Classics

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Classics is a broadly interdisciplinary field. The curriculum of the Classics Department is designed to transmit knowledge and foster appreciation of the cultures of Greece and Rome in all their complexity — from study of their languages and literatures, myths and historical traditions, art and architecture, science and religion, philosophies and political thought — and aims as well to encourage reflection on the ways in which later ages have responded to the classical heritage.

The undergraduate classics major gives students an understanding of the cultures, languages and literatures of ancient Greece, Rome and the Mediterranean world. Most courses focus on ancient Greece and Rome, but students in the department also study the interactions among various ancient cultures, from the prehistoric Near East to the late antique Mediterranean, and the impact of classical cultures on later societies. Students choose one of three tracks in the major: Classical Languages and Literatures, Classical Humanities, and Ancient Civilizations. The department also offers four minors in areas of the discipline: Classics, Classical Greek, Latin and Classical Perspectives.

The graduate program in classics at USC aims to train students to become scholars, teachers and interpreters of ancient Mediterranean civilizations, of the Greek and Latin languages and literatures, and of the traditions that have developed from them. In order to prepare students to work in a variety of intellectual contexts, the department seeks to provide both a traditional, substantive training in classical philology and the intellectual flexibility that will enable them to make the world of the past available to audiences of the present.

USC is a member of the American Academy in Rome, the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome, the College Year in Athens program, and the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. In addition to pursuing study-abroad opportunities in Italy or Greece, Classics students also encouraged to explore courses in allied fields such as ancient philosophy, history, comparative literature, religion, art history and archaeology.

PED 130
(213) 740-3676
FAX: (213) 740-7360
Email: classics@dornsife.usc.edu
dornsife.usc.edu/clas

Chair: Ann Marie Yasin, PhD

Faculty

Professors: Anthony J. Boyle, MA; Vincent Farenga, PhD*; Susan Lape, PhD

Associate Professors: Christelle Fischer-Bovet, PhD; Stefano Rebaggiani, PhD; Daniel Richter, PhD*; Alexandre Roberts, PhD; Ann Marie Yasin, PhD (Art History)

Assistant Professors: Afroditi Angelopoulou, PhD; Brandon Bourgeois, PhD; Frederic Clark, PhD

Associate Professor (Teaching): Lucas Herchenroeder, PhD

Adjunct Professor: Claudia Moatti, PhD (Classics and Law)

Emeritus: Jane Cody, PhD; William G. Thalmann, PhD*

*Recipient of university-wide or college teaching award.

Departmental Honors in Classics

Departmental honors in classics will be awarded to students in all tracks of the classics major for work of exceptional academic merit in completing requirements for the capstone project. Candidates for honors will be nominated by the instructor of CLAS 410 and confirmed in a review of all nominees by the Undergraduate Studies Committee. Students in CLAS 410  who wish to be considered for departmental honors must submit their completed capstone projects to the course instructor by the end of the thirteenth week of the semester. Awardees will be announced by the end of the final week of classes.

Academic Distinction in Study of the Classical Languages

Special distinction will be awarded for students demonstrating exceptional proficiency in knowledge of the classical languages. The Classics Department Awards for Distinction in the Study of Greek and Latin will be given to students who pass sight translation exams in the languages. The exams will set by the Undergraduate Studies Committee and offered each year at the end of the spring semester. Passages for translation on the exam will be drawn from authors and works studied in 300-level courses in Latin and Greek taught in the department during the the most recent six semesters inclusive. The use of a dictionary is permitted for the exam.

Students Anticipating Graduate Study in Classics

Students interested in attending graduate school in classics are advised to take as many courses in Greek and/or Latin as possible.

Graduate Degrees

The graduate program in classics at USC aims to train students to become scholars, teachers and interpreters of ancient Mediterranean civilizations and their interactions with the Near East, of the Greek and Latin languages and literatures, and of the traditions that have developed from them. In order to prepare students to work in a variety of intellectual contexts, the department seeks to provide both a traditional substantive training in classical philology and the intellectual flexibility that will enable them to make the accomplishments of the past available to audiences of the present.

The department offers the PhD in Classics (Greek and Latin) and the MA in Classics. Collateral offerings are available in related departments, such as comparative literature, history, philosophy, art history, English and anthropology.

The graduate program offers mastery of traditional philological and linguistic skills as a basis for the study of ancient cultures, with emphasis on literature, other discursive practices and material culture. Students are encouraged to explore interdisciplinary approaches to classical studies and the relations between classics and other fields. Courses in related departments are recommended and degree requirements permit students to develop individual interests.

Admission Requirements

An applicant for admission will normally have an undergraduate major in classics, but programs may be arranged for promising students who do not. The student should have an undergraduate record satisfactory to the department. At least three letters of recommendation from the student’s undergraduate teachers are required. See the department website for detailed application instructions.

Degree Requirements

These degrees are under the jurisdiction of the Graduate School. Refer to the Requirements for Graduation  section and The Graduate School  section of this catalogue for general regulations. All courses applied toward the degrees must be courses accepted by the Graduate School.

