University Bulletin (2023-2024)

• Minor
• Major (BA)
• Master of Arts

The Department of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies offers courses in the cultures, languages, literatures, history, and archaeology of the ancient Mediterranean World. These global and historical frameworks have shaped their reception. The early Mediterranean cultures and their products have been the object of scholarly inquiry and were foundational in forming cultural identities in Europe and the Western Hemisphere. As aesthetic objects, these cultures continue to inspire critical response and popular imagination. As cultural forces, however, the legacy of Classical Studies is complex, interwoven with historical patterns that include war, violence, and oppression, as well as the spirit of the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and modern Humanism. As a modern discipline, the field of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies seeks to provide students with the ability to develop critical knowledge of the past and the inspiration to shape a better future.

Undergraduate Major in Classical Studies

A major in Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies offers the opportunity to learn about all aspects of life in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and North Africa. Aside from its intellectual value, this study can have practical use as well: For example, the study of Latin and Greek can considerably improve communication skills in English and in the Romance languages; moreover, Latin and Greek have long been, and continue to be, sources of technical concepts and vocabulary in all fields of study, from medicine and biology to political theory.

A major in Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies also enhances preparation for many professional fields, including law and medicine, as well as for the graduate study of literature, history, fine arts, archaeology, anthropology, philosophy, religion, and classics itself. The requirements for the major are designed to be flexible so that individual students can focus their program around a particular interest like Mediterranean archaeology, ancient history, or Greek and Latin literature.

Master of Arts in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies

The department offers an interdisciplinary degree program that allows students considerable flexibility to organize their course of study around those aspects of Classical Studies that most interest them. There are two tracks within the Master of Arts program: Track 1 ("Ancient Greek and Roman Civilization") and Track 2 (“Ancient Greek and Latin Languages and Literatures"). Track 1 is designed for preparation for elementary and secondary school education or advanced graduate work in Classical Archaeology or Ancient History with less emphasis on Greek and Latin languages. Students interested in comparative Mediterranean studies may take courses on Egypt and the Ancient Near East in Classical Studies and in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. Students who have taken RSEM 161 (The Examined Life) at the Rabb School of Continuing Education may “count” this course towards their Master’s degree. Other practicing professionals in the area can continue their professional education in the Master’s program to gain professional development points, and to advance their school careers.

Track 2 is designed for preparation for advanced graduate work in Classics or Greek or Latin languages and literatures. To obtain the Master’s degree, students in both tracks must take a total of eight courses, five of which must be taught by CLAS faculty, including the proseminar course, CLAS 200A. See details below. 

Undergraduate Major in Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies

The Department of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies is fundamentally interdisciplinary, offering courses in the languages, literatures, history, art, archaeology, mythology, and religions of the early Mediterranean world. The breadth of material and skills and the depth of available courses offers undergraduate students an array of choices to pursue their interests and foster their intellect and creativity. Taken together and explored either through traditional or interdisciplinary approaches, the topics in Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies offer undergraduate students a detailed knowledge of life in the ancient Mediterranean, Near East, northern Europe, and North Africa over a period of more than 4,000 years (3,000 B.C.E. to 1,000 C.E.).

Students are given the opportunity to learn both from the literary works of each culture in the original languages or in translation, and from the historical and archaeological records of these cultures. The subjects of inquiry range from iconic art and architecture like the Parthenon frieze, the dome of the Pantheon, the pyramids of Giza, or the Colosseum, right down to the forces that shaped—and continue to shape—everyday life, like politics, violence, ethnicity, gender and sexuality, slavery, prostitution, medical practices, and diseases.

Despite its pedigree as part of an ancient educational curriculum, the field of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies remains vibrant and adaptive to new discoveries, methodologies, interpretations, and relationships with other disciplines (including Anthropology, Computer Science, Fine Arts, History, Linguistics, Physics, Religious Studies, and Women and Gender Studies in recent years, to name but a few). At the same time, the disciplines within Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies continue to explore and examine critically their own cultural role in the shaping of colonial, racist, and exclusive features of “Western Civilization.”

Through these studies, students learn to clarify and assess meanings from both canonized and underrepresented texts and artifacts in order to understand them better in their own ancient context and to reveal their continuing impact on modern life.

As majors, students will complete several elements of the Brandeis Core directly through their major. Through their coursework and projects in their classes, students will meet the following learning goals:

1. Fundamental Concepts: Understand historical and cultural context

Demonstrate an understanding of the range of disciplines represented in Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies (archaeology, history, law, literary genres, philosophy, mythology, politics, and religion); demonstrate a basic understanding of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian history; be able to articulate in your own words the impact of ancient cultures on subsequent history and the modern world.

Sample courses: CLAS 100a; HIST 103a; CLAS 133a; CLASS 134b; CLAS 115b.

Assessment method: Evaluation of exams in core classes according to the Fundamental Concepts Rubric.

2. Language and Cultural Understanding: Global Engagement: World Languages and Cultures

Develop intermediate or higher competency in one or more of the languages of the Classical and Early Mediterranean World such as Greek, Latin, Biblical Hebrew, or other approved languages; demonstrate intermediate knowledge of either language’s morphology and vocabulary.

