Classical Studies: incl. Classical Civilization and Tradition (in English), Ancient Greek, and Latin

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  • CAS CL 303: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
    The causes and consequences of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Topics include Romans and barbarians; the rise and spread of Christianity; Constantine the Great; the death of classic paganism; theories of decline; the grand strategy of the Roman Empire; monasticism; the emergence of Byzantium and Constantinople; the origins of Islam; and the transformation of classical art, literature, and thought and their influence on Christianity.
  • CAS CL 305: Topics in Myth
    This course may be repeated for credit as topics change. Topic for Spring 2019: Banditry in Roman Law, Literature and Society. Readings in translation of ancient legal papyri and coda, epigraphy, history, biography, comedy, and novel with discussion and writing on legend and reality behind tales of pirates and robbers.
  • CAS CL 310: The Classical Tradition in Modern Literature
    Investigation into genres of classical provenance which were influential in English literature. Specific topics may vary. Topic for Spring 2017: Classical Translation and English Literature. The translation of Greek and Roman literature has formed a vital component of English literary history. This course examines select case studies of classical translation, together with readings on reception and translation theory. Required reading is all in English.
  • CAS CL 314: Women in Ancient Rome
    An introduction to the lives of women who lived during the Roman Republic, Augustan Age and Empire, via a diverse group of texts and material evidence. Topics include women's roles and rights, and women in myth, history and untraditional roles.
  • CAS CL 321: Greek History
    Introduction to the political, social, and economic history of Greece from the earliest historical period through the death of Alexander the Great. Cannot be taken for credit in addition to CAS CL 221. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS CL 322: Roman History
    Introduction to the political, social, and economic history of Rome from the foundation of the city through the fall of the western empire. Cannot be taken for credit in addition to CAS CL 222. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS CL 325: Greek Tragedy and Film
    Explores Greek tragic myth's afterlife, both directly and obliquely, in cinema and in the modern literature spawning cinema: how certain Greek tragic myths have come to life as film and how "non-mythic" stories have acquired a mythic power in literary and cinematic form. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Also offered as CAS CI 369. This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area(s): Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking.
    • Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS CL 351: Latin Seminar
    Intensive study of selected major authors. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Topic for Spring 2019: Proserpine Poetics. Close and comparative readings of the myth of Proserpina from Ovid and Claudian in Latin and others in translation with consideration of poetics, myth, history, law, geography, and geoscience.
  • CAS CL 359: Cavafy and History
    A study of the Modern Greek poet, Konstantinos Kavafis (Cavafy), addressing the historical background, themes, and settings of his works, which treat periods ranging from the Trojan War through the Hellenistic Period to Late Antiquity. Taught in English. Also offered as CAS CL 359. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS CL 391: Greek Seminar
    Intensive study of selected major authors. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Topic for Spring 2019: Tragedy: The Motif of the Hero's Marriage. Euripides' Herakles, Sophocles' Trachiniae, Euripides' Hippolytus. Commonalities of theme and significance for the message of tragedy. Euripides' Bacchae. Relevance of the motif to Dionysian ritual and religion. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS CL 401: Senior Independent Work
  • CAS CL 402: Senior Independent Work
  • CAS CL 406: Advanced Topics in Classical Civilization
    Topic for Spring 2019: New Approaches to Cicero. Using digital tools, students develop new approaches to the works of Roman orator and intellectual, M.T. Cicero. Close examination of a variety of Cicero's writings. Exploration of Cicero's reception in subsequent culture. Mapping and geo- data, social relationships, textual analysis.
  • CAS CL 451: Advanced Latin Seminar
    Advanced-level Latin seminar emphasizing close reading and literary analysis. Changing topics explore a variety of texts linked by chronology, genre, or theme. Topic for Spring 2019: Proserpine Poetics. Close and comparative readings of the myth of Proserpina from Ovid and Claudian in Latin and others in translation with consideration of poetics, myth, history, law, geography, and geoscience.
  • CAS CL 461: Advanced Greek Seminar
    Advanced-level Greek seminar emphasizing close reading and literary analysis. Changing topics explore a variety of texts linked by chronology, genre, or theme. May be repeated for credit as topics change. Two topics are offered Spring 2019. Section A1: Tragedy: The Motif of the Hero's Marriage. Euripides' Herakles, Sophocles' Trachiniae, Euripides' Hippolytus. Section B1: Intensive reading course in Greek of the most important passages of Plato's Republic.
  • CAS CL 491: Directed Study in Classical Studies
  • CAS CL 492: Directed Study in Classical Studies
  • CAS CL 497: Directed Study in Latin
  • CAS CL 502: Studies in Ancient Greek and Roman Literature
    Topics vary. Open to advanced undergraduate and graduate students. The literature studied is read in its original language, either ancient Greek or Latin, so advanced skill in the appropriate language is required. Please contact the instructor if you are unsure whether you have the appropriate knowledge of the language. Topic for Fall 2018: Translation and interpretation of the love elegies of Propertius with a focus on genre, metapoetics, intertextuality, and social and historical context. Also offered as CAS CL 451 A1.
  • CAS CL 520: Studies in Latin Literature
    Topic for Spring 2017: Ovid's Metamorphoses: Text and Reception. Extensive readings in the original Latin from Ovid's Metamorphoses, supplemented by readings in modern scholarship and studies of post-classical receptions of the poem.

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