HELLENIC STUDIES COURSES 2006-7
AS/GK 1000 6.0 ELEMENTARY CLASSICAL GREEK
This course is designed for those who have little or no training in ancient Classical Greek. In this course, students acquire the fundamentals of reading Classical Greek through practice with translation, vocabulary, grammar, syntax, composition, and pronunciation. There are daily exercises and drills in class to solidify knowledge of forms and syntax. At the end of this course, students are able to go on to GK 2000 6.0A, the second-year Ancient Greek course at York University.
PREREQUISITE: None. No previous knowledge of the language is assumed. No one who has completed an upper-level university Ancient Greek course may enroll in this course. No one may enroll in this course and an upper-level Ancient Greek course simultaneously.
TIME: MWF 10:30 - 11.30 a.m.
EVALUATION: Quizzes: 40%; Class Participation: 15%; Midterm Exam 20%; Final Exam 25%.
TEXTS: Hansen and Quinn, Greek: An Intensive Course
COURSE DIRECTOR: Anne-Marie Lewis, S520 Ross Bldg, 416-736-2100 ext. 66291, amlewis@yorku.ca.
AS/GK 2000 6.0A INTERMEDIATE CLASSICAL AND BIBLICAL GREEK
Review of Classical Greek grammar and syntax and an introduction to the main principles of Biblical Greek. Selections from various ancient Greek authors and biblical texts, studied in the original Greek.
PREREQUISITE: AS/GK 1000 6.0 or AK/GK 1400 6.0 or the equivalent with a grade of C+ or higher.
TIME: TR 1:00-2:30 p.m.
EVALUATION: TBA
TEXTS: Hansen and Quinn, Greek: An Intensive Course
COURSE DIRECTOR: TBA
AS/GK 3050/4050 3.0F SOCRATES (Fall)
A study of Socrates, the man and the philosopher, through a reading of selected dialogues of Plato in the original Greek. Additional readings may include other works of Plato and Xenophon in translation as well as modern scholarly discussions.
PREREQUISITE: for AS/GK 3050 3.0: AS/GK 2000 6.0 or equivalent; for AS/GK 4050 3.0: six credits of Classical Greek at the 3000 level.
TIME: TR 1:00-2:30 p.m.
EVALUATION: TBA
COURSE DIRECTOR: Matthew Clark, 251 Vanier College, ext. 77396, matthewc@yorku.ca.
NOTE: Students who enrol at the 4000 level will be assigned extra work appropriate to that level.
AS/GK 3010/4010 3.0W GREEK TRAGEDY (Winter)
This course involves the careful reading of a selected Greek tragedy in the original Greek, with possible additional readings taken from other Greek tragedies in translation and from modern scholarship on Greek tragedy.
PREREQUISITE: for AS/GK 3010 3.0: AS/GK 2000 6.0 or equivalent; for AS/GK 4010 3.0: six credits of Classical Greek at the 3000 level.
TIME: TR 1:00-2:30 p.m.
EVALUATION: TBA
COURSE DIRECTOR: TBA
NOTE: Students who enroll at the 4000 level will be assigned extra work appropriate to that level.
AS/GK 4130 3.0 or AS/GK 4130 6.0 GUIDED READINGS IN GREEK AUTHORS (Fall or Winter or Fall/Winter)
An independent reading program with material chosen in accordance with the interest of the student. To enrol, consult the Director of Classical Studies.
PREREQUISITE: Six credits of Ancient Greek at the 3000 level. Permission of the Director of Classical Studies.
AS/GK 4140 6.0 HONOURS ESSAY
Open only to Honours candidates in Classics, Classical Studies or Hellenic Studies
PREREQUISITE: Six credits of Ancient Greek at the 3000 level. Permission of the Director of Classical Studies.
AS/HIST 4040 6.0 PROBLEMS IN HELLENISTIC HISTORY
TIME: W 8:30-11:30
EVALUATION: TBA
COURSE DIRECTOR: TBA
AS/HUMA 2100 9.0A THE WORLD OF ANCIENT GREEKS
A study of the culture of the Greek speaking peoples of the Hellenic and Hellenistic Mediterranean at various points in their development and evolution. Areas of cultural endeavours to be explored include drama, epic, gender, law, philosophy, history, and rhetoric.
The course has two distinct but interlocked objectives. The first is a very close reading of the cultural records of the Greek speaking population of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean with a view to understanding the many accomplishments and cultural inventions and conventions of this civilization during its rich history.
