2021
This course explores the techniques by which humour was created in literature and the visual arts in antiquity. It also examines the social and psychological aspects of humour. Ancient humour is one of the lenses scholars can utilize to examine the culture of the ancient Mediterranean, and by contrast our own culture. What is considered to be “funny” or humorous tells us much about the values and preconceptions of the lived experience of individuals and the broader community they are a part of. This course will combine a series of readings (in translation) from ancient comedy, satire, romance, and literary parody, with discussions of the use of humour as relief in more serious genres such as epic, tragedy, and courtroom speeches. Throughout the semester students will compare ancient perspectives on humour with contemporary ones, and discuss how the similarities and differences reflect respective broader social norms.
Each week there are podcasts and activities, which take the place of weekly lectures that students can access in OnQ, in addition to the required readings.
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Callie Callon
TEXTBOOK: R. Drew Griffith and Robert B. Marks, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Agora: Ancient Greek and Roman Humour 2nd ed. Agora Harder! (Kingston: Legacy Books Press, 2011), available in print and digital form at the campus bookstore
LEARNING HOURS: 126 (36L;90P)
PREREQUISITE: Level 2 or above.
Ancient Science (asynchronous)
Ancient concepts of nature and of natural phenomena: what did the ancients (e.g. Babylonians and Greeks) know about the natural world and how did they come to know it?
INSTRUCTOR: Alicia Finan
TEXTBOOK: 1. Early Greek Science: Thales to Aristotle by G.E.R. Lloyd
2. Greek Science After Aristotle by G.E.R. Lloyd
LEARNING HOURS: 126 (36L;90P)
PREREQUISITE: Level 2 or above.
*asynchronous delivery possible with instructor permission
Intensive study (in translation) of the major epics of classical antiquity: Homer, Hesiod, Apollonios, Vergil and Lucan in the context of the oral and literate heroic traditions. Comparative study of English heroic poetry encouraged.
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Kale Coghlan
TEXTBOOK: 1. Aeneid by Vergil ISBN 978 019 923 195 9
2. Odyssey by Homer ISBN 978 014 026 886 7
3. Iliad by Homer ISBN 978 014 044 592 3
LEARNING HOURS: 126 (36L;90P)
PREREQUISITE: CLST 100/6.0 or (CLST 102/3.0 and CLST 103/3.0) or DRAM 200/6.0 or DRAM 219/3.0 or DRAM 210/6.0 or permission of the Department.