Classics (CLAS)

CLAS 400 - Exploring and Experiencing the Ancient World and its Legacy

Credits: 2

Covers aspects of the ancient world and its subsequent importance not found in the rest of the Classics curriculum or dealt with only briefly. Topics are chosen to be timely by connecting antiquity to current events, including pop culture, or to be enduring but under-appreciated. Emphasis on active and engaged learning and, where possible, experiential activities. May be repeated on different topics. Does not satisfy major requirements.

Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 16 credits.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 401 - Classical Mythology

Credits: 4

Survey of myths and sagas of ancient Greece and Rome. No classical preparation necessary. Background course for majors in English, the arts, music, history, modern languages, classics.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc)

Equivalent(s): CLAS 401H

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 403 - Introduction to Greek Civilization

Credits: 4

A broad historical exploration of Greek civilization. Topics include: architecture, art, law, literature, philosophy, poetry, politics, religion, society, warfare, and the Greeks’ legacy to the modern world. Open to all students. No prior knowledge of the ancient world assumed; all readings are in English. Ideal background for students of English, philosophy, history, Latin, Greek, the arts, music, modern languages.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc)

Equivalent(s): CLAS 405, HIST 403

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 404 - Introduction to Roman Civilization

Credits: 4

A broad historical exploration of Roman civilization. Topics include: architecture, art, law, literature, philosophy, poetry, politics, religion, society, warfare, and the Romans’ legacy to the modern world. Open to all students. No prior knowledge of the ancient world assumed; all readings are in English. Ideal background for students of English, philosophy, history, Latin, Greek, the arts, music, modern languages.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc)

Equivalent(s): CLAS 406, HIST 404

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 444 - Individual and Society in the Ancient World

Credits: 4

This class examines one of the major issues faced by people throughout history, whether and under what circumstances an individual should act against the wishes of society. The great philosophical and historical works of the ancient world shed light not only on how the Greeks and Romans approached the idea of personal responsibility but also on the assumptions we today make about human nature and the relationships on which society depends. No prior knowledge of the ancient world required. All readings are in English.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 444D - Athens, Rome, and the Birth of the United States

Credits: 4

What did Washington, Jefferson, Adams (John and Abigail), Madison and Paine have in common? They were all instrumental in shaping the US political system, but they were also educated in the classics. When building the framework of our democratic republic, they continually looked to Athens and Rome as models, inspirations and warnings. The course examines ancient political systems and how they helped fashion our founder's notion of the ideal government and continue to do so.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 501 - Introduction to Mediterranean Archaeology

Credits: 4

Survey of representative archaeological sites, architecture, and objects produced by the cultures surrounding the Ancient Mediterranean. The course will focus on the structure, form, and symbolic content, or sanctuaries, cities, tombs, housing, as well as material culture such as pottery and sculpture. In addition to the overarching narrative of the history of classical archaeology, further topics include cross-cultural influences, materials and building technologies, archaeological theory and practice, and aesthetic principles.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery)

Equivalent(s): ARTH 501

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 502 - Ancient Pompeii and the Bay of Naples

Credits: 4

This course analyzes the cultural development of Pompeii and adjacent sites buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. The aim is to understand the architectural layout and material culture of the cities, their development over time, as well as understand how social norms, politics and cultural influences shaped the appearance and the built environment in the seven hundred years that Pompeii existed prior to its destruction. Through the lens of the surviving art, architecture, and material culture students will learn about everyday life in ancient Pompeii and how different social classes interacted in the city.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery)

Equivalent(s): ARTH 502

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

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CLAS 510 - Building Rome

Credits: 4

An introduction to the buildings and structures for which the Romans remain famous, such as the Pantheon, the Colosseum, and the aqueducts that allowed Rome to become a metropolis. A major focus is the connection between the changes in Roman society and the development of Roman architecture. Looks at both Rome and other important cities in the Roman Empire. All readings are in English. No prior knowledge of the ancient world required.