Programs

Bachelor’s Degree

• •  Classics (BA)

Minor

• •  Classical Greek Minor
• •  Classical Perspectives Minor
• •  Classics Minor
• •  Latin Minor

Master’s Degree

• •  Classics (MA)

Doctoral Degree

• •  Classics (PhD)

Courses

Classics

• •  CLAS 101gp State and Society in the Ancient World
• •  CLAS 150gp The Greeks and their Legacies
• •  CLAS 151gp The Legacy of Rome
• •  CLAS 160gp Ancient Lives
• •  CLAS 170gp Classics of Music and Literature: from Ancient Greece Through Contemporary LA
• •  CLAS 180g Classical Mythology and the Mythic Imagination
• •  CLAS 190g History of Science: Antiquity to the Scientific Revolution
• •  CLAS 202 Archaeology: Our Human Past
• •  CLAS 212 Archaeology: Interpreting the Past
• •  CLAS 280gp Classical Mythology in Art and Literature
• •  CLAS 300 Women in Antiquity
• •  CLAS 305 Roman Law
• •  CLAS 307 Law and Society in Classical Greece
• •  CLAS 310 Pagans and Christians
• •  CLAS 315 Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World
• •  CLAS 320gmp Diversity and the Classical Western Tradition
• •  CLAS 321 Greek Art and Archaeology
• •  CLAS 322 Roman Art and Archaeology
• •  CLAS 323 Aegean Archaeology
• •  CLAS 324 Late Antique Art and Archaeology
• •  CLAS 325 Ancient Epic
• •  CLAS 328 Archaeology of Religion in the Greco- Roman World
• •  CLAS 330 Ancients VS. Moderns
• •  CLAS 333 Cult and City in Ancient Greece
• •  CLAS 336 Rome and its Discontents: Literature and Social Change
• •  CLAS 337gp Ancient Drama
• •  CLAS 338 Warfare, State, and Society in the Ancient World
• •  CLAS 339 Ancient Science
• •  CLAS 340 Ethics and Politics in Ancient Rome
• •  CLAS 348g Athens in the Age of Democracy and Empire
• •  CLAS 349gp Ancient Empires
• •  CLAS 370 Leaders and Communities: Classical Models
• •  CLAS 371 From Alexander to Cleopatra: The Mediterranean in an Age of Expansion
• •  CLAS 375 Alexander the Great
• •  CLAS 378 Ptolemaic Egypt
• •  CLAS 380 Approaches to Myth
• •  CLAS 390 Special Problems
• •  CLAS 410 Capstone Research Seminar
• •  CLAS 415 Object-Worlds: Histories and Theories of Things
• •  CLAS 420 Science and Empire from Baghdad to Byzantium
• •  CLAS 425 Interdisciplinary Studies in Classical Art and Archaeology: Research and Methodology
• •  CLAS 465 Archaeology and Society
• •  CLAS 470 Democracies Ancient and Modern
• •  CLAS 485 Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin
• •  CLAS 490x Directed Research
• •  CLAS 495x Honors Research
• •  CLAS 499 Special Topics
• •  CLAS 500 Proseminar
• •  CLAS 501a Cross Registration with UCLA
• •  CLAS 501b Cross Registration with UCLA
• •  CLAS 501c Cross Registration with UCLA
• •  CLAS 501d Cross Registration with UCLA
• •  CLAS 510 Seminar in Classical Philology
• •  CLAS 511 Sanskrit I
• •  CLAS 512 Sanskrit II
• •  CLAS 515 Topics in Classical Scholarship
• •  CLAS 520 Approaches to Antiquity
• •  CLAS 525 Studies in Ancient and Pre-Modern Cultures
• •  CLAS 540 Seminar in Early Greek Literature
• •  CLAS 545 Seminar in Theoretical Approaches to Greek Culture and Literature
• •  CLAS 550 Seminar in Classical and Hellenistic Literature
• •  CLAS 555 Seminar in Greek History, Culture and Society
• •  CLAS 560 Seminar in Republican Latin Literature
• •  CLAS 565 Seminar in Theoretical Approaches to Roman Culture and Literature
• •  CLAS 570 Seminar in Imperial Latin Literature
• •  CLAS 575 Seminar in Roman History, Culture and Society
• •  CLAS 590 Directed Research
• •  CLAS 593x Practicum in Teaching Liberal Arts: Classics
• •  CLAS 594a Master’s Thesis
• •  CLAS 594b Master’s Thesis
• •  CLAS 594z Master’s Thesis
• •  CLAS 599 Special Topics
• •  CLAS 790 Research
• •  CLAS 794a Doctoral Dissertation
• •  CLAS 794b Doctoral Dissertation
• •  CLAS 794c Doctoral Dissertation
• •  CLAS 794d Doctoral Dissertation
• •  CLAS 794z Doctoral Dissertation

Greek

• •  GR 120 Greek I
• •  GR 150 Greek II
• •  GR 220 Greek III
• •  GR 345 Greek Tragic Poets
• •  GR 353 Plato
• •  GR 354 Greek Historians
• •  GR 355 Aristophanes
• •  GR 362 Homer and the Greek Epic
• •  GR 365 Greek Lyric Poetry
• •  GR 375 Plutarch
• •  GR 390 Special Problems
• •  GR 450 Readings in Greek Literature
• •  GR 490x Directed Research
• •  GR 499 Special Topics

Latin

• •  LAT 020x Latin for Research
• •  LAT 120 Latin I
• •  LAT 150 Latin II
• •  LAT 222 Latin III
• •  LAT 310 Latin Elegiac Poetry
• •  LAT 312 Roman Satire
• •  LAT 313 Ovid and Classical Mythology
• •  LAT 314 Catullus and Horace