This course examines some of the main texts, ideas, and trends in Western culture from the ancient Near East and Egypt, through Greece, to the fall of the Roman Empire. Several common themes are traced throughout, including the creation and maintenance of empires, the various methods of governing, and the relationship between religion and reason.
Sources range from literary works of varying genres to material remains.
This course surveys the cultural achievements of the Greeks and locates them in their social and political contexts, beginning with the Bronze Age and ending with the death of Alexander the Great. This course surveys the history of Rome, from its beginnings as a small, agricultural community to its rise and fall as the capital of a Mediterranean empire. The principal focus is on the creation of a multi-ethnic empire and its impact on culture, society, religion and politics, and the source material includes a mix of literary and material evidence.