Sample courses: Completion of GRK 30a or LAT 30a or higher.

Assessment method: Evaluation of translations embedded in exams based on CLAS Language Learning Goals Rubric.

3. Understanding Difference. Cultural Ethics: Difference and Justice in the World

 Identify and evaluate differences and values in the ancient and modern worlds; articulate problematic cultural inheritances from antiquity including but not limited to racism, misogyny, classism, and slavery; articulate diversity and multiplicity of thought in Ancient Greece, Rome, and the broader Mediterranean world.

Sample courses: CLAS 144b; CLAS 145b; CLAS 151b; CLAS 160a; CLAS 165a; CLAS 170a; CLAS 192b

Assessment method: Evaluation of essay embedded on exam.

4. Communication: Writing Intensive and Oral Communication

Analyze and evaluate information critically from ancient and modern sources (texts, scholarship, and material culture); summarize and synthesize ancient ideas and modern theories with clarity and precision in writing.

Courses: Completion of OC practicum CLAS 45a

Assessment method: Completion of a WI seminar or course in CLAS or submission of an approved portfolio evaluated by two faculty members according to CLAS Writing Rubric or attainment of intermediate or higher on CLAS OC rubric.

5. Research: Understand historical and cultural context think critically, Digital Literacy, and Writing Intensive

Use print and media sources critically for research and writing; demonstrate the ability to design and execute disciplinary appropriate research methodology; write analytically oriented papers with effective use of evidence; compose and defend clearly stated theses.

Courses: Completion of DL practicum in Classics CLAS 46a

Assessment method: Attainment of intermediate or higher on CLAS DL rubric

Social Justice and Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies

Undergraduate and graduate students have exposure to many of the major questions, ethical issues, and current methodologies of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies to act as informed citizens in a global society, understand diversity, and engage in service.

1. Students understand what it means to be human through the lens of classical antiquity.
2. Students apprehend and can communicate the rich diversity of the ancient Mediterranean world and how ancient people responded to ethnic, linguistic, and intellectual diversity.
3. Students investigate how inequality (through slavery, between the sexes, among classes, etc.) affected ancient cultures and helps us understand how it still affects modern societies.
4. Students develop familiarity with the geography, mythologies, literatures, political thinking, philosophies, religions, daily life practices, material culture, architectural remains, and art of the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean and their impact on modern societies.
5. Students learn how to engage critical responses to culture across time and geographical space in pursuit of important questions.

Master of Arts in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies

Knowledge

The MA program in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies is designed to be flexible, so that individual students can focus their program around a particular interest like art and archaeology, history, literature, or mythology, and fully explore their intellectual creativity through their studies.

Students successfully completing graduate study culminating in the MA demonstrate:

1. Foundational mastery of the methodologies, perspectives, and theories implicit in the field of Classical Studies, which are outlined in CLAS 200a, the graduate proseminar course, and include ancient languages (Greek and Latin), ancient history, and archaeology.
2. The ability to plan, propose, and execute a major culminating project, which may be a thesis, comprehensive exams, or a major paper or project completed in consultation with a faculty supervisor.
3. The ability to communicate effectively to both lay and academic audiences through oral, written, and visual means.
4. The ability to create professional and scholarly networks with faculty, staff, and peers by interacting with them at the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in both teaching and research.

Graduate Outcomes

1. Focusing on languages, archaeology, and culture, the department's coursework provides students with ample preparation for further graduate work or career enhancement.
2. The program prepares students to earn placement in top-tier Ph.D. programs which follow traditional Classical Studies curricula such as Classical Archaeology, Ancient History, and Anthropology.
3. In connection with other graduate programs, students are well-prepared to teach a range of subjects in private and public K-12 settings.
4. This program also provides students with the knowledge base to excel in non-instructional academic positions.
5. Students are also prepared with skills well-matched for a variety of related positions in museums, libraries, and cultural heritage organizations.

Many of the courses in the Department of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies fulfill elements of the Brandeis Core, including school distribution requirements (in three of the schools), Writing Intensive (WI), and Global Engagement through secondary language classes, and several options for fulfilling the Diversity and Justice in the World (DJW) requirement. Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies affords students many opportunities to explore interdisciplinary connections between Greece and Rome and with many other civilizations, both ancient and modern. Besides the opportunity to study two ancient languages and literatures, the department offers comprehensive courses in the art, archaeology, and history of the Greeks and Romans. We encourage students who have had some background in Greek or Latin to resume their study of those languages as soon as possible after entering Brandeis, as those skills are more difficult to retrieve after a passage of time. Brandeis has a placement test to determine the level of instruction at which a student should begin his/her study of Latin. The test, which cannot be "self-scored," can be downloaded from the Website of the Office of the University Registrar; follow the submission directions indicated. Students who have not acquired a background in Greek or Latin languages should try to begin one of them as soon as possible after entering Brandeis if they wish to acquire language proficiency as part of their major track within the department.

​​Candidates for admission should have a bachelor’s degree in any subject. The general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, specified in an earlier section of the Bulletin, apply to candidates for admission to graduate study in ancient Greek and Roman studies.  For more specifics, visit the program website.

