A study of the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome, this course is the introduction to European history in the Department of History and is a fundamental course in the Program in Classical and Medieval Studies. It addresses themes and events extending from the eighth century B.C.E. until the second century C.E. Students consider the disciplines that comprise study of classical antiquity, engage with primary texts (literary, graphic, and epigraphical), and learn how ancient history has come to be written as it has been.

Far from being an “enormous hiccup” in human progress, the medieval centuries (c. 300-1500) marked the emergence and development of new cultures and identities in and beyond the Mediterranean. These powerful medieval cultures—Islamic, “Byzantine,” and Western European—continue to shape our present. The central theme of this introductory survey course is to explore their genesis and development, including their social, economic, political, and cultural aspects. Important topics include the transformation of the Roman Empire; religious changes across Europe, the Mediterranean, and Middle East; the persistence of the Eastern Roman world; cultural vitality; and alterity and race-making.

This course offers an introductory survey of the literature produced in England between 800 and 1485, from Anglo-Saxon poetry through the advent of print. Major texts include pre-Conquest poetry and prose (such as Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle), early Middle English romance, post-Conquest lyric and narrative verse (including Chaucer), the fourteenth-century alliterative revival, Arthurian romance, drama, chronicles, and personal letters. Designed for nonmajors and prospective majors, the entry-level course provides a foundation in critical thinking about literary history.

This course is designed to introduce students to the ways in which the study of the classical and medieval worlds has been constructed alongside, and as an integral part of, modern systems of colonialism, racism and white supremacy. It aims, likewise, to introduce students to the ways in which the distant past, so constructed, continues to inform the contemporary world, both as a locus of oppression and of resistance. The course will, therefore, present students with the tools necessary to understand and critique these fields of study, as well as help them to more critically view the way they understand the past and the present.

This course examines Greece from the Bronze Age to Alexander. It focuses on the geographical breadth and temporal extent of "Ancient Greece," and how that considerable space and time were negotiated and understood by the Greeks themselves. In such a far-flung world, extending from Sicily to Ionia, from the Black Sea to North Africa, Greeks experienced "Hellenicity" through sea lanes and land routes, and by means of a network of religious festivals and athletic meets, coordinated among multiple civic calendars. Topics include political structures, philosophies, literature, and modes of warfare.

Physical remains from the ancient world are important for reconstructing daily life in past societies. The goal of the course is to familiarize you with the archaeology of the ancient Mediterranean world and the social contexts that gave rise to important sites, monuments, and objects. We will use archaeology and material culture as a lens to explore Roman values, political and religious institutions. We will examine critically how ancient sites and monuments have been appropriated over the centuries by different groups and why these sites continue to fascinate archaeologists, collectors, and the general public millennia later.

King Arthur is called the "once and future king," but this malleable, mythic figure in some sense always lives in the present time. Approaching Arthur as an idea as much as a man, students analyze the ways in which the Arthur story has been adapted for different literary, social, and political purposes according to the needs and desires of its changing audience. They explore the features of the Arthurian legend which make it universally compelling, including feudal loyalty and kinship, women and marriage, questing and adventure, magic and monsters, violence and warfare, and consider the fierce debate over Arthur's historical and mythical origins.

This course introduces students to Roman civilization from an interdisciplinary perspective with particular emphasis on Roman literature, history, and culture. Using a combination of primary sources and information from lectures, we will create a chronological framework for analyzing Roman culture through its literature and systems of values and beliefs. We will also focus on distinctly non-elite culture: the jobs and occupations that were performed, which provide alternative perspectives on what it meant to be ‘Roman.’ Not open to students who have received credit for CMS 108/HIST 108 or CMS 109/HIST 109.

Reading and interpretation of Chaucer's major works, including The Canterbury Tales. Students interrogate the many ways Chaucer’s texts challenge assumptions of fixity, including definitions of gender, class, territory, and time. All works are read in Middle English.

How are interpretations of the Bible’s creation stories informed by contemporary cultural understandings of right and wrong, sex and gender, power and privilege, human and non-human? And, conversely, how do interpretations of these stories - ancient and modern - shape our sense of how the world works and what is possible now and in the future? Close readings of ancient texts paired with a wide array of later interpretations and commentary provide the basis for our studies.

