Class Schedules

This course is taught jointly between the department of Religious Studies and the department of Classics, by a specialist in the Roman East and a specialist in classical India. We will start on either side of this world, with Alexander the Great and Ashoka, exploring the relationship between empire and religion from Rome to India in the world's crossroads for the thousand years between Alexander and the rise of Islam.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

We will together examine Greek and Roman mythological and historical texts upon which opera libretti and scores have been based. Our normal practice will be to read and discuss the classical text first, then move on to listening and studying the operatic version. Your final project will be to research an opera based on a classical source and present a portion of it to the class. All texts and musical links and assignments will be available on the Moodle page. Our synchronous and asynchronous activities will include multiple writing assignments, class discussions, student-led discussion, non-evaluated journal writing, guest speakers and performers, digitizing a mythological commentary for a recorded opera, a potential outing to a streamed live opera. We will systematically over the course of the semester talk about issues of concern as you begin your college career, social and academic. We will learn how to use the remote library resources, the MAX tutoring center, the office of Career Exploration, and the Hamre Center for Health and Wellness. We will talk about sleeping and studying effectively. We willcollaboratively formulate overarching questions to guide our study of classical texts used for opera. No expertise in music performance necessary. The class will meet daily from 9:15 10:45 a.m.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

A thorough review of Latin grammar followed by a study of a Roman prose author or authors. Students build reading skills while gaining an appreciation for the literary and cultural aspects of Latin prose. Particular texts to be studied may include Petronius' Satyricon , the letters and/or speeches of Cicero, letters of Pliny, or Livy's History of Rome. Prerequisite(s): CLAS 212 or its equivalent.

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This course focuses on expanding vocabulary and grammar through simple texts, dialogs and stories. Prerequisite(s): CLAS 214 or equivalent.

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​This course surveys the visual and material culture of Europe, the Middle East and the broader Mediterranean world from prehistory through the late Medieval period, including early Christian, Jewish and Islamic cultures. We consider the artistic and archaeological remains from the Near East, Egypt, the Aegean, Greece, Etruria, Rome, and western Europe from a contextual perspective in order to understand each culture's ideologies, and the diverse social and artistic purposes for which art and architecture was created and used.

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Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

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This third course in the ancient Greek language sequence involves review of basic grammar and extensive reading in works of ancient prose. Students will build familiarity with forms and vocabulary while gaining confidence as readers and an appreciation for ancient literature. Authors may include Plato, Herodotus, Attic orators, or Lucian. Prerequisite(s): CLAS 235 or equivalent.

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Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

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Students who pursue Latin at the advanced level will study closely one or more works and explore relevant problems in literary or textual criticism, linguistic, social or cultural history, and/or reception. Authors may include Tacitus, Seneca, Apuleius, Juvenal, Martial or others. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite(s): CLAS 332or equivalent.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This two-term sequence introduces the grammar and vocabulary of Latin, the language of the ancient Romans. Students learn through reading adapted passages, by breaking down grammatical structures into recognizable patterns, and through tutorials and drills. We aim to cover all basic grammar by the end of the year. In the second semester, students begin to read easy Latin such as the Bible, Pliny, Cornelius Nepos and/or Caesar.

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In this two semester program, students learn to read, write and converse in Modern Standard Arabic, the form of Classical Arabic used in contemporary news media, documents, literature, education and religious practice in the many countries of the Arab world. The purpose of this course is to develop beginning students' proficiency and communication in the four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students will also participate in tutorials and/or practice labs.

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An introduction to the language and literature of classical Hebrew. The study of grammar and vocabulary is supplemented with practice in oral recitation and aural comprehension. Basic biblical texts are analyzed and translated, including selections from the books of Genesis and Ruth.

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This course surveys the political, economic, and cultural development of the peoples of the ancient Greek world from the late Bronze Age through the Hellenistic era. Students will hone their critical thinking skills while working with translations of ancient literature, archaeological remains and works of art. The basic structure of the course is chronological, but we will examine major themes across time and space, which may include the interaction between physical landscape and historical change; rule by the one, the few and the many; the nature and development of literary and artistic genres; the economic, military, and/or cultural dimensions of empire; or the intersections of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, slave/free status and civic identity in the Greek world.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

A study of major philosophers of ancient Greece, Rome and the medieval period, including the Pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, the Stoics, Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas.