Darlene Brooks Hedstrom, Chair and Undergraduate Advising Head
Archaeology and history of ancient and late antique Christianity. Material culture and religions of eastern Mediterranean and the Near East. Monasticism in Eastern Mediterranean World. Foodways in Late Antiquity.

Joel Christensen, Interim Director of Graduate Studies
Greek Epic and Archaic Poetry. Rhetoric and Literary Theory. Linguistics. Mythology.

Caitlin Gillespie 
Early Imperial Latin Literature. Gender and Power in the Ancient World. Roman Britain. Roman Exemplarity.

Eoin O’Donoghue
Roman and Etruscan Archaeology

Alexandra Ratzlaff, Director of Graduate Studies
Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, ceramic analysis, digital humanities, Late Antique Economy, the Roman army, and Archaeological Theory.

Affiliated Faculty (contributing to the curriculum, advising and administration of the department or program)

William Kapelle (History)

Five courses are required for the minor. These may be any combination of ancient language courses at level 30 or higher and any CLAS or cross-listed courses. Three of the five courses in the minor must be taught by members of the Department of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies or affiliated faculty. No course with a final grade below C- can count toward fulfilling the minor requirements in Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the minor requirements.

A. All majors within the Department of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies must select one of three academic tracks: Classical and Early Mediterranean History and Culture, Classical and Early Mediterranean Languages and Literature, or Mediterranean Archaeology. 

B. Foundational Literacies: As part of completing the Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies major, all students in every track must:

• Fulfill the writing intensive requirement by successfully completing one of the following: Any CLAS course approved for WI or students may submit a portfolio of essays from multiple CLAS courses or approved cross-listed courses to the UAH and Chair for approval.
• Fulfill the oral communication requirement by successfully completing: 2-credit practicum CLAS 45a in conjunction with a CLAS 100-level course, an independent study in CLAS, or senior thesis or essay.
• Fulfill the digital literacy requirement by successfully completing: 2-credit practicum CLAS 46a in conjunction with a CLAS 100-level course or an independent study in CLAS.

Classical and Early Mediterranean History and Culture Track Requirements

Majors in the CEMS History and Culture track must take a minimum of ten semester courses (40 credits), two practica, CLAS 45a and CLAS 46a (4 credits), and complete the Writing Intensive requirement (see Foundational Literacies above) for a total of 44 credits, which must include: 

1. Two courses in Classical and Early Mediterranean history
2. Two courses in Classical and Early Mediterranean literature (in translation or ancient language)
3. Two courses in Classical and Early Mediterranean material and/or visual culture
4. Three elective courses, which may include: 
   • level 30 or higher courses in Greek, Latin
   • level 107 or higher in Biblical Hebrew
   • courses taught in or cross-listed by the Department of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies 
   • courses in closely related interdisciplinary fields, as approved by the student’s departmental advisor
5. One cognate course outside of CEMS that is relevant to the broader ancient Mediterranean World or its reception in the medieval or modern period.

Classical and Early Mediterranean Languages and Literature Track Requirements:

Majors in the CEMS Languages and Literature track must take a minimum of ten semester courses (40 credits), two practica, CLAS 45a and CLAS 46a (4 credits), and complete the Writing Intensive requirement (see Foundational Literacies above) for a total of 44 credits, which must include: 

1. Four courses in Classical and Early Mediterranean languages at the 30 level or higher in Greek, Latin, or a combination of both (students may elect to complete this requirement with Biblical Hebrew (100 level or another approved language of the ancient Mediterranean world)
2. Two courses in Classical and Early Mediterranean history, material culture, or literature in translation
3. Three elective courses, which may include: 
   • courses taught in or cross-listed by the Department of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies
   • courses in closely related interdisciplinary fields, as approved by the student’s departmental advisor
4. One cognate course outside of CEMS that is relevant to the broader ancient Mediterranean World or its reception in the medieval or modern period.

Mediterranean Archaeology Track Requirements

Majors in the CEMS Archaeology track must take a minimum of ten semester courses (40 credits), two practica, CLAS 45a and CLAS 46a (4 credits), and complete the Writing Intensive requirement (see Foundational Literacies above) for a total of 44 credits, which must include: 

1. CLAS 105b: Introduction to Mediterranean Archaeology
2. One course in archaeological science, theory, or method as approved by the student’s departmental advisor (this may be fulfilled by excavation fieldwork with credit transfer)
3. One course in Classical and Early Mediterranean history
4. Two survey courses of Classical and Early Mediterranean archaeology
5. Two topics courses in Classical and Early Mediterranean archaeology
6. Two elective courses, which may include:
   • level 30 or higher course in Greek and/or Latin
   • level 100 or higher in Biblical Hebrew 
   • or other courses taught in or cross-listed by the Department of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies, or in closely related interdisciplinary fields, as approved by the student’s departmental advisor
7. One cognate course outside of CEMS/CLAS that is relevant to the broader ancient Mediterranean World or its reception in the medieval or modern period.