This course will examine the historical and archaeological aspects of death and burial in the Roman world from c. 150 BCE – 300 CE, in order to understand how the Romans cared for, disposed of, and commemorated the dead. We will explore culturally-specific attitudes to death, grief, mourning and funerals, alongside the physical monuments that commemorate the deceased. Geographically, we will focus on Italy, although case studies will span the Mediterranean world. Together, we will investigate Roman funerary rituals and follow the body on its journey from the world of the living to that of the dead, while exploring new narratives about death in different classes of ancient (and modern) society.

Medieval Spain was a crossroads where the civilizations of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism met, mingled, and fought. Diverse and dynamic societies emerged, and from this climate of both tension and cooperation came a cultural and intellectual flowering that remains a hallmark of human achievement. Using a wide range of primary sources, this course focuses particularly on two key concepts in Spanish history: the Reconquista and the Convivencia. To examine these, students investigate the nature of conflict in medieval Spain and the ways in which those who lived there constructed and understood their communities.

Did the Greeks and Romans believe their myths about winged horses, goddesses, and golden apples? How are myths related to the religious, political, and social world of Greece and Rome? This course examines Greek and Roman myths from a variety of theoretical perspectives in order to understand their meaning in the ancient world and their enduring influence in Western literature and art.

This course explores daily life and community in the Middle Ages through festivals, holidays, and marking the passage of the seasons. First, students are introduced to the format of both the natural and ritual year, and how individuals and groups responded to environmental factors. Second, they consider the role of such seasonal rituals as a means of creating social cohesion and coercion. Medieval festivals and holidays were not just fun: they frequently sought to impose specific visions of social and religious order on participants (and those who were excluded). Third, students reflect on how holidays and communal rituals still have power to shape community, identity, and belonging in contemporary society. The course helps students learn about medieval religious and cultural practices in a critical manner; while focusing on Christian traditions, they also consider Jewish and Muslim customs in a broader European context. Recommended background: prior coursework on the pre-modern world.

An anthropological approach to ancient Greek religion in which archeological, literary, and art-historical sources are examined to gain an understanding of religion in ancient Greek society. Topics explored include cosmology, polytheism, mystery cults, civic religion, ecstasy, sacrifice, pollution, dreams, and funerary customs.

What is the Hebrew Bible (Christianity's Old Testament and Judaism's Tanakh)? This course centers perspectives of BIPOC biblical scholars who employ a range of scholarly tools and methods for exploring the content and genres of major books of the Hebrew Bible - including Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings-with brief forays into selected Prophets and Wisdom literature. Topics include theories about the composition and sociopolitical contexts of the writings, the events and ideas they narrate, and the use of scripture in sustaining and contesting modern social practices, especially those related to colonization, cultural violence, and race/gender disparities.

The New Testament – composed of Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and an Apocalypse – was written and compiled about two thousand years ago, in the first and early second centuries of the Common Era (CE), by a handful of Jesus-believers, many of them Jews. It is also a “living document” honored as sacred Scripture by Christians – members of the largest religious group in the world, currently numbering over two billion persons across the globe. As Scripture, the New Testament has served to inspire countless Christians to engage in great acts of love and charity, devotion and self-sacrifice, and the creation of artistic masterpieces and folk traditions throughout two millennia. As Scripture, it has also been used by Christians to sanctify colonization and conquest, enslavement and race/gender/class disparities, torture and genocide throughout those same two millennia. In light of this challenging complexity, this course employs both historical lenses and theological/social justice lenses to explore the ideas, contexts, and movements that gave rise to these writings, as well as some of the ways in which New Testament texts have been used to sustain and resist cultures of violence.

This class will introduce students to the early history of the Ottoman Empire (c. 1300–c. 1600) as it grew from a small territory in Anatolia to a diverse domain that straddled three continents. While we will consider the development of the Ottoman state and its apparatus, we will focus more on Ottoman society and culture. What was life like for a person who lived under the sultans? How did people live, work, play, and pray in a pluralistic late-medieval and early-modern state? What did they think of the world around them? And what did others think of the Ottomans, from the sultan to a sailor? This class will ask us to leave aside misconceptions that have long surrounded the Ottoman Empire and challenge us to look at it with fresh eyes. Recommended background: Prior coursework in the pre-modern world and/or the history of Islam.

