Classical Civilizations

Curriculum Description
Classical Civilizations explores many aspects of the ancient Mediterranean cultures of Greece and Rome which present a continuous, constantly developing tradition from the earliest surviving poetry (Homer, about 800 B.C.E.) to the rise of medieval Europe some 1500 years later. Included are history, literature, art history and archaeology, philosophy, myth, and specialized areas such as women's studies. From this variety of disciplines the goal is a synthesis leading to a more comprehensive view of culture itself, and to an understanding of how ancient Greece and Rome have so profoundly influenced Western thought, art, and politics.

Faculty Advisor
Alexander Sens, Ph.D.

Format
In addition to the 13 required core and writing courses, 16 courses must be taken from the following Classical Civilizations curriculum. Of these, students must work with their advisor to establish the appropriate distribution of required and human values courses.

COURSES

Classic and Romantic: Styles and Values in Western Culture Law, Family, and Society in Ancient Rome Literature of the Augustan Age Mortals and Immortals: Ancient Greek Myths Of Constant Sorrow: Greek Tragedy and Its Context Ovid's Metamorphoses and the Western Intellectual Tradition (Core) Plato and the Greek Imagination: Myth, Drama, Philosophy (Human Values) Religions of the Ancient Near East (Human Values) Roman Heroes and Villains Slavery and Roman Culture Spartacus, Slave Revolts, and Political Ideology (Human Values) Sports and Society in Greco-Roman Antiquity The Age of Alexander the Great (Core) The Emergence of Western Political Philosophy The Ethics of Excellence (Human Values) The Gods in Greek and Roman Literature The Mortal Hero: Ancient Epic Poetry Themes from Greek and Roman Drama Thucydides: The Greatest War . . . the Harshest Teacher Virgil, Ovid, and the Roman Heritage Virgil's Humane Epic (Core) Women in Antiquity