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21L.455

Ancient Authors

3-0-9 units. HASS-H · Undergraduate

Close examination of major works of classical Greek and Roman literature in translation. Topics may include epic, history, lyric poetry, or drama and the works of authors such as Thucydides, Homer, Virgil, and Cicero. Texts vary from term to term. May be repeated once for credit if content differs. Enrollment limited.

Fall 2004 · Classical Literature: The Golden Age of Augustan Rome

Topics

  • Introduction: Augustus, Authorship, and Authority
  • Myths of Origin
  • Birth of a Nation: Gender and History
  • Repetition and Difference: The Patterns of History
  • Roman Institutions
  • Warfare Public and Private
  • The Functioning of Political Propaganda
  • The Waning Days of the Republic
  • The Tradition of Public and Political Oratory
  • Actium and its Aftermath
  • From Republic to Empire
  • Independent Research Project Presentations
  • Strategies of Accommodation
  • Resignation and Withdrawal
  • Repetition and Reversal
  • The Politics of Pastoral
  • The Golden Age of Rome
  • The Wayward Hero
  • Epics of Empire
  • Reconstituting the Nation
  • Organizing Desires: Fathers of the Fatherland
  • Love Casuistry: Rhetoric, Deceit, and Desire
  • Translations of Empire
  • Rhetoric and Regret
  • Art and Emotion
  • The Empire Reconsidered

Readings

  • Livy. The Early History of Rome. Translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt. New York: Penguin, 1960, 1971.
    Required
  • Caesar, Julius. The Civil War. Translated by Jane F. Gardner. New York: Penguin, 1967.
    Required
  • Cicero. On Government. Translated by Michael Grant. New York: Penguin, 1993.
    Required
  • Dio, Cassius. The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus. Translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Penguin, 1987.
    Required
  • Virgil. The Aeneid. Translated by Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Vintage Classics, 1981, 1990.
    Required
  • Ovid. The Love Poems. Translated by A. D. Melville. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
    Required
  • –––. The Metamorphoses. Translated by Horace Gregory. New York: Mentor, 1960.
    Required
  • BBC Television. I, Claudius. British Broadcasting Company, 1976. (Video, dvd)
    Required
  • SES #: 2 · TOPICS: Myths of Origin · READINGS: Livy. The Early History of Rome. Book I.
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 3 · TOPICS: Birth of a Nation: Gender and History · READINGS: Livy. The Early History of Rome. Book II.
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 4 · TOPICS: Repetition and Difference: The Patterns of History · READINGS: Livy. The Early History of Rome. Book III-IV.
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 5 · TOPICS: Roman Institutions · READINGS: Livy. The Early History of Rome. Book V.
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 6 · TOPICS: Warfare Public and Private · READINGS: Caesar. The Civil War .
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 7 · TOPICS: The Functioning of Political Propaganda · READINGS: Caesar. The Civil War . (cont.)
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 8 · TOPICS: The Waning Days of the Republic · READINGS: Cicero. Phillipics .
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 9 · TOPICS: The Tradition of Public and Political Oratory · READINGS: Cicero. Brutus .
    Reading assignment
  • Dio, Cassius. The Roman History. Book 55.
    Listed reading
  • BBC. I, Claudius. Episodes 1-2.
    Listed reading
  • Dio, Cassius. The Roman History. Book 56.
    Listed reading
  • BBC. I, Claudius. Episodes 3-4.
    Listed reading
  • Horace. Satires. Book I.
    Listed reading
  • Horace. Odes. (Book I. i, ii, vi, ix, xi, xii, xxii, xxiii, xxiv, xxxvii, xxxviii; Book II. i, ii, iii, x, xii, xiv, xviii, xx; Book III. i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii, xxix, xxx; Book IV. viii, xii, xv.)
    Listed reading
  • Ars Poetica .
    Listed reading
  • SES #: 15 · TOPICS: Repetition and Reversal · READINGS: Dio, Cassius. The Roman History. Book 57.
    Reading assignment
  • Virgil. Eclogues .
    Listed reading
  • SES #: 17 · TOPICS: The Golden Age of Rome · READINGS: Virgil. Eclogues . (cont.)
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 18 · TOPICS: The Wayward Hero · READINGS: Virgil. Aeneid. Books I-IV.
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 19 · TOPICS: Epics of Empire · READINGS: Virgil. Aeneid. Books V-VIII.
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 20 · TOPICS: Reconstituting the Nation · READINGS: Virgil. Aeneid. Books IX-XII.
    Reading assignment
  • Dio, Cassius. The Roman History. Book 59
    Listed reading
  • Ovid. Amores .
    Listed reading
  • Ovid. Ars Amatoria.
    Listed reading
  • –––. Remedia Amoris .
    Listed reading
  • SES #: 23 · TOPICS: Translations of Empire · READINGS: Ovid. Metamorphoses. Books I-IV.
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 24 · TOPICS: Rhetoric and Regret · READINGS: Ovid. Metamorphoses. Books V-VIII.
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 25 · TOPICS: Art and Emotion · READINGS: Ovid. Metamorphoses. Books IX-XII.
    Reading assignment
  • SES #: 26 · TOPICS: The Empire Reconsidered · READINGS: Ovid. Metamorphoses. Books XIII-XV.
    Reading assignment

Prerequisites & course information

Prereq: None Acad Year 2027-2028: U (Spring) Acad Year 2028-2029: Not offered 3-0-9 units. HASS-H Can be repeated for credit.

Sources