Classics

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2014-15 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu/.

Overview

The Department of Classics at UC Berkeley has long been one of the world's leading centers for the study of Graeco-Roman antiquity. It is the intellectual home of a distinguished faculty, excellent graduate students, and many visiting scholars, including the annual Jane K. Sather Professor of Classical Literature. Its alumni and alumnae occupy teaching positions at major universities both in North America and overseas.

The mission of the Department has four major components.

  • To give students across the University access to the literature, history, archaeology, mythology and philosophy of the ancient Greek and Roman world through an array of undergraduate courses on classical culture in translation. These courses introduce students to texts, artefacts, and ideas that are worth studying both in their own right and as abidingly influential elements in the imagination and history of later cultures. Such study deepens students' understanding of present-day issues by inculcating a sense of historical perspective that takes account of both the differences and the continuities between contemporary and ancient cultures.
  • To enable undergraduates to immerse themselves in the language and culture of ancient Greece and Rome through its majors in Greek, Latin, and Classical Civilizations. These majors equip students with knowledge and analytical skills that can be applied in many areas (e.g., law, politics, business, biosciences, computer science and media) as well as providing essential preparation for graduate study in Classics, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, and other fields.
  • To train and mentor future scholars and teachers through its top-rated graduate programs in Classics and Classical Archaeology. These programs combine intensive linguistic training in both Greek and Latin with wide-ranging intellectual exploration (including literature, history, archaeology, philosophy, and linguistics).
  • To seek, through its faculty appointments, the breadth and excellence that can sustain these three goals. We encourage individual and collaborative faculty research, intellectual engagement with students at all levels, and effective participation in the administrative and advisory work of the Department, the College, the Academic Senate, and the campus and university as a whole.

The Department encourages faculty participation in other programs and cooperation with other departments. It includes several faculty with joint appointments, and it enjoys strong connections with Art History, Comparative Literature, History, Linguistics, Medieval Studies, Near Eastern Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Rhetoric, Theater Dance and Performance Studies, and the Graduate Group in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology, and the Graduate Theological Union. On campus, Classics faculty are involved in the Nemea Center for Classical Archaeology, the Aleshire Center for the Study of Greek Epigraphy, the Center for the Tebtunis Papyri, the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Museum of Anthropology, and the Archaeological Research Facility.

Undergraduate Programs

Classical Civilizations : BA
Classical Languages : BA
Greek : BA
Latin : BA

Graduate Programs

Classics : PhD
Classical Archaeology : PhD

Visit Department Website

Courses

Literature and Culture:

Languages:

Classics

CLASSIC 10A Introduction to Greek Civilization 4 Units

Study of the major developments, achievements, and contradictions in Greek culture from the Bronze Age to the 4th century BCE. Key works of literature, history, and philosophy (read in English translation) will be examined in their political and social context, and in relation both to other ancient Mediterranean cultures and to subsequent developments in Western civilization.

CLASSIC 10B Introduction to Roman Civilization 4 Units

Investigation of the main achievements and tensions in Roman culture from Romulus to the High Empire. Key sources for literature, history, and material culture are studied in order to reveal Roman civilization in its political and social context. All materials are read in English.

CLASSIC 17A Introduction to the Archaeology of the Greek World 4 Units

The physical remains of the Greek world from the Bronze Age to 323 BCE will be studied, with emphasis on its artistic triumphs, as a means of understanding the culture of ancient Greece.

CLASSIC 17B Introduction to the Archaeology of the Late Greek and Roman World 4 Units

The physical remains of the Hellenistic and Roman worlds from 323 BCE to the advent of Christianity will be studied as a means of understanding the culture of ancient Rome.

CLASSIC 24 Freshman Seminars 1 Unit

The Berkeley Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Berkeley Seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester.

CLASSIC 28 The Classic Myths 4 Units

The society, culture, values and outlook on life of the ancient Greeks as expressed in their mythology; their views on life, birth, marriage, death, sex and sexuality; on culture and civilization, the origin and meaning of the world. Their use of myth to think about, and give order to human experience. The course includes some of the most important works of Western literature in English translation (the 'Odyssey', the 'Theogony', twelve plays by leading Greek dramatists (Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides), along with their historical and religious context, as well as drawing on material evidence (vase paintings, sculpture, archaeological sites).

