Courses
Course descriptions and schedules offered below are a helpful guide to find courses offered by the department.
This listing is not meant to replace the official course catalog maintained by the University Registrar.
CLAS 1101
Introduction to Classical Literature
Introductory survey of the Greek and Roman achievement in literature and its contribution to Western thought; selected readings in English translation in major authors from Homer to Boethius.
GE lit and diversity global studies course. GE foundation lit, vis and performing arts course.
CLAS 1101H
Introduction to Classical Literature
Introductory survey of the Greek and Roman achievement in literature and its contribution to Western thought; selected readings in English translation in major authors from Homer to Boethius.
Prereq: Honors standing, or permission of instructor. GE lit and diversity global studies course. GE foundation lit, vis and performing arts course.
CLAS 2010
Classical Background of Scientific Terminology
An introduction to the Greek and Latin roots of modern scientific terminology, especially medical and pharmaceutical terminology. This is an online-based course. In-person sessions include first-day orientation, midterm, and the final exam.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 210.
CLAS 2201
Classical Civilization: Greece
A survey of ancient Greek civilization, concentrating upon important facets of literature, history, art, and archaeology.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 224. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.
CLAS 2201H
Classical Civilization: Greece
A survey of ancient Greek civilization, concentrating upon important facets of literature, history, art, and archaeology.
Prereq: Honors standing, or permission of department or instructor. Not open to students with credit for Classics 224H. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.
CLAS 2202
Classical Civilization: Rome
A survey of the civilization of ancient Rome, concentrating upon important facets of literature, history, art, and archaeology.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 225. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.
CLAS 2202H
Classical Civilization: Rome
A survey of the civilization of ancient Rome, concentrating upon important facets of literature, history, art, and archaeology.
Prereq: Honors standing, or permission of department or instructor. Not open to students with credit for Clas 2202 (Classics 225) or 225H. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.
CLAS 2204
Medicine in the Ancient World
An introduction to the theory and practice of medicine in ancient Greece and Rome.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 230. GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course.
CLAS 2205
Sports and Spectacles in the Ancient World
The history and social role of gymnastic and athletic competition in Greece and Rome. The evolution of their modern revivals.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 250. GE cultures and ideas course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.
CLAS 2206
Politics and Political Thought in the Ancient World
An advanced overview of the governance, politics, and political thought of ancient Greece and Rome. You will trace the development of the ideals and practices of ancient democracy, oligarchy, monarchy, and citizenship within their historical contexts; and examine how some of the earliest political theory was shaped by the societies in which philosophers and theorists lived.
GE theme citizenship for div and just wrld course.
CLAS 2207
Classical Origins of American Civics
This course examines how American democratic civic traditions have been shaped by the Classical worlds of Greece and Rome. Students explore the direct and indirect ways in which the politics, philosophy, and culture of the ancient world has played a central role in the creation of the American Republic and develop means of critiquing the role of the ancient world in modern political discourse.
CLAS 2220
Classical Mythology
Personalities and attributes of the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, their mythology and its influence on Western culture.
GE lit and diversity global studies course. GE foundation lit, vis and performing arts course.
CLAS 2220H
Classical Mythology
Personalities and attributes of the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, their mythology and its influence on Western culture.
Prereq: Honors standing, or permission of department or instructor. Not open to students with credit for 2220. GE lit and diversity global studies course. GE foundation lit, vis and performing arts course.
CLAS 2222
From Ishtar to Christ: The History of Mediterranean Religions
This course introduces students to the historical facts of 10 ancient Mediterranean religions in a context that trains them to study religions more generally. It also teaches them how two of the most prominent religions today--Judaism and Christianity--succeeded within a richly diverse religious marketplace, and how religions respond to their political, economic, and social environments.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for RelStds 2222. Cross-listed in RelStds.
CLAS 2301
Classical Archaeology
Principles, methods, and history of archaeological investigation in the ancient Greek and Roman world, illustrated through a selection of major classical sites.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for History 2210 or HistArt 2301. GE cultures and ideas and historical study and diversity global studies course. GE theme traditions, cultures, and transformations course. Cross-listed in History 2210 and HistArt 2301.
CLAS 2500H
Greek Identities: Ancient and Modern
Explores how Greeks defined themselves by comparing ethnic and national identity in ancient and modern Greece. What does it mean to be Greek?
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for MdrnGrk 2500H (250H). GE lit course.
CLAS 3000
From Rome to Europe and Beyond
Survey of the influence Latin as a literary language had on Western cultures from the Middle Ages to the present day.
GE cultures and ideas and historical study course.
CLAS 3100
Topics in Ancient Literature and Culture
In depth analysis of selected topics in ancient literature and culture. Varies.
Repeatable to a maximum of 6 cr hrs.
CLAS 3101
Greek and Roman Epic
Study of Greek and Roman epic based on extensive readings in English translation of works by authors such as Homer, Apollonius, Vergil and Ovid.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 301.
CLAS 3102
Greek and Roman Drama
Study of Greek and Roman drama based on extensive readings in English translation of the plays of such authors as Sophocles, Euripides, Menander, Plautus, or Seneca.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 302.
