Courses

Offered Spring 25

Letters Category: History; Philosophy

This course examines the history and archaeology of the Roman army in times of war and peace, and in doing so provides an introduction to ancient history, classical studies, and Mediterranean archaeology. Drawing on a diverse range of materials, including art, artifacts, and primary source documents, this course explores warfare from Pre-Roman times to Late Antiquity.

Offered Fall semester

Letters category: History; Philosophy

In the last several decades, the study of women, gender and sexuality has become one of the most significant and exciting sub-specialties within the field of Classics. By reading ancient writings in translation, we will address the following questions: How did ancient Greek and Roman societies understand and use the categories of male and female, masculine and feminine? How may we derive from the Greeks and Romans the ideological bases of Western attitudes toward sex/gender categories? How are notions of gender represented in the surviving literature of ancient Greece and Rome?

Offered Spring 25

Category:Gen-Ed: Western Civ; Letters category: History; Literature

Admit it — you wanted to be an archaeologist when you grew up. This course builds on that enthusiasm while exploring the world of classical archaeology: the art, architecture and material culture of the ancient Mediterranean world. We will study the long history behind the archaeological discovery of Greece and Rome (and others), while also learning how the field has radically changed and expanded over time. We will experience archaeology’s hands-on nature using class exercises, case studies and museum visits. Our goal by the end of the course is to have you ‘thinking like an archaeologist’ and fully aware of the often-fraught present-day politics behind the archaeology of the ancient world.

Offered Spring & Fall semesters

Category:Gen-Ed: Western Civ; Letters category: History; Literature

This course is an introduction to the world of Greek and Roman mythology. By reading both poetry and prose we will explore the traditional stories of the Greeks and Romans and how they reveal the values and beliefs of the people who told and retold them over the centuries. Through this extensive reading, students will develop both an appreciation for Classical mythology and their abilities to analyze both primary and secondary sources.

Offered Spring, Fall & Winter session 

Prerequisite: sophomore standing.

Designed to be of special use to students planning a career in the Allied Health professions. Study of the basic Greek and Latin elements of medical terminology through the analysis of select vocabularies and word lists.

Offered Fall semester

Gen-Ed: Western Culture; Letters Category: History

The well-known satirical publication, The Onion, once reported that ancient Greek civilization was a complete modern fraud, since obviously no single culture could have invented so much stuff (http://www.theonion.com/articles/historians-admit-to-inventing-ancient-greeks,18209/). All that Great Art? The Olympic Games? Literature that is never out of print and plays that are never off the stage? Democracy? The front door of OU’s Carnegie Building? It seems impossible! But they did.

This course will explore the world of ancient Greece, from the monumental (the Parthenon!) to the mundane (who did the dishes?), and everything in between. And we will think on — and argue over — whether or not our ongoing modern fascination with the ancients Greeks is always a good thing.

Offered Spring semester

Gen-Ed: Western Culture; Letters Category: History; Philosophy

Examines the development and dissemination of Roman civilization in ancient times and its influence on the modern world. Aspects of Roman culture such as literature, law, religion, art and architecture, education, intellectual life, popular entertainment, and the role of women are emphasized

Offered Fall 24 

Gen ed: Western Culture. Letters Cat: Hist, Lit, Philosophy. Con Studies Category: Ancient Foundations

The framers of the Constitution looked to the Roman Republic as a model for a form of government that could withstand the vagaries of time. This course examines how Roman writers responded to the many crises of the first century BCE that led to the collapse of their government and the beginning of the Imperial Age, as well as how later writers looked back on the Republic. History, drama, poetry, political speeches, and letters will be our window onto the crises of this pivotal period and how the thinkers of the day responded to them

Offered Spring 25

Gen ed category: Western Culture; Letters category: History; Literature; Prerequisite: Sophomore standing

Prerequisite: sophomore standing. May be repeated; maximum credit six hours. readings in a selected genre (e.g. epic, drama, satire, lyric) with lectures on the history and development of latin literature. The Greek background to Latin literature and the Romans' influence on later works.

Offered Spring 25

Prerequisite: English 1213

A survey of early Christian history that aims to set the Christian scriptures in their cultural and political context. Canonical, non-canonical, Jewish, and pagan sources are read alongside one another in order to consider the interrelationships among various religious ideas in the Roman world.

