Summer 2023

CLST 10.15 Magic and the Occult in the Ancient World  Curse tablets and love potions, amulets and talismans, step-by-step instructions to reanimate the dead or control the divine—from simple spells designed to meet the needs of the poor and the desperate to the complex theurgies of the philosophers, the people of the Greco-Roman world employed magic to try to influence the world around them. In this course, we will study the ancient practitioners of magic, the techniques and objects through which they served their clientele, the bodies of occult knowledge upon which they drew, and the cultural contexts in which they operated or were thought to operate.  Glauthier, 12

CLST 11.20  The Slaves' History of Rome   This course examines the slave system of ancient Rome from the slaves' perspective. Topics include the historiography of slavery; the economic roles of slaves and their structural relation to other classes of free and unfree labor; the historical context and political motives for the development of slave societies; slaves' evolving political, social, and legal roles; the cultural processes that made and un-made the legal definition of the slave as a thing without status or identity. SOC, CI. Stewart, 11

CLST 11.02   Rediscovering Sparta  This course gives students the opportunity to learn about the history of Sparta while becoming familiar with technology that is rapidly becoming indispensable in studying ancient Greece. We will use newly available archaeological information, ancient Greek texts, excavation reports and maps from the early 20th century, and GIS software to construct visualizations of the ancient city of Sparta. No prior knowledge of the relevant software or prior coursework in the ancient world is required or expected. TAS, W. Christesen, 2

GRK 30.04/LAT 30.03  Ancient Fiction: The Greek and Roman Novels  Kidnapped lovers, marauding pirates, powerful witches, and the occasional werewolf—this is the world of the ancient novel. In this class, students will focus on one text in the original language and read more broadly in translation. We will pay particular attention to narrative, genre, intertextuality, literary and cultural contexts, and reception. Gaki, 10