Classics

Courses in the Department of Classics cover numerous aspects of the ancient Greco-Roman world. Our courses focus on the study of Greek and Latin literary, historical, and philosophical texts, as well as evidence from material remains such as art, architecture, and the archaeological remains of daily life, as well as public and private inscriptions. Courses in the languages (Latin and Greek) are designed to provide students with a thorough introduction to the language and literature of ancient Greece and Rome. Courses taught entirely with readings in English (Classics courses) include those centered around literary genres, Greek and Roman history, and topics such as gender and archaeology. Completion of the Greek and Latin sequences, 101, 102, 103, and 204, fulfills the college language requirement.

75 credits total are required for a Classics major.

• 18 credits in Greek (GRK) and/or Latin (LATN) above the 102 level. This may include courses designated CLAS-F (and in some cases HIST-F). Please note that 101 and 102 do NOT count toward the 30 additional credits below unless they are in a second classical language.
• 18 credits in Classical Civilization (CLAS), with one course from each of the three groups below

• 6 credits required to be taken in the senior year:

• CLAS 384: Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean
• CLAS 385: Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World (not offered 2024-25)
• CLAS 386: Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife (not offered 2024-25)
• CLAS 387: Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World (not offered 2024-25)

• CLAS 400: Senior Research Project (3 credits)
• Thirty additional credits in the general area of Classical Civilization (CLAS), Latin (LATN), or Greek (GRK), two of which must be at the 200 level or above.
  • Up to 6 of these credits may be from a related department (History, Philosophy, Art History, Archaeology, Political Science, Religion), subject to adviser approval.
  • Courses from CLAS 384: Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean, CLAS 385: Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World (not offered 2024-25), CLAS 386: Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife (not offered 2024-25), CLAS 387: Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World (not offered 2024-25), if taken before the senior year, may count toward these 30 additional credits.

The College language requirement may be satisfied by completion with a grade of at least C- in any of the Greek or Latin languages numbered 204 or above.

The Classics Departments of Carleton College and St. Olaf College cooperate in a program under which students of either college may elect certain courses on the other campus. This option is especially appropriate for upper level language courses not offered at Carleton. Carleton students should register for St. Olaf courses through the inter-registration process.

The Minor in Archaeology will interest many students who are attracted to ancient civilization.

The Classics Department offers three Minors in addition to the Classics Major. Per the College’s guidelines on minors, students who declare a Classics Major are not allowed also to declare a Minor in the department. For a course to count toward a minor, a grade of C- or better must be earned. These courses cannot be taken on an elective S/Cr/NC basis. The department may make exceptions if appropriate.

The Classics Minor is intended for students who wish to gain broad exposure to the study of the ancient Mediterranean world without required coursework in Greek and/or Latin. To earn a Classics Minor students must complete 42 total credits as described below:

• 18 credits in Classical Civilization (CLAS), with one course from each of the three groups below

• 18 additional credits in the general area of Classical Civilization (CLAS); Latin (LATN) or Greek (GRK) at any level may also count toward the Classics Minor. Six of the 18 credits may be from a related department (History, Philosophy, Art History, Archaeology, Political Science, Religion), subject to department chair’s approval.
• 6 credits from

The Greek Minor is intended for students who wish to deepen their understanding of the language and develop a fuller context for the literature and culture of the classical period. Students wishing to earn a Greek Minor must complete 42 credits of course-work as described below:

• at least 18 credits in the Greek language (GRK) at the 200 level or above.
• 18 additional credits in upper-level Greek (GRK), Latin (LATN) at any level, or Classics (CLAS). Six of the 18 credits may be from a related department (History, Philosophy, Art History, Archaeology, Political Science, Religion), subject to department chair’s approval.
• 6 credits from CLAS 385: Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World (not offered 2024-25), CLAS 386: Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife (not offered 2024-25), CLAS 387: Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World (not offered 2024-25).

The Latin Minor is intended for students who wish to deepen their understanding of the language and develop a fuller context for the literature and culture of the classical period. Students wishing to earn a Latin Minor must complete 42 credits of course-work as described below:

• at least 18 credits in the Latin language (LATN) at the 200 level or above.
• 18 additional credits in upper-level Latin (LATN), Greek (GRK) at any level, or Classics (CLAS). Six of the 18 credits may be from a related department (History, Philosophy, Art History, Archaeology, Political Science, Religion), subject to department chair’s approval.
• 6 credits from CLAS 385: Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World (not offered 2024-25), CLAS 386: Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife (not offered 2024-25), CLAS 387: Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World (not offered 2024-25).

(These courses do not presume knowledge of Greek or Latin)

• CLAS 100.00: The Trojan Legend: Mythology, Archaeology, and Legacy The Trojan Legend: Mythology, Archaeology, and Legacy

  The rage of Achilles, the face that launched a thousand ships, Greeks bearing gifts, Brad Pitt's leg double…The Trojan Legend is one of the most reproduced, adapted, and controversial stories of all time. Troy's roots at the foundations of western literature have inspired countless works of art, literature, and film, which for millennia have retold this epic set of tales. In this seminar we will explore the legend of the Trojan War through ancient and modern literature and art, as well as the archaeological sites, civilizations, and imaginary places that have contributed to this legend down to the present.

