Link to University Bulletin.

Link to Course Syllabi.

A Partial List of recently Taught Courses in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies

Note:  The Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies is capable of offering independent studies and/or course in many other topics related to Classical and Near Eastern Studies.   Students interested in a course not listed here are encouraged to contact an appropriate professor or the department for further information.

Arabic     Classics     Egyptian     Greek     Latin

Arabic

ELEMENTARY ARABIC I

Begins the process of training the student to read, and to respond orally to, simple Modern Standard Arabic, the form of Arabic taught in the Arabic-speaking world from Morocco to the Arab Gulf, and the language of polite conversation, formal speeches, lectures and media broadcasts, and the press, including newspapers, short stories, and novels. Writing in Arabic is also taught and drilled, but only to the extent that it allows students to reinforce reading and speaking Arabic. Through the memorization of "Basic Texts," and drilling on sounds, structures, and vocabulary, the student develops the listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills that provide the proper foundation for going on to more extensive study of Standard Arabic. The course is also invaluable for the study of spoken dialectal Arabic (e.g., Egyptian). Open to majors and non majors.

EGYPTIAN COLLOQUIAL ARABIC I

Provides comprehensive elementary training in the spoken Arabic of Cairo, a dialect widely used throughout Egypt for normal conversational purposes, and almost universally understood in surrounding Arabic speaking countries. A systematic explanation of the grammar, an introduction to the vocabulary, and ample opportunities for listening and speaking. Assigned textbook uses an English based transliteration; Arabic script is not introduced. Open to majors and nonmajors.

INTERMEDIATE ARABIC

A continuation of ARAB 101 and 102, and building upon it with respect to grammar, vocabulary, nature of materials to be read, and format of textbook. The aim of the course is to develop in the students the ability to read and comprehend higher levels of Modern Standard Arabic in a variety of fields and genres, and to develop listening comprehension of Modern Standard Arabic as it is spoken on the radio and at formal or polite occasions. Also stressed are the ability to converse and discuss and to write simple but correct, serviceable prose. Open to majors and nonmajors.

ELEMENTARY MOROCCAN ARABIC 

The main goal of this course in Elementary Moroccan Arabic is to enable the students to achieve basic and necessary conversational skills of everyday interaction in the variety of Arabic used in large Moroccan, as well as Algerian, urban centers. This course is also designed to introduce students into one of the multiple facets of the Arabic language as well as help them understand the relationship between colloquial Arabic used in everyday life and Modern Standard Arabic used in education, the arts and media. The course will be situation-oriented. Open to majors and nonmajors.

MODERN ARABIC LITERATURE

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  Readings and discussions of modern Arabic literature from various perspectives, with focus on development of a particular genre or on work of a specific writer or group of writers. Readings will include selections from works of better known 19th and 20th century authors. Open to majors and non majors.

FRAMING OTHER CULTURES:  EURO-AMERICAN (MIS)REPRESENTATIONS OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA IN FILMS AND TELEVISION

More and more our images of others and Otherness are inescapably shaped by motion pictures, whether in the form of the big-budget studio-produced films intended for docudramas, travelogues, and anthropological, historical, political, and religious documentaries. Through the viewing and "reading" of representative television, movie-house, or even "independent" privately-produced anthropological films, accompanied by the study of a short list of related readings in the fields of literature, cultural history, film studies, or cultural anthropology, this discussion course will debate the extent to which stereotypes and misrepresentations permeate the motion picture images we in the "West" receive of the Middle East and North Africa, especially when Arabic-speaking societies (Christian and Muslim) and the world of Islam are involved. Commercial films to be viewed might include, for example, CASABLANCA, EXODUS, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, KHARTOUM, and THE SHELTERING SKY. TV documentaries or independent anthropological films to be viewed could include the recent special on Arab Jerusalem by ABC Television, MOROCCO:  BODY AND SOUL by Icarus Films, and MOROCCO:  THE PAST AND PRESENT OF DJEMMA EL FNA by Filmmakers Library. Discussions will be driven especially by selected passages from Edward Said's COVERING ISLAM AND ORIENTALISM, John Maier's DESERT SONGS, Deborah Root's CANNIBAL CULTURE, and Jack Shaheen's THE TV ARAB.

STUDIES IN ARABIC:  MODERN ARABIC LITERATURE IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION 

Continues the survey of influential authors and works from the Arabic speaking world, in English translation. Intended as a broad introduction to major trends and developments. Attention also given to the social, religious, intellectual, and political context out of which various thematic concerns and literary movements have arisen. Focus will be on the late 20th century. Open to undergraduates (majors and nonmajors), as well as graduates.

STUDIES IN ARABIC:  PRACTICAL CONVERSATION ARAB SOCIETY & CULTURE 

Develops listening and conversation skills in polite conversational Arabic (i.e., Modern Standard, but with elevated colloquial speech mixed in from time to time, as is customary). Short, informal discussions and exchanges, directed and supervised by the instructor. Based on a variety of social and cultural contexts and materials, including current events in the Arab world as reported by the print and broadcast media. Stress is on providing more opportunities for aural/oral review in practical Modern Standard Arabic, and allowing students to gain confidence in using the spoken form of the language.

PRACTICUM IN COLLEGE TEACHING 

Independent study by means of participating in the teaching of a particular course in Arabic. Various assignments closely directed by the instructor in the course, including development of syllabi and other materials; construction and reading of examinations; lecturing and/or discussion leadership; and laboratory supervision. Open to majors and nonmajors.

INDEPENDENT STUDY 

Designed by consultation between instructor and student.

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Classics

SCIENTIFIC & MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

Analysis of English words, mostly related to medical sciences, of Greek and/or Latin origin. Principles for determining basic elements of such words. How meaning of elements or bases are affected, modified, or changed by addition of prefixes, suffixes, other formative elements which alter meanings of bases to form new concepts. Vocabulary investigated chiefly from technical language of life sciences, primarily medicine. Open to majors and nonmajors.

