization, and their works still reverberate in our contemporary culture. Textbook (used for the entire first year): • Hansen, H. and G. M. Quinn. Greek: An Intensive Course. Fordham University Press:   New York, NY, 1992, ISBN: 0823216632, $37.50. Back to top Plato (ca. 427-347 BCE) Socrates (ca. 470-399 BCE) Greek 231 Ancient Greek Prose (1): Plato, Apology (Bachvarova) MWF 01:50pm-02:50pm, ETN 206 In the last decades of fifth-century-BCE Athens, an adoring crowd of fashionable young aristocrats, among them Plato, who later founded his own school of philosophy, gathered around a humble stone mason by the name of Socrates. In his patient search for truth and true wisdom, Socrates interviewed men from all walks of life, civic leaders, craftsmen, poets, and philosophers, but when he pressed them, he found that none of them knew much to start with. Plato and the others got a kick out of the way Socrates exposed the ignorance of their elders, but Socrates, the self-appointed "gadfly" of Athens, was finally put to trial and executed for "introducing new gods and corrupting the youth." Socrates' radical philosophy and subversive humor come best to life in Plato's deservedly famous Apology of Socrates that will be the focus of this class. Prerequisites: Greek 131 and 132 or equivalent. Textbooks: • Plato, Apology, ed. by Gilbert P. Rose, 2 vols.               Bryn Mawr Commentaries, 1989, ISBN: 0-929524-56-X, $ 10.95 • Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar, revised by Gordon M. Messing,               Harvard U Press, 1990, ISBN: 0674362500, $42.00. • H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon,               Oxford U Press, 1963, ISBN: 0199102066, $ 45.00. Cool links: The Last Days of Socrates (lots of background material, incl. an annotated view of 5th cent. Athens) The Ancient City of Athens (pictures of ancient monuments in Athens today) Athenian Litigation (links to websites and scholarly articles) Back to top Greek 390 Indep. Study - Ancient Greek (1): A Survey of Greek Literature (Bachvarova) Time TBA A rapid survey of some crucial authors and texts in Greek literature. Participants are expected to prepare Homer, Odyssey 1 and Lysias 1 in advance of the class during the summer. Back to top Hebrew Papyrus fragment of the Torah HEBR 131 Elementary Classical Hebrew I (1) (McCreery) MWF 10:20-11:20, ETN 105 An introduction to the original language of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. Using the inductive method, students will be introduced to the morphology and syntax of ancient Hebrew by translating selected passages from the Hebrew Bible. Back to top Classes in the Classical Studies Program The Funeral Games for Patroclus (Homer, Iliad 23) ARTH 271 (IT, 4th Sem Lang Req: Greek) Greek Art and Architecture (1) (Nicgorski) MWF 10:20am-11:20am, ART 212 This course explores the development of historical Greek sculpture, painting, and architecture from its beginnings, ca. 1200 B.C.E., to the end of the Hellenistic period (31 B.C.E.). Central themes include the Greek interest in mythological narrative, and the pursuit of idealism, naturalism, and ultimately, the expression of raw emotion. The classic expressions of Greek architecture, in their stylistic unity and variety, will also be studied, especially the way buildings serve different functions with a very limited architectural language. The course will address the role of archaeology in providing these artifacts with physical contexts and chronologies that enhance our knowledge of the material and our understanding of ancient Greek culture. Ancient literary sources will also be examined in order to place this material in its full religious, social, and political context. Back to top CLAS 496W Senior Seminar in Classics (Bachvarova) Time TBA - Prereq: Instructor Permission required. Student majors will choose a topic in consultation with the Classics faculty and will read an ancient text appropriate to that topic in the original language(s) and write a substantial research paper. Back to top HIST 251 Rome: From Republic to Empire (1) (Nickbakht) MWF 11:30am-12:30pm, ETN 106 This course offers an introduction to the history of Rome. It will examine the origins of Rome, the rise and fall of the Roman Republic, and the development of the Roman Empire. Within this chronological framework, close attention will be given to the political and socio-economic factors that drove Rome's quest for world power and its consequences, especially the transition from Republic to the Principate. Along the way, we will be looking at the development of Roman culture and society, including phenomena such as slavery and gladiatorial games. Required Books: PLUTARCH, Makers of Rome. Penguin. PLUTARCH, The Fall of the Roman Republic. Penguin. SUETONIUS, Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Penguin. TACITUS, The Annals of Imperial Rome. Penguin. BOATWRIGHT, M.T. GARGOLA, D.J., TALBERT, R.J.A. (2004) The Romans from Village to Empire. A History of Ancient Rome from Earliest Times to Constantine. Oxford University Press. Back to top from left to right: Thales (?), Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle PHIL 230 History of Philosophy: Ancient and Medieval (1) (Goble) MW 12:50pm-02:20pm, CLN 217 Ancient and medieval philosophy from Thales through St. Thomas. The important ideas of leading philosophers and the movements they influenced. Emphasis is on metaphysics and the problems of knowledge. (from the WU course catalog) Back to top REL 113 (TH) Introduction to the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible (1) (McCreery) MWF 11:30am-12:30pm, ETN 110 An introduction to the history and literature of ancient Israel and to modern methods used in studying the Old Testament and the Apocrypha. The course has three basic aims: to reconstruct the history of ancient Israel on the basis of archaeological and form-critical methods, to survey the spectrum of literary forms in the Old Testament, and to identify the major theological themes and symbols used to express Israel's faith. Back to top Qumran cave 4 near the Dead Sea where fragments of approximately 580 different ancient manuscripts were discovered in 1954. REL 237 (W, 4th Sem Lang Req: Hebrew) Introduction to Syro-Palestinian Archaeology (1) (McCreery) W 06:30pm-09:30pm, ETN 110 An introduction to the history and current directions of archaeological research in the Holy Land, concentrating on modern Jordan, Israel, and Syria. Particular emphasis will be placed on the relationship between archaeological research and biblical studies. This course is a prerequisite for REL 337 Archaeological Methodology. Writing-Centered.   Back to top   Extracurricular Activities Classics Club: The Classics Club usually meets three to four times per semester. Its meetings are open to anyone interested. If you are interested in participating in any of these events or would like to know more about the Classics Club, please email the Club's president, Elizabeth Swensen.   ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA, SALEM SOCIETY: Our lively local archaeological society draws between 60 and 100 people to each of its six to nine illustrated slide lectures every year. These lectures are free and open to the public and offer an exciting, up-to-date glance at the newest archaeological discoveries world-wide and an opportunity to meet and chat with the researchers themselves. For a current schedule of events, see: http://www.willamette.edu/~anicgors/salemaia