The second objective is that students in examining the wealth and variety of this civilization develop within themselves important critical skills in thinking logically and clearly, in writing with care and understanding, and in arguing persuasively and convincingly from evidence at hand.
FORMAT: Two hour lecture and two hour seminar.
ASSIGNMENTS: TBA
REPRESENTATIVE READINGS: Selections from Homer, Hesiod, lyric poets, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Demosthenes, Lysias, Plato, Aristotle, Menander, Callimachus, Theocritus
COURSE DIRECTORS: TBA
PROJECTED ENROLMENT: 84
RESERVED SPACES: Some spaces reserved for Humanities & Classical Studies Majors and Minors.
AS/HUMA 2110 9.0A EGYPT IN GREEK AND ROMAN MEDITERRANEAN
An examination of Egypt and Egyptians in the imagination and history of the cultures of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean.
The place of Egypt in the imagination of the cultures of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean was an important and pervasive fact of both ancient myth and history. Athenians from the Golden Age, Jews from Judea, Alexander the son of Philip, Roman warriors like Caesar and Antonius became directly involved in the life of Egypt of their own day and fascinated by the monumental and exotic features of Egyptian culture. What they heard and saw made its way into the cultural narratives and even the reconstructed histories of the visitors. Many visitors stayed and provided in turn a fertile home for many important cultural and ritual events of the ancient Mediterranean. The Judean sections of Alexandria, Macedonian monarchs like Cleopatra Philopator, native and imported poets, scientists and scholars contributed to the rich mixture of Egyptian cultures and, in turn, informed the Greek and Roman culture of the rest of the Mediterranean. This course seeks to examine carefully the details of the imaginative and complicated portraits of Egypt and Egyptians fashioned in a variety of cultures around the Greek and Roman Mediterranean and to compare these to the rich remains and narratives created by Egyptians themselves over three millennia of monuments, artifacts and written records. Students are required to become familiar both with the Egyptians of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean and with the Egyptians who stood behind these artistic and cultural events.
FORMAT: Two hour lecture/two hour seminar.
EVALUATIONS: Essays and Reports 50%; Four Tests and Examinations 50%.
REPRESENTATIVE READINGS: Herodotus, The Histories, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt; Euripides, Euripides II: Four Tragedies, edited by Lattimore and Grene; Juvenal, The Satires of Juvenal, translated by Niall Rudd; Genesis, Exodus, Matthew. Any translation approved by the Course Director; Plutarch, The Age of Alexander, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert; Plutarch, The Makers of Rome, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert; Selected Readings, edited and translated by Paul Swarney and Robyn Gillam. (Translations of Plutarch and Euripides are available on the internet.)
COURSE DIRECTOR: T.B.A.
PROJECTED ENROLMENT: 56
RESERVED SPACES: Some spaces reserved for Humanities and Classical Studies Majors and Minors.
AS/HUMA 2830 9.0A THE FOUNDERS OF CHRISTIANITY
An introduction to the literature and history of the early Christian communities in Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece and Rome. The varieties of early Christian thought and practice are examined in terms of their religious, cultural and political contexts.
FORMAT: Two hour lecture and two hour tutorial.
ASSIGNMENTS: 2 book reviews (15%); 2 essays (20%); one end-of-term test (15%); final exam (35%); class participation (15%). (subject to change)
REPRESENTATIVE READINGS: Aune, David E., The New Testament in its Literary Environment; Mason, Steve and Tom Robinson, ed., An Early Christian Reader; Malherbe, Abraham J., Moral Exhortation: A Greco-Roman Sourcebook; Meeks, Wayne A., The Moral World of the First Christians; Stambaugh, John E. and David L. Balch, The New Testament in its Social Environment; Stowers, Stanley K., Letter-Writing in Antiquity.
COURSE DIRECTOR: Philip Harland, 416-736-5158
PROJECTED ENROLMENT: 84
RESERVED SPACES: Some spaces reserved for Humanities and Religious Studies Majors and Minors.
AS/HUMA 3100 6.0A GREEK DRAMA AND CULTURE
This course examines the development of ancient Greek drama from its origins to the mid-fourth century B.C. Topics include the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and the comedies of Aristophanes and Menander; as well as their sources, the conditions of their performance, their qualities as poetic drama, and their functions in Athenian society.
LECTURE: Two 1.5 hour seminar/discussion sessions per week
ASSIGNMENTS: Two essays 15% each; one mid-term exam 20%; one in-class test (second term) 10%; Participation 10%; final exam 30%. (subject to change)
REPRESENTATIVE READINGS: Aeschylus, Oresteia; Sophocles, Oedipus the King, Antigone, Euripides, Medea, Hippolytus, Helen, Bacchae, Herakles, Helen, Bacchae. Aristophanes, Clouds, Birds, Lysistrata, Frogs; Menander, Dyskolos
COURSE DIRECTOR: T.B.A
PROJECTED ENROLMENT: 30
RESERVED SPACES: Spaces reserved for Humanities & Classical Studies Majors and Minors.
AS/HUMA 4103 6.0 INTERPRETATIONS OF HOMERIC EPIC
FORMAT: TBA
TIME: W 11:30-2:30
COURSE DIRECTOR: P. Samaras
AK/HUMA 3458 3.0A Making of Christianity and Christendom Part 1
The emergence of the Christian movement as a distinct and often counter-cultural religion with its own views and practices during the period of persecution, 100-318 CE. May be taken independently of AK/HUMA 3459 3.0.
DEGREE CREDIT EXCLUSIONS: AK/HUMA 3880 6.0, AK/HUMA 3430 6.0
TIME: Monday 7 to 10 p.m.
COURSE DIRECTOR: Tony Chartrand-Burke; tburke@yorku.ca
AK/HUMA 3459 3.0M Making of Christianity and Christendom Part 2
The transformation of the Christian movement into a coherent religious, cultural and social institution with defined positions on such matters as belief, leadership, doctrine, sex roles, education and worship, many of which survive to this day.
DEGREE CREDIT EXCLUSIONS: AK/HUMA 3880 6.0/, AK/HUMA 3430 6.0
TIME: Monday 7 to 10 p.m.
COURSE DIRECTOR: Tony Chartrand-Burke; tburke@yorku.ca
AS/PHIL 2010 3.0A THE ORIGINS OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY (FALL 2005)
This course is about the origin and early evolution of what is arguably the most important intellectual revolution or discovery in the history of humanity: Western philosophy. It is generally agreed that Western philosophy: using the powers of reason and observation to gain an insight into the understanding of something (although there are other ways of formulating this) saw the light of day at the beginning of the 6th century B.C. in the Ionian Greek city of Miletus. This course will begin with an examination of the possible factors behind this revolution and will then proceed to examine some of the works of the first philosophers who are conventionally referred to as the pre-Socratics. As part of our examination of these philosophers, students will be introduced to some basic philosophical problems, many of which continue to be of interest. The main themes of the course will be the Greek notions of phusis, and nature, psuche, or soul and logos or reason. Most of the problems considered will be concerned with psychology, cosmology, theology, epistemology and political and moral theory. This course will be indispensable for an understanding of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle -- indeed the history of Western philosophy in general.
DEGREE CREDIT EXCLUSION: AK/PHIL 2010 3.0
TIME: TR 10:00 - 11:30 am.
REQUIRED READINGS: Richard McKirahan, Philosophy Before Socrates, Indianapolis/Cambridge, 1994.
EVALUATION: One short essay: 30%; One in-class essay: 20%; Final take-home exam: 40%; Class participation 10%
COURSE DIRECTOR: G. Naddaf; naddaf@yorku.ca
AS/PHIL 2015 3.0 PLATO & ARISTOTLE (WINTER)
Plato and Aristotle are two pillars of philosophy. Practically all modern thought has its roots in their work. Indeed, one finds more material published on them every year than on any other single philosopher. This course will begin by exploring the background to their work. We shall then examine some of their most influential works. As part of our examination of these philosophers, students will be introduced to the question of how and why Plato’s most famous pupil, Aristotle, became his most staunch critic, and how and why their two opposite approaches to philosophy, rationalism and empiricism, still divide philosophers today.
TIME: TR 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
COURSE DIRECTOR: TBA
AS/PHIL 3600 3.0A ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY (FALL)
Plato's Republic, the first known systematic account of a utopia in western literature, is arguably the most influential and famous philosophical and political treatise ever written. The Republic expounds Plato's conception of the perfectly just state (the standard against which all other states can be judged to be just or unjust). The fact that the governors, the philosopher-kings, must be both philosophers and statesman explains that Plato is not just an idealist. In this course we will examine the background, structure and arguments of The Republic.
