Upcoming Courses

Spring 2026

Courses are divided into three areas of study: Classics in English, Greek, and Latin. All available courses can also be viewed via BannerWeb. All courses are one unit (unless otherwise indicated). 

Classics in English, Archaeology, and Linguistics

Classics 101 – Classical Mythology
Two sections: MW 3:00-4:15 pm – Damer; MW 4:30-5:45 pm – Mongrain
Classics 101 will introduce students to myths of the ancient Mediterranean. Students will read some of the major works of Greek, Latin, and Mesopotamian literature and come to understand how peoples in the ancient Mediterranean and beyond used myth in their literature, history, religion, and art. Satisfies the Literary Studies (FSLT) or Literary and Textual Inquiry requirement and may be applied to GSS. No prerequisite.

Classics 212 – Dining and Drinking in Classical Antiquity
MW 3:00-4:15 pm – Mongrain
An analysis of banqueting in the ancient Mediterranean world, from communal feasts at religious festivals to the private banquets of the Greek symposion and the Roman convivium. Satisfies the Social Analysis (FSSA) or Social Inquiry (AISO) and Written Communication (IFWC) requirement. No prerequisite.

CLSC 232– Daily Life in Roman Pompeii
TR 10:30-11:45 am – Damer

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii have sparked the imagination since 79 CE. What was daily life like in a Roman town? What can we learn about the Roman world from advertisements, social media, business records, and contracts, or from building dedications and correspondence? In this seminar, students will become acquainted with digital tools and resources for the study of the Roman world and will study Roman writing from the archaeological context of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and surrounding communities. Through an analysis of many types of evidence, students will explore Roman thinking about citizenship, food, community, slavery, politics, entertainment, friendship, housing, work, death, and public spaces. Satisfies the Historical Studies (FSHT) or Historical Inquiry (AIHS) requirement, and WGSS Historical Perspectives requirement. No prerequisite.

LING 297 – History of Spanish
TR 12:00-1:15 pm – Wong Medina
This course serves as an introduction to historical linguistics and the history of Spanish from the end of the 3^rd century BCE to the present day. Over the course of two millennia, the variety of Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula developed into a language that was distinct from other Romance languages like Portuguese, French and Italian. The development from Vulgar Latin to Spanish is largely due to the natural process of language change, but external forces were also at play: topography, the robust presence of Arabic in the Iberian Peninsula, contact with other Romance languages, and the enduring role of Latin as the official language of the church and state. In this course you will learn to identify the different stages in the development of Spanish and situate these different stages in their socio-historical contexts. Satisfies the AI-Historical Inquiry (AIHS) requirement. No prerequisites. Some knowledge of Latin, Spanish or another Romance language recommended.

Classics 301– Greek Art and Archaeology
MW 1:30-2:45 pm – Baughan
This course offers a survey of the art and archaeology of the Greek world, from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period. While tracing developments in painting, sculpture, and architecture, we will consider the function of art and buildings in Greek society and their relation to history, politics, and social ideologies. We will also explore different methods of interpreting archaeological remains and ‘reading’ the language(s) of visual art, and students will engage with Greek art and architecture through their own artistic creations. Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts (FSVP or AIVP) requirement and may be applied to GSS with special contract.

Classics 306 – The Classical Tradition
TR 12:00-1:15 pm – Baker
Why do the buildings of so many powerful institutions all look vaguely similar? Why does a particular visual style dominate so much of the collection of major galleries? Why does the ancient world still sell in twenty-first-century film and television (see: Rome, Gladiator II, KAOS and so many more)? Starting in present-day Richmond, this course will explore contemporary manifestations of the classical style in visual, architectural, and literary forms, as well as tracing the evolution of a tradition that made this style a defining element of what we call western culture back to its invention in the Italian Renaissance and its origins in the ancient societies and cultures of the Mediterranean. Satisfies the Historical Studies (FSHT) or Historical Inquiry (AIHS) requirement. No prerequisite.

Classics 320 – Cultural Property: Archaeology, Ethics, and Law
TR 1:30-2:45 pm – Baughan
Who owns the past? This course explores current issues of archaeological ethics and cultural heritage management. Topics range from the ancient history of looting and appropriation to the illicit antiquities market and site preservation today, and how local and international property and tax laws affect collecting practices. Students will prepare class presentations and research papers to explore these legal and ethical issues through specific case studies, primarily from the Mediterranean region. For law students taking the course for graduate credit, more in-depth research and longer papers will be required. Satisfies the Embodied Communication (IFEB) requirement. May be applied to PPEL and Law and the Liberal Arts.

Classics 499 – Independent Study
TBD
Available only through departmental approval prior to registration.

