For more than 3,000 years the story of the Trojan War has fascinated and attracted people throughout the world. Is the war completely "mythical?" How can different disciplines such as archaeology, linguistics, and literature be combined to shed light on the historical reality that may lie behind the story as it first appears in Homer? How have the art and literature of other cultures, such as the Romans, the European Middle Ages, or the modern culture of television and movies interpreted and reused the story of Troy, and what can this adaptation tell us about these cultures. Meets Gen Ed - Great Works and their Influences.
An introduction to the methodologies and modes of interpretation in the humanities. Students will concentrate on one contemporary problem or theme, approached from an interdisciplinary perspective.
By focusing on a group of digital humanities projects and platforms students will learn about contemporary digital transformations of historical and cultural research across a range of materials and eras. Students will use these digital humanities projects and platforms as texts, to study, critique, and actively engage with real-world online materials.
An introduction to Italian American Studies offering an overview of the Italian experience in the United States from the first great waves of immigration to today. Focus will be on the politics of representation of Italian American identity in works from a wide textual base: literature and journalism, cinema, the figurative arts, music, television, advertising, etc. Themes to be investigated include the trauma of separation, relationships with the dominant culture and other ethnic communities, and the formulation of ethnic identity in a U.S. context. A major component of this course will be oral history research in the local community. Taught in English. Mutually Exclusive with EDFD 176 and ITAL 176.
The science of evaluating Greco-Roman and closely related cultures through observation and analysis of their physical remains. Problems and methods of dating artifacts and sites. Building materials, types, and decorations. Field trip in addition to illustrated lectures and discussions.
Systematic development of the student's knowledge of English vocabulary through study of the most important Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, suffixes, and other elements and the ways in which they are used to form words in English.
The history of Russian culture from the early stages of Slavic civilization to the contemporary post-Soviet Russian Federation. Special emphasis is placed on the role of the arts, especially literature, as a reflection of philosophical, political, and cultural change. No knowledge of Russian is required. Meets Gen Ed - Global Cultural Perspectives. Mutually Exclusive with RUIN 193.
Russian novels and prose fiction from the 19th century to the present day. Representative works include world famous novels and novellas by Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Tolstoy, Nabokov, and Bulgakov. Students learn strategies for reading prose fiction, including close reading and genre analysis. Students also explore great themes of Love, Death, social justice, and the meaning of life. No knowledge of Russian is required. Taught in English. Meets Gen Ed - ‐ Great Works and Their Influences. Mutually Exclusive with RUIN 194.
Prerequisite(s): WRIT 105 or HONP 100 may be taken as prerequisites or corequisites. A broadly historical introduction to important themes and topics in the humanities as seen through literature, philosophy, and the arts from the ancient world to the Middle Ages. Meets the Graduation Writing Requirement for majors in General Humanities. Meets Gen Ed - Great Works and their Influences.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201; or WRIT 105 or HONP 100 may be taken as prerequisite or corequisite. A broadly historical introduction to important themes and topics in the humanities as seen through literature, philosophy, and the arts from Renaissance to the present. Meets the Graduation Writing Requirement for majors in General Humanities. Meets Gen Ed - Great Works and their Influences.
Prerequisite(s): WRIT 105 or HONP 100. A survey of religious thought and practices as they applied to individual, family and society among the Greeks and Romans, and how these items contributed to the religious life of the modern Western world. Mutually Exclusive with RELG 209.
Prerequisite(s): WRIT 105 or HONP 100. Through the critical analysis of texts ranging from translations of Greco-Roman authors to works on the nature of Western and non-Western culture, the course examines how politicians, novelists, critics, and educators from the 17th century to the present have interpreted the classical past and have viewed it as reflecting their own values or ideals. The course considers classicism both as it has been appropriated and elaborated by Americans specifically and as a phenomenon common to many cultures.
