Karl Galinsky

Before Flags were instituted at UT, I offered a course on “Leadership and Values in Greece and Rome” several times.

Course objective: discussion of some major Greco-Roman texts from the perspective of leadership and values. I’ll retool the course to meet the requirement that "at least one-third of the course grade must be based on work in practical ethics, i.e., the study of what is involved in making real-life ethical choices."We’ll connect this with the ancient readings, e.g., with reference to Homer: Hector’s dilemma and modern analogies; mass destruction of civilians and the concept of the just war; contingent truths and veracity in everyday life (Odysseus).  Further, the Ajax dilemma (Paul Woodruff’s book); ethics in government (Plato [and “the noble lie”]).  Aeneid:  conflict between the pursuit of happiness and responsibility to a larger group; the ethics of ending a personal relationship (Dido/Aeneas).  Plus the old conundrums of Antigone and Socrates’ trial, and more.  No shortage of material and modern applications, definitely.

Texts:

James M. Burns, Leadership (1978)

Homer, Iliad (transl. R. Fagles)

Plato, Republic (transl. B. Jowett)

Thucydides (transl. R. Warner)

Cicero, Republic and Laws (transl. N. Rudd)

Augustus, Res Gestae (ed. by A. Cooley)

Vergil, Aeneid (transl. R. Fitzgerald)

Selections from P. Woodruff, The Ajax Dilemma (2011)

Grading:

There will be two writing assignments of some 5,000 words each (approx. 10 pages, double-spaced, standard margins).  Students will be required to hand in a draft ahead of time; the draft will NOT count as a separate writing activity. 35% writing assignments; 25% class participation; 40% exams midterm and final

Our focus will be the second half of Vergil’s Aeneid, Books 7-12 on Aeneas’ war in Italy, which highlight conflict and the poem’s historical context. For various reasons, this half of the Aeneid, which Vergil programmatically calls the “greater opus” (maius opus), is widely neglected.  Scholarship of late has begun to fill that gap and we will evaluate several approaches to the thematics of the poem’s second half.  Besides translating, we will survey and discuss relevant international scholarship.  Emphasis on informed class discussion, reports, and a research paper. 

LAT 385: same as 365, with additional primary and secondary readings.

Texts:

Virgil, R.D. Williams, ed.  The Aeneid of Virgil: Books 7-12 (St. Martin’s)

Course reader with selections from K.W. Gransden, Virgil, Aeneid, Book VIII (Cambridge 1976); P. Hardie, Virgil Aeneid Book IX (Cambridge 1994); S.J. Harrison, Virgil, Aeneid 10 (Oxford 1991); R. Tarrant, Virgil, Aeneid XII (Cambridge 2012); K. Galinsky, Augustan Culture (Princeton 1996)l; and others

Our focus will be the second half of Vergil’s Aeneid, Books 7-12 on Aeneas’ war in Italy, which highlight conflict and the poem’s historical context. For various reasons, this half of the Aeneid, which Vergil programmatically calls the “greater opus” (maius opus), is widely neglected.  Scholarship of late has begun to fill that gap and we will evaluate several approaches to the thematics of the poem’s second half.  Besides translating, we will survey and discuss relevant international scholarship.  Emphasis on informed class discussion, reports, and a research paper. 

LAT 385: same as 365, with additional primary and secondary readings.

Texts:

Virgil, R.D. Williams, ed.  The Aeneid of Virgil: Books 7-12 (St. Martin’s)

Course reader with selections from K.W. Gransden, Virgil, Aeneid, Book VIII (Cambridge 1976); P. Hardie, Virgil Aeneid Book IX (Cambridge 1994); S.J. Harrison, Virgil, Aeneid 10 (Oxford 1991); R. Tarrant, Virgil, Aeneid XII (Cambridge 2012); K. Galinsky, Augustan Culture (Princeton 1996)l; and others

The course is a survey of the highlights of Greek civilization from Homer to the time of Alexander.  We'll look at the various components that comprise Greek culture:  historical and political developments, literature (the Odyssey, some lyric poetry [e.g. Sappho], and tragedies like Aeschylus' Oresteia and Sophocles' Oedipus plays), the arts, architecture, religion, and thought (e.g. Plato's Republic).  This was a lively civilization that changed and interacted greatly with others, such as the ancient near east.  The Greeks are a model not because they were perfect and wonderful, but because they tried to come to grips with and define many political and human issues that are still with us today:  the nature of heroism, the justice or injustice of the world, the proper relation between individual and society, the experiment with democracy, the "classical" style in the arts and architecture, and much more.  The course carries a global flag.   Four exams (50% essay, 50% multiple choice); no final.  There will be review sessions before each test.   Texts: Amos & Lang, These Were the Greeks Homer, Odyssey.  Transl. Fitzgerald (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Aeschylus, Oresteia  (Penguin) Euripides, Grene, ed. Euripides V  (U of Chicago) Sophocles, Grene, ed.  Sophocles I  (U of Chicago) Aristophanes, Parker, tr.  Lysistrata  (Signet Classics) Plato, Rouse, tr.  Republic  (Signet Classics)

Love elegy was a lively and unique form of Roman poetry that reached its high point in the Augustan age. We will look briefly at its antecedents (Catullus), try to assess the role of Cornelius Gallus, and mostly concentrate on the principal Augustan elegists: Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid (including some elegiac stories from the Metamorphoses). What kind of topics do they start out with, how does their poetry evolve, and are there gender roles in their poetry--these are some of the questions we'll pursue by studying specific and representative poems.