  • Offered: Fall 2024
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: AI/WR1, Argument & Inquiry/WR1
  • Prerequisites:

    Student is a member of the First Year First Term class level cohort. Students are only allowed to register for one A&I course at a time. If a student wishes to change the A&I course they are enrolled in they must DROP the enrolled course and then ADD the new course. Please see our Workday guides Drop or 'Late' Drop a Course and Register or Waitlist for a Course Directly from the Course Listing for more information.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level
  • Faculty: Alex Knodell 🏫 👤

• CLAS 111: Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: Myth and Reception (not offered 2024-25) Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: Myth and Reception

  This course aims to familiarize students with important Greek mythological stories and figures as represented in Greek literature and art. During the course students will be introduced to select methods of studying and interpreting myths and will explore how myths helped the Greeks organize their understanding of the world and approach issues and problems that affected the lives of individuals and communities. Students will study the way in which myths have been received, interpreted, re-imagined, and rendered into artwork, theatrical performances, opera, and dance pieces in modern times and will discuss their relevance today.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Greece at a Crossroads program.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys

• CLAS 112: The Epic in Classical Antiquity: Texts, Contexts, and Intertexts (not offered 2024-25) The Epic in Classical Antiquity: Texts, Contexts, and Intertexts

  It would be difficult to overstate the importance of the early Greek epics for the classical world and the western literary tradition that emerged from that world. This course will study closely both the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as Hesiod’s Theogony, and then consider a range of works that draw upon these epics for their creator’s own purposes, including Virgil’s own epic, the Aeneid. By exploring the reception and influence of ancient epic, we will develop an appreciation for intertextuality and the dynamics of reading in general as it applies to generations of readers, including our own.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: CX, Cultural/Literature LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis WR2 Writing Requirement 2
  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys ENGL Foreign Literature

• CLAS 116: Greek Drama in Performance Greek Drama in Performance

  What is drama? When and where were the first systematic theatrical performances put on? What can Athenian tragedies and comedies teach us about the classical world and today’s societies? This course will explore the always-relevant world of Ancient Greek theater, its history and development, through the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. We will decode the structure and content of Greek tragedies and comedies, ponder their place in the Athenian society and the modern world, and investigate the role of both ancient and contemporary productions in addressing critical questions on the construction and performance of individual and communal identities.

  • Offered: Fall 2024
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Tags: ACE Theoretical CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys ENGL Foreign Literature THEA Lit Critical History THEA Minor Acting
  • Faculty: Anastasia Pantazopoulou 🏫 👤

• CLAS 117: From Stage to Screen: Adapting Greek Tragedy (not offered 2024-25) From Stage to Screen: Adapting Greek Tragedy

  The terms “reboot,” “retelling,” and “adaptation” are all over TV and film. While some adaptations are praised for their creativity with the source material, others are panned. So what makes an adaptation good or bad? In this class, we will approach this question through Greek tragedy. We will read plays such as Oedipus Tyrannus, Antigone, Medea, and the Or esteia in translation alongside films from around the world in order to understand how directors and writers relate these ancient works to their own settings and struggles, decade after decade.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys

• CLAS 119: Under the Ashes of Vesuvius (not offered 2024-25) Under the Ashes of Vesuvius

  Pompeii, a Roman town famously destroyed but uniquely preserved by the Vesuvian eruption of 79CE, has traditionally been viewed as a quintessential example of the ancient Roman urban experience. But how ‘Roman’ was Pompeii? In this class, we will examine how evidence from that buried city contributes to our understanding of Roman art and architecture, and the everyday use of urban space; and how this, in turn, can help us interrogate what it meant to be ‘Roman’ in the ancient Mediterranean world.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Archaeologcl Anlys CLAS Core

• CLAS 122: The Archaeology of Mediterranean Prehistory: From the Beginning to the Classical Age (not offered 2024-25) The Archaeology of Mediterranean Prehistory: From the Beginning to the Classical Age

  “Never say that prehistory is not history.” The late Fernand Braudel had it right. Over 99 percent of human history predates the written word, and this course examines one of the world’s most diverse, yet unifying environments–the Mediterranean Sea–from the earliest populations around its shores to the emergence of the Classical world of the Greeks and Romans. Neanderthals and modern humans, the first artists and farmers, multiculturalism among Greeks, Phoenicians, Etruscans, and others… These are some of the topics to be covered as we study the precursors and roots of what would become “Western” civilization.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: CX, Cultural/Literature HI, Humanistic Inquiry
  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Archaeologcl Anlys HIST Ancient & Medieval HIST Pertinent Courses HIST Pre-Modern MEST Supporting Group 1

• CLAS 123: Greek Archaeology and Art Greek Archaeology and Art

  This course explores the archaeology and art of the Ancient Greek world. Beginning with prehistory, we will track the development of the material culture of Ancient Greece through the Classical and Hellenistic periods, and conclude by discussing aspects of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires that followed. We will focus throughout on aspects of archaeological practice, material culture and text, art and society, long-term social change, and the role of the past in the present.

