What are myths and why do we tell them? What powers do myths have? We will tackle these questions by looking at the enduring and fascinating myths from ancient Greece and Rome. In addition to studying how they shaped ancient societies, we will also look at their modern influence and reflect upon the power that myths still hold in our contemporary world. Taught in English.

An exploration of the cultural traits and developments of ancient Greek civilization and its forerunners, from the Bronze Age Mycenaeans and Minoans, through the rise of the classical Greek city-states, to the expansion of Greek cultural influence in the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great. Drawing upon the evidence of the archaeological remains as well as ancient historical and literary documents, students gain a basic familiarity with the principal monuments and artifacts of classical Greek civilization, the various institutions and values that characterized the Greeks, and the significant historical events that transformed the culture over the course of antiquity.

What is romance? This course approaches the question by reading ancient Greek romance novels in tandem with works inspired by them from a range of times and places. We will attempt to identify which traits define romance in a society and how romance narratives change in translation and adaptation.

A team-taught, interdisciplinary course discussing theories, methods, and ethical issues in the practice of archaeology.

A study of the origins and development of philosophy in ancient Greece and Rome, focusing on Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, the Epicureans, and Stoics.

Examines the question of how Ancient Greek thought can be a tool for facing the challenges of the modern world. Topics such as political participation and engagement in politics, lawfulness and justice, freedom and autonomy, democracy and civic responsibility are found at the core of Ancient Greek thought. In addition to these topics, the course explores, through the teachings of ancient Greek philosophers, historians, and poets, the questions of virtue and happiness at a personal level and the pursuit of happiness at the societal level. Love and friendship are necessary virtues to shape a harmonious and prosperous polis. By studying selected excerpts from the primary sources of Ancient Greek literature in translation, the course defines the core values of democratic society from the viewpoint of the Greeks.

Interrogates how slavery permeated the ancient Mediterranean societies of Greece and Rome. We will pay particular attention to how hierarchical inequalities are institutionalized, experienced, and represented and to how different marginalized and dominant groups interacted. Enslaved persons performed necessary labor in Greece and Rome and their work was essential for the formation of ancient society in agriculture, mining, domestic spaces, literature, finance, and government. Studying ancient slavery offers a chance to examine Greece and Rome from the bottom up, parsing the scant literary and material evidence for the lives and struggles of enslaved persons. We will practice several different approaches in order to tease out the systematic, economic, political, and personal effects of slavery in the ancient world. The United States of America was also founded as a slave society, and discussions of slavery in the Americas often look back to the ancient Mediterranean. The course will therefore conclude with a unit on how enslavers and abolitionists in the United States utilized and responded to slavery in antiquity.