Prerequisite(s): WRIT 105 or HONP 100. This course explores the concept of health in the ancient world and how these foundational ideas can help frame modern discussions of health. We begin by considering how to define "health" and how our definitions differ from and are influenced by the history of ideas about health. We will conduct in-depth study of several topics from ancient medicine--sight, digestion, and reproduction--in order to consider broader questions about gender, aging, the connection between mind and body, the concept of self and collective identity, the relationship between environmental factors (e.g. diet, climate) and health, and the role of myth, religion, and ritual in disease and healing. Sources students will consider include ancient medical texts, literary works in which health and disease are important themes, artistic representations of the body in health and illness, and evidence from material culture.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 115 or HUMN 151; or WRIT 105 or HONP 100 may be taken as prerequisite or corequisite. This course is an introduction to a wide range of cultural traditions across Asia as seen through a spectrum of cultural objects. Particular emphasis will be given to the cultural accomplishments of China, Japan, and India, and these will be read in their cultural and historical contexts. Students can expect to read poetry, drama, and prose, view a variety of art forms, and listen to musical styles from ancient, medieval, and modern periods. Students will learn to appreciate and analyze complex cultural objects as well as the traditions behind them. Meets Gen Ed - Global Cultural Perspectives. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): WRIT 105 or WRIT 106 or HUMN 115 or HUMN 151 or HUMN 201 or HUMN 202 or HONP 100 or HONP 101. This course is an in-depth survey of the mythology and legends of the ancient and medieval Celtic peoples of the British Isles, and their influence on later literature, religion, and culture. Particular emphasis is placed on Irish myth and hagiography and their reinterpretation in nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature, film, music, and popular culture.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 115 or HUMN 151 or WRIT 105 or WRIT 106 or HONP 100 or HONP 101. This course examines the myths and legends and the religious and ritual beliefs of the Vikings as they are transmitted in medieval manuscripts, witnessed in archaeological finds, and depicted in medieval sculpture. Core mythological and heroic themes will be discussed, as will earlier and later treatments of the narrative material of these pre-Christian, Germanic peoples. After in-depth analysis of the Poetic and Prose Eddas, the course then explores select Icelandic sagas, including the Saga of the Volsungs, and the later medieval German epic, the Nibelungenlied.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 115 or HUMN 151 or HUMN 201 or HUMN 285 or WRIT 105 OR WRIT 106 or HONP 100 or HONP 101. This course focuses on the myths, historical texts, characters, and themes of Classical Greece and Rome as reflected in films from the silent film era to 1950’s Cold War productions to postmodern productions. This course connects to the popular sub-discipline of Classical Reception. It introduces Classical themes and culture (politics, art, religion, history, literature) exploring ideological and commercial dimensions and aesthetic recreations of antiquity. This interdisciplinary course approaches cinematic productions from the perspectives of history, mythology, literature and visual arts. It provides an introduction to the Ancient World, the Classical Tradition and Western Art, Literature and Culture. It includes the viewing of films with Classical themes, historical and mythological, readings of ancient texts and modern critical essays. Major themes include ancient epic and tragedy, historical and mythical events, protagonists and central mythical narratives.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 115 or HUMN 151 or WRIT 105 or HONP 100. A comparative, interdisciplinary study of the transcultural awareness of the problem of man and the human condition.
Prerequisite(s): WRIT 105 or HONP 100 or WRIT 106 or HONP 101 or HUMN 115 or HUMN 151 or departmental approval. A course focusing on the major exponents of and themes in Italian cinema from Neo-Realism to the present. The selected films, illustrating a variety of styles and ideological underpinnings, explore crucial moments in the development of modern Italian society. Topics for a given semester will be selected from the following: film aesthetics and film theory, the development of the Italian cinema industry, history in cinema, national identity, immigration and ethnicity, representations of masculinity and femininity, the class struggle, and cinematic adaptations of literary works. A component of this course will be an introduction to the art of subtitling, through a series of workshops on related translation issues, technical considerations and the use of subtitling software. Taught in English. Mutually Exclusive with ITAL 277.
Restriction(s): Completion of 45 credits prior to enrollment with a minimum grade point average of 2.0; permission of the Office of Cooperative Education. The aim of this course is to provide liberal arts students with the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge and skills in a professional setting. To meet this aim, the course combines supervised employment experience with seminars and writing assignments. Seminar discussion topics include the meaning of work and success, relationships with co-workers and supervisors, ethical issues in the workplace, problem-solving experiences, the importance of career role models, and the student's changing perceptions of the workplace.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 115 or HUMN 151 or WRIT 105 or HONP 100 may be taken as prerequisite or corequisite. The political, social, economic, and cultural history of the Greek world from the Bronze Age to the Roman conquest as seen through literary, documentary and archaeological sources. Meets the Graduation Writing Requirement for majors in Classics. Meets Gen Ed - American and European History.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 115 or HUMN 151; or WRIT 105 or HONP 100 may be taken as prerequisite or corequisite. Restriction(s): Not for Histsory majors/minors. The political, social, economic, and cultural history of the Roman world from the Regal period to Justinian as seen through literary, documentary, and archaeological sources. Meets Gen Ed - American and European History.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 115 or HUMN 151 or WRIT 105 or HONP 100. This course uses women, gender, and sexuality to model a broad, cross-disciplinary, and issue-oriented approach to ancient societies. Students will examine cultural and historical objects, such as historical and philosophical works, inscriptions, and graffiti. They will view monuments and artifacts. They will learn how to approach complex cultural objects and understand how social constructions of gender affected and reflected the lives of women and men in ancient Greece, Rome, and the Near East.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 115 or HUMN 151; or WRIT 105 or HONP 100 may be taken as prerequisite or corequisite. The nature and interpretation of mythology, primarily as seen through the myths of Greece and Rome. Selected comparative study of myths of the Near East, Iran, India and other cultures. Meets Gen Ed - Great Works and their Influences.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 115 or HUMN 151 or FRIN 145 or FREN 132 or WRIT 105 or HONP 100. Development of film art with special emphasis on the contemporary period. Mutually Exclusive with FREN 286 and FRIN 286.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 115 or HUMN 151 or WRIT 105 or HONP 100. A survey of Greco-Roman myths and their recurrence in and influence on later literature, art, music, and film, and how they contribute to the ongoing development of culture.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 115 or HUMN 151 or FRIN 145 or FREN 132 or WRIT 105 or HONP 100. This course will use cinema as a tool and medium for the critical analysis of artistic and cultural discourse, and will introduce students to postcolonial Francophone cultures outside of metropolitan France and the western French-speaking world (Africa and the Caribbean). Taught in English. Meets Gen Ed - Global Cultural Perspectives. Meets World Cultures Requirement. Mutually Exclusive with FREN 289 and FRIN 289.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 115 or HUMN 151 or WRIT 105 or HONP 100. This course will examine topics that involve the interrelationships between the literature and the culture of Greece and Rome, including that of the Roman Empire broadly understood. It will focus on how literary texts arise from, interact with, explain and critique their cultures and the productions of those cultures, such as art, architecture, rhetoric, sports, politics. This course may be repeated twice for a maximum of 9 credits.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 202. Composers from the Middle Ages (Perotin) to modern times (Boulez) in relation to their social and cultural backgrounds.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 202 or HUMN 285. This course provides introduction to the major figures in literary criticism, proceeding historically from classical to modern times. Particular emphasis is given to Classical Greek and Latin criticism as the foundational texts for all later criticism of any of the arts, and of those who interpreted and elaborated these classical works in the Renaissance and Neo-classical periods, as well as on the innovations of the Romantics and of the modern period.
Prerequisite(s): ENFL 208, HUMN 201, HUMN 281, HONP 201, HONP 202, ARHT 200, ARHT 202, VIST 203, VIST 290, ARDW 201, ARST 205, ARPH 201, MUGN 241, RELG 221 or departmental approval. This course explores the art and architecture of the Aegean region in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE with special attention to archaeological perspectives. Specifically, this includes the material culture of the Early Cyclades, Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece. The two primary methodological approaches will be art historical and archaeological. The core material of the course will be chronologically presented; however, substantial time will also be devoted to specific problems or themes in the field. Mutually Exclusive with ARHT 313.
Prerequisite(s): GNED 201, GNED 202, HONP 201, HONP 202, ARDW 201, ARST 205, MUGN 241, RELG 221, ENFL 208, ARHT 200, ARHT 202, VIST 203, ARHT 280, ARHT 281, VIST 290 or departmental approval. Greek art and material culture including painting, sculpture and architecture from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period. Fulfills the Ancient art requirement for majors.
Prerequisite(s): GNED 201, GNED 202, HONP 201, HONP 202, ARDW 201, ARST 205, MUGN 241, RELG 221, ENFL 208, ARHT 200, ARHT 202, VIST 203, ARHT 280, ARHT 281, VIST 290 or departmental approval. The arts and material culture of the Etruscans and Romans in their historical, cultural and religious settings. Fulfills the Ancient art requirement for majors.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 202 or HUMN 285. This course examines a topic or issue utilizing the content and approaches of two or more fields of Humanitites (broadly defined, including Art History, Theater, Dance and the Fine Arts) to consider some particular issue or topic relevant to the Humanities. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits.
