Winter 2025
MW: 2:30-4:20
Denny Hall 256
Instructor: James J. Clauss
Office: 228-B Denny Hall; tel. 543-2278
Office Hours: After class and by appointment per Zoom
NB: Jan. 20, Feb. 17 are holidays
Required Texts:
Donald Mastronarde (ed.), Euripides Medea (Cambridge 2002)
For assistance with purchasing books for this course, see https://classics.washington.edu/undergraduate-textbook-fund.
Goals of the Course:
Improvement of ability to read Ancient Greek;
Introduction to the big picture of the Argonautic myth;
Introduction to Greek Tragedy and Euripides in particular;
Examination of the meters used by the tragic playwrights;
Introduction to scholarly opinions regarding the Medea.
Schedule of Readings: Read the choruses and the rest of the play in English
Monday Wednesday
Week 1 (1/6-8) Introduction 1-35
Week 2 (1/13-15) 36-95 214-46
Week 3 (1/20-22) Holiday 247-301
Week 4 (1/27-29) 302-47 348-85
Week 5 (2/3-5) 386-409; 446-74 475-519
Week 6 (2/10-12) 520-575 576-626
Week 7 (2/17-19) Holiday Out of town
Week 8 (2/24-26) 627-718 719-63
Week 9 (3/3-5) 764-823 866-905
Week 10 (3/10-12) 906-75 Oral reports
Requirements:
Non-graded translation in class.
Midterm and Final Exams (TBD)
Oral Report: read and critique an article or chapter of a book and present your report in class (confirm choice with the instructor)
Final Essay: write a 6 page essay (double spaced, 12 point) on a topic to be determined.
Grade:
Participation in class 20%
Midterm and final exams 40%
Oral report 20%
Final paper 20%
Select bibliographical items (in addition to Mastronarde):
Allan, W. Euripides: Medea. Duckworth companions to Greek and Roman tragedy. London 2002.
Bartel, H. and A. Simon, Unbinding Medea: Interdisciplinary Approaches to a Classical Myth from Antiquity to the 21st Century. London 2010.
Clauss, J.J. and S.I. Johnston, Medea: Essays on Medea in Myth, Literature, Philosophy and Art. Princeton 1997.
Griffiths, E. Medea. Gods and heroes of the ancient world. Routledge, 2006.
McClure, L.K. A Companion to Euripides. Wiley 2017. (available online through the library)
Stuttard, D. Looking at Medea: Essays and a Translation of Euripides' Tragedy. Bloomsbury Academic 2014.
Important UW policy-related things to know:
- The UW's Religious Accommodations Policy: “Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..”
- The UW's Student Conduct Code: "The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/."(Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
- Access and Accommodation: Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.
If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.
- Academic Integrity: University of Washington students are expected to practice high standards of academic and professional honesty and integrity as outlined here:http://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf (Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
- UW COVID face covering policy: UW COVID-19 Face Covering Policy(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.