CLASSIC N28 The Classic Myths 4 Units

The society, culture, values and outlook on life of the ancient Greeks as expressed in their mythology; their views on life, birth, marriage, death, sex and sexuality; on culture and civilization, the origin and meaning of the world. Their use of myth to think about, and give order to human experience. The course includes some of the most important works of Western literature in English translation (the 'Odyssey', the 'Theogony'), twelve plays by leading Greek dramatists (Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides), along with their historical and religious context, as well as drawing on material evidence (vase paintings, sculpture, archaeological sites).

CLASSIC S28X The Classic Myths 4 Units

A study of Greek and Roman myths with emphasis on the universal meanings of myths. The interaction of myths, religion and philosophy as a source of understanding of ancient and present cultures.

CLASSIC 29 Introduction to Greco-Roman Magic 4 Units

This course will focus on ideas about magic in the Greek and Roman worlds from about 750 BCE through 400 CE. Topics will include witches, holy men, love spells, necromancy, spirits, and mystery religions. We will examine how magic was represented in high literature (by authors like Homer, Ovid, Apuleius, and Lucian). as well as the more practical evidence of curse tablets and the Greek Magical Papyri. Consideration will be given to analyzing the relationship between magic, religion, and philosophy. Our goal will be to study the common threads that connect different Greek and Roman magical practices, as well as to understand them in their cultural contexts.

CLASSIC 34 Epic Poetry: Homer and Vergil 4 Units

Greek and Roman epics including the , , .

CLASSIC 35 Greek Tragedy 4 Units

Greek tragedy with readings of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

CLASSIC 36 Greek Philosophy 4 Units

Introduction to the philosophies of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

CLASSIC 39H Freshman/Sophomore Seminar 4 Units

Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.

CLASSIC 39I Freshman/Sophomore Seminar 4 Units

Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.

CLASSIC 39J Freshman/Sophomore Seminar 4 Units

Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.

CLASSIC R44 Roots of Western Civilization 5 Units

This course covers Homeric and Classical Greece, Rome in its transition from republic to empire, and the world of the Old Testament. Lectures, discussions, and reading assignments will involve interdisciplinary approaches with an emphasis on the development of skill in writing. Satisfies either half of the Reading and Composition requirement plus one of the following Letters and Science breath requirements: Arts and Literature, Historical Studies, or Social and Behavioral Sciences.

CLASSIC 98 Directed Group Study for Freshmen and Sophomores 1 - 4 Units

CLASSIC 99 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

CLASSIC 110 Ancient Metrics 2 Units

The principles of ancient metre of all types.

CLASSIC 121 Ancient Religion 4 Units

The religious practices, beliefs and mentality of Ancient Greece c. 1650 BC to c. 400 AD., as expressed in cult, ritual and festival, and their social function, based on the evidence of primary texts (literary and documentary), and material remains (sanctuaries, monuments, sculpture, mosaics, painting, vase-painting). Explores how Greek religion addressed notions of history, community, identity, science, creativity, sexuality, spirituality, and the complex roles and relationships of male and female in society.

No previous knowledge or experience of the ancient Greek world expected; students of all levels and backgrounds welcome.

CLASSIC 124 Classical Poetics 4 Units

Study of a selection (in English translation) of the most important works of classical antiquity that theorize about literature and of the works of some post-classical authors who wrote on similar themes under the influence of their classical predecessors. Authors studied may include Plato, Aristotle, Horace, Longinus, Augustine, Sidney, Pope, and Lessing.

CLASSIC 130 Topics in Ancient Greek and Roman Culture 4 Units

Topic to vary from year to year. No knowledge of Greek or Latin required; but provision will be made for students who wish to study some of the readings in the original language. Enrollment limited.

CLASSIC 161 Gender, Sexuality, and Culture in the Ancient World 4 Units

Study of topics in gender, feminism, and sexuality in ancient cultures. Topics vary from year to year.