CLAS 111 WORD ORIGINS

The course explains the influence of other languages (which the students are not expected to know) upon both the general and the technical English vocabulary, the bulk of which came from Latin and Greek, either directly or through French. Most people find it hard to master the meaning (as well as the spelling) of such words. This course teaches how to recognize and understand the components of each word, and so to relate it to many words of similar formation. Open to majors and nonmajors.

CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY

Classical myth in ancient literature and art. Myth as theology, cosmology, explanation of psychological and social phenomena. Correlations between history and mythology. Modern schools of myth interpretation. Course open to all and appropriate for freshmen.

CLAS 214 GREEK DRAMA

Development of the Greek concept of tragedy from the origins through the highest form of development in Aeschylus. Sophocles and Euripides. Followed by a study of Greek social, political and literary satire in the comedies of Aristophanes. Open to majors and non-majors. No prerequisites.

CLAS 382A ANCIENT SEXUALITY AND GENDER

Students in this course explore the striking differences between ancients and moderns in the matter of sexuality and gender. The focus is on evidence that both elucidates how the ancient Greeks and Romans viewed sexual and gender identity, and illustrates the cultural values lying behind those constructs. Students read texts (poetry, comedy, oratory, philosophy, and medical writings) and view art (vase paintings, etc.) for this course. Open to majors and non-majors. No prerequisites.

CLAS 404 THE ANCIENT HISTORIANS 

An intensive examination of the conceptions of history, historical methods, and historical writing in the ancient world. We begin with the civilizations of the ancient Near East (including the Israelites) and Egypt, but devote most of our time to Greek and Roman writers. Topics:  how these writers thought about the past, what materials they used and how they selected them, underlying values and preconceptions, rhetorical and analytical techniques, the audiences for whom they wrote, and their purposes in writing history. Historians other than those covered in the readings will be introduced.

PRACTICUM IN COLLEGE TEACHING  

Independent study by means of teaching in a particular course in Classical and Near Eastern Studies Department. Various assignments closely directed by instructor in that course, including development of syllabi and other course materials; construction and reading of exams; lecturing and/or discussion leadership; laboratory supervision; academic counseling of students. Open to majors and nonmajors.

CLAS 397 INDEPENDENT STUDY  

Designed by consultation between instructor and student.

Egyptian 

EGYN 201-202  MIDDLE EGYPTIAN I 

A two-semester sequence aimed at the acquisition of reading knowledge of Middle Egyptian, classical stage of the ancient Egyptian language, and familiarity with hieroglyphic script. Course concentrates on grammar and syntax of Middle Egyptian; in addition to exercises, student will be gradually introduced to the translation of authentic Egyptian historical, literary and religious texts. Students will also learn to write in hieroglyphics. Open to all students.

Greek

GRK 101-102 (01) ELEMENTARY GREEK I 

Elementary grammar and vocabulary. Reading of simple texts, including actual quotations from ancient authors. Translation from Greek into English and from English into Greek. Open to majors and nonmajors. Section 01 focuses on reading comprehension, while section 02 includes a writing component.

GRK 203-204 INTERMEDIATE GREEK

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  Readings from Greek authors, selected by the professor in consultation with the students. Grammar reviewed as much as necessary. Open to majors and nonmajors. Section 01 focuses on reading comprehension, while section 02 includes a writing component.

GRK 203-204 (02) INTERMEDIATE GREEK 

Readings from Greek authors, selected by the professor in consultation with the students. Grammar reviewed as much as necessary. Open to majors and nonmajors. Section 01 focuses on reading comprehension, while section 02 includes a writing component.

STUDIES IN GREEK LITERATURE

Readings from Greek author(s). Coursecontent variable according to the needs of the students and the instructor's discretion. Open to majors and nonmajors. Section 01 focuses on reading comprehension, while section 02 includes a writing component.

READINGS IN GREEK LITERATURE 

GRK 397 INDEPENDENT STUDY 

Designed by consultation between instructor and student.

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Latin

ELEMENTARY LATIN I                                              

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  First semester of essential grammar and basic vocabulary for reading classical (and any other) Latin texts. The first volume of the assigned textbook is expected to be finished in the semester, giving the student the foundation of a Latin reading ability. Open to majors and nonmajors. Section 01 focuses on reading comprehension, while section 02 includes a writing component.

INTERMEDIATE LATIN 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  Introduction to Latin literature. Selected readings from several Latin authors, prose and poetry. Open to majors and nonmajors. Section 01 focuses on reading comprehension, while section 02 includes a writing component.

READINGS IN LATIN LITERATURE 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  Readings from Latin authors, both prose and poetry, selected by the professor in consultation with the students. Open to majors and nonmajors. Section 01 focuses on reading comprehension, while section 02 includes a writing component.

LAT 321/LAT 521 EARLY MEDIEVAL LATIN LITERATURE

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  This is a survey of the most significant trends, genres, themes, and authors in Latin from the Vulgate Bible of Jerome to the Renaissance of the Twelfth Century, not restricted to literature in the narrow sense but extended to all writings that had a serious purpose and a notable public. The course provides a chronological history of the literature of the period and sketches of the lives and works of the most important authors; the students prepare and present readings from a dozen authors in the original Latin.

LAT 381A STUDIES IN LATIN LITERATURE

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  Readings from Latin author(s). Course content variable according to the needs of the students and the instructor's discretion. Open to majors and nonmajors. Section 01 focuses on reading comprehension, while section 02 includes a writng component.

LAT 397 INDEPENDENT STUDY 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  Designed by consultation between instructor and student.

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This page was last updated August 21, 2006