  • Offered: Spring 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning CX, Cultural/Literature
  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent ARTH Pertinent ARTH Pre-1800 CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Archaeologcl Anlys
  • Faculty: Alex Knodell 🏫 👤

• CLAS 124: Roman Archaeology and Art (not offered 2024-25) Roman Archaeology and Art

  The material worlds of the ancient Romans loom large in our cultural imagination. From the architecture of the state to visual narratives of propaganda, Roman influence is ubiquitous in monuments across the West. But what were the origins of these artistic trends? What makes a monument characteristically ‘Roman’? And how has this material culture been interpreted and understood over time? This course explores the art, architecture, and archaeology of the ancient Romans both in the city of Rome and across the Empire, and considers the ways in which Roman trends have also influenced modern cultures.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: CX, Cultural/Literature IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent ARTH Pertinent CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Archaeologcl Anlys ENGL Foreign Literature MARS Core Course MARS Supporting

• CLAS 130: The Greek and Latin Roots of English (not offered 2024-25) The Greek and Latin Roots of English

  We speak it every day on campus, and it is the second most common language on the planet, but where did English come from? While its basic grammar is Germanic, much of its vocabulary—probably around 60 percent—comes from Greek and Latin. This course explores the varied and fascinating contributions that these two languages have made to English, focusing on the basic building blocks of words—bases, prefixes, and suffixes—while also considering the many routes the Classical languages have taken to enter modern English. This course is suitable for students of science, linguistics, and literature, as well as language lovers generally.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry QRE, Quantitative Reasoning
  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Additional LING Pertinent

• CLAS 132: Fantasy and Science Fiction Then and Now (not offered 2024-25) Fantasy and Science Fiction Then and Now

  When did science-fiction first appear in literature? The beginnings of modern fantasy and science-fiction are set around the nineteenth and seventeenth century respectively. However, fantasy and science-fiction stories and themes are already present in the Greco-Roman world. In this course, we will focus on one of the first fantasy and science-fiction works, Lucian’s True History, to trace the development of these genres in literature and cinema. Examining True History in parallel with works from Homer, Plato, Aristophanes, and Virgil as well as contemporary films, we will explore the influence of classical literature on the genres of fantasy and science-fiction.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis WR2 Writing Requirement 2
  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys ENGL Foreign Literature

• CLAS 133: “A Day in the Life of Classical Athens” (not offered 2024-25) “A Day in the Life of Classical Athens”

  The course will allow us to explore different facets of Athens, the most famous city of Greece, during the Classical Era (5th century BCE), the time of Socrates and of the Parthenon: from tragedy to philosophy, from art to history, we will pretend to be a citizen living in Athens and see how it differs from our own modern experience.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis WR2 Writing Requirement 2
  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys

• CLAS 134: “Nothing stays the same”: Embracing Change in Ovid’s Metamorphoses “Nothing stays the same”: Embracing Change in Ovid’s Metamorphoses

  We are immersed in such a fast-paced, constantly changing world, that we have no choice but to keep up with it and be as adaptable as possible. This makes us the perfect audience for Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The Latin poet guides his readers through endless stories of gods, heroes and heroines, whose transformations have inspired artists for centuries. This course will investigate how characters cope with the changeable nature of human and divine relationships. By looking closely at their mythical sagas and fleeting romances, we will explore how each character is, like us, suspended between old and new.

  • Offered: Winter 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis WR2 Writing Requirement 2
  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys CLAS Core MARS Supporting
  • Faculty: Cecilia Cozzi 🏫 👤

• CLAS 135: Ancient World in Popular Culture Ancient World in Popular Culture

  From fantasy novels, like Percy Jackson, to superhero films (Wonder Woman) to viral hashtags on social-media, the ancient world has a constant presence in our modern world. Greco-Roman history, myths, stories, and literature are still actively used, but also misused, within the framework of “western” and global culture. In this course, we will discuss how Classical antiquity has been received, interpreted, or appropriated in the twenty-first century through different popular media, such as movies, TV shows, comic books, video games, and social-media, in order to gain a better understanding of what the ancient world can tell us about the modern.

  • Offered: Winter 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys CLAS Core
  • Faculty: Anastasia Pantazopoulou 🏫 👤

• CLAS 142: “No, Luke, I Am Your Father!”: Being an Heir in the Ancient Family “No, Luke, I Am Your Father!”: Being an Heir in the Ancient Family

  The bond between fathers and sons is prominent in cinematic sagas, from Star Wars to The Lion King. But is it only a modern concern? What can Greek literature teach us about this relationship in today’s societies? This course explores the literary representations of ancient heroic families and traces their portrayals through the works of Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. We will discuss the context and aims of Greek epic, tragedies and comedies, and investigate the representation of familial legacy, examining how sons can shape their own identity and emerge from their parents’ shadows, both then and now.