PREREQUISITE: At least one of: AS/PHIL 2010 3.0 or AS/PHIL 2015 3.0.
TIME: R 2:30 - 5:30
REQUIRED READINGS: TBA
COURSE DIRECTOR: G. Naddaf; naddaf@yorku.ca
AS/PHIL 4030 3.0 TOPICS IN ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY: PLATO'S LAWS (WINTER)
Plato's dialogue The Laws is his last (and longest) political treatise. However it is no less philosophical than the Republic. In the Laws the philosopher-kings are replaced by a code of laws. Plato believes that the constitution expounded in the Laws, a mixture of monarchy and democracy (what he calls the two mother constitutions), is "second best" when compared to the constitution of the Republic. The Laws was arguably more important and influential in antiquity than the Republic. The aim of this course will be to examine some of Plato's later philosophical genius, including: a new reformative penology designed to cure the offender's mental state; the first physico-theological argument for the existence of god; the origin and evolution of society; a new theory of education in which drinking and dancing play an important role; a new conception of providence. We will also examine the structure and aim of the Laws in general and compare it with Plato's Republic.
PREREQUISITE: At least 9 credits in Philosophy.
TIME: R 2:30-5:30
EVALUATION: One minor essay or presentation: 30%; One major essay: 60%; Participation: 10%
REQUIRED READINGS: Plato, The Laws, Penguin edition (Trans. by Trevor Saunders); Glenn Morrow, Plato’s Cretan City
COURSE DIRECTOR: G. Naddaf; naddaf@yorku.ca
AK/HUMA 3421 3.0A INTERPRETING THE NEW TESTAMENT: PART 1 (Term: S1)
A historical and literary study of the traditions of Paul and of the Beloved Disciple (“John”) as they developed from the time of their founders through several generations of followers. Not open to students who have taken AK/HUMA 3420 6.00.
LECTURE: T & R 7 to 10 p.m., WC 118
COURSE DIRECTOR: Professor Tony Chartrand-Burke; tburke@yorku.ca
AK/HUMA 3422 3.0A INTERPRETING THE NEW TESTAMENT, PART 2(Term: S2)
A historical and literary study of the synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke) and of other early Christian literature of the first three generations. Not open to students who have taken AK/HUMA 3420 6.00.
LECTURE: T & R 7 to 10 p.m., SC 303
COURSE DIRECTOR: Professor Tony Chartrand-Burke; tburke@yorku.ca
AS/HUMA 1105 9.0A MYTH AND IMAGINATION IN GREECE AND ROME
{This Foundations course is affiliated with Stong College}
The myths of ancient Greece and Rome have exercised an enduring fascination and influence, as shown in literature, art, psychoanalysis, and philosophy. In this course we examine the myths in their cultural context and explore how the Greeks and Romans used the myths to explore the nature of the gods, the place of human beings in the universe, politics and history, morality and family relationships. Evidence will include both literary texts and works of visual art. Attention will be given to modern theories and critical approaches that can be used to illuminate the classical myths. The course will also include readings from ancient Near Eastern tradition, including the Bible, to give a broader perspective on the topic.FORMAT: Two one-hour lectures and one two-hour seminar per week.
ASSIGNMENTS: Two essays, one each term, 15% each; two in-class tests, one each term, 10% each; in-class exercises and class participation, 25%; final examination, 25%.
REPRESENTATIVE READINGS: The Epic of Gilgamesh; Genesis; Hesiod, Theogony; Homer, The Odyssey; Aeschylus, Agamemnon; Sophocles, Oedipus Rex; Euripides, The Bacchae; Ovid, Metamorphoses; Seneca, Thyestes; Vergil, Aeneid.
COURSE DIRECTORS: TBA
PROJECTED ENROLMENT: 250
RESERVED SPACES: All spaces are reserved for first year students.
AS/HUMA 1115 9.0A TRANSFORMATIONS OF ANCIENT LITERATURE
Classical literature forms the basis for the work of many authors in the later Western tradition. This course examines works of literature from ancient Greece and Rome and modern adaptations and transformations of those works. Particular attention will be paid to changes linked to differences in religion, politics, and social structure. Topics may include Comedy, Tragedy, Satire, Essays, and Fables; ancient authors studied may include Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Plautus, Horace, Ovid, Seneca, and Plutarch, and modern authors may include Shakespeare, Racine, Goethe, Montaigne, Sartre and Shaw. There will also be some attention to the use of classical themes in visual art.
