Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies

(previous semesters)

The Mediterranean and Its Travelers
FRS 141

We will look at travelers from different periods and to different areas of the Mediterranean. Writers include the ancient historian Herodotus, early pilgrims to the Holy Land, the German 18th-century poet Goethe (who saw his life transformed in Italy), artists and poets who trawled the Mediterranean for artifacts and inspiration, adventurous women travelers to Egypt and the Levant in the 18th and 19th century, Mark Twain (who raises the question: Is a traveler the same as a tourist?), Henry Miller, and contemporary travel writers such as Patrick Leigh Fermor or Patricia Storace on Greece or Amitav Ghosh on Egypt.
Constanze Güthenke Seminar: 3:00-4:20 pm TTh 

Elementary Modern Greek I
HLS 101/MOG 101

This course is the first part of the modern Greek language sequence regularly offered every year.  It aims to set the foundations for acquiring a command of spoken and written modern Greek.  The pace is intensive: readings and grammar from textbook, with accompanying daily exercises, and regular language laboratory attendance.  Auditors welcome with instructor's permission.
Zoe Passati-Bouloutas  Classes: 11:00 -11:50 am MTWTh

Pagans and Christians: Urbanism, Architecture, and Art of Late Antiquity
ART 204/HLS 204

This course will focus on the urban forms, architecture and art in the Late Roman Empire.  It will explore the transformations brought about the by the spread and triumph of Christianity, pagan resistance, ‘barbarian” incursions and other forces.  The course will culminate with the analysis of the formation of a new, Byzantine architectural and artistic tradition, associated with the fully Christianized Eastern Roman Empire.
Slobodan Ćurčić   Lecture: 9:00-9:50 am MW

Topics in Ancient History and Religion: Ancient Greek Tyranny
CLA 327/HIS 327/HLS 327

This introduces students to the evidence on tyranny as a political phenomenon of archaic Greek history while also investigating tyranny from a sociological perspective and in the framework of the imaginaire of the Greeks. The first part of the course considers the best documented archaic tyrannies, addressing issues like the tyrant's rise to power, the foundations of his regime, his role in the polis' economy, and his relations with the different groups. The second part examines issues such as the legitimacy of tyrannical power and the cluster of representations associated with the social role of the tyrant.
Nino Luraghi  Seminar:  11:00 am-12:20 pm MW

  The Muslim Mediterranean
HIS 330/HLS 330

Although the word “Mediterranean” evokes images of Italy and Spain, much, if not most, of the Mediterranean has been under some form of Muslim rule—whether Arab or Turkish—since the 7th century C.E.  This course will explore the Muslim experience of, and impact on, the Mediterranean world from the medieval period through the 20th century.
Molly Greene  Lecture: 11:00-11:50 am MW

Studies in the Classical Tradition: The Matter of Troy
CLA 335/HLS 335

The changing reception and adaptation of the story of ancient Troy from Homer's Iliad to the present day.
Janet Martin  Seminar: 3:00-4:20 pm TTh 

Spiritual Exercises: Classics of Christian Spirituality
REL 385/HLS 385

This seminar will focus on several of the classic texts of Eastern and Western Christian (primarily Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) spirituality and their authors.  Topics will include the development of spiritual tradition and “schools” within specific historical and social contexts.
Albert J. Raboteau   Seminar: 1:30-4:20 pm  W
 

Seminar in Medieval Art: Belfry and Minaret
ART 430/HLS 430

Belfry and minaret are ubiquitous features of religious architecture of Eastern Christianity and Islam, respectively.  Their origins, functional and symbolic roles will be the subject of our investigation within a time frame extending from late antiquity to the late Middle Ages (ca. 400- ca. 1500).  We will explore their competing roles in various multi-cultural settings and the phenomenon of their deliberate destruction under certain circumstances.  A critical consideration of the role of modern historiography and the extent to which it has contributed to the understanding of the issues involved will be an integral part of the course.
Slobodan Ćurčić   Seminar: 7:30-10:20 pm Th

The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1800
NES 437/HIS 337/HLS 337

This course surveys the history of the world's most enduring Islamic state, the Ottoman Empire. With its beginnings in the fourteenth century, it lasted into the early years of the last century. At is height it ruled over much of the Mediterranean as well as Central Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East and today's Turkey.
Heath Lowry   Class: 1:30-2:50 pm   TTh

Seminar in Renaissance Art
Venice and the Mediterranean: The Island of Corfu
ART 440/HLS 441

This course focuses on the artistic and cultural geography of “Venetian Corfu,” an island in the Ionian Sea off the West coast of Greece, as it underwent series of transformations from Byzantine to Venetian to French, Turkish, and British rule (ca. 1204-1797), with an emphasis on the early modern period.  Cultural exchanges in all media—including architecture, urbanism, sculpture, painting and music—will be considered.  Following a trip to Athens and Corfu during fall recess, students will participate in the construction of an inter-active website mapping the island and its cities and monuments.
Patricia Fortini Brown, Christopher Heuer   Seminar: 1:30-4:20 pm Th

Graduate Courses

Problems in Byzantine History:
Byzantium in the 10th Century: The Age of Reconquest
HIS 542/HLS 542

The course examines the sources and critically assesses the modern literature on the social, political and military history of the tenth-century Byzantine state at the height of its power, and seeks to understand the background to the recovery of Byzantine political strength at that time, in the context of both internal social, economic and administrative developments, and in that of the wider political world, in particular, relations with the Abbasid Caliphate and the regional emirates of Syria and Iraq, and with the various western powers with which Byzantium had dealings.
John Haldon  Seminar 1:30-4:20 pm W

Sparta and the Peloponnese
CLA 547/PAW 501/HLS 501

For many Greeks of the Classical period, the greatest of the Greek poleis was not Athens, but Sparta.  This seminar will investigate Spartan culture, as well as Sparta’s relations with other communities in the Peloponnese, from an interdisciplinary perspective.  We will investigate questions relating to ethos and identity, political and social structures, religious festivals and practices, art and architecture, and the political, social, and ideological relationships between Spartans and other Greeks.  A special feature of the course is two trips abroad (all expenses will be covered):  we will travel to Greece during the midterm break, and in early January to Oxford University for joint sessions with a seminar that will be taught there on the same topic.
Nino Luraghi, Michael Flower  Seminar:  9:00-11:50 am T

Courses of Interest

Spring 2008 course offerings
Fall 2007 course offerings
Spring 2007 course offerings
Fall 2006 course offerings
Spring 2006 course offerings
Fall 2005 course offerings
Spring 2005 course offerings
Fall 2004 course offerings
Spring 2004 course offerings
Fall 2003 course offerings
Spring 2003 course offerings
Fall 2002 course offerings
Spring 2002 course offerings
Fall 2001 course offerings
Spring 2001 course offerings
Fall 2000 course offerings
Spring 2000 course offerings
Fall 1999 course offerings