C. Honors: Graduation with honors in Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies may be achieved by completing a senior essay in one semester (CLAS 97a or b; LAT 97a or b; or GRK 97a or b) or by taking a year-long course (CLAS 99d or LAT 99d or GRK 99d), culminating in a senior thesis. One semester course credit from this year-long two-semester course may be counted toward the ten required courses (40 semester hours) with the consent of the thesis adviser.

D. We strongly urge Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies majors to work in a language of the ancient Mediterranean world. We encourage students to think creatively about their programs. An approved summer archaeological excavation, study tour, or museum internship, completed for credit, may be counted as fulfilling a single course requirement for the major. The education program can provide licensure (formerly certification) for teaching Latin and classical humanities in high schools in Massachusetts and several other states, including Connecticut and New York. Such licensure can be obtained concurrently with the Brandeis bachelor's degree by additionally completing approved courses in the education program. Interested students should meet with the director of the education program early in their course of study to ensure sufficient time to take the course sequence.

E. No course with a final grade below C- can count toward fulfilling the major requirements in Classical and Early Mediterranen Studies.

F. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the major requirements.

 

Program of Study

The MA is a one-year residency program consisting of 32 credits and the completion of a final project as either a Master’s thesis, paper, or comprehensive exams.

All candidates for the Master of Arts degree must meet the following requirements:

A. Complete CLAS 200a, the graduate proseminar course, which is taught by all the members of the Department of Classical Studies. This foundational course delves into the methodologies, perspectives, and theories implicit in the field of Classical Studies.

B. Complete a program of study consisting of seven additional elective courses designed around their specific interests in Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies, selected with approval of a faculty advisor or the program director.

• Faculty in the Department of Classical Studies must teach at least five of the total eight courses required. In general, these courses will be in the undergraduate curriculum, with special assignments added for the graduate students. Please see the GSAS section of the Bulletin for further information about the policy for these assignments.
• Students who choose to participate in archaeological excavation, study abroad programs, or advanced language study, beyond level 30, during the summer (with approval from our faculty) may gain graduate credit from these experiences by taking CLAS 251a (Directed Reading) in the semester immediately following the summer experience 

C. Complete one of three final project options: 

1. A Master’s thesis over 40 pages in length with an oral defense with a committee of three faculty members, of which two are from CEMS faculty.
2. A Master’s paper of at least 25 pages in length to be prepared with one CEMS faculty member.
3. Comprehensive exams in two specific areas of study in Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies

Residence Requirement

There is a one year in-person residency requirement for full-time students. The program may take an additional one or two semesters to complete as an Extended Master's student.

Every student, whether or not currently in residence, must register at the beginning of each term. All graduate students will be evaluated by the program each spring. At this evaluation the records of all graduate students will be carefully reviewed with reference to the timely completion of coursework and non-course degree requirements, the quality of the work and research in progress and the student’s overall academic performance in the program.

CLAS 45a Practicum in Oral Communication
[ oc ]

Corequisite: One course in Classical Studies and permission of the instructor. Yields half-course credit. Fulfills the oral communication requirement for Classical Studies majors under the Brandeis Core.

Provides students with discipline appropriate training in viewing and designing oral presentations. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

CLAS 46a Practicum In Digital Literacy
[ dl ]

Corequisite: One course in Classical Studies and permission of the instructor. Yields half-course credit. Fulfills the digital literacy requirement for Classical Studies majors.

Provides students with subject-specific exposure and training in research and applied use of technology. Specific methods and topics will change according to student interest and technological development. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

CLAS 92a Internship

Two semester-hour credits; yields half-course credit.

Usually offered every year.
Ann Koloski-Ostrow

CLAS 97a Senior Essay

Staff

CLAS 98a Directed Reading

Usually offered every year.
Staff

CLAS 98b Directed Reading

Usually offered every year.
Staff

CLAS 99d Senior Research

Majors will be guided by their thesis adviser as they write their honors paper. Usually offered every year.
Staff

GRK 20b Continuing Ancient Greek

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in GRK 10a. Three class hours per week.

Fundamentals of Greek grammar through reading. Students must earn a C- or higher in GRK 20b in order to enroll in a 30-level Greek course. Usually offered every year.
Staff

CLAS 100a Survey of Greek History: Bronze Age to 323 BCE
[ hum ]

Surveys the political and social development of the Greek city-states from Bronze Age origins to the death of Alexander. Usually offered every second year.
Cheryl Walker

CLAS 111a Art and Archaeology of the Hellenistic World
[ hum ]

Surveys the art and archaeology of the Hellenistic world (including Greece, western and central Asia, north Africa, and Italy) focusing on the 4th century Mediterranean leading up to the conquests of Alexander the Great (336-323 BCE) and the kingdoms of his successors until the death of Cleopatra in 30 BCE. A major theme throughout this course will be the global culture of the cosmopolitan world created by Alexander the Great. Other themes will include encounters between varying cultural traditions, how material correlates of identity played out in all levels of society, and how the art, artifacts, and architecture of the Hellenistic communities were used to assert themselves in a rich multi-cultural environment. We will cover the elite, domestic, and funerary architectural remains associated with the Hellenistic kingdoms, as well as their material culture in the forms of mosaics, sculpture, and other portable artifacts. Usually offered every second year.