CLASSIC 163 Topics in Greek Philosophy 4 Units

The course is designed to deal with a single topic or selection of topics in Greek philosophy studied in translation. Possible topics are: the close study of one or more of Plato's or Aristotle's texts, Hellenistic philosophy, neo-Platonism.

CLASSIC 170A Classical Archaeology: Greek Vase Painting 4 Units

CLASSIC 170C Classical Archaeology: Greek Architecture 4 Units

CLASSIC 170D Classical Archaeology: Roman Art and Architecture 4 Units

CLASSIC 172 Art and Archaeology of the Aegean Bronze Age 4 Units

Introductory overview of the art and archaeology of ancient civilizations of the Bronze Age (3000-1100 BCE) Aegean: Crete, Cyclades, Mainland Greece, and Western Anatolia. Intended to expose to the sites, monuments, art, and artifacts of these cultures and understand the way a variety of evidence is used to reconstruct history. Emphasis also is placed on comparison of enigmatic and evocative cultures and material evidence to see how each evolved and to define similarities and differences.

CLASSIC N172A Archaeological Field School in Nemea, Greece 4 Units

Through this field school students will participate in archaeological excavation and museum study in Greece at the site of Nemea and the Classical Sanctuary of Zeus. Through extensive travel and hands-on work, students will learn all major elements of methodology and analysis currently used in classical archaeology. The goal is to teach practical skills in a real research environment and an understanding of the material culture of Greece throughout various periods of its prehistory and history. Students will participate in a variety of field techniques and research methodologies.

CLASSIC N172B Archaeological Field School in Mycenae, Greece 4 Units

Through this field school students will participate in archaeological excavation and museum study in Greece at the Bronze Age site of Mycenae (Petsas House). Through extensive travel and hands-on work, students will learn all major elements of methodology and analysis currently used in classical archaeology. The goal is to teach practical skills in a real research environment and an understanding of the material culture of Greece throughout various periods of its prehistory and history. Students will participate in a variety of field techniques and research methodologies.

CLASSIC 175A Topography and Monuments: Athens 4 Units

CLASSIC 175D Topography and Monuments: Pompeii and Herculaneum 4 Units

CLASSIC 175F Topography and Monuments: Roman Wall Painting 4 Units

CLASSIC 175G Topography and Monuments: Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt 4 Units

CLASSIC H195A Honors Course in Classics 2 - 4 Units

This is a two-semester Honors course [H195A-B]. The work for the Honors course may either build on work in a previous upper division course used in fulfillment of the Classical Languages or Classical Civilizations major or may be a newly conceived project. The work will result in the writing of a thesis, to be evaluated by an Honors committee of three members. Written thesis due the Monday of the 13th week of the semester in which the course is taken.


CLASSIC H195B Honors Course in Classics 4 Units

This is a two-semester Honors course [H195A-B]. The work for the Honors course may either build on work in a previous upper division course used in fulfillment of the Classical Civilizations or Classical Languages major or may be a newly conceived project. The work will result in the writing of a thesis, to be evaluated by an Honors committee of three members. Written thesis due the Monday of the 13th week of the semester in which the course is taken.

CLASSIC 198 Directed Group Study for Advanced Undergraduates 1 - 4 Units

CLASSIC 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

Greek

GREEK 1 Elementary Greek 4 Units

Beginners' course.

GREEK 2 Elementary Greek 4 Units

Beginners' course.

GREEK 10 Intensive Elementary Greek 8 Units

Beginners' course (intensive); equivalent to Greek 1-2.

GREEK 15 The Greek Workshop 10 Units

Designed primarily for prospective and beginning graduate students wishing to complete as early as possible a requirement in the classical languages or to gain rapidly a basic control of Greek in order to proceed directly into intermediate courses in Homer, Plato, and Euripides. Lectures, discussions, drills and tutorial sessions on grammar and vocabulary; readings in Attic prose and poetry (Plato and Greek Tragedy). A grade of B enables the students to enroll directly in upper division Greek.

GREEK 40 Intermediate Greek Prose Composition 4 Units

. Development of skills in writing Attic prose and sight reading; grammar review.