CLAS 3103
Comic Spirit in Antiquity
Study of the comic literature of the Greco-Roman world based on extensive readings in English translation drawn from epic, drama, satire, and the novel.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 303.
CLAS 3191
Internship in Classical Archaeology
This internship course trains students to work in the OSU Classics Department?s twin research and teaching collections: the OSU Museum of Classical Archaeology and the Center for Epigraphical and Paleographical Studies on west campus. Students enrolled in this class will engage in hands-on training in object handling, conservation, collections management, stewardship, and curation.
CLAS 3203
War and Displacement in Ancient Greek and Roman Literature
This courses focuses on 1) war and displacement in ancient Greek and Roman literature and 2) current scholarship on migration, mobility, and immobility in the ancient world. We investigate whether and how ancient literary texts (typically produced by elite men) can be used to study broader phenomena in the experience of ancient peoples, such as displacement, exile, and captivity.
Prereq: English 1110.xx, GE foundation writing and info literacy course, or permission of instructor. GE lit course. GE theme migration, mobility, and immobility course.
CLAS 3205
What is Race? Perspectives from Antiquity to the Present
This course introduces students to ancient Greek and Roman ideas of race, ethnicity, and gender, to the intersections between these ideas in the thought and lived experience of ancient peoples, to how these ideas were used, remade, and redeployed in early modernity and afterward, and to the key role of the ancient Mediterranean in modern racist ideologies.
Prereq: English 1110.xx, or completion of GE Foundation Writing and Information Literacy Course, or permission of instructor. GE foundation race, ethnicity and gender div course.
CLAS 3210
Classics and African American Political Thought
This course focuses on citizenship, leadership, and political change in ancient Greek and Roman and modern African American thought. We examine how African American thinkers have 1) interpreted, made use of, and revised the Classics in their own work and 2) contributed to and developed traditions of political inquiry and debate traced to ancient Greece and Rome.
Prereq: English 1110.xx, GE foundation writing and info literacy course, or permission of instructor. GE theme citizenship for div and just wrld course.
CLAS 3212
Greece and the Mediterranean from Alexander to Cleopatra
This class explores the rhythms of the Hellenistic period from the decades that preceded Alexander's campaign against Persia to the absorption of the last of the successor kingdoms by the Romans in 30 BCE.
Prereq: English 1110.xx, or completion of GE Foundation Writing and Information Literacy course, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for History 3212. Cross-listed in History.
CLAS 3213
Slavery in the Ancient World
Study of slavery as an institution and ideology of ancient Greece and Rome, including its importance in the ancient family, economy, and culture.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for 3202, History 3213 or 3213H. Cross-listed in History.
CLAS 3215
Sex and Gender in the Ancient World
Introductory survey of women, gender, and sexual relations in the ancient Mediterranean world, especially Greece and Rome.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for History 3215. GE historical study and diversity global studies course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies and race, ethnicity and gender div course. Cross-listed in History.
CLAS 3217
Family, household, and kinship in the Ancient World
This upper-level course focuses on the family as a foundational unit of ancient Mediterranean societies. Through a survey of primary and secondary literature, the students will engage with the evolution of familial networks from the Bronze Age to Late Antiquity, with a focus on the Greco-Roman world.
Prereq: English 1110.xx, GE foundation writing and info literacy course, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for History 3217. GE theme traditions, cultures, and transformations course. Cross-listed in History.
CLAS 3221
History of Rome: Republic to Empire
An advanced survey of Rome's history from the late Republic to the early Empire under Augustus and his successors.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or completion of GE Foundation Writing and Information Literacy course, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for History 3221 or 2212. Cross-listed in History.
CLAS 3222
The Roman Empire, 69-377 CE
An advanced survey of Rome's imperial history from the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty to the death of Constantine.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or completion of GE Foundation Writing and Information Literacy Course, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for History 3222. Cross-listed in History.
CLAS 3223
The Later Roman Empire
An advanced survey of Rome's history in the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries with focus on themes of decline, fall, and transformation.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or GE foundation writing and info literacy course, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for History 3223. GE historical study course. GE theme traditions, cultures, and transformations course. Cross-listed in History.
CLAS 3223
The Rise of the Roman Republic
An advanced survey of Rome's history from the foundation of the city to the establishment of the Republic's Mediterranean Empire, ca 150 BC.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or GE Foundation Writing and Information Literacy course, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for History 3220. Cross-listed in History.
CLAS 3301
Law, Citizenship, and Empire in Later Rome
This course explores the historical, social, religious, and cultural processes that led to the codification of Roman law by Justinian and his predecessors (this is primarily a historical course, not a course in jurisprudence). Also, this course will examine how changing notions of citizenship within the later empire effected and were affected by the practice and creation of law.
Prereq: English 1110.xx, or GE foundation writing and info literacy course, or permission of instructor. GE theme citizenship for div and just wrld course.
CLAS 3401
Ancient Greek Religion
Study of ancient Greek religions, including the beginnings of Christianity.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 323. GE historical study course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.