What does it mean to call an object or monument a work of Islamic art? The term has been applied to a global geography of visual cultures and works made between the seventh century and the present day. In this introductory course, we will explore the question by analyzing key works ranging from the c. 692 CE Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem to contemporary art that challenges Orientalist assumptions about Muslim identities.

This course explores the influence of Greco-Roman notions of heroism on the stories and lives of early Christian saints and martyrs. Students study the commonalities between representations of figures such as Socrates, Ajax, and Lucretia with tales of Christian martyrs and saints such as Sebastian, Andrew, and Perpetua. They also consider the differences between the Greco-Roman definition of the self as a rational mind controlling the body and emotions and Christian notions of the self as a soul joined to a suffering body needing guidance. In so doing, students explore how literary and historical figures understood themselves and their world and why they risked their lives to pursue an inner drive, divine imperative, or ethical commitment. Recommended background: any course in Classical and Medieval Studies, Religious Studies, Anthropology, or History.

The study of medieval churches enables us to address many historical questions: how people used architecture to define their communities and their places in the cosmos, how traditional building practices and technological revolutions shaped spaces in different cultural contexts, how a monument’s users navigated spaces layered with images and symbolic meaning, and many intersecting concerns. This introductory course surveys churches built in Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Caucasus between 300-1500 CE.

This introductory course focuses on visual cultures of the European “Middle Ages” (c. 350-1450). We will explore how objects like illuminated manuscripts, precious metal reliquaries, painted icons, silk textiles, and funerary sculpture shaped medieval understandings of faith, community, and power.

From antiquity to the present day, people have traveled to local or far-off sites to approach holy figures, to appeal for divine intervention, and to fulfill obligations. This course explores the material dimensions of these journeys, from the spaces entered and sites encountered to the things travelers brought or took away. The class focuses on shrines built and used c. 300-1500 CE.

This course begins by interrogating the terms "Islamic", "Muslim", and "Civilization" in order to unpack the concept of "Islamic civilization" as a term relevant to the global order of things. Drawing on anti-colonial and decolonial thought, this course will follow Islam's movement from Arabia, through western Asia towards the Mediterranean, southern Europe, and the Sahel, and its simultaneous spread eastward towards Russia, central asia, India, to western China, south east Asia, and Oceania. We will look at cultural production in the arts, architecture, literature, and music from around the world in order to assess the utility, scope, and limits of the term "Islamic civilization." At the same time, we will examine the way in which Islam shaped and was shaped by the cultures, peoples, intellectual traditions, and practices that Muslims encountered. At the end, we will return to assessing the utility of the term "Islamic civilization" and, if needed, imagine other ways of conceptualizing the global life of Islam.

For many, "medieval" is simply another word for "superstition" and the Middle Ages were consumed by delusion punctuated with witch trials. This course instead focuses on religious and folk practices beyond orthodox Christianity in the Middle Ages, to understand the realities of "magical" practice and supernatural beliefs during the period and move away from misconceptions based on Enlightenment polemic and modern fantasy. Students discover the variety of beliefs associated with the concepts of magic and supernatural and come to understand that these concepts were not always seen as evil, or even wrong, by contemporaries. Students consider the differences between how learned and unlearned magic were perceived and the gender dynamics at the heart of this dichotomy. They explore the syncretic relationship between medieval Christianity and paganism and other traditional beliefs, as well as the overlap between "magic" and primitive science. Recommended background: prior coursework on the pre-modern world.

What's the best way to live? For pleasure or for virtue? For oneself or for others? By the conventions of one's time or by some timeless truths? The fascination the ancient Greeks had with these questions was inextricably linked with others: What is the nature of the universe in which we live? What is the status of our knowledge of this universe? How can we understand the processes of change we see everywhere, including in ourselves? And what is the nature of philosophy itself? The course begins with the person who most famously asked these questions, Socrates, and on the writings in which he is most vividly portrayed, the dialogues of his student Plato. Students continue to pursue these questions through the writings of Aristotle as well as the famous schools of ancient philosophy, the Stoics, the Epicureans, and the Skeptics. No prior familiarity with philosophy is assumed; this is a perfect place to begin one's study of philosophy.

