CLASS 2801 - Theory and Methods in Classical Studies

(HB) (CA-AS) (CU-CEL)

Fall. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

This course is required of all Classical Civilization majors, and is also enthusiastically recommended for Classics majors and all minors.

V. Platt.

This course is designed for all majors in Classics and Classical Civilizations, though anybody with an interest in the Greco-Roman world is encouraged to join us. We will explore the discipline of Classical Studies from diverse angles: What are the skills that a training in Classics requires (such as philology, epigraphy, archaeology, or art history)? What resources are available to us, and how might we use them most effectively? What do we mean by “the Classical”? How did Classics arise as a discipline, and what does it mean to study Classical Antiquity today? Taking the Parthenon as our thematic focus, we will explore the intellectual, historical, aesthetic, and political significance of this quintessentially “Classical” monument, alongside its complicated legacy.