Offered Fall semester

Gen-ed category: Western Culture: Letters category: Literature: Prerequisite: Engl 1213/Expo 1213

This course concerns three of the most important and influential literary works from the ancient world: Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and Vergil’s Aeneid. These stories have it all: romance, adventure, heroes, villains, magic, prophesy, heroism, sacrifice, and more.

Offered Fall 24

Gen-ed category: Western Civ: Letter's category: History; Philosophy; Literature; 

Plato’s dialogues are at the foundation of the western tradition. His influence is unparalleled in the history of philosophy. What we know today as Platonism, a loose affiliation of philosophies derived from Plato, often adapted his original philosophy in creative and contradicting ways. This class will read (in English) select dialogues of Plato in their historical context and will also examine the philosophers who later claimed his legacy over many centuries. Texts from Middle Platonism and Neoplatonism will also be read, as well as medieval texts that received Platonism and transmitted it to Renaissance and Early Modern philosophers. We will discuss Christian, Jewish, and Muslim uses of Plato and the long Platonic traditions established in these religions.

Offered Spring semester:

Gen-ed category: Western Culture: Letters category: Literature; History; Prerequisite: junior standing or permission of the instructor. 

Lectures on the development of the ancient Greek and Roman drama. Lectures with readings and discussion from the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plautus, Terence, and Seneca and from Aristotle's poetics. The influence of ancient drama on European literature.

Offered Spring semester

Gen-Ed: Western Civ; Letters Category: History; Philosophy; Literature

Prerequisite: junior standing and permission of instructor.

Hellas examines the human factor dominating western history, philosophy, literature, and political science as Greek civilization chronologically evolves. Responsible behavior, balance, and control are the lessons of all Greek literature, art, philosophy, and social institutions. 

Offered Spring semester

Gen ed category: Artistic Forms; Prerequisite: sophomore standing.

Lectures, occasionally illustrated and assigned readings. Survey of the architecture, sculpture, painting and minor arts in the Greek regions of the Eastern Mediterranean in the successive stages of their development; with analyses of dominant styles and detailed study of select masterpieces and monuments.

Offered Fall semester

Gen ed category: Artistic Forms; Prerequisite: sophomore standing.

(Crosslisted with A HI 3223) Continuation of 3213. Survey of Hellenistic art with particular attention to the individuality of style and diversity of matter. Early Etruscan and Roman art. The development of Roman art in native and assimilated forms; studies in domestic and national monuments.

Offered Fall 24

Gen-Ed: Western Civ; Letters Category: History

This course is about the development of the ancient city of Rome. It is a detailed study of how Rome developed from its humble beginnings, as little more than a village on the banks of the Tiber River, to the huge metropolis that represented the power of the Roman Empire. This course examines each phase of the physical development of the city as reflected in the excavations of the architectural remains of the Roman Forum (the central part of the city). The course will include an assessment of the topography of Rome, the individuals, historical events, and the purposes that led to the construction of the buildings that survive today in the ruins of the famed Roman Forum. The study of what ruins represented offers insight into the significance of the Roman urban development and to the greatness of the ancient city and the people who inhabited the city, some of whom played critical roles in guiding the destiny of Rome.

Offered Fall 24

Letters Category: History

Prerequisite: English 1213/Expo 1213.

You are what you eat. You are how you eat. You are when and where and with whom you eat. This was as true in the ancient Mediterranean world of Greece and Rome as it remains in our own. To explore the foodways in the past, we will draw on a wide menu of ancient texts, images, and material culture.

Offered Spring 25

Letters Category: History

Prerequisite: English 1213/Expository Writing 1213.

Athletic activities, and games of all kinds, were just as popular and significant in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds as they are today. We will use primary texts, artistic representations, archaeological discoveries, and modern analogies to explore topics ranging from the rise of the Olympic Games and gladiatorial combats, to just what people considered 'fun' in the ancient world. 

Offered Fall semester

Gen-Ed: Western Civ; Letters Category: History; Philosophy; Literature

Prerequisite: junior standing and permission of instructor.

This course surveys the Roman nation from its legendary origins in 753 BCE to the collapse of the Western Empire in 476 CE. Through readings from standard texts and historical fiction, students will learn about Roman history, literature, and philosophy and its influence on the modern world.

Offered Fall semester

Gen ed category: Western Civ: Prerequisite: junior standing or permission of the instructor.