The Horn of Africa represents one of the great crossroads of the world, connecting the Red Sea and Mediterranean worlds with those of the Indian Ocean. In the medieval period, the region flourished, with its history and society shaped by religion, trade, and politics. Christian states of Ethiopia sought both to pursue an independent expression of their faith and link themselves with the wider Christian world. Muslim states in Somalia sought political definition and economic power in a booming interconnected global community. Community-engaged learning sits at the core of this course.

While treated by some scholars as peripheral, North Africa was and is a central arena in global history. This course examines the Maghreb in the dynamic period of transformation that saw the Roman Empire devolve into separate political and social entities, ca.200-700 C.E. In these critical centuries, North Africa and North Africans served both as anchors preserving Roman culture and society, and key agents in its transformation and devolution. Approaching the topic through primary and secondary sources, this course focuses on key themes: colonization and resistance, ethnicity and identity, and cultural and social cohesion.

The period of Mediterranean history stretching from ca. 300 to ca. 700 C.E. saw both change and continuity, radical transformation and sociocultural resiliency. Often maligned as the "Dark Ages," this period has attracted a great deal of scholarship, and looms large in the construction of modern national identities. The central question is not only how the ancient world became the medieval, and what that meant, but how and why this understanding has changed over the years, and why it matters. This course examines the period through the analysis of primary sources, key secondary sources, and historiography.

This course examines the early history of trans-Saharan Africa from roughly 600-1600 CE. During this period, new ideas, new political structures, and a new religion—Islam—united West Africa and the Maghreb in new, profound, ways. This dynamic era saw the formation of powerful, Islamic empires. Some, like the Fatimids, channeled Indigenous, anti-colonial anger into imperial projects. Others, like the Almoravids, used radical interpretations of Islam to form newly-conceived states. Others still, like Mali and Songhai, adapted Islam to enhance and amplify long-established African practices of state power and conceptions of imperial authority. This course examines key topics such as the spread and adaptation of Islam in West and North Africa, the dynamics of state and society building, the nature of historical sources, and the creation of historical knowledge regarding early African history.

Ancient Rome was an enslaving society, yet what little we know about slaves comes largely from the members of the social elite who wrote about slaves in literary and legal sources. How do we recover the lives and experiences of enslaved individuals? This course aims to understand the condition of slavery in the ancient Roman world from a variety of perspectives using methods and theories from social history and archaeology. Key topics include how individuals became enslaved; the treatment of slaves; the coercion and control of slaves; slave resistance; the family life of slaves; manumission and other paths to freedom; the material culture associated with Roman slaves. This seminar will include a mix of short lectures and discussions, as well as both oral and written assignments. Prerequisites: Two CMS or premodern History courses.

This course will explore the nature of education, schooling, and university in the Middle Ages. Who attended schools and universities? How did a person become a teacher or professor? How were educational institutions organized and administered? What subjects and texts were studied? What was a school day or an academic year like? What were the motivations behind education (why go to school, why provide opportunities)? What was the material culture of education? How did education impact wider communities and society and visa-versa? We will consider these questions and more by employing a longue durée approach and examining how educational practices evolved over a thousand-year period. We will also take a transregional and transcultural view by comparing and contrasting education in Jewish, Christian (both Western and Eastern), and Muslim communities. Prior coursework in pre-modern history/medieval studies is strongly recommended.

Medieval people were passionate travelers. They traveled as much as they could, from day trips to local shrines to epic journeys that lasted years. That is not the modern conception of the Middle Ages, where many of us believe that most medieval people were born, lived, and died within a few square miles. This class challenges those modern assumptions and focuses on the travel narratives medieval people themselves composed about their travels, especially those that trace journeys “between” medieval worlds. Medieval people negotiated, traded, and simply visited with those of different religious and cultural identities—reminding us that not all such encounters were violent or negative. Together, we will read the stories these travelers wrote and consider how they viewed themselves and others, and how they reacted to different environments and experiences. This is an intensive writing class and will include significant amounts of close reading. Recommended background: prior coursework in pre-modern topics.

This seminar encourages students already familiar with Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to further explore his other major poetic works in the context of his late fourteenth-century London milieu. Texts include a selection of dream visions, historical romances, and philosophical treatises ("Troilus and Criseyde," "Book of the Duchess," "Parliament of Fowls," and others). Chaucer's literary contemporaries, including John Gower, William Langland, and the "Gawain"-Poet, are studied along with their poetic forms and historical contexts. All texts read in Middle English. Only open to juniors and seniors. Recommended background: familiarity with Middle English literature and/or language.

Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study per semester.

This course examines artworks produced by diverse communities in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Western Asia from the period ca. 500-1500 C.E. Through case studies of luxury objects, iconic architecture, monuments, and paintings, students explore the ways that artists, patrons, and viewers within Islamic, Jewish, and Christian traditions articulated spiritual and intellectual values and religious and socioeconomic identities. The course focuses on visual and cultural interactions such as commerce, gift exchange, reinterpretation of visual forms, and reuse of significant objects and spaces. Attention is given to scholarly debates on the concept of a "global" Middle Ages and popular (mis)conceptions about the medieval era. Recommended background: at least one course in art history, premodern history, or religious studies.

Romance was the most popular literary genre of the later Middle Ages. Originating in France in the twelfth century, this highly adaptable form quickly became an international phenomenon, with numerous examples found across Europe and the British Isles. Many romances tell tales of amorous exploits, exotic travels, and quests for knowledge; the celebration of chivalric ideals is a central theme. But many of these tales seem to question and sometimes undermine the very ideals they otherwise espouse: courtly love mingles with sexual adventurism, for instance, and loyalty to one's lord often results in alienation or death. Students read a selection of romances from France and Britain (all texts are in modern English translation or manageable Middle English) with an eye toward how they variously articulate and deconstruct the notion of chivalry. Prerequisite(s): one English course.

Required of all majors, the thesis involves research and writing of an extended essay in classical and medieval studies, following the established practices of the field, under the guidance of a supervisor in the classical and medieval studies program. Students register for CMS 457 in the fall semester and for CMS 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both CMS 457 and 458.

Required of all majors, the thesis involves research and writing of an extended essay in classical and medieval studies, following the established practices of the field, under the guidance of a supervisor in the classical and medieval studies program. Students register for CMS 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both CMS 457 and 458.

The <em>Odyssey</em> has proved an inspiring and inexhaustible text over the centuries. This course explores the poem in detail, examining its cultural and literary context and considering modern approaches to this most enigmatic text. The course is taught in English, but students who have completed one or more years of ancient Greek are encouraged to read sections in Greek, and learn how to "perform" the poetry.

Settlements throughout history have been described as “textile centers” to indicate that their economies and environments were shaped by the production of cloth. Museum collections tend to frame textiles as luxury products that circulated within elite global networks. In this course, we will use the contrasting case of the Maine MILL to explore how medieval Italian cities like Florence, Lucca, and Prato were defined by the people who produced and profited from silk and wool, the networks of materials that went into the woven bolts, and the spaces and conditions of labor.

This off-campus Short Term course will travel to Rome to explore the layers of the ancient city. The course will provide a broad overview of ancient Roman art, architecture, and archaeology, from the pre-Roman cultures of Iron Age Italy to Constantine and the late Roman Empire. Since Rome has been continuously inhabited for more than 3000 years, we will think about Rome as a palimpsest of layers, and we will explore the ways in which the fabric of the city (walls, roads, ancient and modern buildings) record human history. The goal of the course is to familiarize students with the physical world of the ancient Romans and the social contexts that gave rise to important sites, monuments, and objects. This course has an anticipated cost of $5200 per student. Final costs will be determined in Fall 2024 in consultation with Darren Gallant and the Center for Global Education. Estimated costs include round-trip airfare and travel to Italy, lodging in shared accommodations, a daily food budget, entrance to sites, travel within Rome, and access to emergency services through a partner institution. Prerequisite(s): Any CMS or CMS cross-listed course.

Most people’s first encounters with the “Middle Ages” are through fictional films & television programs. The purpose of this course is to help us explore the common themes & tropes utilized in popular media that construct a particular image of the period. In particular, this course will challenge the veracity of these constructs & consider how the presentation of the past feeds into racist, colonialist, & white-supremacist/nationalist ideas of the Middle Ages. The course will focus on popular film & television that was/is widely consumed. We will also move away from “Hollywood” depictions of the period to examine the Middle Ages in Middle Eastern & Asian cinema. Prior coursework on medieval topics (history, literature, religion etc.) is recommended.

Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term.