  • Offered: Spring 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys CLAS Core
  • Faculty: Cecilia Cozzi 🏫 👤

• CLAS 145: Ancient Greek Religion (not offered 2024-25) Ancient Greek Religion

  Greek religion played a crucial role in how the ancient Greeks understood the world around them. Mythology and cosmology shaped their understanding of how the world worked, while the ritual of sacrifice formed the basis of the social fabric underpinning all aspects of Greek society. In this course we will learn about Greece’s polytheistic belief system–its gods and religious rites–as well as examining how religion shaped the daily lives of ordinary Greeks, often in surprising ways. We will read the works of ancient authors such as Homer and Hesiod, study the archaeological remains of sacred sites, inscriptions, and curse tablets, as well as engage with experimental archaeology.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Historical Anlys RELG Pertinent Course RELG XDept Pertinent

• CLAS 165: Race: Antiquity and Its Legacy (not offered 2024-25) Race: Antiquity and Its Legacy

  In this course we will explore how the Greeks and Romans conceptualized their own notions of racial difference, and also consider how these concepts have influenced later historical periods, including our own. In doing so, students will be able to identify the difference between the way ancient peoples and modern societies think about race and ethnicity, and demonstrate how contemporary discussions of these topics have been shaped by our encounters with antiquity.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry WR2 Writing Requirement 2
  • Tags: ACE Theoretical CL: 200 level CLAS Core

• CLAS 175: Writing the City of Rome: Image, Text, and Site (not offered 2024-25) Writing the City of Rome: Image, Text, and Site

  Ancient Rome has occupied a unique place in the Western consciousness for over 2000 years. It is a city that has inspired many texts, and both its physical fabric and symbolic nature have been reworked and rethought by archaeologists, historians, and literary critics alike. For the ancients, ‘Rome’ took on meaning not just from its concrete monuments, but also from the literary motifs and symbols it evoked. In this class, we will consider how Rome is used as both a setting and inspiration for Latin poetry, and consider how poets both represented and created an image of ‘Rome’.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys CLAS Core

• CLAS 200: Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture (not offered 2024-25) Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture

  This course provides a long-term view of the history, landscape, and material culture of Greece, from prehistory to the present day. While the monuments of ancient Greece are cultural touchstones, Greece has a remarkably diverse past, occupying a borderland between continents, empires, and cultures, both ancient and modern. Classroom study and on-site learning examine the wide range of sources that inform us about the Greek past (texts, archaeology, the environment), and focus especially on the stories told by places and things. Site visits in Athens and on trips throughout Greece highlight the importance of local and regional contexts in the “big histories” of the eastern Mediterranean.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
  • Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Greece at a Crossroads program.

  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent CL: 200 level CLAS Civ Archaeologcl Anlys

• CLAS 214: Gender and Sexuality in Classical Antiquity Gender and Sexuality in Classical Antiquity

  In both ancient Greece and Rome, gender (along with class and citizenship status) largely determined what people did, where they spent their time, and how they related to others. This course will examine the ways in which Greek and Roman societies defined gender categories, and how they used them to think about larger social, political, and religious issues. Primary readings from Greek and Roman epic, lyric, and drama, as well as ancient historical, philosophical, and medical writers; in addition we will explore a range of secondary work on the topic from the perspectives of Classics and Gender Studies.

  • Offered: Spring 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning WR2 Writing Requirement 2 CX, Cultural/Literature
  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys GWSS Elective
  • Faculty: Clara Hardy 🏫 👤

• CLAS 215: Ancient Greek and Roman Sexuality (not offered 2024-25) Ancient Greek and Roman Sexuality

  In this course we will question whether or not the ancient Greeks and Romans defined “sexuality” by object-choice, whether they understood sexuality as an integral component of one’s personal identity, and whether they had a concept of “sexuality” as we currently understand it. Emphasis will be on primary texts that demonstrate notions of sexual normativity and/or identity, such as Aristophanes’ Thesmophoriaz ousae, Plato’s Symposium, Aeschines’ Against Timarchos, and poetry of Sappho, Catullus, Ovid, Martial, and Juvenal. We will also read modern critical theorists (Foucault, Halperin, Richlin, Winkler), and will interrogate their arguments.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Tags: CL: 200 level

• CLAS 220: From the Horn to MelqartAs Pillars: African Perspectives in the Ancient Mediterranean (not offered 2024-25) From the Horn to MelqartAs Pillars: African Perspectives in the Ancient Mediterranean

  Histories of the classical world often focus on the cultures of Greece and Rome, situated on the northern shores of the Mediterranean. But what can we discover if we ‘flip’ our map of the Mediterranean, putting African perspectives on top? In this class, we will engage with the artistic, literary, and archaeological evidence left to us by the Mediterranean societies of classical Africa, as well as the ways in which these societies are depicted by Greek and Roman sources. Topics covered include ancient Egypt, the colonial “middle ground” of North Africa, and other African cultures on the Mediterranean periphery.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry WR2 Writing Requirement 2
  • Tags: AFST Pertinent CL: 200 level CLAS Civ Historical Anlys HIST Ancient & Medieval HIST Pre-Modern

• CLAS 227: Athens, Sparta, and Persia (not offered 2024-25) Athens, Sparta, and Persia

  Forged in the crucible of wars fought between cultures with diametrically opposed views on politics and society, the fifth century BC witnessed arts, philosophy, and science all flourish in thrilling new ways. The two radically different Greek states of Athens and Sparta first teamed up to defeat the invading Persian empire. While this shocking victory spurred their respective cultures to new heights, their political aspirations drove them to turn on each other and fight a series of wars over control of Greece–all the while with Persia waiting in the wings. We will study these events against the backdrop of the political, intellectual, and cultural achievements of Athens, Sparta and Persia, drawing on the rich body of literature and material culture from this period.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: CX, Cultural/Literature HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Civ Historical Anlys HIST Ancient & Medieval HIST Pertinent Courses HIST Pre-Modern