What is law? What is justice? This course explores these fundamental and timeless human questions in conversation with some of the greatest thinkers throughout human history. The readings will range from the earliest written law codes to contemporary Supreme Court decisions to inquire how notions of justice inform legal systems and how competing notions of justice have developed over the course of thousands of years.. With Aristotle's politics as the principal guide, the course follows the development of justice throughout the Greco-Roman experience.

Offered Spring semester

Gen-Ed: Western Civ; Letters Category: Literature

One of the most basic and universal aspects of being human is laughter and comedy. This course is a survey of various types of comedy (e.g., physical comedy, satire, puns, language games, mistaken identity, and stand-up) as they arise in literature from antiquity through the Middle Ages and into the 21st Century. Students will experience the serious hilarity of Plautus, Aristophanes, Juvenal, Shakespeare, George Carlin, Charlie Hill, Tina Fey, and others.

Offered Spring semester

Gen-Ed: Western Civ; Letters Category: Literature

Prerequisite: English/Expository Writing 1213.

This course introduces students to the historical period of Late Antiquity (circa 300 to 800 CE). The Mediterranean will be the center of attention, but Mesopotamia, Arabia, the Caucasus, the Balkans, and Western Europe will also be considered in turn, along with the rise and development of Christianity and the emergence of Islam as a permanent presence in the East. 

Prerequisite: 1215 or equivalent, with a grade of C or better. May be repeated with a change of content; maximum credit six hours.

Reading designed mainly to increase the student's proficiency in rapid translation, in excerpts from the New Testament. (F)

An introductory study of the vocabulary and grammar of the Latin language, with practice in the reading of sentences and connected prose from selected Latin authors.

Prerequisite: 1115, or the equivalent, with a grade of C or better

An introductory study of the vocabulary and grammar of the Latin language, with practice in the reading of sentences and connected prose from selected Latin authors.

Prerequisite: 1215, or equivalent, with a grade of C or better. May be repeated with a change of content; the maximum credit is six hours.

This course focuses on the reading and understanding of continuous prose passages in Latin. It begins with a review of word forms and then moves on to further practice with more complicated sentence constructions. Through this class, the student will begin to read Latin prose with increased proficiency and acquire a more thorough knowledge of Latin vocabulary and grammar. The readings include selections from the Vulgate, Caesar, and Livy. Roman history and culture will be an important part of the class.

This course will introduce students to Latin poetry, Students begin with Catullus and move on to Vergil, Horace, and Tibullus, building up to readings from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, one of the most influential works in all of Roman literature

Prerequisite: 2113 and 2213. May be repeated with a change of content; maximum credit is six hours.

Selected readings from the works of Vergil, whose writings established the forms for all subsequent epic, didactic, and pastoral poetry in the West

Gen-Ed: Western Civ; Letters categories: History or Philosophy; Constitutional Studies Area: 1, 2, 3, or 4

Provides a broad introduction to the theory and history of constitutional governance. Includes the classical roots of constitutional thought, the contribution of the English common law tradition, the origins and structure of the U.S. Constitution, along with a sense of the constitutional basis of contemporary political controversies.

Letters categories: History; Literature; Philosophy

Prerequisite: ENGL 1213/EXPO 1213.

This course will take a literary approach one or more of the sacred texts from major world religions, examining such issues as narrative and poetic structure, character or the use of imagery or figurative language. It may also incorporate poets, novelists or dramatists whose work draws upon or investigates the sacred texts in question. (F, Sp)

Letters categories: Philosophy, Literature, Philosophy

Prerequisite: ENGL/EXPO 1213 and Junior standing, or permission of instructor; Repeatable with change of content, maximum credit 6 hours. This course examines ideologies, historical events, and literary descriptions related to philanthropic and charitable endeavors. Students will gain a broader understanding of how modern organizations have evolved and consider what counts as "best practices" in philanthropy. The class can be applied toward the Letters major's requirement in history, literature, or philosophy. (Sp) [IV-WC]

Letters Category: Literature

Prerequisite: English 1213 or Expository Writing 1213. It is a strange fact of literary history that the "Age of Reason" becomes obsessed with monsters. The Gothic becomes a genre in its own right and the supernatural, the monstrous, and the magical permeate the modern imagination. The course considers works from various national literary traditions and periods. (F, Sp)

Letters categories: History; Philosophy; Literature

Prerequisite: ENGL 1213/EXPO 1213. 

Letters categories: Literature 

Prerequisite: ENGL 1213/EXPO 1213.

This class explores the work of Tolkien.