TEXTS: Course Packet S. J. Heyworth and J. Morwood, A Commentary on Propertius, Book 3 (Oxford 2011) P. Murgatroyd, ed., Ovid with Love.  Selections from Ars Amatoria Books 1 and 2 (Chicago 1982)

The course is a survey of some key events and personalities of ancient

Greece and Rome and of their treatment in major European and American

films. The weekly movies, which can be accessed on Netflix,  iTunes, etc., will be an integral part of the

course. But the emphasis will vary: some will play a larger role in our

discussions (half of the Thursday class time is reserved for those) and others will be supplementary to our studying a given

period of Greek and Roman history. In neither scenario will the focus

be on what the movie did "wrong" and on a laborious list of

inaccuracies--these films are not documentaries, but creative

adaptations for entertainment. Still, we'll analyze what leads movie

producers time and again to return to classical themes (incl. early

Christianity), what their slants and intentions are, and what

particular challenges these subjects present. The fact is that movies

are playing a large role in providing most of the contact many folks

have with the ancient world. It's always good to know more about the historical background and

what the story really was, and that is much of what this course is

about.

Texts

Some of the films we'll incorporate: Troy, The Odyssey, 300, Hercules

(Disney), Alexander the Great, Ben Hur, Cleopatra, Gladiator,

Spartacus, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, The Da Vinci Code, O

Brother Where Art Thou. There'll be two textbooks on Greek and Roman

history and a course packet (including selections from Homer's Iliad

and Odyssey, and a Greek tragedy); the exams will include an essay

portion.

R. Morkot, The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece (1996) ISBN

0140513353

Homer, The Odyssey, trans. R. Fitzgerald (Farrar/Straus 1998)

ISBN 0374525749

A. Kamm, The Romans (Routledge 2007) 014120403

W.  Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (Washington Sq. Press 2005)

0743484932

The seminar will be a synoptic study of the main components of Augustan culture:  political and social history, the arts and architecture, literature, and religion.  Overcoming traditional compartmentalizations will be one goal.  Another, related one, is to get away from the schematic concepts and dichotomies that have commonly been applied to the Augustan age.  Despite some nonpareil recent scholarship on the period, there "is still work to be done" (R. Syme). The issues are complex and will require competent research.  A good working knowledge, therefore, of a least one modern language will be the sine qua non for any participants.  Emphasis will be on informed discussion, articulate reports, and a solid paper.  Subjects covered will depend to some extent on the interests of the members of the seminar.  No auditors. Texts: R. Syme, The Roman Revolution P. Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus K. Galinsky, Augustan Culture A.E. Cooley, ed.,  Res Gestae Divi Augusti OCT's of Vergil, Horace, Course Packet

Cross-listed with C C 383 

The course is a survey of some of the highlights of Roman civilization
from its 8th cent. B.C. beginnings to the so called Fall of the Roman
Empire in A.D. 476.  We will look not only at political history, but
also at art, literature, architecture, and religion, and we'll pursue
some continuing questions such as: What caused Rome's growth?  How were
the Romans able to develop a lasting and stable system of government,
which the framers of the American Constitution had very much in mind?
Rome, like America, was a mix of different cultures and yet maintained
unity in all the diversity--e pluribus unum  indeed.  What are some of
the other parallels between the Roman and the American experience and
what are the limits of such analogies?  In addition, we'll look at the
genesis of early Christianity within the Roman cultural context of the
times.  In so many words, besides acquainting students with a solid
factual basis for Roman history, the course will also identify some of
the abiding issues that have made Roman civilization such a fascinating
subject for imitation, admiration, loathing, and anything in between
for subsequent generations, right up to our own times.

There are no prerequisites for this course. This course carries a Global Cultures flag and fulfills the Visual and Performing Arts requirement; it may also be counted as an elective.

There will be four one-hour exams (half essay, half multiple choice); the one with the lowest grade will count somewhat less than the others.

Texts:
A. Kamm, The Romans  (Routledge)
Suetonius, Twelve Caesars  (Penguin)
R. Fitzgerald tr., Aeneid of Virgil  (Random)
G. Vidal, Julian  (Ballantine)
Also, Course Packet

In recent years, the younger Seneca has undergone something of a renaissance and has found an enthusiastic readership that extends well beyond those scholars with philosophical interests.  Indeed, Seneca might now be regarded as one of the most widely-studied and written-about Imperial Latin writers.  As such, he is an author with whom students of Latin literature and Roman culture should have some acquaintance.  In this course, we will focus on two of Seneca’s most gripping and influential tragedies, the Medea and the Thyestes.  We will also devote some time to the Pseudo-Senecan Octavia.

The course has three related aims: to examine how Seneca dealt with imperial power; to explore Seneca’s distinctive modes of thought and expression; and to improve each student's ability to be an informed and discerning reader of Latin. In addition to reading substantial amounts of prepared Latin during each class meeting, we will learn to scan Senecan verse and discuss a selection of recent secondary scholarship on Senecan drama and its influence on later literary traditions.  Latin assignments will range from approximately 40 lines of Latin early in the course to 75 lines by the end of the semester.  We will not translate all prepared Latin during class meetings. 

This course carries a Writing flag; it may also be counted as an elective.

The final grade will be composed of: class participation and preparation (10%); in-class presentation (10%); 2 midterm examinations (35%); comprehensive final exam (25%); and a 10-12 pp scholarly research paper (20%).

Texts:

H.M. Hine, Seneca: Medea (Aris & Phillips, 2000).  978-0856686924.
R.J. Tarrant, Seneca’s Thyestes (1985).  978-0891308713.
E.F. Watling, Four Tragedies and Octavia (Penguin Classics, 1966).  978-0140441741.