GREEK 98 Directed Group Study for Freshmen and Sophomores 1 - 4 Units

GREEK 99 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

GREEK 100 Plato and Attic Prose 4 Units

Readings from Plato's or , and from other Attic prose authors (e.g., Xenophon, Lysias); some review of grammar.

GREEK 101 Homer 4 Units

Selected readings in the or .

GREEK 102 Drama and Society 4 Units

Reading of one Greek tragedy, and of further selections from the dramatists and/or prose literature of fifth century Athens.

GREEK 105 The Greek New Testament 4 Units

Readings in the Gospels and/or Acts and/or Epistles.

GREEK 115 Archaic Poetry 4 Units

Readings in various Greek poets.

GREEK 116 Greek Drama 4 Units

Selected readings from Greek tragedy and/or comedy.

GREEK 117 Hellenistic Poets 4 Units

Readings in various Hellenistic poets.

GREEK 120 Herodotus 4 Units

Readings in Herodotus.

GREEK 121 Thucydides 4 Units

Readings in Thucydides.

GREEK 122 Attic Oratory 4 Units

Readings in oratory.

GREEK 123 Plato and Aristotle 4 Units

Readings in Plato and Aristotle.

GREEK 125 Greek Literature of the Hellenistic and Imperial Periods 4 Units

Selected readings in Greek prose or poetry written by authors active during the Hellenistic Age and the Roman Empire (3rd century BCE to 6th century CE).

GREEK H195 Honors Course in Greek 4 Units

Largely independent study for one semester building on work in a previous upper-division course used in fulfillment of the Greek major; the work will result in the writing of a thesis, to be evaluated by an honors committee of three members. Written thesis due the Monday of the 13th week of the semester in which the course is taken.

GREEK H195A Honors Course in Greek 2 - 4 Units

This is a two-semester Honors course [H195A-B]. The work for the Honors course may either build on work in a previous upper division course used in fulfillment of the Greek major or may be a newly conceived project. The work will result in the writing of a thesis, to be evaluated by an Honors committee of three members. Written thesis due the Monday of the 13th week of the semester in which the course is taken.

GREEK H195B Honors Course in Greek 4 Units

The work for the Honors course may either build on work in a previous upper division course used in fulfillment of the Greek major or may be a newly conceived project. The work will result in the writing of a thesis, to be evaluated by an Honors committee of three members. Written thesis due the Monday of the 13th week of the semester in which the course is taken.

GREEK 198 Directed Group Study for Advanced Undergraduates 1 - 4 Units

GREEK 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

Latin

LATIN 1 Elementary Latin 4 Units

Beginners' course.

LATIN 2 Elementary Latin 4 Units

Beginners' course.

LATIN 10 Intensive Elementary Latin 8 Units

Beginners' course (intensive); equivalent to Latin 1-2.

LATIN 15 The Latin Workshop 10 Units

Designed primarily for prospective and beginning graduate students wishing to complete as early as possible the Latin requirement for doctoral work in Comparative Literature, English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish. Lectures, discussions, drills, and tutorial sessions on grammar and vocabulary; readings in Vergil, Cicero, and Horace. A grade of B enables the student to enroll directly in upper division Latin.

LATIN 40 Intermediate Latin Prose Composition 4 Units

Development of skills in writing Latin prose and sight reading; review of grammar.

LATIN 98 Directed Group Study for Freshmen and Sophomores 1 - 4 Units

LATIN 99 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

LATIN 100 Republican Prose 4 Units

Selected readings in Caesar, Sallust, and Cicero; some review of grammar.

LATIN S100X Republican Prose 4 Units

Selected readings in Caesar, Sallust, and Cicero; some review of grammar.

LATIN 101 Vergil 4 Units

Selected readings from Vergil.

LATIN 102 Lyric and Society 4 Units

Reading in Catullus and Horace, and of short selections from prose literature of their periods.

LATIN 115 Roman Drama 4 Units

Readings in Comedy (Plautus and/or Terence) and Tragedy (Seneca).

LATIN 116 Lucretius, Vergil's <Georgics> 4 Units

Readings in the and the .

LATIN 119 Latin Epic 4 Units

Readings in Latin epic poetry.