• CLAS 229: The Collapse of the Roman Republic (not offered 2024-25) The Collapse of the Roman Republic

  The class will investigate the factors that led a Republican government that had lasted for 700 years to fall apart, leading to twenty years of civil war that only ended with the rise of a totalitarian dictatorship. We will look at the economic, social, military, and religious factors that played key roles in this dynamic political period. We will also trace the rise and influence of Roman warlords, politicians, and personalities and how they changed Roman politics and society. We will study many of the greatest characters in Roman history, as well as the lives of everyday Romans in this turbulent time.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Civ Historical Anlys HIST Ancient & Medieval HIST Pre-Modern

• CLAS 230: The World of Alexander (not offered 2024-25) The World of Alexander

  Alexander the Great united the Greek states by force before waging a ten-year campaign that brought Greek influence all the way to India. In the aftermath of Alexander’s death, his generals divided the world into kingdoms that presided over an extraordinary flourishing of arts and science over the next 300 years. However, this period also saw these kingdoms continuously strive for domination over one another until they were in turn dominated by Rome. This class will explore one of the most exciting periods in ancient history, a time of great cultural achievements, larger than life characters, and devastating conflicts.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies QRE, Quantitative Reasoning
  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Civ Historical Anlys HIST Ancient & Medieval HIST Pertinent Courses

• CLAS 240: Rome: From Village to Superpower Rome: From Village to Superpower

  This class will investigate how Rome rose from a humble village of outcasts and refugees to become the preeminent power in the entire Mediterranean. We will trace Rome’s political evolution from kings to the Republic, alongside their gradual takeover of the Italian peninsula. We will study how Rome then swiftly overpowered what had been the most powerful kingdoms in the Mediterranean and established themselves as dominant. Who were these Romans and what were their political, military, religious, and social systems that enabled them to accomplish so much? What critical events shaped their development and ultimately led to total political control of the Mediterranean world?

  • Offered: Spring 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies CX, Cultural/Literature
  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Civ Historical Anlys HIST Ancient & Medieval HIST Pre-Modern
  • Faculty: Jake Morton 🏫 👤

• CLAS 384: Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean

  We need food to live, but food also plays a crucial cultural, social, and economic role in our lives. As such, the study of food and foodways offers a cornucopia of approaches and insights into the lives of ancient peoples. This seminar will explore what, why, and how food was consumed, produced, traded, and thought about in the ancient Mediterranean world. We will study archaeological and literary sources of ancient evidence alongside modern scholarship and theoretical frameworks. Topics in the second half of the course will be driven by student interests as they develop their own research and present it at the department Symposium.

  • Offered: Fall 2024
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): Two Classics (CLAS) courses with a grade of C- or better.

  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent CL: 300 level CLAS Core CLAS Required
  • Faculty: Jake Morton 🏫 👤

• CLAS 385: Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World (not offered 2024-25) Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World

  The Mediterranean is a world of islands, par excellence. This is particularly true of the classical world, when island polities, sanctuaries, and destinations played crucial roles in several aspects of social life and cultural production. This seminar examines what’s special about islands and why and how they came to be places of such significance in the ancient Mediterranean. We will begin with some consideration of our sources and theories of insularity, then move into thematic and conceptual discussions of island biogeography and efflorescence; islands in myth and as political and religious spaces; and islands as strategic territories and connective nodes. Topics in the second part of the class will to a large extent be driven by student interests.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): Two Classics (CLAS) courses with a grade of C- or better.

  • Tags: ARCN Pertinent CL: 300 level CLAS Additional CLAS Required

• CLAS 386: Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife (not offered 2024-25) Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife

  Stories of gods, heroes and monsters were a pervasive part of life in ancient Greece and Rome, integrated into landscape, the built environment and cultural practice from ritual worship to informal storytelling, and they have retained their power to fascinate through subsequent eras. This seminar will investigate the roles myth played in the ancient world, drawing on literary, historical and archaeological evidence, as well as the most prominent theoretical frameworks for interpreting myths, and some examples of modern adaptations. Topics in the second half of the course will be driven by student interests as they develop their own research and present it at the department Symposium.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): Two Classics (CLAS) courses with a grade of C- or better.

  • Tags: CL: 300 level CLAS Required

• CLAS 387: Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World (not offered 2024-25) Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World

  Although it often goes unnoticed in our appreciation of the classical world and its cultural practices, magic was a ubiquitous part of everyday life. From love charms, curses, and healing spells, to divination, alchemy and astronomy, everyone had to engage with magic and its potential to influence events. This course will serve as an introduction to the beliefs and the practices of magic in antiquity, as well as the scholarship that documents and theorizes them. Topics in the second half of the course will be driven by student interests as they develop research projects to present at the department Symposium.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): Two Classics (CLAS) courses with a grade of C- or better.

  • Tags: CL: 300 level CLAS Additional CLAS Required

• CLAS 400: Senior Research Project Senior Research Project

  From topics developed in Classics 384, 385, 386, or 387, departmental majors will expand and refine their research into articles to be submitted to a journal of professional style, accepted and edited by the group into a presentable volume.

