Classics

Alexander the Great in Manuscript Arts from the Medieval to the Early Modern Periods

mlillywhite@middlebury.edu — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 14:52:30 +0000

Alexander the Great in Manuscript Arts from the Medieval to the Early Modern Periods HARC 0701 mlillywhite@mi… Mon, 07/15/2024 - 10:52 Tutorials Classics History History of Art & Architecture Autumn 2025 Spring 2025 Spring 2026

This tutorial course is going to dwell on a single figure—Alexander the Great, or Iskandar Maqdūnī (the Macedonian) as he is known in Persian—in select manuscripts produced across Central Asia and Central Europe in the medieval (1000-1500) and early-modern (1450-1750) periods. Alexander was significant in different ways to different dynasties administering different regions and in different eras. Different versions of his biography had different appeal, and at different times. By associating themselves with the hero, different rulers emphasized different facets of Alexander in their patronage of manuscripts.

In addition to being a part of popular culture and common knowledge for millennia, Alexander’s recounted exploits have particularly resonated with royals and nobles sitting in English through Indonesian courts. The course highlights a few select illustrated texts—produced between the 13th through 16th centuries—in Greek, French, Latin, Armenian, Turkish, Arabic, Turkish, and Persian. It is essential to consider each text within its own tradition, but placing them together also allows for a broader geographic and chronological scope that can also produce interesting comparisons of cross-cultural and trans-imperial significance.

Sessions will explore the interplay of a narrative’s ancient (often imagined) past taking place in the Greek Empire (ca. 4th century BCE), with the accreted layers of time periods in which the illustrated text is produced, read, or seen. Dwelling on Alexander’s reception in various courts and dynasties professing Christian and Islamic confessions (Franco-Flemish, Italian, Byzantine, Mongol, Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Abu’l-Khairid [Uzbek]), the course challenges the binaries of east and west, Christianity and Islam, through the universal appeal of the famous world conqueror. It will be of interest to students of literature, art history, religious history, culture and translation studies, medieval and early modern cultures, European and West/Central/South Asian history.

Sample Topics

Alexander as interpreted in the oldest texts and contexts: Greek, Syriac, Latin language sources, Biblical and Qur’anic versions.
New Persian and Old French—European Medieval traditions (13th-14th centuries) and early Persian literary versions (in the Shahnama, ca. 1010)
Alexander in the Byzantine and Mongol realms (13th-14th centuries.
Alexander in the Islamicate (Ottoman, Iranian, and Central Asian) realm (15th century), Turkish and Persian versions.
Alexander in the Islamicate (Ottoman, Iranian, and Central Asian) realm (16th century), Turkish and Persian versions.
Why Alexander? The appeal of superheroes.
Trip to the Weston Library to view manuscripts ((European and Turco-Persianate copies of the Alexander Romance).
Trip to British Library in London to view Old French Alexander manuscripts owned by Henry VIII, and Persian manuscript versions.

Classical Political Thought

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:20:53 +0000

Classical Political Thought PSCI 0020 / CLAS 0020 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/13/2020 - 16:20 Tutorials Classics History Philosophy Political Science Autumn 2022 Autumn 2023 Autumn 2024 Autumn 2025 Spring 2023 Spring 2024 Spring 2025 Spring 2026

This course covers the political thought of the ancient world, from Classical Athens to the Roman Empire. This period saw the formulation of fundamental elements in political thought: the state, justice, citizenship, notions of democracy, aristocracy and monarchy, and the concept of politics in itself. At the end of the period, Augustine of Hippo integrated elements of classical political thought into his Christian theology. Key thinkers are explored with reference to their historical and intellectual context.

Sample topics

Plato, The Republic

Plato, The Laws

Aristotle, Politics

Epicurean political thought

Cicero’s political thought (On Duties and other texts)

Seneca’s political thought

Augustine, The City of God

Classical Philosophy

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:20:53 +0000

Classical Philosophy PHIL 0010 / CLAS 0010 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/13/2020 - 16:20 Tutorials Classics Philosophy Autumn 2022 Autumn 2023 Autumn 2024 Autumn 2025 Spring 2023 Spring 2024 Spring 2025 Spring 2026

This course charts the development of classical western philosophy from the Athenians to Augustine of Hippo, exploring the principal writers in their intellectual and historical context. At the core of this course is reading key works in translation. The cornerstones of the western intellectual tradition are scrutinised in terms of the specific questions they address, and read as part of a continuing narrative in philosophical culture.

Sample Topics:

Plato, Republic, Symposium
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics
Plotinus, Enneads
Proclus, Elements of Theology
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Lucretius, De rerum natura
Augustine, Confessions, City of God

Classical Art and Architecture

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:20:53 +0000

Classical Art and Architecture HARC 0050 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/13/2020 - 16:20 Tutorials Classics History of Art & Architecture Autumn 2022 Autumn 2023 Autumn 2024 Autumn 2025 Spring 2023 Spring 2024 Spring 2025 Spring 2026

One of the most enduring legacies of the Classical Age was the contribution to art and architecture made by the Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman worlds. This course brings together the full range of visual and material culture that survives from these periods to examine an array of themes, set against the wider historical and archaeological context of continuity and change in the Mediterranean basin and beyond.