Alexandra Ratzlaff

CLAS 113a Pots, Processes, and Meaning: A Practicum in Archaeological Ceramics
[ dl hum ]

Before plastic, there was pottery'pots and pans, bowls and dishes, jugs and jars'in every place and every society. Pottery lets us see people: it makes their actions and choices visible, anytime, anywhere. Pottery is also a thoroughly human product. Every aspect reflects a purposeful choice: material, mode of manufacture, shape and finish, place and way of use. And pottery is ' and was ' everywhere: it is the single most abundant type of artifact found on almost all archaeological sites. Archaeologists use pottery to elucidate everything from personal habits to broad social, economic, and political developments. In this course you learn how to identify, classify, analyze, and interpret pottery in order to better understand the people who made and used it, and the worlds in which they lived. Usually offered every third year.
Alexandra Ratzlaff

CLAS 115b Topics in Greek and Roman History
[ hum ]

Topics vary from year to year and the course may be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor. Topics include the Age of Alexander the Great, the Age of Pericles, the Greekness of Alexander, and Imperialism in Antiquity. See the Schedule of Classes for the current topic. Usually offered every year.
Cheryl Walker

CLAS 116b The Archaeology of Imperialism
[ hum ]

Provides an in depth survey of the archaeological material and theory of empires across the ancient world. Usually offered every third year.

Alex Ratzlaff

CLAS 117b Unmasking Cleopatra: Gender, Power, and A Legacy
[ djw hum ]

CLAS 119b Homer and the Hebrew Bible
[ hum ]

CLAS 120a Age of Caesar
[ hum wi ]

The life and times of Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE) viewed through primary texts in a variety of genres: from Caesar himself to contemporaries Cicero and Catullus and biographers Plutarch and Suetonius. Usually offered every third year.
Cheryl Walker

CLAS 133a The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Greece
[ ca hum ]

Surveys the main forms and styles of Greek art and architecture from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period in mainland Greece and on the islands of the Aegean. Archaeological remains and ancient literary evidence help explore the relationships between culture, the visual arts, and society. Usually offered every second year.
Alexandra Ratzlaff or Staff

CLAS 134b The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Rome
[ ca hum ]

Surveys the art and architecture of the ancient Romans from the eighth century BCE to the end of the empire in Sicily, mainland Italy (with focus on Rome, Ostia, Pompeii, and Herculaneum), and in the Roman provinces. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

CLAS 136b Ancient Technology and Modern Approaches
[ hum ]

Examines the greatest technological discoveries from the classical world. How did these engineering and technological marvels turn the tides of war and alter the trajectory of civilizations? In hands-on modules, this course will introduce modern technology such as 3D Scanning & Printing, XRF, Virtual Reality, Drones and others, as a means of analyzing the ancient world. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

CLAS 140a Women, Gender, and Sexuality in Greek and Roman Art and Text
[ ca djw hum wi ]

An exploration of women, gender, and sexuality in ancient Greece and Rome as the ideological bases of Western attitudes toward sex and gender. Includes, in some fashion, Greek and Roman myth, literature, art, architecture, and archaeological artifacts. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

CLAS 144b Archaeological Ethics, Law and Cultural Heritage
[ djw hum ]

The material culture of the past is imbued with a multitude of meanings and values for different groups, often at odds with each other. This class explores the ethical and legal context of heritage as well as the conservation, protection, or stewardship of our shared human experience. Usually offered every second year.
Alexandra Ratzlaff or Staff

CLAS 145b Topics in Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology
[ ca hum ]

Topics vary from year to year and the course may be repeated for credit. Topics include daily life in ancient Rome; Greek and Roman technology and art; Rome, City of Marble; and Athens and the golden age of Greece. See Schedule of Classes for the current topic and description. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

CLAS 150b Pompeii: Life in the Shadow of Vesuvius
[ ca hum ]

Examines Pompeii and Herculaneum, buried by Vesuvius in 79 CE, using the ancient cities' art, architecture, and wall writings to understand the social, political, economic, and religious realities of Roman life on the Bay of Naples, especially in the first century CE. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

CLAS 155a Mummies, Myths, and Monuments of Ancient Egypt
[ hum wi ]

Surveys Egyptian archaeology and culture and provides a critical examination of the reception and (mis)use of Ancient Egypt in popular culture over time. Usually offered every second year.
Darlene Brooks Hedstrom

CLAS 156b Living and Dying in Roman and Byzantine Egypt
[ djw hum wi ]

Examines the lived experiences of the Roman and Byzantine inhabitants of Egypt from the Nile valley to the desert oases. Topics include bioarchaeology, childhood, education, religious life, papyrology, important archaeological discoveries/collections, colonial archaeology, mortuary arts, and the journey from childhood to death in antiquity. Class will visit area museums to also examine the artifactual evidence of Roman and Byzantine Egypt. Usually offered every second year.

