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    IWU Humanities and Greek & Roman Studies (GRS)

    Course Offerings 
    (see Program of Classes for Days/Times) 

    Greek & Roman Studies and Related Courses


    LATIN 101, 102 Beginning Latin I
    Latin 101 is for students with no prior knowledge of Latin. Fundamentals of Latin grammar, supplemented by brief readings from simple Latin texts.  Introduction to Roman culture and society.  Prereq. for 102 is 101. Students with 3 years of HS Latin should take the placement test to determine the correct course. Textbook: Wheelock.
    OFFERED IN CONTINUOUS LOOP Latin 101 offered in Fall 2006, Spring 2008, Fall 2009

    LATIN 201: Intermediate Latin II (LA)
    Introduces students to intermediate Latin prose through the study of three works selected from the genres of oratory, history, and letters.  Authors may include Nepos, Cicero, Sallust, and Pliny the Younger.  Inludes study of the authors' carers and cultural milieu of the works as well as Latin grammar and vocabulary. Prerequisite: Latin 102 or equivalent. Prereq: Latin 102 or placement

    LATIN 399: Independent Study
    Readings from selected Latin authors at the 4th semester level and beyond. Choice of text is made by the student in consultation with the instructor. Offered by request. Prerequisite: Latin  201.

    GREEK 101, 102: Beginning Ancient Greek I
    No previous knowledge required for 101. We will learn the vocabulary, grammar, and syntax needed to read ancient Greek authors in the original language. Textbook: Athenaze, Vols. 1 & 2.
    OFFERED IN CONTINUOUS LOOP. Greek 101 offered in Spring 2006, Fall 2007, Spring 2009

    GREEK 201: Intermediate Ancient Greek II (LA)
    3rd semester continuation of Greek 101-102. Prerequisite: 102. Readings in prose and poetry, including Plato and Xenophon
    OFFERED IN CONTINUOUS LOOP

    GREEK 399: Independent Study
    Readings from selected Greek authors at the 4th semester level and beyond. Choice of text is made by the student in consultation with the instructor. Offered by request. Prerequisite: Greek 201.

    GRS 277:  Classical Literature in Translation
    Topic course. Content may include Greek & Roman tragedy, comedy, epic or lyric poetry, or prose, depending on instructor.Check Class Schedule for current Topic. Offered occasionally.  Gen. Ed. in LIT

    GRS 270/HUM 270: Preserving the Past:  Collectors and the Trade in Antiquities (AV) (MAY TERM 2001)

    GRS 210/REL 210: Greek Myth & the Hero (IT)
    In our society, "myth" is often perceived as "storytelling" that has an element of falsehood built into it. For archaic Greek society, like many traditional societies that operate on ancestral principles, myths are the ultimate way of encoding truth values.  In this course we will not only read some of the greatest works of Western literature, but we will begin to understand how the storytelling traditions of Greece establish social order and define what it means to be truly civilized. Our focus will be on divine/human interaction on the level of myth and ritual in Homer, Hesiod, lyric poetry, and Greek tragedy. Course concludes with oral poetry recitations by students.  Offered every Spring

    GRS 311:  Sex and Gender in Ancient Greece & Rome (CHC, W)
    This course examines issues of sex, sexuality, and gender in the ancient societies of Greece and Rome through the study of literature, art, and science. We will investigate the representation of gender cross-culturally over time to learn what we know, and what we canÕt know, about the lives of ancient men and women, their role in culture and society, and their importance in history, religion, politics, and science. OFFERED OCCASIONALLY

    GRS 307: In Search of Troy: The Art & Archaeology of Bronze Age Greece (AR)
    A slide-illustrated examination of the archaeology of Greece in the Bronze Age (c. 3000-1100 BC), focusing on the art, architecture, and other physical evidence of the Minoan and Mycenean cultures of the mainland, cycladic islands, Crete, and Asia Minor (Troy). OFFERED IN ROTATION WITH CLST 309

    GRS 309: Art, Architecture, and the Greek City-State (AR)
    The goal of the couse is to introduce students to the monuments, sculpture, and painting of the so-called "Golden Age" of Classical Greece (c. 480-330 BC) in order that they develop an understanding and appreciation of classical Greek artistic expression, its influences, and its impact on Western art and thought.

    OFFERED IN ROTATION WITH CLST 307

    GRS 270/370: Special Topics in Greek & Roman Studies

    GRS 499: Independent Study
     

    HIST 120 - Ancient Medieval West (CHC)
    A survey of Western Civilization from its origins in the ancient Near East, through Greece and Rome, to the late Middle Ages. Political history is balanced by social, cultural, and intellectual history with an emphasis on those elements which became part of the Western heritage. Offered annually
     

    HIST 212: Greek Civilization (CHC) NEW! See IWU catalog

    HIST  214:  Roman Civilization (CHC) Charts the political,social,and cultural development of the Roman state from the foundation ofthe city to the conversion of the emperor Constantine to Christianity (ca.753 BC-AD 312).Emphasis will be placed on the multiplicity of peoples and cultures that constituted the Roman state,religious experience and change,the evolution ofpolitical institutions,and the variety ofsources necessary for our reconstruction ofthe Roman past,from the literary to the art historical. Offered in alternate years.

    HIST 315 - Pagan & Christian Hist Writing (CHC)
    Cross-listed with Religion 315. Students will read and discuss various forms ofhistorical writing among pagans and Christians in the Roman world from the first century BC to the fifth century AD.During this time historians recounted the past,sometimes according to traditional forms ofhistorical writing,sometimes pioneering ways ofconceptualizing the past completely at odds with the canons ofearlier historical writing.

    HIST 316:  The World ofAlexander the Great (CHC)
    This course sets the life ofAlexander the Great (ruled 336-323 BCE) against the backdrop ofthe politics,society,culture,and religion ofhis times.Special attention is paid to the peoples that Alexander encountered in his march eastward into India and the results ofthis contact on the development ofthe histories and cultures ofboth the east and west. Offered as needed.

    <>HIST 317 - Late Antiquity (CHC)
    A survey of the period from 200 C.E. to 800 C.E. which witnessed the division of the Roman Empire into East and West. Emphasizes how the process of Christianization created new imperial ideologies and political elites while preserving much of he intellectual and cultural heritage of the classical world. Offered every other year.  

    HUM 101: "World of Ideas" The Ancient World (IT)
    Introduction to the great thinkers ofthe ancient world, including sacred and secular poetry and prose; and to ancient art and architecture. Offered annually. The four courses in the "World of Ideas" series are intended to increase students’ awareness of basic human values—intellectual, social, literary, historical, ethical, and artistic—through an examination of the works and movements throughout history that both shaped and were shaped by Western thought. Attention is given to male and female voices that have accepted or rejected values and assumptions oftheir time. The courses move chronologically from antiquity to the present, but each course may be taken independently. Literature, art, film, music, and philosophy are examined in their cultural and historical contexts. Courses combine discussion and lecture and emphasize the development of writing skills and critical and creative thinking. Students are encouraged to enroll in their freshman or sophomore year.
     

    PHIL  280: History of Ancient Philosophy (IT)
    Survey of the development of philosophy from Thales to the early Roman philosophers, with emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Offered every Fall. Prereq:  one prior philosophy course or permission of instructor.

    <>PSCI 315: Classical Political Thought (IT, W)
    This course focuses on the ancient Greek debate over how best to organize political life. Their challenge was to produce agreement on the definition of justice in communities torn by divergent social, economic, and religious values. Readings include works of Thucydides, Aristophanes, Plato, and Aristotle. These thinkers began the "great conversation" in the West about the best form ofthe state. The course concludes with Machiavelli's Discourses, a critique that continues the conversation by transforming it.  OFFERED EVERY 2 YEARS


    REL 220:  The Bible and Ancient Israel  (IT)
    Analyzes literature from the Tanakh/Old Testament and archaeology to explore the complexities ofthe origins and development of ancient Israel’s religious ideologies,and to examine the process by which its sacred texts were written to represent an idealized past and to shape its future. Offered in alternate years.

    REL 221: The World of Jesus (CHC)
    Studies Judaism from the exile by the Babylonians to the Jewish War. Focuses on the Jewish reaction to three historical events: the destruction of Solomon's Temple, the desecration of the Second Temple by the Greeks, and its destruction by the Romans. Reconstructs the religious and political climates which resulted from these historical struggles and which provided the ground for the beginning of Christianity. Offered in alternate years.

    REL 223: New Testament/Christian Origin (CHC)
     Examines the growth of Christianity from its origins as a Jewish group to a religion in the second century, which distinguished itself from Judaism. The focus will be on the emergence of three Christian groups by the middle of the second century: the Jewish Christians, the Pauline Christians, and the Johannine Christians. Offered in alternate years.

    REL 294:    Jesus and the Gospels (IT) 
    Explores the various portraits ofJesus in the gospel literature ofthe New Testament and the extracanonical traditions.By approaching the literature from a historical-literary perspective,we will reconstruct each gospel’s interpretation ofJesus and,finally,the “historical”Jesus himself.Offered in alternate years.

    323:  Christian Controversies and Creeds (IT)
    Traces the development and meaning ofthe major doctrinal traditions which gained authoritative status within the ancient Church from the bible to the Council ofChalcedon.We will understand these traditions to be the result ofdialogue,contention,and controversy between various groups ofChristians.Offered in alternate years.

    REL 325 - The Gnostic Gospels (IT, W)
     Examines the second century's great debate between the Gnostic Christians and their opponents, the Christians, who later became known as the "orthodox." The conflict concerned ideas about "correct" interpretations of the nature of Jesus and his relation- ship to God and the world. Offered in alternate years.

    REL 326 - Archeology and the Bible (CHC)
    Studies the connections between biblical literature and the material remains of the ancient world through travel to the Near East or through slides and museum visits when course is offered on-campus. Offered occasionally, May Term.