In these tutorials a range of artistic media may be studied, including statuary, relief sculpture, funerary monuments, mosaics, wall paintings, painted vases, jewellery, gems, coinage, and buildings. The uses of image, expressions of identity and power, and cultural influence and change are just a few of the themes which will be explored through an examination of the styles and traditions seen to have developed in the use of these materials.

In particular, buildings are some of the most impressive and best preserved ‘artefacts’ from the ancient world, and whose design was highly symbolic of the society within which they were built. From palaces, temples, and public buildings such as stoas, fora, basilicas, and bathhouses, to domestic buildings, the technology, materials, styles, ornament, and functions of Classical architecture provide substantial insight into ancient daily life, class structures, identity, and the culture of display.

The Ashmolean Museum (in central Oxford, five minutes’ walk from St Michael’s Hall) has a world-class array of artefacts which can be seen first-hand and might be brought into tutorial discussions, including in particular their collection of painted vases, and also the contents of the Cast Gallery, which houses plaster copies of many important sculptural monuments from the period.

The Making of Europe

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:20:53 +0000

The Making of Europe CLAS / ENAM / HIST / GSFS / HARC / LITS / MUSC / PHIL / PSCI / RELI 2499 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/13/2020 - 16:20 Research Classics Comparative Literature Economics English & American Literature Film & Media Culture Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies History History of Art & Architecture Literary Studies Philosophy Political Science Religion Theatre Autumn 2022 Autumn 2023 Autumn 2024 Autumn 2025

The autumn semester Research Course occupies the first five weeks of the program. This will allow you to research a topic of your choice from any area of European history or culture in the period up to c.1750. You will identify a text or image, object or building you wish to explore (or a small group: for instance a selection of poems by a given author). You will formulate a question and write a 6,000 word essay. Some classes and field trips will help to get you thinking. Once you have identified the area you wish to work on, you will have weekly one-to-one meetings with an individual supervisor, who will also read and comment on your final draft. This project will help you with your tutorial writing later in our programme. It will also help you develop the research and writing skills needed for senior theses, graduate work, and similar challenges ahead.

There is no obligatory preparatory reading for this course. Anything written in Europe before c.1750 that captures your imagination would be worth looking at. Working with texts in translation is expected: many students work with translations from Latin and other languages. If you do wish to work in a language other than English that is welcome, to, but this will not automatically receive a higher grade. There is no textbook for this course, and you will not be under any obligation to purchase any volumes (although you may wish to do so). The resources of the Bodleian Library, Keble College Library, and the Feneley Library will almost always suffice.

Classics Special Topic

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:20:53 +0000

Classics Special Topic CLAS 0700 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/13/2020 - 16:20 Tutorials Classics Autumn 2022 Autumn 2023 Autumn 2024 Autumn 2025 Spring 2023 Spring 2024 Spring 2025 Spring 2026

It is sometimes possible to arrange teaching in classics beyond the tutorials listed. This provides the opportunity to explore a subject in classics in depth, through one-to-one tutorials and writing weekly essays.

This will usually be of interest to students who have already taken classes in classics, and have a specific interest that they wish to pursue, and/or a specific requirement that they need to fulfil.

Please note that this is subject to agreement by both the programme and the applicant’s home institution. Applicants should contact the Senior Tutor directly to discuss this possibility.

Classical Latin

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:20:53 +0000

Classical Latin CLAS 0300 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/13/2020 - 16:20 Tutorials Classics Latin Autumn 2022 Autumn 2023 Autumn 2024 Autumn 2025 Spring 2023 Spring 2024 Spring 2025 Spring 2026

This course involved the careful study of grammar, syntax and readings from classical Latin literature. It is possible to take this at any language level, including beginner. Students’ level will be assessed as part of the pre-arrival process.

New Testament Greek

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:20:53 +0000

New Testament Greek CLAS 0250 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/13/2020 - 16:20 Tutorials Classics Greek Religion Autumn 2022 Autumn 2023 Autumn 2024 Autumn 2025 Spring 2023 Spring 2024 Spring 2025 Spring 2026

This course covers the grammar, syntax and vocabulary of New Testament Greek. It is possible to take this at any language level, including beginner. Students’ level will be assessed as part of the pre-arrival process.

Ancient Greek

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:20:53 +0000

Ancient Greek CLAS 0200 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/13/2020 - 16:20 Tutorials Classics Greek Autumn 2022 Autumn 2023 Autumn 2024 Autumn 2025 Spring 2023 Spring 2024 Spring 2025 Spring 2026

Ancient Greek is offered at every level, including beginners. It involves the study of grammar, syntax and readings from classical Greek literature. The precise nature of the tutorial will depend on the skills and needs of each individual student.

Classical Religion

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 20:20:53 +0000

Classical Religion CLAS 0100 / RELI 0100 Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/13/2020 - 16:20 Tutorials Classics Religion Autumn 2022 Autumn 2023 Autumn 2024 Autumn 2025 Spring 2023 Spring 2024 Spring 2025 Spring 2026

This course explores the religions of the ancient Greeks and Romans. It considers religious myths, beliefs and practices in the context of the history and cultures of the classical world. Readings include some of the most powerful texts produced in the ancient world, including those by Homer, Virgil and Ovid (in English translation).

Sample Syllabus:

Ancient religion: an overview

The gods in Homer

Greek tragedy and the divine

Lyric poetry and divine inspiration

Philosophers and religion

The Aeneid and Rome’s gods

Ovid: the Metamorphoses and the Fasti