  • Offered: Winter 2025
  • Grading: S/NC
  • Credits: 3
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): CLAS 384: Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=CLAS+384&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=CLAS+384&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>CLAS 384: Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean – Food and Foodway Ancient Mediterranean or CLAS 385: Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World (not offered 2024-25)” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=CLAS+385&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=CLAS+385&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>CLAS 385: Islands in Time: Insular Life, Culture, and History in the Mediterranean World (not offered 2024-25) – Islands in Time or CLAS 386: Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife (not offered 2024-25)” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=CLAS+386&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=CLAS+386&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>CLAS 386: Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife (not offered 2024-25) – Classical Myth: Theory, Function, Afterlife or CLAS 387: Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World (not offered 2024-25)” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=CLAS+387&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=CLAS+387&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>CLAS 387: Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World (not offered 2024-25) – Expectasne Patronum? Magical Practice in the Greco-Roman World with a grade of C- or better AND is a Classics major AND has Senior Priority.

  • Tags: CLAS Core
  • Faculty: Jake Morton 🏫 👤

These courses all involve acquiring or using ancient Greek

• GRK 101: Elementary Greek Elementary Greek

  From the triceratops (“three-horned-face”) to the antarctic (“opposite-the-bear-constellation”), ancient Greek has left traces in our language, literature (epic, tragedy, comedy), ways of organizing knowledge (philosophy, history, physics), and society (democracy, oligarchy, autocracy). It gives access to original texts from ancient Greece, early Christianity, and the Byzantine Empire, not to mention modern scientific terminology. In Greek 101 students will develop knowledge of basic vocabulary and grammar, and will begin reading short passages of prose and poetry. The class will meet five days a week.

  • Offered: Winter 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Not open to students whose previous Greek language experience exceeds the requirements of GRK 101: Elementary Greek” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+101&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+101&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>GRK 101: Elementary Greek.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level
  • Faculty: Anastasia Pantazopoulou 🏫 👤

• GRK 102: Intermediate Greek Intermediate Greek

  Study of essential forms and grammar, with reading of original, unadapted passages.

  • Offered: Spring 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 101: Elementary Greek” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+101&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+101&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>GRK 101: Elementary Greek with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level
  • Faculty: Clara Hardy 🏫 👤

• GRK 103: Greek Prose Greek Prose

  Selected prose readings. The course will emphasize review of grammar and include Greek composition.

  • Offered: Fall 2024
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 102: Intermediate Greek” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+102&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+102&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>GRK 102: Intermediate Greek with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Core
  • Faculty: Anastasia Pantazopoulou 🏫 👤

• GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry

  The goal for Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry is to gain experience in the three major modes of Greek expression most often encountered “in the wild”—prose, poetry, and inscriptions—while exploring the notion of happiness and the good life. By combining all three modes into this one course, we hope both to create a suitable closure to the language sequence and to provide a reasonable foundation for further exploration of Greek literature and culture.

  • Offered: Winter 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LP Language Requirement No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 103: Greek Prose” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+103&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+103&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>GRK 103: Greek Prose with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Core ENGL Foreign Literature
  • Faculty: Clara Hardy 🏫 👤

• GRK 220: Euripides (not offered 2024-25) Euripides

  We will read Euripides’ Helen in Greek, in which the tragedian creates a plot around the non-standard version of events: Helen never went to Troy, she spent the entire war in Egypt; the Greeks and Trojans were fooled by a simulacrum. The resulting play is a tragicomedy or a romantitragedy that deliberately skews literary expectations. We will read a number of Euripides’ other extant tragedies in English, as well as critical studies that examine key issues in Euripidean criticism: the genre of tragedy, Euripides’ depiction of women, and the role of rhetoric in late fifth-century Athens.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level

• GRK 221: Meeting an Anti-Hero: Philoctetes by Sophocles (not offered 2024-25) Meeting an Anti-Hero: Philoctetes by Sophocles

  Philoctetes is the Greek hero you would not expect to meet, but the one we deserve in the present times. Betrayed by his comrades and abandoned in all solitude on a deserted island, will he be able to return to his life and regain his heroic fame? Let's find it out together, while reading one of the most underrated plays of Greek theater (but no less interesting), the Philoctetes by Sophocles.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis WR2 Writing Requirement 2
  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys

• GRK 224: The Female Other in Athenian Tragedy (not offered 2024-25) The Female Other in Athenian Tragedy

  Athenian tragedy offers a space for reflection on the female condition in moments of crisis. Mistreated, neglected, exiled, displaced, immigrant, and war-victim, female figures populate the fifth-century tragic stage offering a commentary on the construction of the identity of the Other and its treatment within Athenian society and beyond. In this course, we will read selections of tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides in their original language and cultural context, while tracking issues that women still have to confront today in an effort to decode the positionalities of the female Other in fifth-century Athens and the modern Western world.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level

• GRK 225: Creating Family in Ancient Athens (not offered 2024-25) Creating Family in Ancient Athens

  What is a family and why does it matter? How is it created and who defines it? In this class we will read selections from a range of Greek literature—in the original and in translation—to determine our own answers to these questions.  Texts such as the Theogony, Sophocles’ Antigone, and Euripides’ Andromache, Xenophon’s Oeconomicus, a nd Aristotle’s Politics will guide us in our exploration of the political and personal motivations behind the way Athens defined and regulated families.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Additional

• GRK 226: Heroes and Monsters in Ancient Greek Thought Heroes and Monsters in Ancient Greek Thought

  Greek literature abounds in stories of hostile encounters between heroes and monsters. Perseus vs. Medusa, Theseus and the Minotaur, Bellerophon vs. the Chimera are only a few of these stories that feature larger-than-life individuals who confront otherworldly creatures. But why is there such a fascination in the Greek mind? In this course, we will examine such stories in the original Greek, looking at authors such as Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus, and Lucian, and we will discuss what the socio-cultural constructions of the hero and the monster show us about what it means to be human both in antiquity and in modern times.

