Classics 212/English 200F/History 287A – Greek & Roman Biography:

Lives of Famous Greeks and Romans (and a few other nationalities)

Spring 2013              6:00 - 7:25 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday                 Science Library 306
Binghamton University SUNY, Department of Classical & Near Eastern Studies

Instructor: John H. Starks, Jr. 

jstarks@binghamton.edu_  607-777-4524

Library Tower 1102         Office Hours T 9:00-10AM, W 11AM-12PM

Course Requirements

Daily Syllabus/Assignments

Course Synopsis: Greeks and Romans, like most modern societies, developed strong interest in the public and private lives of the most famous personalities from their political and cultural traditions. Augustus’ diet and Cleopatra’s appearance were just as interesting as Pyrrhus' attempted imperial policies and Alexander the Great's military tactics. Through reading and discussion of the famous biographies recorded in Plutarch and Suetonius, as well as some less widely read biographical sketches by Cornelius Nepos, the Gospel of Luke and some ancient lives of saints, and a modern compilation of lives of famous Roman women, we will examine values and events that express the best and worst of human behavior and that helped shape ancient and modern western civilization, especially as Greeks and Romans interacted with and constructed visions of an alternative ‘Eastern’ other against which or alongside which they viewed themselves. Through additional viewing of ancient coins, statuary and mosaics, and modern dramatizations of Roman lifestyles as represented in Cleopatra, I Claudius, Gladiator, Alexander, HBO Rome, and 300, we will also note the cultural lenses through which Greek and Roman lifestyles and mores have often been viewed in the later western tradition. This class will serve as an introduction to Greek and Roman civilizations and history, and to historical and philosophical modes of thought and construction.

 

Student Learning Outcomes for Greek and Roman Biography– by the completion of this course, students will:

 

1) Recognize, analyze, and understand, with the aid of anthropological, historical, and geographical methods applied to biographical literature, as well as coins, statues, monuments, and film, some of the mutual influences that Egyptians, Persians, Carthaginians, and Syrians in Africa and Asia had on Greek and Roman history, institutions, economies, societies and cultures through contact, observation, and imperialism (G GenEd, H GenEd)

2) Appreciate and analyze the continuities and discontinuities between these ancient cultures and modern cultures in both the western and non-western traditions through readings in Greek and Roman biographical literature  (G GenEd, H GenEd).

3) Appreciate and analyze the moral and ethical values expressed in biographies of men and women in the Greek and Roman worlds (H GenEd)

4) Improve analytical and evaluative skills in writing and critical thinking through extensive reading, discussion, writing, and creative thought (G GenEd, H GenEd).

 

Learning Outcomes for G(lobal Interdependency) Courses

 

Students in G courses will demonstrate knowledge of how two or more distinctive world regions have influenced and interacted with one another and how such interactions have been informed by their respective cultures or civilizations.

Learning Outcomes for H Courses

Students in H courses will demonstrate an understanding of human experience though the study of literature or philosophy.