BU || Department of Classical Studies




The following course listings include descriptions of classes the Department of Classical Studies has offered and does offer at the graduate level. However, please note the course listings are not semester specific. → The spring semester of the 2008-2009 academic year begins on Wednesday, January 14 . Interested in taking a Classical Studies course? Take a look at our spring course offerings here. Course listings are subject to change. All courses are 4-credit courses unless otherwise noted. Courses in the following list are divided into five categories: Classical Civilization, Greek Language and Literature, Latin Language and Literature, Reading Courses in Latin and Ancient Greek, and Teaching Fellowships. Classical Civilization CAS CL 540 Studies in Roman History Study of a selected period, event, or significant figure in Roman history. Readings in Latin from one or more major prose sources. Secondary readings may be supplemented by other ancient sources, in Latin or English translation, and by modern historical analysis. CAS CL 560 Seminar in Ancient Greek History Prereq: departmental approval. Topics vary. This seminar will focus on developing control of the sources, scholarship, and research skills necessary for work in the field of ancient Greek history. May be repeated for credit as topics change. GRS CL 705 Topics in Mythology Topics vary. A study of myth and myth-making in modern literature and films, focusing upon elements of archetypal symbolism as largely unconscious expression of the creative imagination. May be repeated for credit as topics change. GRS CL 710 The Classical Tradition in Modern Literature Greek and Latin poets juxtaposed with major English writers who translated, imitated, and reworked them: Dryden with Vergil, Pope with Horace and Homer, Tennyson with Theocritus, Browning with Aeschylus, Arnold with Sophocles. Readings are from Greek and Latin originals. GRS CL 717 Greek and Roman Religion Survey of ancient Greek and Roman religions and their development from earliest beginnings to the eclipse of paganism. Theories and practices of the religions, comparisons with other religions, relationships to Judaism and Christianity. Survivals and influences on Eastern Christianity. GRS CL 724 Greek Drama Intensive study of selected Greek plays. Emphasis on cultural and political crisis of the last half of the fifth century as that crisis was met by major authors of the period. Fall 2007: Comedy, Tragedy, and Satyr Play Back to Top Greek Language and Literature CAS CL 502 Ancient Greek and Roman Literature The literature of Greco-Roman antiquity from Homer to Nonnos -- its historical context, the idea of genre, its paradigmatic function in Western literature, the criticism of it from antiquity to the present. CAS CL 561 Survey of Greek Literature I A reading course designed to study the history of Greek literature through a chronological survey of representative authors and genres: Homer through the archaic age. CAS CL 562 Survey of Greek Literature II Readings from the Classical to the Hellenistic Period. CAS CL 563 Greek Prose Composition Close study of exemplary Greek prose as the basis for original composition in Greek, of sentences and short passages, then more extensive prose pieces. GRS CL 761 Greek Orators Selective readings from Demosthenes. GRS CL 762 Sophocles Intensive reading and discussion of selected plays by Sophocles. GRS CL 763 Pindar A close reading of the selected epinician odes, with special attention to style and meter. GRS CL 767 Ancient Greek Epic: Homer Readings from the Iliad. GRS CL 773 Euripides Intensive literary and philological study of the Hippolytos, Medea, and Bacchae within the context of the rest of Euripides' extant tragedy. GRS CL 791 Greek Seminar Topics vary. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Fall 2007: Greek Religion and Epigraphy GRS CL 792 Studies in Greek Comedy Study of the theatrical mimesis of verbal obscenity in Aristophanes through an investigation into the stage routines and metaphors of Greek old Comedy; the ritual significance of obscenity and its relevance to Dionysian symbolism and tragedy. GRS CL 793 Study in Aeschylus An intensive reading of Agamemnon of Aeschylus, the play. Attention will be on metres of the odes, and practice reading them metrically. GRS CL 794 Thucydides Intensive study of selected writings. GRS CL 795 Early Greek Prose Beginnings of Greek prose; the emergence of style; relationship of prose to epic and tragic verse; the movement of parataxis to syntaxis; from verb abstractions to noun abstractions; from the lexix eiromene to the periodic sentence. Back to Top Latin Language and Literature CAS CL 520 Studies in Latin Literature Topics vary. Intensive study of selected writings with attention to historical, literary, and philosophical matters. May be repeated for credit as topics change. CAS CL 521 Survey of Latin Literature I Historical survey from archaic Latin through Republican literature; introduction to classical scholarship. For advanced students wishing to increase language skills through extensive reading. CAS CL 522 Survey of Latin Literature II Survey of Latin authors focusing on the period of the early Empire; introduction to classical scholarship. For advanced students wishing to increase their language skills through extensive reading. CAS CL 525 Studies in the Augustan Age Topics of literature and culture in the Augustan Age. CAS CL 530 Latin Prose Composition Practice in set and free composition of Latin prose, aimed at developing advanced language proficiencies. GRS CL 720 Latin Seminar Topics vary. May be repeated for credit as topics change. GRS CL 730 Roman Novel Examination of the development of the Roman Novel as a literary form from its Greek antecedents to its later influence. Readings from Petronius and Apuleius. GRS CL 731 Studies in Latin Epic Poetry Close reading of Virgil's Aeneid. GRS CL 733 Ovid and His Influence Ovid's Metamorphoses. GRS CL 751 Studies in the Augustan Age Seminar in selected aspects of the Augustan age with emphasis on constitutional history, and religious, cultural, and artistic developments. Back to Top Reading Courses in Latin and Ancient Greek GRS CL 621 Reading Latin for Graduate Students Designed for graduate students in fields other than Classics who are preparing for language reading examinations. Develops a knowledge of the fundamentals of Latin grammar. Practice in translating passages. No previous knowledge of Latin required. Students will not receive graduate credit for this course and there is no tuition charge. GRS CL 665 Readng Ancient Greek for Graduate Students Designed for graduate students in fields other than Classics who are preparing for language reading examinations. Develops a knowledge of the fundamentals of Ancient Greek grammar. Practice in translating passages. No previous knowledge of Ancient Greek required. Students will not receive graduate credit for this course and there is no tuition charge. Back to Top Teaching Fellowships GRS CL 699 Teaching College Classical Studies I The goals, contents, and methods of instruction in classical studies. General teaching-learning issues. Required of all teaching fellows. 2 cr. Back to Top

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