  • Offered: Spring 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level
  • Faculty: Anastasia Pantazopoulou 🏫 👤

• GRK 230: Homer: The Odyssey (not offered 2024-25) Homer: The Odyssey

  Homer is perhaps the foundational poet of the western canon, and his work has been justly admired since its emergence out of the oral tradition of bardic recitation in the eighth century BCE. This course will sample key events and passages from the Odyssey, exploring the fascinating linguistic and metrical features of the epic dialect, as well as the major thematic elements of this timeless story of homecoming.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Greece at a Crossroads program.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level ENGL Foreign Literature

• GRK 240: Xenophon’s Oeconomicus (not offered 2024-25) Xenophon’s Oeconomicus

  While ostensibly a dialogue about how to manage one’s household (oikos), Xenophon’s Oeconomicus pr ovides valuable insights into the ideology of land-ownership in classical Greece. In this class, we will read significant portions of Xenophon’s Oeconomicus in Greek as well as other texts, in English and Greek, that explore household economics. Throughout, we will consider what Xenophon’s text reveals about perceptions of gender roles within the home, notions of citizenship, the role of education, and the institution of slavery in the ancient world. Students will also work together to produce a student commentary of the text.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level ENGL Foreign Literature

• FA 25 (not offered 2024-25)/WI”>GRK 285: Weekly Greek Weekly Greek

  This course is intended for students who have completed Greek 204 (or equivalent) and wish to maintain and deepen their language skills. Students will meet weekly to review prepared passages, as well as reading at sight. Actual reading content will be determined prior to the start of term by the instructor in consultation with the students who have enrolled. There will be brief, periodic assessments of language comprehension throughout the term.

  • Offered: Fall 2024, Winter 2025
  • Grading: S/CR/NC
  • Credits: 2
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=GRK+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>GRK 204: Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Greek Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Core
  • Faculty: Clara Hardy 🏫 👤 · Alex Knodell 🏫 👤

These courses all involve acquiring or using Latin

• LATN 101: Elementary Latin Elementary Latin

  While many claims are made about the benefits of learning Latin, here’s what we know for sure: it’s a beautiful language, both intensely precise and rigorous, as well as poetically expressive and inviting. Spoken by millions in the ancient world and kept continuously “alive” up to the present, Latin provides a window onto an intellectual and cultural landscape that is both foreign and familiar to modern students. This beginning course will develop necessary vocabulary, forms, and grammar that allows students to begin reading short passages of unadulterated prose and poetry from the ancient Roman world right from the start.

  • Offered: Fall 2024
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Not open to students whose previous Latin language experience exceeds the requirements of LATN 101: Elementary Latin” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+101&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+101&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>LATN 101: Elementary Latin.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level
  • Faculty: Cecilia Cozzi 🏫 👤

• LATN 102: Intermediate Latin Intermediate Latin

  Continuation of essential forms and grammar.

  • Offered: Winter 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 101: Elementary Latin” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+101&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+101&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>LATN 101: Elementary Latin – Elementary Latin with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level
  • Faculty: Jake Morton 🏫 👤

• LATN 103: Introduction to Latin Prose and Poetry Introduction to Latin Prose and Poetry

  This course completes the formal textbook introduction to the morphology and syntax of Latin. The focus will be on consolidating and applying grammatical concepts learned throughout the Latin sequence to the reading of extended selections of authentic Roman prose and poetry.

  • Offered: Spring 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 102: Intermediate Latin” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+102&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+102&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>LATN 102: Intermediate Latin – Intermediate Latin with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 100 level CLAS Core
  • Faculty: Cecilia Cozzi 🏫 👤

• LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry

  What are the “rules” of friendship? Would you do anything for a friend? Anything? The ancient Romans were no strangers to the often paradoxical demands of friendship and love. The goal for Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry is to gain experience in the three major modes of Latin expression most often encountered “in the wild”—prose, poetry, and inscriptions—while exploring the notion of friendship. By combining all three modes into this one course, we hope both to create a suitable closure to the language sequence and to provide a reasonable foundation for further exploration of Roman literature and culture.