Darlene Brooks-Hedstrom

CLAS 170a Classical Mythology
[ hum ]

An introduction to Greek and Roman mythology. Considers ancient song cultures, and the relationship between myth, drama, and religion. Also explores visual representations of myth. Usually offered every second year.
Joel Christensen

CLAS 172a Ancient Athenian Drama in Translation
[ hum ]

Examines the genre of tragedy and comedy in ancient Athens. All texts read in English. Usually offered every third year.
Joel Christensen or Staff

CLAS 190b Ancient Mystery Cults
[ hum ]

Often shrouded in secrecy, ancient mystery cults appealed to people in ways different from traditional Greek and Roman religion. As indicated by their name, the Mysteries come from the Greek word, mystes, which means 'initiate.' Membership in the Mystery Cults was based on initiation into rituals, kept secret from the outside world. We rely on the archaeological evidence, myths, and literary references to build an understanding of these cults who offered more personal and individualized experience towards death and the afterlife. In this class, we will explore Mystery Cults across the Mediterranean world, beginning in ancient Greece and ending in the Late Roman Empire. This course provides an exploration of ancient religion its art, architecture, belief systems, origins, and evolution, as well as understanding it in its socio-political and cultural context. Usually offered every third year.
Alexandra Ratzlaff

CLAS/ENG 140a Premodern Disability Studies Across the Mediterranean
[ djw hum ]

Charts disability in the Mediterranean literary tradition, particularly through the ancient, medieval, and Renaissance periods. Students will learn to identify the literary markers of the disabled body as well as the underlying philosophical and theological idea of the body and soul and their purpose. Students will engage with the figures of alterity through the lens of disability studies. We will consider the concept of disability from a feminist vantage, particularly through the writings of Rosemarie Garland-Thomson and Susan Wendell, and as a shifting theoretical framework through the social, cultural, medical, and religious models of disability. Special one-time offering, fall 2023.

CLAS/NEJ 118a Queens of the Ancient Mediterranean World
[ hum ]

Investigates the depiction of queens in the ancient world in terms of gender, power, difference, and sexuality. Readings include translated Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Arabic literature, including the Bible and Homer, as well as modern studies on the historical-critical method and academic feminism. Special one-time offering, fall 2020.
Jillian Stinchcomb

CLAS 200a Proseminar

Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated twice for credit.

A graduate seminar touching on the specialties of the faculty of Classical Studies. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated twice for credit. Usually offered every fall.
Staff

CLAS 298a Independent Study

Staff

CLAS 299a Master's Thesis

Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.
Staff

CLAS 46a Practicum In Digital Literacy
[ dl ]

Corequisite: One course in Classical Studies and permission of the instructor. Yields half-course credit. Fulfills the digital literacy requirement for Classical Studies majors.

Provides students with subject-specific exposure and training in research and applied use of technology. Specific methods and topics will change according to student interest and technological development. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

CLAS 45a Practicum in Oral Communication
[ oc ]

Corequisite: One course in Classical Studies and permission of the instructor. Yields half-course credit. Fulfills the oral communication requirement for Classical Studies majors under the Brandeis Core.

Provides students with discipline appropriate training in viewing and designing oral presentations. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

CLAS 120a Age of Caesar
[ hum wi ]

The life and times of Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE) viewed through primary texts in a variety of genres: from Caesar himself to contemporaries Cicero and Catullus and biographers Plutarch and Suetonius. Usually offered every third year.
Cheryl Walker

CLAS 140a Women, Gender, and Sexuality in Greek and Roman Art and Text
[ ca djw hum wi ]

An exploration of women, gender, and sexuality in ancient Greece and Rome as the ideological bases of Western attitudes toward sex and gender. Includes, in some fashion, Greek and Roman myth, literature, art, architecture, and archaeological artifacts. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

CLAS 155a Mummies, Myths, and Monuments of Ancient Egypt
[ hum wi ]

Surveys Egyptian archaeology and culture and provides a critical examination of the reception and (mis)use of Ancient Egypt in popular culture over time. Usually offered every second year.
Darlene Brooks Hedstrom

CLAS 156b Living and Dying in Roman and Byzantine Egypt
[ djw hum wi ]

Examines the lived experiences of the Roman and Byzantine inhabitants of Egypt from the Nile valley to the desert oases. Topics include bioarchaeology, childhood, education, religious life, papyrology, important archaeological discoveries/collections, colonial archaeology, mortuary arts, and the journey from childhood to death in antiquity. Class will visit area museums to also examine the artifactual evidence of Roman and Byzantine Egypt. Usually offered every second year.

Darlene Brooks-Hedstrom

GRK 10a Beginning Ancient Greek

Three class hours per week.

The basics of ancient Greek language and an initiation into the artistic, religious, social, political, and psychological dynamics of ancient Greece. After taking its sequel, GRK 20b, students can read Homer or Plato in the original. Students must earn a C- or higher in GRK 10a in order to enroll in a 20-level Greek course. Usually offered every year.
Joel Christensen or Staff

GRK 30a Intermediate Ancient Greek: Literature
[ fl ]

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in GRK 20b or equivalent or instructor's permission. Three class hours per week.

Readings from Plato's Apology and Herodotus's Histories in Greek. Students must earn a C- or higher in GRK 30a in order to enroll in a higher-level Greek course. Usually offered every year.
Cheryl Walker or Staff

GRK 97a Senior Essay

Staff

GRK 98a Directed Reading

Generally reserved for those students who have exhausted regular course offerings. Usually offered every year.
Staff

GRK 98b Directed Reading

Generally reserved for those students who have exhausted regular course offerings. Usually offered every year.
Staff

GRK 99d Senior Research

For seniors writing an honors thesis under direction. Usually offered every year.
Staff

GRK 110b Greek Epic
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: GRK 20b or equivalent or instructor's permission.