Co-requisite: INCO 589

Attributes: FinePerformingArts(Discovery)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

Special Fee: Yes

CLAS 511 - Special Studies in Greek History

Credits: 4

The course uses historical and literary sources in conjunction with the city of Athens itself and its archaeological remains to explore the history of a particular theme, cultural practice or institution in ancient Greek civilization. The topics changes with different instructors but always takes a fundamentally historical orientation to the material and the city, even if interdisciplinary approaches are incorporated into the coursework. CLAS 511 is offered only as part of a study abroad program.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 520A - Classical Society, Politics and Ethics: Democracies and Republics

Credits: 4

We frequently use the terms "democracy" and "republic" to describe our own political system, but where did these words and ideas originally come from? This course examines the historical development of the original democracies in Greece (primarily Athens) and the Roman Republic, as well as the particular institutions and practices that were associated with each. Course will also cover the development of democratic and republican institutions in the modern world.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 520B - Classical Society, Politics and Ethics: Happiness and Ancient Views of the Good Life

Credits: 4

How did the Greeks and Romans define happiness and was happiness considered an essential component of the "good life"? How do ancient concepts of the "good life" influence later views of human flourishing and how do specific historical circumstances alter utopian visions of a life well lived? This course traces the concept of the "good life" from ancient Greece to today and challenges students to create their own vision of a "good life".

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 520C - Classical Society, Politics and Ethics: Sports, Spectacle and Competition

Credits: 4

This course treats the details of athletic training and competition, but its primary focus is on investigating the importance of athletics to society and how athletics reflected the broader cultural values of the Greeks and Romans. Open to all students. All readings in English.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 520D - Classical Society, Politics and Ethics: Greek and Roman Religion

Credits: 4

This course traces the historical development of ancient Greek and Roman religion from its antecedents in Near Eastern, Minoan, and Mycenaean culture to the rise of Christianity in Rome's early imperial period. This course also introduces students to the methods and materials of historians of religion. Topics covered in this course include: changing conceptions of divinity, animal sacrifice, sanctuaries, festivals, death and the afterlife, divination, magic, and mystery cults.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc)

Equivalent(s): CLAS 520

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS #525 - Greek and Latin Origins of Medical Terms

Credits: 4

Study of medical terminology. Exercises in etymology and the development of vocabulary in a context at once scientific, historical, and cultural. No knowledge of Greek or Latin is required. Useful to premedical, pre-dental, pre-veterinary, nursing, medical technology, and other students in the biological and physical sciences. Open to all students.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 530A - Classical Literary Performance Genres: War and Adventure in Ancient Epic

Credits: 4

Storytelling has long been one of the primary means to preserve and transmit cultural ideas and traditions. In this course students read and analyze the earliest epic tales from the Greek and Roman period with a view toward understanding the roots and nature of epic, the myths it told, and the influence it has had on subsequent literature. No credit earned if credit received for CLAS 444B.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): CLAS 444B

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 530B - Classical Literary and Performance Genres: Tragedy and Comedy on the Ancient Stage

Credits: 4

Investigations into the dramatic works of the Greek and Romans, the power of performance, and the cultural importance of stage productions. Readings include the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and the comedies of Aristophanes, Menander, and Plautus. Ideal background for students of all theatrical and performance traditions. Open to all students. All readings in English.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc)

Equivalent(s): CLAS 530

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 540A - Environment, Technology and Ancient Society: Sustaining Ancient Rome Ecology and Empire

Credits: 4

This course examines the interplay between the ancient Roman environment, Roman technological innovations, and the values of Roman imperial society. Examining Roman innovations in water supply, building technology, mining, and more, this course explores the ethical questions that arise through the use of ancient Roman technology, evaluates the effects of these technologies on the environment and Roman society, and determines whether Roman values encouraged or discouraged a responsible approach to technology and the environment.

Attributes: Environment,TechSociety(Disc)

Equivalent(s): CLAS 515

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 540B - Environment, Technology and Ancient Society: Roman Houses, Domestic Space and Public Life

Credits: 4

The Romans used the house as a communication technology for defining and expressing their identities in society and in the natural world. In this course, we examine literary and visual sources for Roman houses, apartments, villas, and palaces, and we compare and contrast the role of the house in the ancient world and in American society. We pay special attention to how domestic space shapes and is shaped by environment, politics, and culture.

Attributes: Environment,TechSociety(Disc)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 540C - Environment, Technology and Ancient Society: Tech, Tools and Engineering in the Ancient World

Credits: 4

This course examines positive and negative impacts of ancient technological advances: engineering (fire, metallurgy), writing technology (scripts, including the alphabet, the emergence of papyrus and vellum), military technology (shipbuilding, defensive and offensive technologies, and navigation), artistic (invention of dyes, lost-wax methods of bronze casting), infrastructure (roads, bridges, and aqueducts), and monumentality (Stonehenge, Greek temples, and the Roman Colosseum). Focus on the ways in which societal and environmental factors influenced technological development and vice versa.

Attributes: Environment,TechSociety(Disc)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 550A - Identities and Difference in the Ancient World: Greek and Roman Women

Credits: 4

The impact of women on society in Greece and Rome throughout Antiquity. The role of women in public, religious, and private life as well as their legal status through law codes. Men's views of women in different literary texts. Especially concentrating on the few existing texts written by women. All readings are in English.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc); Writing Intensive Course

Equivalent(s): CLAS 550

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 550B - Identities and Difference in the Ancient World: Slaves and Masters

Credits: 4

Students explore the different ways slavery developed in the Greek and Roman worlds with an emphasis on the connections to other historical developments such as the practice of warfare, changes in political systems, and ancient views about human rights. To better understand the development of Greek and Roman slavery, we look at how the ancient systems compare to slavery in the American South and modern human trafficking.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 550C - Identities and Difference in the Ancient World: Sex and Desire in Greece and Rome

Credits: 4

This course provides an introduction to ancient Greek and Roman conceptions of desire and sexuality, to how these conceptions developed and changed over time, and how they differ from modern ways of understanding sex, desire, and sexuality. Topics discussed include "romantic" love, attitudes towards homosexual practices, man-boy love, lesbianism, ancient views of "cross-dressing," and attitudes towards prostitution, among others.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 551 - Race, Ethnicity, Class & Classics

Credits: 4

Examines race, ethnicity, and class, and the ways in which they intersect with the study of the ancient world. The approach will use critical lenses alert to the impact of power imbalances both on how we view these subjects in the ancient world and how the ancients have been used to create and reinforce hierarchies in the modern world. The exact focus will vary by semester (students may repeat once if on a different topic).

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery)

Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 575 - Ancient Near East

Credits: 4

From the Neolithic revolution to the time of Alexander the Great. Rise of civilization; nature of human artistic and intellectual development in the earliest civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt; Judaism in its historical setting. Course meets the History major requirements for Group III.

Equivalent(s): HIST 575

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 601 - Classical Myth II: The Power and Persistence of Myth

Credits: 4

An in-depth look at the myths of the Greeks and Romans, at the power of myth as a cultural force, and at the importance of myth both in the ancient period as well as the modern era. The focal point is on the myths of the Greeks and Romans, but the myths of other cultures are addressed. All readings are in English.

Attributes: Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 675 - History of Ancient Greece

Credits: 4

Discover the exciting, turbulent, and innovative world of the Greeks through their history, from the emergence of small cities in the archaic period to the empire of Alexander the Great. Special focus will be on the political, economic and social developments in the rise of the polis (city), the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars, the rise of Macedon and Alexander the Great’s conquests. CLAS 403/HIST 403 is encouraged but not necessary.

Equivalent(s): HIST 675

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 676 - Topics in Ancient Greek History

Credits: 4

Advanced historical study of a particular period or theme in ancient Greek history. May be repeated barring duplication of subject.

Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.

Equivalent(s): HIST 676

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 677 - History of Ancient Rome

Credits: 4

Discover the fascinating and tumultuous history of the ancient Roman world, from its small beginnings in the early Republic to the high Empire, when Rome controlled the whole Mediterranean basin. Special focus will be on the political and economic conflicts between social classes, the Punic Wars, the fall of the Republic, its transformation into a monarchy, and the golden age of imperial rule. CLAS 404/HIST 404 is encouraged but not necessary.

Equivalent(s): HIST 677

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 678 - Topics in Ancient Roman History

Credits: 4

Advanced historical study of a particular period or theme in ancient Roman history. May be repeated barring duplication of subject.

Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.

Equivalent(s): HIST 678

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 686 - UNH in Greece Study Abroad

Credits: 0-6

Study abroad in Greece. Interested students should consult a Classics advisor. Students should be advised they must meet program and university requirements for study abroad. (IA grade will be assigned until official transcript is received from the foreign institution.)

Co-requisite: CLAS 511, INCO 589

Grade Mode: Credit/Fail Grading

Special Fee: Yes

CLAS 694 - Supervised Practicum

Credits: 2 or 4

Participants earn credit for suitable pre-professional activities, including high school outreach, assisting in undergraduate courses and work with professional organizations, museum work. Enrollment limited to juniors and seniors who are Classics, Latin, or Greek majors or minors and have above-average G.P.A.s. Writing assignments are required. Course does not count toward Classics, Latin, or Greek major or minor requirements.

Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.

Grade Mode: Credit/Fail Grading

CLAS 695 - Special Studies

Credits: 2 or 4

Advanced work in classics. Research paper. Not open to freshmen and sophomores.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

CLAS 696 - Special Studies

Credits: 2 or 4

Advanced work in classics. Research paper. Not open to freshmen and sophomores.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading