Section F: T Th 9:30am- 10:20 am Smith 311
Instructor: Caden Hanrahan (he/him)
Email: kch1@uw.edu
Mailbox: Classics Dept. Office, Denny 262
Office: Denny Hall 400K
Office Hours: Wednesday 11am -1pmand by appointment
Full Syllabus with Course Policies
Classics 101 has for many years been a popular 2-credit course option for students throughout UW. The course is designed to improve and increase English vocabulary through a study of the Latin and Greek elements in English, with emphasis on words in current literary and scientific use. The Latin and Greek elements learned in this course will help you better understand how many English words have evolved, and prepare you to continue expanding your English vocabulary well after the class is over. More than that, the course examines the ever-changing relationship between language and ideas in order to better understand the continuing impact of classical Greece and Rome on modern culture. Classics 101 gives you a sense of the words, ideas, and stories that we have adopted from the ancient Greeks and Romans, and helps you identify classical influence when you encounter it. Knowledge of Latin or Greek is not required.
The required textbook is Dominik’s Words and Ideas.
This course counts for the following General Education requirement: A&H
Six sections at different times available, including this one.
Schedule:
Week 1:
Thursday, January 4th – Syllabus Overview and Introduction to Language History
- Look over Syllabus
Week 2:
Tuesday, January 9th –Word Building
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 1: Word Building Basics
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 2: Word Building Tools: Greek Components
Thursday, January 11th – Mythology
- Hesiod Reading (Canvas)
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 4: Mythology (p. 75-90, stop at the Trojan War)
Week 3:
Tuesday, January 16th – Mythology
- Homeric Hymn to Demeter (Canvas)
- Homework 1 Due
Thursday, January 18th – Mythology
- Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid Reading (Canvas)
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 4: Mythology (p. 90- end) (Trojan War- end)
Week 4:
Tuesday, January 23rd – Quiz 1
Thursday, January 26th – Greek History
- Read Greek Historians Excerpts (Canvas)
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 3: Word Building Tools: Latin Components
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 9: History (p. 227-235, stop at Polybius)
Week 5:
Tuesday, January 30th – Roman History
- Read Roman Historians Excerpts (Canvas)
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 9: History (p. 236-end, Polybius- end)
Thursday, February 1st – Greek Law and Politics
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 6: Politics and Law (p.145-151, stop at the Roman Republic)
Week 6:
Tuesday, February 6th – Roman Law and Politics
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 6: Politics and Law (p. 151- end, the Roman Republic- end)
- Homework 2 Due
Thursday, February 8th – Commerce and Economics
- Read excerpt from “A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (Canvas)
- Read “Zoninus Collar” (Canvas)
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 7: Commerce and Economics (p.169-187, the whole thing)
Week 7:
Tuesday, February 13th – Quiz 2
Thursday, February 15th – Medicine
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 5: Medicine (p. 105- 122, stop at Ophthalmology)
Week 8:
Tuesday, February 20th – Medicine
- Reading on the Hippocratic Oath (Canvas)
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 5: Medicine (p. 122-end, Ophthalmology- end)
- Supplemental Reading on Silphium
Thursday, February 22nd – Philosophy
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 8: Philosophy and Psychology (p. 191- 206, Stop at Psyche)
Week 9:
Tuesday, February 27th – Psychology
- Echo and Narcissus Reading (Canvas)
- Read Words and Ideas, Chapter 8: Philosophy and Psychology (p. 206- end, Psyche- end)
- Homework 3 Due
Thursday, February 29th – Quiz 3
Week 10:
Tuesday, March 5th – Literature: Love Poetry
- Selected Sappho and Catullus Poems (Canvas)
Thursday, March 7th – Final Exam Review
FINAL EXAM
Section F: Wednesday, March 13 @10:30am – 12:20pm SMI 311
*I reserve the right to modify the syllabus at any time*