Greek

Greek 102 – Elementary Greek
MWF 12:00-12:50 pm – Wong Medina
We will continue our study of ancient Greek and the history and culture of classical Greece.  As in Greek 101, emphasis will be placed on mastering essential vocabulary and forms and on practicing reading and other comprehension skills. Prerequisite: Greek 101. Partially satisfies the Second Language requirement.

Greek 202 – Intermediate Greek
MWF 12:00-12:50 pm – Simpson
We will continue our study of Greek literature with a focus on the Medea of Euripides. Students will continue to develop reading and comprehension skills, a working vocabulary, and an understanding of the cultural and literary backgrounds to the dramatic literature of classical Athens. Prerequisite: Greek 201 or permission of the department. Satisfies the Second Language requirement.

Greek 301– Greek Epic
TR 9:00-10:15 am – Wong Medina
Readings from the "Iliad" and "Odyssey." Prerequisite: Greek 202 or permission of the department.

Greek 499 – Independent Study
TBD
Available only through departmental permission arranged prior to registration.

Latin

Latin 102 – Elementary Latin 
MWF 10:30-11:20 am – Mongrain
We will continue our study of Latin and the history and culture of classical Rome.  As in Latin 101, emphasis will be placed on mastering essential grammar and vocabulary and on practicing reading and other comprehension skills. Prerequisite: Latin 101 or permission of department. Partially satisfies the Second Language requirement.

Latin 202 – Intermediate Latin
Two sections: MWF 10:30-11:20 am - Damer; 1:30-2:20 pm – Stevenson
This course will introduce students to Latin poetry. It will begin with the poet Catullus whose intensely personal and passionate style has seduced readers for thousands of years and focus in the second half on Ovid’s always witty and often subversive poetry and various later poets in the same tradition. Close attention will be paid to the full artistry of the poetry -- meter, sound play, and word placement -- while we continue to reinforce the vocabulary and grammar learned in the previous three semesters. Prerequisite: Latin 201 or permission of department. Satisfies the Second Language requirement.

Latin 303 – Roman Epic
TR 1:30-2:45 pm – Simpson
The current state of Vergilian studies presents us with two Vergils: one more earnest in his praise of Augustus, and one more clever, ironic and critical of Augustus.  We will read selections from Vergil’s three main works, Eclogues, Georgics, and Aeneid, emphasizing the last, in an attempt to understand how they may be taken to support both of the competing theories. We will also compare Vergil’s works with their Greek models and analyze some of the most influential secondary scholarship that concerns our focus. Students will be encouraged to arrive at their own sense of how well we can know Vergil and with what degree of certainty we can decide on one Vergil or the other. Prerequisite: Latin 202 or permission of department.

Latin 499 – Independent Study
TBD
Available only through departmental approval arranged prior to registration.

Other Important Course Offerings

LDST 390 – Machiavelli: Lessons from Classical Antiquity in Renaissance Italy
MW 12:00-1:15 pm – Baker
Before Machiavelli, the ethics of leadership in Europe consisted in judging actions based either on the interior intentions of the actor or according to an external set of laws or rules (such a religious text or natural law); or occasionally by insisting that actions had to be both well intentioned and in accordance with external rules. In the early sixteenth century, Niccolò Machiavelli instead argued that the actions of a leader had to be judged by their consequences not by the motives nor the act itself and certainly not by anything as nebulous as external moral rules. Famously in The Prince, he argued that a leader did not always have to act according to contemporary morality but instead had to “guarda al fine” (look toward the end) and act to preserve the state. In the less-widely read Discourses, Machiavelli similarly insisted that an apparently evil act could be good if assessed by its consequences. In this class we will place Machiavelli in the context of fifteenth- and early-sixteenth-century Italy in order to understand why he made these (and other arguments) about history and politics. We will read some of Machiavelli’s best-known works as well as some that you may have never heard of, including his most loved (and still performed) comedic play.

HIST 223 – The Roman Empire
MWF 10:30-11:20 am – Stevenson
Rome's imperial period traditionally begins with the princeps Augustus consolidating an empire stretching from Spain to Persia, Ethiopia to Russia, under attempted bureaucratic control. The period ends with Rome's Islamic successor driving two tiny survivors, Byzantium and Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire, back under cover. This course will outline the evolving imperial strategies and their social effects. It will also attempt to explain the vast shift from Augustus' laissez-faire conglomeration of peoples and kingdoms to Diocletian's vision for a centralized state, from the great pax romana (Roman peace) to the endless battles with wave after wave of barbarians, from syncretic polytheism to the theocracy of Justinian and his Muslim followers, in short, from antiquity to the "middle age”. Cultures and Language Across the Curriculum (C-LAC) credit can be earned in French German, Greek, Italian, Latin, Spanish or Russian. No prerequisite.

Please visit the major/minor page for full details on our curricula and major/minor requirements.