FORMAT: Two lecture hours, two tutorial hours.
ASSIGNMENTS: 1st term essay: 20%; 2nd term essay: 20%; 1st term test: 10%; 2nd term test: 10%; research exercise: 20%; class participation: 20%.
REPRESENTATIVE READINGS: selected poems by Sappho, Catullus, Horace, Propertius, and Goethe; Plautus, The Brothers Menaechmi; Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors; Sophocles, Antigone; Jean Anouilh, Antigone; Euripides, Orestes; Sartre, The Flies; Aeschylus, Agamemnon; James M. Cain, The Postman Always Rings Twice; Euripides, Hippolytus; Seneca, Phaedra; Jean Racine, Phaedra; Plutarch, selections; Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra; Shaw, Ceasar and Cleopatra; Plautus, Amphytryon; Jean Giradoux, Amphitryon 38; Sophocles, Oedipus the King; Robert Heinlein, Double Star; Seneca, selected essays; Montaigne, selected essays.
COURSE DIRECTORS: M. Clark, matthewc@yorku.ca, 251 Vanier College, ext. 77396
PROJECTED ENROLMENT: 100
RESERVED SPACES: All spaces are reserved for first year students.
AS/HUMA 2100 9.0A THE WORLD OF ANCIENT GREEKS
A study of the culture of the Greek speaking peoples of the Hellenic and Hellenistic Mediterranean at various points in their development and evolution. Areas of cultural endeavours to be explored include drama, epic, gender, law, philosophy, history, and rhetoric.
The course has two distinct but interlocked objectives. The first is a very close reading of the cultural records of the Greek speaking population of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean with a view to understanding the many accomplishments and cultural inventions and conventions of this civilization during its rich history.
The second objective is that students in examining the wealth and variety of this civilization develop within themselves important critical skills in thinking logically and clearly, in writing with care and understanding, and in arguing persuasively and convincingly from evidence at hand.
FORMAT: Two hour lecture and two hour seminar.
ASSIGNMENTS: TBA
REPRESENTATIVE READINGS: Selections from Homer, Hesiod, lyric poets, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Herodotus, Thucydides, Demosthenes, Lysias, Plato, Aristotle, Menander, Callimachus, Theocritus
COURSE DIRECTORS: TBA
PROJECTED ENROLMENT: 84
RESERVED SPACES: Some spaces reserved for Humanities & Classical Studies Majors and Minors.
AS/HUMA 2110 9.0A EGYPT IN GREEK AND ROMAN MEDITERRANEAN
An examination of Egypt and Egyptians in the imagination and history of the cultures of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean.
The place of Egypt in the imagination of the cultures of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean was an important and pervasive fact of both ancient myth and history. Athenians from the Golden Age, Jews from Judea, Alexander the son of Philip, Roman warriors like Caesar and Antonius became directly involved in the life of Egypt of their own day and fascinated by the monumental and exotic features of Egyptian culture. What they heard and saw made its way into the cultural narratives and even the reconstructed histories of the visitors. Many visitors stayed and provided in turn a fertile home for many important cultural and ritual events of the ancient Mediterranean. The Judean sections of Alexandria, Macedonian monarchs like Cleopatra Philopator, native and imported poets, scientists and scholars contributed to the rich mixture of Egyptian cultures and, in turn, informed the Greek and Roman culture of the rest of the Mediterranean. This course seeks to examine carefully the details of the imaginative and complicated portraits of Egypt and Egyptians fashioned in a variety of cultures around the Greek and Roman Mediterranean and to compare these to the rich remains and narratives created by Egyptians themselves over three millennia of monuments, artifacts and written records. Students are required to become familiar both with the Egyptians of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean and with the Egyptians who stood behind these artistic and cultural events.
FORMAT: Two hour lecture/two hour seminar.
EVALUATIONS: Essays and Reports 50%; Four Tests and Examinations 50%.
REPRESENTATIVE READINGS: Herodotus, The Histories, translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt; Euripides, Euripides II: Four Tragedies, edited by Lattimore and Grene; Juvenal, The Satires of Juvenal, translated by Niall Rudd; Genesis, Exodus, Matthew. Any translation approved by the Course Director; Plutarch, The Age of Alexander, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert; Plutarch, The Makers of Rome, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert; Selected Readings, edited and translated by Paul Swarney and Robyn Gillam. (Translations of Plutarch and Euripides are available on the internet.)