CLAS 3403
The Hero in Classical Mythology
The development and interpretation of the major cycles of classical saga based on extensive readings in Greek and Roman epic and drama.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 322.
CLAS 3404
Magic in the Ancient World
An introduction to the theory and practice of magic in the ancient Mediterranean, how people viewed it, and how it survived in later epochs.
GE cultures and ideas and diversity global studies course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.
CLAS 3408
Ancient Roman Religion
Study of religious life and institutions in the Roman Republic and Empire, with due attention to the primary sources, in translation, and their difficulties.
GE cultures and ideas and historical study course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course.
CLAS 3720
The Corrupting Sea: The Environmental History of the Ancient Mediterranean
A historical examination of interactions between the environment and human activity in the ancient Mediterranean.
Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx, or GE Foundation Writing and Information Literacy course, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for History 3720. GE historical study and diversity global studies course. GE foundation historical and cultural studies course. Cross-listed in History.
CLAS 3956
Black Cultures and Classical Education
Study the role of classics in African and the African Diaspora (US, Caribbean, Brazil). Major themes include: adaptations of classical literature, impact of classical education, classics as a tool of colonial oppression, classics as a tool of anti-colonial resistance, theories of race, classical and classicizing depictions of black bodies.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for AfAmASt 3956. Cross-listed in AfAmASt. GE lit course. GE diversity global studies course.
CLAS 4101
Classical Receptions: Ancient Greece and Rome in the Modern World
Explorations of the reception of ancient culture in the modern world, from creative cultural engagements to comparative political and social topics.
CLAS 4101
Classical Receptions: Ancient Greece and Rome in the Modern World
Explorations of the reception of ancient culture in the modern world, from creative cultural engagements to comparative political and social topics.
CLAS 4201
Political Thought and Institutions in the Greco-Roman World
Selected topics concerning the development of ancient political theory.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 505.
CLAS 4998
Research
A program of study arranged for each student.
Prereq: Sr standing, and permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs or 3 completions. This course is graded S/U.
CLAS 4998H
Honors Research
A program of study arranged for each student.
Prereq: Honors standing, and Sr standing, and permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs or 3 completions. This course is graded S/U.
CLAS 4999
Thesis Research
A program of study leading to the writing of a thesis and an oral defense that will integrate the experience of earlier courses in classics.
Prereq: Jr standing or above, and enrollment in Classics major; or permission of instructor or department. Repeatable to a maximum of 18 cr hrs or 3 completions. This course is graded S/U.
CLAS 4999H
Honors Thesis Research
A program of study leading to the writing of a thesis and an oral defense that will integrate the experience of earlier courses in classics.
Prereq: Honors standing, Jr standing or above, and Enrollment in Classics Major; or permission of instructor or department. Repeatable to a maximum of 18 cr hrs or 3 completions. This course is graded S/U.
CLAS 5101
Classical Literature: Theoretical Perspectives and Critical Readings
Introduction to central debates and influential approaches to the study of Classical literature, from ancient literary criticism to modern literary theory.
CLAS 5302
Studies in Greek or Roman Topography
The topography and archaeology of ancient Athens, Rome, or other sites important to Greco-Roman literature and civilization.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 656.
CLAS 5401
Methodologies for the Study of Ancient Religions
Introduction to the methodologies and the scholars who have significantly influenced the study of ancient religion.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for NELC 5401. Cross-listed in NELC.
CLAS 6002
Classics Professionalization Seminar
Introduction to the academic profession of Classics and its culture.
Prereq: Grad standing in Classics, or equivalent.
CLAS 6780
History of Philology
A seminar introducing first-year graduate students to methods, instrument and history of research in ancient studies.
CLAS 7890
Seminar on Classical Literatures and Cultures
Graduate research seminar on topics that span across Greek and Latin (and occasionally other ancient Mediterranean) texts and cultures.
Prereq: Grad standing. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs.
CLAS 7891
Graduate Seminar on Epigraphy
Graduate research seminar on Greek and/or Latin epigraphy.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 811.
CLAS 7892
Graduate Seminar on Greek and Latin Palaeography and Textual Criticism
Research seminar on Greek and Latin palaeography and textual criticism.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 812.
CLAS 7893
Graduate Seminar on Religion and Mythology of the Ancient World
Graduate research seminar on Greek and/or Roman religion and mythology. Reading knowledge of Greek and/or Latin preferred; special arrangements can be made for exceptional students without reading knowledge.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 870. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs.
CLAS 7894
Graduate Seminar on Late Antiquity and Byzantium
Research Seminar on select topics in the history, cultures, and literatures of Late Antiquity and Byzantium.
Prereq: Not open to students with credit for Classics 890.
CLAS 7895
Graduate Seminar on New Testament and Early Christian Literature
Graduate research seminar on the exegetical problems and current methodologies in the academic study of the New Testament and other early Christian literature. Reading knowledge of Greek preferred; special arrangements can be made for exceptional students without reading knowledge.
Prereq: Grad standing. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs.