Classics

W10 Homer Goes to Hollywood. This course examines how the medium of cinema has told, retold, and repackaged the ancient Greco-Roman myths with a particular eye to the following questions: How does the “Homeric Hero” compare to the “Hollywood Hero” and what does this comparison tell us about the cultures that produced them? At what points in the history of Hollywood does the fascination with the Classical world go in and out of favor? Why? What elements of ancient understandings of “divine agency” or “fate” do Hollywood retellings keep or discard? Why do films change fundamental details of the ancient texts? Has Hollywood transformed ancient myth into new, distinct, modern mythologies? What does “Rome” symbolize or stand in for in film? How has Christianity developed its own myths in relation to its experience with the Roman Empire? Class time is spent viewing and discussing several films as well as discussing readings of several seminal works from the Classical world. Students will be responsible for lively participation in class discussion, keeping a journal of reviews of both texts and films, and a (team) presentation of a film not viewed in class. J. Winkle. 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

IDIS W41 Italy: Ancient & Medieval. K. Bratt, D. Noe.