Fall 2022
CLASS-GA 1001, Introduction to Classical Studies (CUNY)
W 6:30-8:30 (Course meets at CUNY Graduate Center)
Prerequisites: reading knowledge of Latin or Greek. This course is required of all CUNY graduate students in Classics. Students in other programs who can read either Latin or Greek are welcome.
Goal: Students will demonstrate knowledge of the methods, materials, and research tools used in the study of Greco-Roman antiquity.
This is an informative 'how-to' proseminar designed to introduce students to the essential tools for the study of the Greco-Roman world. The instructor and visiting speakers will treat topics such as:
Students will be encouraged to pursue aspects of the course that are of particular interest to them while at the same time broadening their grasp of the range of sub-disciplines available for understanding antiquity. Each student will give two oral presentations, one on an aspect of the study of antiquity and a second on the topic of their paper.
CLASS-GA 1003, Survey of Latin Literature
MW 3:30-4:45, Emilia Barbiero
We will be studying a number of Latin texts from the earliest period of Latin literature to the Augustan period. Apart from simply reading and understanding the texts, we will be seeking to examine their place in the development of Latin literature; we will also be surveying a variety of critical approaches adopted by modern scholars, through close readings of key articles and books on the different authors.
CLASS-GA 1012, Latin Rhetoric and Stylistics
R 6:30-8:30, Philip Thibodeau
This course provides students advanced reading proficiency in Latin through the study of morphology and syntax, stylistic analysis of Caesar, Cicero, and other classical authors, and exercises in prose composition.
CLASS-GA 2916, Xenophon
T, 6:30-8:30, David Konstan
Xenophon was one of the most versatile writers in all of classical Greek literature. In addition to the justly famous Anabasis, which records the march of the 10,000 mercenaries out of Persia under his leadership, Xenophon wrote Socratic dialogues (as well as an Apology and a Symposium), a continuation of Thucydides' history, short treatises on horsemanship and hunting (mainly with dogs), an essay on Athenian economics, a eulogy of a Spartan king, and the extraordinary proto-novel called the Cyropaedia, portraying the character of an ideal ruler - and more! And yet, it is only recently that Xenophon has begun to command a wider interest among scholars. Indeed, the International Xenophon Society (membership free) is only two years old. In the seminar, we will read selections from various of Xenophon's works, situating him in the intellectual climate of his time and developing an all-round picture of this remarkable figure.
CLASS-GA 3000, Ancient Education: Learning, Literature, Rhetoric, and Philosophy in the Greek and Roman World
T 4:15-6:15, Rafaella Cribiore
This course will be fundamental to graduate students to understand correctly the works of literature and philosophy that they will encounter during their studies. Students are usually exposed to those without looking at how they originated and have some trouble identifying what is original. Besides spending some time to consider elementary education and questions of if it was open to all, the course will focus on the education by grammarians, orators, and philosophers. I will place particular emphasis on rhetorical education and declamations. Some attention will be paid to philosophy and especially to the Stoics (Epictetus). There will be a midterm (negotiable) and a paper.
CLASS-GA 3002, Logic
M 6:30-8:30, Marko Malink
This is an overview of the main developments in formal logic throughout Greek antiquity. Topics to be covered include: Aristotle's theory of the categorical syllogism and its application in demonstrative science, Theophrastus' theory of the hypothetical syllogism, Stoic propositional logic, the development of modal logic from Aristotle to the Stoics, Galen's account of relational
CLASS-GA 3101, Roman Love: Poetry, History, and Material Culture
R 4:15-6:15, Rachel Kousser (Course meets at CUNY Graduate Center)
The topic of Roman love is often investigated through the lens of texts written of, by, and for powerful men. Drawing on recent interdisciplinary scholarship, this course seeks to offer a more wide-ranging and nuanced picture by juxtaposing such writings with other sources, for instance funerary inscriptions, legal texts, religious practices, domestic architecture, and mythological wall painting. The goal is to elucidate the varied ways in which the Romans understood love, from their lofty philosophical ideals to their mundane and complicated realities. With an eye on the doctoral reading list at CUNY Graduate Center, we will analyze key works of Latin love poetry by Catullus, Horace, Propertius, Sulpicia, Tibullus, and Ovid. But we will also address topics such as love among enslaved persons and liberti; the archaeology of sex workers; the cult and representation of Venus; mythological lovers as models in art and poetry; same-sex relationships; the historical evolution of marital law; and the Late Antique idealization of chastity. Students' final presentations and papers will be case studies, grounded in the material of their choice, that help articulate the distinctive features of Roman amor.
CLASS-GA 3998, Dissertation Research
Adam Becker