Classics in English Translation (CLAS) |
311 Susan Campbell Hall, 541-346-4069
College of Arts & Sciences
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Course Data
| CLAS 301 Greek & Roman Epic >1 |
4.00 cr. |
| Analysis of the heroic tradition and epic themes in the Homeric poems, the works of Hesiod, and the Aeneid. Emphasis on literary criticism and intellectual history and the reception of these works by later writers and artists. |
| Grading Options: |
Optional; see degree guide or catalog for degree requirements
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| Instructor: |
Jaeger M |
Office:
335 Susan Campbell Hall
Phone:
(541) 346-4068
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| Course Materials |
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CRN |
Avail |
Max |
Time |
Day |
Location |
Instructor |
Notes |
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15271 |
1 |
40 |
1200-1320 |
tr |
072 PLC |
Jaeger M |
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Final Exam: |
0800-1000 |
m 12/04 |
072 PLC |
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Academic Deadlines
| Deadline |
Last day to: |
| September 24: |
Process a complete drop (100% refund, no W recorded) |
| September 30: |
Drop this course (100% refund, no W recorded; after this date, W's are recorded) |
| September 30: |
Process a complete drop (90% refund, no W recorded; after this date, W's are recorded) |
| October 1: |
Process a complete withdrawal (90% refund, W recorded) |
| October 1: |
Withdraw from this course (100% refund, W recorded) |
| October 2: |
Add this course |
| October 2: |
Last day to change to or from audit |
| October 8: |
Process a complete withdrawal (75% refund, W recorded) |
| October 8: |
Withdraw from this course (75% refund, W recorded) |
| October 15: |
Process a complete withdrawal (50% refund, W recorded) |
| October 15: |
Withdraw from this course (50% refund, W recorded) |
| October 22: |
Process a complete withdrawal (25% refund, W recorded) |
| October 22: |
Withdraw from this course (25% refund, W recorded) |
| November 12: |
Withdraw from this course (0% refund, W recorded) |
| November 12: |
Change grading option for this course |
 | You can't drop your last class using the "Add/Drop" menu in DuckWeb. Go to the “Completely Withdraw from Term/University” link to begin the complete withdrawal process. If you need assistance with a complete drop or a complete withdrawal, please contact the Office of Academic Advising, 101 Oregon Hall, 541-346-3211 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday). If you are attempting to completely withdraw after business hours, and have difficulty, please contact the Office of Academic Advising the next business day. |
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Expanded Course Description
| For us epic is synonymous with grand, extraordinary in size or scope, larger-than-life. In ancient Greece epos meant something both more specific and less well defined: it was used for poetic narratives so different from one another as the Iliad (a story of war and heroism), the Odyssey (a folk 'return song' of romance, adventure, and vengeance), the Theogony (a narrative about the creation of the Olympian pantheon), and the Works and Days (didactic poetry about right living in the city and the countryside). But one thing we share with the Greeks in our use of epic is the notion of 'importance,' 'elevation,' and even 'grandeur.' Indeed, these elaborate narratives occupied a central place in the culture that produced them, molding in fundamental ways its imagination and worldview. Nothing of significance was left untouched: art, architecture, politics, law, education, recreation, and religion all shaped and were shaped by power of epic. Under the influence of Greek precedents, Naevius' Punic War, Ennius' Annals, Lucretius' On the Nature of Things, and Virgil's Aeneid made epic as central to Rome as it had been to Greece. The ensuing tradition of Western literature further attests to the enduring power of the epic genre to articulate and speak to the most basic convictions, anxieties, and aspirations of the individual and his society.
This course will familiarize you with the central epic texts of the Greco-Roman world and the constellation of lesser epic poems largely constructed in dialectic reaction to them. You will learn the conventions peculiar to the oral poetry of ancient Greece and the way in which its performance circumscribed its nature and composition. You will also acquire the skills necessary to read and appreciate both its surface structure and its narrative logic. We will study the internal cross-references and intertextual links pervading the oral and written literature of Greece and Rome: how they are made, how they construe meaning, and the ends to which composers and readers put them. We will consider the thematic and stylistic range covered by the term epic and will seek to ascertain the defining characteristics of this genre. And we will explore its many intersections with culture, in particular with art, education, recreation, social construction, and historical memory.
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