COURSE DIRECTOR: T.B.A.
PROJECTED ENROLMENT: 56
RESERVED SPACES: Some spaces reserved for Humanities and Classical Studies Majors and Minors.
AS/HUMA 2830 9.0A THE FOUNDERS OF CHRISTIANITY
An introduction to the literature and history of the early Christian communities in Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece and Rome. The varieties of early Christian thought and practice are examined in terms of their religious, cultural and political contexts.
FORMAT: Two hour lecture and two hour tutorial.
ASSIGNMENTS: 2 book reviews (15%); 2 essays (20%); one end-of-term test (15%); final exam (35%); class participation (15%). (subject to change)
REPRESENTATIVE READINGS: Aune, David E., The New Testament in its Literary Environment; Mason, Steve and Tom Robinson, ed., An Early Christian Reader; Malherbe, Abraham J., Moral Exhortation: A Greco-Roman Sourcebook; Meeks, Wayne A., The Moral World of the First Christians; Stambaugh, John E. and David L. Balch, The New Testament in its Social Environment; Stowers, Stanley K., Letter-Writing in Antiquity.
COURSE DIRECTOR: Philip Harland, 416-736-5158
PROJECTED ENROLMENT: 84
RESERVED SPACES: Some spaces reserved for Humanities and Religious Studies Majors and Minors.
AS/HUMA 3100 6.0A GREEK DRAMA AND CULTURE
This course examines the development of ancient Greek drama from its origins to the mid-fourth century B.C. Topics include the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and the comedies of Aristophanes and Menander; as well as their sources, the conditions of their performance, their qualities as poetic drama, and their functions in Athenian society.
LECTURE: Two 1.5 hour seminar/discussion sessions per week
ASSIGNMENTS: Two essays 15% each; one mid-term exam 20%; one in-class test (second term) 10%; Participation 10%; final exam 30%. (subject to change)
REPRESENTATIVE READINGS: Aeschylus, Oresteia; Sophocles, Oedipus the King, Antigone, Euripides, Medea, Hippolytus, Helen, Bacchae, Herakles, Helen, Bacchae. Aristophanes, Clouds, Birds, Lysistrata, Frogs; Menander, Dyskolos
COURSE DIRECTOR: T.B.A
PROJECTED ENROLMENT: 30
RESERVED SPACES: Spaces reserved for Humanities & Classical Studies Majors and Minors.
AS/HUMA 3106 6.0A GREEK & ROMAN BIOGRAPHY
Greek and Roman biographies are prominent in every aspect of Classical antiquity as sources for historical, literary and more broadly cultural events in the Greek and Roman Mediterranean. This course examines a selection from among the many surviving biographies focusing less on the subjects of each life-story and more on the literary, cultural, religious and political environments in which each was composed.
The authors studied include Plutarch of Chaeronea, Flavius Arrianus of Nicomedia, the Judeans Josephus, Mark, Matthew, Luke and John, the Cilician Diogenes Laertius, Diodorus the Sicilian, the Gallic Pompeius Trogus, as summarized by Justinus, the Carthaginian Augustine and the Romans Tacitus, Suetonius, Cornelius Nepos and Q. Curtius Rufus. A selection of longer epitaphs such as those of the Roman "Turia", the Egyptian Taimhotep and Caesar Augustus' res gestae along with Propertius' elegiac encomium of Cornelia are also studied.
Among the topics investigated in each text are rhetorical techniques; political, moral, philosophic and religious agendas; sources from which information is drawn for each life; and the kinds of literary and cultural references and allusions employed by authors to enhance their works.
ASSIGNMENTS: 4 examinations 2 per term 50%; 2 essays 1 each term 50%.
