Subject Description
Greek, Latin, Ancient Medi

GLAM 280 | Introduction to Mediterranean Archaeology

This course offers an introduction to the field of archaeology, providing an overview of its goals, theory, methods, and ethics. Students discuss specific archaeological sites from the ancient Mediterranean in their historical, social, anthropological, economic, religious, and architectural contexts. Attention is given to issues relevant to Mediterranean archaeology today, including the looting of ancient sites, issues of cultural property, and ethics in archaeology.

GLAM 490 | Senior Thesis

This course provides the senior Classics major an opportunity to do independent research and to write a thesis on a topic in the ancient Mediterranean world. The student chooses the topic in consultation with a supervising instructor. Although the thesis is anchored in one discipline (e.g., history, art history, literature), the student is encouraged to take advantage of the multidisciplinary nature of the field.

GLAM 375 | Special Topics in Ancient Mediterranean Studies

This seminar involves an in-depth examination of selected topics in the ancient Mediterranean world. A different topic may be selected each time the class is offered in accord with the interests of the students and the expertise of the faculty. Relevant theoretical approaches and current research are explored. Students are responsible for research papers and presentations under close supervision of the faculty.

GLAM 339 | Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Antiquity

This course examines the ancient history of the future and the might-have-been--the role of Greco-Roman antiquity in modern science fiction and fantasy. This course begins with discussion about definitions, histories, and theories of "science fiction" and "fantasy," with emphasis on their roots in and relations to ancient texts. Students then focus on representative modern texts in various media (e.g., short stories, novels, films, comics); such texts may include Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, J. R. R.

GLAM 330 | Theories of Myth

This course examines classical, world, and contemporary myths, with a particular emphasis on the history of theories used to study myth. The course starts with Greco-Roman theories for analyzing classical myths, then analyzes in detail theories that have arisen since the end of the eighteenth century: comparative approaches, linguistics, psychology, structuralism, religion and ritual, class-, race-, and gender-based approaches. It is recommended that students have previously taken a course in myth or literary/gender theory (e.g., GLAM 210, ENGL 344, GNDR 201, etc.).

GLAM 322 | Race and Ethnicity in the Ancient World

Students in this course explore ancient Greek and Roman ideas about race and ethnicity and reflect upon how that thinking remains influential today. Students investigate how categories of race and ethnicity are presented in the literature of the Ancient Mediterranean through reading such authors as Homer, Herodotus, Aristotle, Vergil, Caesar, and Tacitus and through examining visual evidence. They study concepts such as racial formation and origin; ancient theories of ethnic superiority; and linguistic, religious, and cultural differentiation as a basis for ethnic differentiation.

GLAM 280 | Archaeological Foundations

Archaeology seeks to uncover artifacts and the material culture of human life in order to understand past civilizations and the long-term development of human societies across space and time. This course offers an introduction to the field of archaeology, providing an overview of its goals, theory, methods, and ethics. Students discuss specific archaeological sites in their historical, social, anthropological, economic, religious, and architectural contexts.

GLAM 233 | The Ancient Novel

This course explores the Greek and Roman ancestors of the modern novel. Ancient prose fiction is steadily attracting more and more attention, for it opens many windows onto ancient attitudes towards gender, love and sexuality, religious belief and practice, and social relations. The ancient novels also happen to be fun to read, full of hairbreadth escapes, wide-ranging travel, intense and often conflicting emotions, complex and surprising events, and humor, sometimes delicate, sometimes shocking.