Prerequisite(s): GNED 201, GNED 202, HONP 201, HONP 202, ARDW 201, ARST 205, MUGN 241, RELG 221, ENFL 208, ARHT 200, ARHT 202, VIST 203, ARHT 280, ARHT 281,VIST 290 or departmental approval. The emergence and development of early Christian, Jewish, Byzantine, and Islamic art from Late Antiquity through Iconoclasm and the early Middle Ages. Fulfills the Medieval requirement for majors.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 281 or HUMN 282. Courses offered under this selected topics rubric examine specific periods and issues concerning Mediterranean, Western Asian, and European political, cultural, social and economic history from the Bronze Age to the late Antique. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 202 or GSWS 201. This course explores representations of medieval and early modern women, gender, and sexuality in literary, artistic, and musical media that were produced in continental Europe. Paying particular attention to works - e.g., manuscript illuminations, songs, texts - produced by, for, and about women this course transcends disciplinary boundaries and draws on a range of methodological approaches. Mutually Exclusive with GSWS 345.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 281 or HUMN 282 or HUMN 283 or HUMN 285 or departmental approval. Cities and city-based culture in the Greek and Roman world seen through the evidence of archaeology, literary sources, and contemporary documents such as inscriptions. Town planning, economic life, social groups, and population patterns in selected ancient cities.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 281 or HUMN 282 or departmental approval. Dying undefeated at the age of 32, Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) had conquered the vast Persian Empire stretching from the Mediterranean sea to the borders of present-day Pakistan, ensuring the spread of Greek culture throughout the known world. This course studies Alexander's life, accomplishments, and geo-historical impact, as well as his transformation into a quasi-mythical figure in literature and art throughout the east and west from antiquity to today.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 281 or HUMN 282 or departmental approval. From a small town barely dominant over one region of Italy, Rome grew, between the traditional founding of the Republic in 509 and the collapse of the Republican government in the mid-first century BCE, to be a wealthy and sophisticated center of culture and a Mediterranean "world" power backed by a major military machine and accustomed to frequent victory in war. This course examines that process, with special emphasis on the role of the Senate in motivating foreign policy, the role of patronage and self-advertisement, and the massive influx of new cultural characteristics, from large-scale slavery to the creation of a literature and a taste for things Greek that took place during the last two centuries BCE.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 281 or HUMN 282 or departmental approval. This course examines Cleopatra VII both as she appears in the historical record and as later authors and artists have shaped her image. Issues considered include female power, east vs. west, and politics and propaganda. Beyond Cleopatra herself, the course considers the Hellenistic period, the origins of the Roman Empire, the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria, and women's roles in ancient society. In addition, the course offers an introduction to the study of reception, the recreation and re-interpretation of history, art, and literature in subsequent ages.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 281 or HUMN 282 or departmental approval. Roman culture and society experienced a radical transformation during the lifetime of Rome's first emperor, Augustus (63 BC - 14 AD). This course focuses on the interplay between a new set of political realities and developments in literature, the visual arts, and the organization of private and social life.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 281 or HUMN 282 or departmental approval. Among empires ancient and modern, that of the Romans is especially noteworthy for its geographical extent, cultural richness and diversity, duration, and status as a model or anti-model for more recent polities. This course centers around the three and a half centuries from the establishment by Augustus of the regime known as the Principate to the period of Diocletian and Constantine in the fourth century CE, when changing conditions and new political forces began to alter its nature significantly. Emphasis will be placed on analyzing primary sources of information and on understanding the development of Rome from an outside power ruling a diverse collection of regions to an entity incorporating increasingly shared ideologies and other cultural habits.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 281 or HUMN 282 or HUMN 285. The course consists of in-depth study of the archaeological evidence for a selected period, region, or other thematic topic within the ancient Mediterranean world broadly defined. Special attention will be given to the role which archaeology plays in reconstructing the history of past cultures and to the Mediterranean archaeologist's frequent need to reconcile ancient written evidence with archaeologically obtained data. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits.
Prerequisite(s): A previous course in some aspect of Mediterranean archaeology; previous archaeological fieldwork experience; or permission of the instructor. This course is a practical introduction to how archaeology is conducted in the field at an ancient site in the Mediterranean world. Students learn basic techniques of surveying, digging, artifact removal and processing, and on-site record keeping as well as the overall organization of an archaeological project in the field. The course is given on-site at an appropriate excavation location.
Prerequisite(s): Departmental approval. Directed study based on intensive reading of current literature focused on a region, a problem, or a theoretical issue in Mediterranean archaeology. Students are normally expected to have a background which includes at least one archaeology course. With department approval, may be repeated once for credit.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 202 or HUMN 285 or departmental approval. The course is an in-depth survey of the major fictional works of JRR Tolkien, The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings, as created but coherent and comparable mythology. Particular emphasis is placed on the close reading of these texts, but their sources in traditional mythologies, and their extensive representation and influence in film, music, and art, will also be studied.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 281 or HUMN 282 or departmental approval. The importance of Africa in the Greco-Roman world: economic, intellectual, political, and artistic contributions; Blacks and ancient institutions: army, theater, sport, government, slavery; ancient attitudes toward race; famous Africans of antiquity. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 202 or HUMN 285 or GSWS 201 or departmental approval. Women in the ancient world and their contributions to history, literature, philosophy and the arts. Emphasis on Greco-Roman civilization, with comparative study of other ancient cultures. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 281 or HUMN 282 or JURI 210 or LAWS 200. The role of law in Roman history and society. Social structure and family law. The law and slavery. Property, contracts, and delicts. Legal forms, legal fictions, and the response of law to new conditions. Roman law in the Medieval and Modern periods.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 281 or HUMN 285. Selected plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides read in English translation; origins of Greek drama, religion and myth in tragedy, the tragic hero, stage production, influence on modern literature.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 201 or HUMN 202 or GERM 201. Reading and discussion of selected novels by great 20th century authors who wrote in German: Thomas Mann, Franz Kafka, Hermann Hesse, etc. These works as expressions of the ages they represent. No knowledge of German is required. (Taught in English).