REPRESENTATIVE READINGS: Diogenes Laertius, Lives of eminent philosophers / with an English translation by R.D. Hicks; Diodorus of Sicily / with an English translation by C. B. Welles; Plutarch, The lives of the noble Grecians and Romans / translated by John Dryden and revised by Arthur Hugh Clough; Suetonius / with an English translation by J.C. Rolfe ; introduction by K.R. Bradley; Cornelius Nepos / with an English translation by John C. Rolfe; Quintus Curtius / with an English translation also by John C. Rolfe; Flavius Josephus, translation and commentary / edited by Steve Mason v. 9. Life of Josephus / translation and commentary by Steve Mason; Tacitus Agricola ; and Germany / Tacitus ; translated with an introduction and notes by Anthony R. Birley; Epitome of the Philippic history of Pompeius Trogus : books 11-12, Alexander the Great / Justin ; translation and appendices by J.C. Yardley; introduction and commentary by Waldemar Heckel; Arrianus, The campaigns of Alexander / Translated by Aubrey De Selincourt; Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian literature : a book of readings PJ 1943 L5 v.3; Augustine, The confessions of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. / Translated with an introd. and notes by E.B. Pusey. Please note that this list is representative and authors and translations may change before ordered for the course.
COURSE DIRECTOR: P. Swarney, pswarney@yorku.ca, 033 McLaughlin College, ext. 77023
PROJECTED ENROLMENT: 30
RESERVED SPACES: Spaces reserved for Humanities & Classical Studies Majors and Minors.
AS/HUMA 4104 6.0A THE WORLD OF APULEIUS
This course explores the culture of the Graeco-Roman world in the second century CE, taking as its focus The Golden Ass and other works of Apuleius. The Roman empire at this time was a vast and multicultural world, politically and socially stable yet undergoing significant cultural and especially religious change. Particular topics include religious and philosophical developments, especially magic and the mystery cults; literary developments, particularly the ancient novel and the role of the celebrity orator; and social developments, especially the role of women and questions of ethnic identity.
The course begins with a close reading of The Golden Ass, with particular attention to questions of interpretation. How do we begin to understand a literary work that has survived from an ancient culture? Is it important to learn something about the culture in which that work was produced, and about the person who produced it? If so, how can we do that? In this respect the course is intended not only as an exploration of a particular ancient culture, but also an opportunity to reflect on the complexities that are inevitably involved in that exploration. The Golden Ass, which is both characteristic of its time and a work that constantly raises issues of interpretation, provides a particularly suitable focus for these reflections.
COURSE CREDIT EXCLUSION: AS/HUMA 4100C 6.0
FORMAT: Three-hour seminar
ASSIGNMENTS: Two seminar presentations, one each term, at 10% each: 20%; Four written assignments at 10% each: 40%; Participation: 10%; Research paper: 30%.
REPRESENTATIVE READINGS:Apuleius: The Golden Ass, Apology, Florida, The God of Socrates; Petronius: Satyricon; Chariton: Chaereas and Callirhoe; Achilles Tatius: Leucippe and Clitophon; selections from Plutarch, Lucian, Aelius Aristides, Tatian, the Hermetica, and the Greek Magical Papryi.
COURSE DIRECTOR: T.B.A
PROJECTED ENROLMENT: 20
RESERVED SPACES: Spaces reserved for Humanities & Classical Studies Majors and Minors.
ATKINSON HUMANITIES
AK/HUMA 1710 6.0A ROOTS OF WESTERN CULTURE: THE ANCIENT WORLD
Two historical cultures have had an important role in shaping modern western thought: the Graeco-Roman and the Judaeo-Christian. This course explores these cultures through selective study of their literature, philosophy and religious thought.
DEGREE CREDIT EXCLUSIONS: AS/HUMA 1100 9.0, 1100 6.0, 1110 9.0, 1110 6.0
TIME: M 7.00 – 10:00 p.m.
COURSE DIRECTOR: TBA
AK/HUMA 3458 3.0A Making of Christianity and Christendom Part 1
The emergence of the Christian movement as a distinct and often counter-cultural religion with its own views and practices during the period of persecution, 100-318 CE. May be taken independently of AK/HUMA 3459 3.0.
DEGREE CREDIT EXCLUSIONS: AK/HUMA 3880 6.0, AK/HUMA 3430 6.0
TIME: Monday 7 to 10 p.m.
COURSE DIRECTOR: Tony Chartrand-Burke; tburke@yorku.ca
AK/HUMA 3459 3.0M Making of Christianity and Christendom Part 2
The transformation of the Christian movement into a coherent religious, cultural and social institution with defined positions on such matters as belief, leadership, doctrine, sex roles, education and worship, many of which survive to this day.
DEGREE CREDIT EXCLUSIONS: AK/HUMA 3880 6.0/, AK/HUMA 3430 6.0
TIME: Monday 7 to 10 p.m.
COURSE DIRECTOR: Tony Chartrand-Burke; tburke@yorku.ca