  • Offered: Fall 2024
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LP Language Requirement No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 103: Introduction to Latin Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+103&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+103&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>LATN 103: Introduction to Latin Prose and Poetry – Introduction to Latin Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Core ENGL Foreign Literature
  • Faculty: Clara Hardy 🏫 👤 · Cecilia Cozzi 🏫 👤

• LATN 232: Roman Republic in Code Red: Sallust to the Rescue (not offered 2024-25) Roman Republic in Code Red: Sallust to the Rescue

  The Roman Republic is in a deep crisis and there seems to be no coming back from it. Is there any recipe for salvation? Sallust tackles the challenge and offers his own interpretation on how to navigate these chaotic and tormented times. Will his advice be valuable even in the present time? We will find out together.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis WR2 Writing Requirement 2
  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Civ Literary Anlys

• LATN 234: Julius Caesar: the Gallic and Civil Wars (not offered 2024-25) Julius Caesar: the Gallic and Civil Wars

  Julius Caesar spent ten years campaigning in Gaul before being called back to Rome to face a splintered Republic and protracted Civil War. Caesar wrote fascinating accounts of both these wars, going beyond tactics to include ethnography, allegories of the Roman Republic in foreign societies, and analysis of why and how the civil war erupted and who was responsible. We will read significant portions of Caesar’s Gallic War and Civil War, as well as writings about Caesar by contemporaneous authors. Caesar’s elegant and clear prose belies a complex explanation and justification of the collapse of the Republic.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level HIST Ancient & Medieval MARS Supporting

• LATN 235: The Bacchanalian Affair (not offered 2024-25) The Bacchanalian Affair

  In 186 BC stories of wild and debauched secret religious rites being celebrated under cover of night sparked panic in Rome, which led to a brutal state suppression of the cult. Was this a crackdown on impious behavior or political oppression? Over the course of the term we will translate three sources of evidence to determine what actually happened: the Roman historian Livy’s scintillating and outrageous account of this conspiracy; works by the Roman comedic playwright Plautus that might have shaped Livy’s storytelling; and the Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus, a detailed inscription found in southern Italy discussing the new laws Rome passed to suppress the cult.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: HI, Humanistic Inquiry IS, International Studies
  • Tags: CL: 200 level HIST Ancient & Medieval

• LATN 236: Plautus and Roman Comedy (not offered 2024-25) Plautus and Roman Comedy

  Mistaken identities, forbidden trysts, and a healthy dose of punny humor characterize many of the comedic plays of the Roman playwright Plautus. In this class, we will read the entirety of one of Plautus’ plays, Mostellaria (“The Haunted House”) in Latin, while reading selections from several other plays in English. Along the way, we will stop to consider the influence of Greek comedies on Plautus’, the importance of comedic performance to Roman society, the settings and venues of these performances, and the social status of comedic performers, all to come to a fuller understanding of Plautus’ language and plays.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Additional

• LATN 237: Amor, Furor, Ira: The Epics of Vergil and Ovid Amor, Furor, Ira: The Epics of Vergil and Ovid

  Two superlative Latin poets; two radically different epic poems. In this course we will read selections from the Aeneid and the Metamorphoses, focusing in particular on each poet's depiction of powerful emotions and their consequences. 

  • Offered: Winter 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: IS, International Studies LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Additional MARS Supporting
  • Faculty: Clara Hardy 🏫 👤

• LATN 240: The Tortured Poets: Love Poetry from Catullus to Taylor Swift The Tortured Poets: Love Poetry from Catullus to Taylor Swift

  Poetry has always offered people a way to express their feelings and connect to their emotions, especially those related to love. From the thrill of new romance to the pain of heartbreak, poets find a haven in their art to declare their conflicting feelings and explore the ecstasy of mutual love or the torture of unrequited love. In this course, we will focus on Roman love/elegiac poetry (poems by Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius, and Ovid) in their original language and cultural context, while exploring themes and tropes that define the genre and still inspire modern love poetry and songs.

  • Offered: Spring 2025
  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level
  • Faculty: Anastasia Pantazopoulou 🏫 👤

• LATN 243: Medieval Latin (not offered 2024-25) Medieval Latin

  This course offers students an introduction to post-classical Latin (250-1450) through readings in prose and poetry drawn from a variety of genres and periods. Students will also gain experience with medieval Latin paleography and codicology through occasional workshops in Special Collections.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis LP Language Requirement
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level MARS Core Course

• LATN 255: Biography, History, and Empire in Tacitus’ Agricola (not offered 2024-25) Biography, History, and Empire in Tacitus’ Agricola

  How is it possible to be a good person in a morally deficient system? Part biography, part history, part eulogy, and part invective against Roman Emperor Domitian, Tacitus’ Agricola charts the life and military accomplishments of the author’s father-in-law, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, in modern-day Britain. In conversation with other readings in English, we will engage closely with the style and language of the text in Latin as we explore the constraints and possibilities of genre, and Tacitus’ understanding of geography and ethnicity.

  Not offered in 2024-25

  • Credits: 6
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: LA, Literary/Artistic Analysis LP Language Requirement
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level MARS Supporting

• LATN 285: Weekly Latin Weekly Latin

  This course is intended for students who have completed Latin 204 (or equivalent) and wish to maintain and deepen their language skills. Students will meet weekly to review prepared passages, as well as reading at sight. Actual reading content will be determined prior to the start of term by the instructor in consultation with the students who have enrolled. There will be brief, periodic assessments of language comprehension throughout the term.

  • Offered: Fall 2024
  • Grading: S/CR/NC
  • Credits: 2
  • Liberal Arts Requirements: No Exploration
  • Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry” data-ajax-href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ href=”https://www.carleton.edu/catalog/current/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=course_description&course-number=LATN+204&add-links=1″ data-modaal-group=”modal-course-descriptions”>LATN 204: Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry – Intermediate Latin Prose and Poetry with a grade of C- or better or equivalent.

  • Tags: CL: 200 level CLAS Core
  • Faculty: William North 🏫 👤