The Classical World
NEW! Last Updated: 11/20/2009
Spring quarter
Faculty: Stephen Beck philosophy, Tom Rainey history
Major areas of study include history, philosophy, literature, and classics.
Class Standing: Sophomores or above; transfer students welcome.
CRN: 30253 (8 cr), 30254 (12 cr)
Note: The 8-credit portion of this program will meet from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. Students registering for 12 credits must attend an additional class from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.
This inter-disciplinary, coordinated studies program will explore, in considerable detail, the classical world of ancient Greece and Rome. It will focus on the history, literature, philosophy, and culture of these two vitally connected and overlapping classical civilizations. We will also consider how ancient Greece and Rome created the foundations of Western civilization. Our readings may include texts by Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Aeschylus, Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Seneca, Suetonious, Tacitus, Plutarch, Cicero and Aurelius.
Students registering for 12 credits will study additional contemporary philosophical theories of ethics, society and politics. We will take the centrality of virtue in ancient philosophy as our inspiration and study accounts of the nature and role of virtue in leading a good life, both for oneself and one’s society.
Credits: 8 or 12 per quarter
Enrollment: 50
Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in history, philosophy, literature, classics, and education.
Planning Units: Culture, Text and Language, 8-12 Credit Programs