Selections from Homer's Iliad or Odyssey, in Greek. Usually offered every third year.
Joel Christensen or Staff

GRK 115b Ancient Greek Drama and Comedy
[ fl hum ]

The plays of Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Euripides, and Sophocles, in Greek. A different playwright is studied each year. See Schedule of Classes for current topic. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff

GRK 120b Greek Prose Authors
[ fl hum ]

Selections from Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Demosthenes, and other prose authors, in Greek. See Schedule of Classes for current topic. Usually offered every third year.
Joel Christensen or Staff

GRK 125a Greek Lyric Poetry
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: GRK 30a or equivalent.

Close reading and interpretation of mainly fragmentary poems, several of them newly recovered from Hellenistic papyri, of Archilochus, Alcman, Solon, Sappho, and Simonides, along with selected epinicians of Pindar and his nephew, Bacchylides; reconstruction of the poetics of lyric performance. Usually offered every third year.
Joel Christensen or Staff

GRK 298a Independent Study

Staff

LAT 10a Beginning Latin

Three class hours per week.

An introduction to Latin grammar, based on Latin authors. Usually offered every year.
Staff

LAT 20b Continuing Latin

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in LAT 10a or permission of the instructor. Three class hours per week.

See LAT 10a for course description. Usually offered every year.
Staff

LAT 30a Intermediate Latin: Literature
[ fl ]

Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in LAT 20b or permission of the instructor. Three class hours per week.

An introduction to Latin literature; selections of Latin prose and verse from various periods. Usually offered every year.
Cheryl Walker

LAT 97a Senior Essay

Staff

LAT 98a Directed Reading

Generally reserved for those students who have exhausted regular course offerings. Usually offered every year.
Staff

LAT 98b Directed Reading

Generally reserved for those students who have exhausted regular course offerings. Usually offered every year.
Staff

LAT 99d Senior Research

For seniors writing an honors thesis under direction. Usually offered every year.
Staff

LAT 118a Latin Lyric and Elegiac Poetry
[ fl hum ]

Selections from Catullus, Horace, Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid, in Latin. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

LAT 119b Ovid
[ fl hum ]

Selections from Ovid's mythological-poetic history of the universe, in Latin. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff

LAT 120a Vergil
[ fl hum ]

Selections from Vergil's Eclogues, Georgics, and the Aeneid in Latin. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

LAT 121b Roman Historians
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: LAT 30a or the equivalent.

Explores the writing of history in ancient Roman. Readings are drawn from a range of Roman historians including but not limited to Livy, Caesar, Tacitus, and Sallust. Usually offered every third year.
Caitlin Gillespie

LAT 125a Later and Medieval Latin
[ fl hum ]

LAT 130b Roman Letters
[ fl hum ]

Prerequisite: LAT 30a or the equivalent.

Explores Roman letters as one of the most diversified literary forms in the ancient world. Readings are drawn from a range of authors and texts, including Cicero, Ovid, Seneca, Pliny the Younger, and the Vindolanda tablets. Usually offered every third year.
Calitlin Gillespie

LAT 298a Independent Study

Staff

ANTH 1a Introduction to the Comparative Study of Human Societies
[ djw nw ss ]

Examines the ways human beings construct their lives in a variety of societies. Includes the study of the concept of culture, kinship, and social organization, political economy, gender and sexuality, religion and ritual, symbols and language, social inequalities and social change, and globalization. Consideration of anthropological research methods and approaches to cross-cultural analysis. Usually offered every semester.
Jonathan Anjaria, Elizabeth Ferry, Sarah Lamb, or Janet McIntosh

ANTH 60a Archaeological Methods
[ ss ]

Focuses on the exploration of archaeological sites on and near campus to offer a practice-oriented introduction to field methods, including surface-survey, mapping, and excavation of archaeological features. Other topics include principles of stratigraphy and relative/chronometric dating methods. Usually offered every second year.
Charles Golden or Javier Urcid

ANTH 60b Archaeological Analysis
[ dl ss wi ]

Introduces archaeological laboratory methods and analyses, emphasizing hands-on experience and research design. Students engage in practical materials analysis and research working with genuine archaeological artifacts. Course participants will build their project management skills and consider archaeological methodologies, including artifact recovery, analysis, conservation, and eventual publication. Students will also explore vital archaeological dialogues and theoretical approaches comprising the archaeological process, such as the challenges of interpreting human behavior from material remains, the ethical quandaries of cultural heritage, and the questions of who narrates and owns the past. Usually offered every second year.