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 310 or HUMN 313 or HUMN 332 or HUMN 351 or HUMN 355 or HUMN 357 or HUMN 358 or HUMN 359 or HUMN 360 or HUMN 361 or HUMN 362 or HUMN 370 or HUMN 381 or HUMN 383 or HUMN 384 or HUMN 385. Reading of De Rerum Natura with study and discussion of the relation of science and philosophy in antiquity; Greek schools of thought and Roman interpretation of Hellenistic ideas.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 310 or HUMN 313 or HUMN 320 or HUMN 332 or HUMN 345 or HUMN 351 or HUMN 355 or HUMN 357 or HUMN 358 or HUMN 359 or HUMN 360 or HUMN 361 or HUMN 362 or HUMN 370 or HUMN 380 or HUMN 381 or HUMN 383 or HUMN 384 or HUMN 385. Topic to be selected according to faculty and student interest and developed through an interdisciplinary approach. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits.
Prerequisite(s): Departmental approval. Directed independent study and research in general humanities. May be elected in lieu of HUMN 499, Senior Humanities Seminar, in years when the seminar is not being offered. May be repeated four times for a maximum of 9 credits.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 310 or HUMN 320 or HUMN 332 or HUMN 351 or HUMN 381 or HUMN 383 or HUMN 385 or departmental approval. This course examines the origins and patterns of mythic symbolism as discussed by various theorists of myth in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the study of myth, the course examines theories derived from various disciplines, including literature, religion, philosophy, psychology, anthropology, women's studies and others.
Prerequisite(s): HUMN 313 or HUMN 320 or HUMN 332 or HUMN 345 or HUMN 380 or HUMN 355 or HUMN 357 or HUMN 358 or HUMN 359 or HUMN 360 or HUMN 361 or HUMN 381 or HUMN 384 or HUMN 385. Restriction(s): Humanities majors only. A seminar for majors. The student will develop, in a senior thesis or other creative project, an interdisciplinary approach to an idea or problem rising from his concentration.
This course is an introduction to how and why the humanities have evolved as a discipline within education and within society as a whole from the age of the Sophists to the present; to the most influential contemporary theoretical approaches to studying texts and ideas within the humanities; and to the most important tools and resources for studying the humanities in an interdisciplinary sense. The course aims to foster a synoptic view of the humanities and a critical sense of how the humanities have evolved in close association with political, educational, and other societal forces, and continue to do so today.
This course examines how societies create and use canonical standards of excellence based on admiration for, and imitation of, "masterpieces" or "classics" of the past which are invested with a prescriptive status. Focusing especially on the west with its tradition centered on Ancient Greece and Rome, but also incorporating comparative material from non-western cultures, the course explores the ways in which classicism manifests itself in political thought, in literature, in mythology, and in art and architecture. It considers classicism in relation to theories of aesthetics, to the cultural hegemony of social groups maintained especially through education, to forces that oppose the classical, and to the general need of societies to value and to manipulate traditions.
Each offering of the course explores a selected topic centered around a period, a theme, or a question chosen from ancient Mediterranean, Western Asian, or European socioeconomic, political, or cultural history. Topics may range in time from the Bronze Age to Late Antiquity. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits.
This course consists of an in-depth study of the archaeological evidence for a selected period, region, or other thematic topic within the ancient Mediterranean world broadly defined. Special attention will be given to the role which archaeology can play in reconstructing the history of past cultures and to the Mediterranean archaeologist's frequent need to try to reconcile ancient literary and epigraphical evidence with archaeologically obtained data. May be repeated for a maximum of 9 credits.
This course is a practical introduction to how archaeology is conducted in the field at an ancient site in the Mediterranean world. Students learn basic techniques of surveying, digging, artifact removal and processing, and on-site record keeping as well as the overall organization of an archaeological project in the field. The course is given on-site at an appropriate excavation location.