LATIN 120 Latin Prose to AD 14 4 Units

Readings in Latin prose authors such as Sallust, Cicero, Caesar, and Livy.

LATIN 121 Tacitus 4 Units

Readings in Tacitus.

LATIN 122 Post-Augustan Prose 4 Units

Readings in Seneca, the younger Pliny, and other prose writers.

LATIN 140 Medieval Latin 4 Units

Introduction to medieval Latin: readings in prose and poetry from Cassiodorus to the Italian Renaissance, with emphasis on certain periods.

LATIN 155A Readings in Medieval Latin 4 Units

Study of texts selected from the early, high, or late medieval periods. Focuses on prose.

LATIN H195 Honors Course in Latin 4 Units

Largely independent study for one semester building on work in a previous upper-division course used in fulfillment of the Latin major; the work will result in the writing of a thesis, to be evaluated by an honors committee of three members. Written thesis due the Monday of the 13th week of the semester in which the course is taken.

LATIN H195A Honors Course in Latin 2 - 4 Units

This is a two-semester Honors course [H195A-B]. The work for the Honors course may either build on work in a previous upper division course used in fulfillment of the Latin major or may be a newly conceived project. The work will result in the writing of a thesis, to be evaluated by an Honors committee of three members. Written thesis due the Monday of the 13th week of the semester in which the course is taken.

LATIN H195B Honors Course in Latin 4 Units

This is a two-semester course [H195A-B]. The work for the Honors course may either build on work in a previous upper division course used in fulfillment of the Latin major or may be a newly conceived project. The work will result in the writing of a thesis, to be evaluated by an Honors committee of three members. Written thesis due the Monday of the 13th week of the semester in which the course is taken.

LATIN 198 Directed Group Study for Advanced Undergraduates 1 - 4 Units

LATIN 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

Faculty

Professors

Anthony W. Bulloch, Professor. Language, classics, Greek literature, myth and religion, ancient metrics, ancient Greek culture and society.
Research Profile

Giovanni R. F. (John) Ferrari, Professor. Classics, ancient philosophy, Greek culture, ancient poetics and rhetoric.
Research Profile

Mark Griffith, Professor. Gender and sexuality, Greek literature and performance, Greek and Roman education, Greek tragedy and comedy, Hesiod and wisdom literature, ancient music.
Research Profile

Leslie V. Kurke, Professor. Classics, Greek literature and culture, archaic Greek poetry, Herodotus.
Research Profile

Francois Lissarrague, Professor.

Donald J. Mastronarde, Professor. Classics, Greek literature, Greek drama, Greek textual transmission, Greek literary papyrology, Greek palaeography.
Research Profile

Ellen Oliensis, Professor. Latin Literature, Ovid.
Research Profile

J. Theodore Pena, Professor. Roman archaeology, Roman and pre-Roman Italy, city of Rome, Pompeii, ancient economy, ceramic analysis, material culture studies.
Research Profile

Associate Professors

Frank Bezner, PhD, Associate Professor. Medieval Latin literature; Medieval literary culture; Neo-Latin; Intellectual history.
Research Profile

Kathleen Mccarthy, Associate Professor. Classics, Roman literature and culture, slavery.
Research Profile

Trevor M. Murphy, Associate Professor. Ethnography, classics, Roman prose authors.
Research Profile

Nikolaos Papazarkadas, Dphil, Associate Professor. Greek epigraphy, Greek history.
Research Profile

Dylan Paul Sailor, Associate Professor. Rhetoric, classics, Greek literature, Latin Literature, ancient Greek, Latin, historiography, ancient Rome, ancient Greece.
Research Profile

Assistant Professors

Sara Magrin, Assistant Professor.

Contact Information

Department of Classics

7233 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-642-4218

Fax: 510-643-2959

Visit Department Website

Department Chair

GRF (John) Ferrari, PhD

7217 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-642-3164

gferarrari@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Student Affairs Officer

Cassandra Dunn

7228 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-642-3672

cassandrajj@berkeley.edu

Graduate Student Affairs Officer

Candace Grosskreutz

7222 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-642-3164

candaceg@berkeley.edu

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