Charlie Goudge

ANTH 129a Culture in 3D: Theory, Method, and Ethics for Scanning and Printing the World
[ dl ss ]

Designed to train students in the methods needed for the successful application of 3D modeling and printing for the documentation, conservation, and dissemination of cultural patrimony. Students will acquire the technical skills and engage in the ethical debates surrounding ownership and reproduction of such patrimony. Usually offered every second year.
Charles Golden and Ian Roy

ANTH 137a GIS: Mapping Culture from Land, Air and Space
[ dl ss ]

An introduction to the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sense (RS) technologies that are fundamental for mapping and analyzing spatial data. This course is grounded in  archaeological applications, but provides training and research pathways for exploring urban landscapes, environmental dynamics, and more in modern settings. No previous knowledge of GIS or RS is required. Usually offered every third year.
Charles Golden

ENG 41a Critical Digital Humanities Methods and Applications
[ deis-us dl hum ]

Introduces critical digital humanities methods and applications. Considers both theory and praxis, the issues of open and accessible scholarship and work, and the centrality of collaboration. We will investigate power relations, inclusivity, and the ethics of social justice. Usually offered every second year.
Dorothy Kim

FA 30a History of Western Art I: From Antiquity to the Middle Ages
[ ca ]

Open to all students; first-year students and sophomores are encouraged to enroll.

Surveys the artistic and architectural traditions of the peoples of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from prehistory to the end of the Middle Ages with an emphasis on their cultural context, meaning and stylistic characteristics. Usually offered every year.
Jonathan Unglaub or Staff

HIST 103a Roman History to 455 CE
[ hum ss ]

Survey of Roman history from the early republic through the decline of the empire. Covers the political history of the Roman state and the major social, economic, and religious changes of the period. Usually offered every year.
William Kapelle

HIST 110a The Civilization of the Early Middle Ages
[ ss ]

Survey of medieval history from the fall of Rome to the year 1000. Topics include the barbarian invasions, the Byzantine Empire, the Dark Ages, the Carolingian Empire, feudalism, manorialism, and the Vikings. Usually offered every second year.
William Kapelle

HRNS/NEJ 261a Strategies and Quandaries in Contemporary Leadership

Examines models of leadership and challenges facing leaders in contemporary organizational life, through Jewish history and culture placed in conversation with other cultural and disciplinary perspectives from critical race studies, women's and gender studies, disability studies, and indigenous studies. Classes will be discussion-based, centered around the productive contrasts and interactions between the readings, and the contemporary practices and experiences of students' leadership. Usually offered every second year.
Lynn Kaye

HUM 10a The Western Canon
[ hum ]

May not be taken by students who have taken NEJS 18a in prior years.

Foundational texts of the Western canon: the Bible, Homer, Vergil, and Dante. Thematic emphases and supplementary texts vary from year to year.
Staff

NEJS 30a Reading the New Testament: Origins and Communities of Faith
[ hum ]

Open to all students.

Introduces the New Testament, its authors, and early Christian communities. The course examines the development of the New Testament in a broader Jewish and Roman context and how communities selected both canonical and non-canonical texts for shaping Christian life. Focus on decolonizing scholarship and scholars of the New Testament with attention to migration, empire, authority, race, ethnicity, gender, personhood, and reading communities within a historical framework. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

NEJS 129a Gender, Sex, and the Family in Ancient Near East and Beyond
[ hum ]

In the ancient world, the family was a critical site for the construction of gender, sex, and sexuality of its members. In this course, we will explore how identities such as father, mother, and child were constructed in ancient discourse. We will use feminist and queer perspectives to unpack texts from the ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman world, the Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament. Special one-time offering, spring 2020.
Sari Fein

NEJS 129b Debating Jesus: Diverse Beliefs in the Early Church
[ hum wi ]

Examines the nature of Jesus, the Trinity, and scripture, both canonical and non-canonical, in the first four centuries of early Christianity. Students analyze material culture and written documents related to a wide array of diverse Christian voices. The course explores scandals, heresies, and dissension along with points of unity and changing alliances within the Early Church in a diverse religious and political landscape. Usually offered every second year.
Darlene Brooks Hedstrom

NEJS 130b Denial and Desires: Gender and Sexuality in Early Christianity
[ hum wi ]

Formerly offered as NEJS 218a.

Investigates how Christians (1st-4th C.) contested and reshaped attitudes toward the family gender expectations (for nonbinary persons, men, and women), sexuality, and aging in cities, the countryside, and in monasteries. Readings include the New Testament, early Christian literature, and modern studies regarding the body, sexuality, and theological frameworks for defining how to maintain the Christian body. Usually offered every fourth year.
Darlene Brooks Hedstrom

NEJS 133b Judaism in the Time of Jesus
[ hum ]

Studies the dynamics of Judaism in the Roman empire in the first century CE through a study of the textual, archaeological, and art-historical evidence from the late Second Temple period to explore the cultural context out of which both Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism emerged. Special one-time offering, fall 2021.
Jillian Stinchcomb

PHIL 161a Plato
[ hum ]

An introduction to Plato's thought through an intensive reading of several major dialogues. Usually offered every second year.
Palle Yourgrau

PHIL 162b Aristotle
[ hum ]

An introduction to Aristotle's philosophy through an intensive reading of selected texts. Usually offered every second year.
Palle Yourgrau

POL 186b Classical Political Thought
[ hum ss ]

Major ancient political philosophers and the meaning and implications of their work for contemporary political issues. Usually offered every third year.
Bernard Yack