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Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

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Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

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The Senior Seminar caps the experience of being a Classics major. Students in all three tracks (Archaeology, Civilization, and Languages) join together to explore the history of the discipline and its relationship to their own histories and future plans. Students learn about, draft and critique documents useful for their next steps, including resumes, personal statements and cover letters, along with discussing selected readings in a seminar setting. Each student also works with an advisor from the department to develop and execute a major piece of work in their chosen field, Majors who have completed the Senior Seminar have thus executed a substantive independent project and can articulate the place of their Classics major within their personal and professional development. Prerequisite(s): Must be a declared Classics major

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Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

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Why are Arabic, Greek, Hebrew and Latin all taught in the same department at Macalester? Today Islam and the Arab world are often presented in contrast with the West in a sort of timeless and unending 'clash of civilizations.' Classics 101 aims to counter this narrative by exploring the multiple deep, long-term connections among the languages, religions and peoples around the Mediterranean Sea. What were the relationships among speakers of these languages in the past? How did Judaism, Christianity and Islam develop among them? Why are Greek and Roman traditions sometimes seen as in tension with Christian or Arab traditions -- and has that always been the case? Readings include selections from Genesis, Exodus, Homer, Herodotus, Euripides, Plato, Vergil, the Gospels, Josephus, Imru Al-Qays, the Qur'an and 1,001 Nights. Legendary and historical figures include Moses, Helen of Troy, Cyrus, Darius, Pericles, Alexander, Cleopatra, Jesus, Augustus, Perpetua, Constantine, Muhammad, Fatima, Aisha and Omar. Suggested subtitles for the course include Before East and West, We Hear Dead People, Great Books Reimagined, and Hey, You Should Know This Stuff. Required for all majors in the Classical Mediterranean and Middle East.

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Humanities

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This course studies the interaction of Jewish, Christian, and pagan cultures, and the protracted struggle for self-definition and multi-cultural exchange this encounter provoked. The course draws attention to how the other and cultural and religious difference are construed, resisted, and apprehended. Readings include Acts, Philo, Revelation, I Clement, pagan charges against Christianity, Adversus Ioudaios writers, the Goyim in the Mishna, and apologetic literature.

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Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This two-term sequence introduces the grammar and vocabulary of Latin, the language of the ancient Romans. Students learn through reading adapted passages, by breaking down grammatical structures into recognizable patterns, and through tutorials and drills. We aim to cover all basic grammar by the end of the year. In the second semester, students begin to read easy Latin such as the Bible, Pliny, Cornelius Nepos and/or Caesar. Prerequisite(s): CLAS 111.

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In this two semester program, students learn to read, write and converse in Modern Standard Arabic, the form of Classical Arabic used in contemporary news media, documents, literature, education and religious practice in the many countries of the Arab world. The purpose of this course is to develop beginning students' proficiency and communication in the four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students will also participate in tutorials and/or practice labs. Prerequisite(s): CLAS 113.

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A course in the poetic literature of the Republican and/or Augustan Ages with concentrated study on one or two authors. Students work toward grammatical and lexical mastery while learning about the forms, styles and cultural aspects of Latin poetry. Authors to be studied may include Plautus, Catullus, Horace, Vergil, or Ovid. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite(s): CLAS 231or equivalent.

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This course introduces students to more authentic texts and samples a variety of authors and genres from around the Arab world. Prerequisite(s): CLAS 241 or equivalent.

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This fourth course in the ancient Greek language sequence involves extensive reading in works of ancient poetry. Students will work toward mastery of grammar and vocabulary while exploring the formal, artistic and cultural dimensions of poetic composition. Most often readings will be from the Homeric epics (Iliad or Odyssey), but other works may be taught, including tragedy, comedy or lyric. Prerequisite(s): CLAS 261or equivalent.

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Humanities

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This course investigates contemporary approaches to studying women, gender and sexuality in history, and the particular challenges of studying these issues in antiquity. By reading ancient writings in translation and analyzing art and other material culture, we will address the following questions: How did ancient Greek and Roman societies understand and use the categories of male and female? Into what sexual categories did different cultures group people? How did these gender and sexual categories intersect with notions of slave and free status, citizenship and ethnicity? How should we interpret the actions and representations of women in surviving literature, myth, art, law, philosophy, politics and medicine in this light? Finally, how and why have gendered classical images been re-deployed in the modern U.S.- from scholarship to art and poetry?

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Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

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This course studies some of the world's great storytellers-the ancient Greeks. First, we read from translations of Greek poetry to become familiar with the key figures and events in mythology, including the Olympian gods and their origins, the major heroes, and the Trojan War. Then we explore more broadly the adaptable nature of these myths and the variety of forms in which the Greeks told stories, from epic and personal poetry to philosophy, drama, sculpture and vase painting. At the same time, we investigate the ways in which moderns have interpreted these stories. We analyze myths using Freud's psychoanalytical techniques, as folklore and ritual, and through theoretical perspectives including structuralism, new historicism and feminism. Finally, we investigate the later life of Greek myths, focusing on how and why these stories have been retold by the Romans, later European authors and artists, American film makers and playwrights, and science fiction writers.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

An introduction to the language and literature of classical Hebrew. The study of grammar and vocabulary is supplemented with practice in oral recitation and aural comprehension. Basic biblical texts are analyzed and translated, including selections from the books of Genesis and Ruth. Prerequisite(s): CLAS 117.

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This course introduces students to archaeology, the study of the material remains of human culture. Students will explore the history of the discipline and profession, its basic methods and theories, and the political and ethical dimensions of modern archaeological practice. Students learn to examine and interpret evidence using specific examples, from artifacts to sites to regions.

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Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

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A survey course of Renaissance and classic writers from around the Arab world. We explore social issues, with the focus still on language acquisition. Prerequisite(s): CLAS 342.

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Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

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