Category: Courses

Have you ever wondered if concepts like “female” or “male,” “woman” or “man” have been consistent across cultures? Or whether past peoples thought about sexual identity, morality, and orientation in the same way that you do? Maybe you’ve heard rumors that Ancient Greece and Rome were basically wild orgies, societies that contributed to their own …

The stories of Classical Mythology, and the ancient art that brought them to life, have become woven throughout the tapestry of later artistic movements. In the Renaissance, Botticelli turned the ancient myth of desire’s creation into a Christian allegory, and somehow made nudity chic again in his The Birth of Venus. Meanwhile Michelangelo fell in love …

The Roman Empire was vast, encompassing cultures from the British Isles to Egypt, Spain to Syria, often all in one city. Social roles and relationships ranged from the emperor to the enslaved. Yet the voices and perspectives that have been preserved in the traditional university classroom are surprisingly narrow: those of elite men. But new …

As long as there have been societies, there have been plagues. Learn how the pre-modern world was shaped by plagues, and what we can learn for tomorrow. No pre-requisites necessary, just curiosity! Fun Facts: no pre-requisites combined with MHHS-M 492 online asynchronous MHHS-M 492 can be applied to the Medical Humanities and Health Studies Minor …

In 79 CE, Mt. Vesuvius erupted on a massive scale, burying a large swath of the prosperous Bay of Naples area under meters of rock, ash, and mud. Cities such as Pompeii and Herculaneum were snuffed out, preserved for millennia until they were rediscovered in the modern era. Almost overnight, Pompeii became one of the …

Why and how did ancient societies represent stories in art? What can pottery and sculpture tell us about the role of story-telling in ancient life? How did visual art serve as a means of powerful communication across cultures and centuries? Explore these questions and more in Myth and Reality in Classical Art. This course is an introduction …

Come explore the material culture of Ancient Rome, a world of gladiators, gods, and generals, emperors, priests, and enslaved. Learn how the Roman army conquered an empire that stretched from Scotland to Syria, Romania to Morocco. Delve into architectural and artistic achievements that would not be matched for millennia. Evaluate how archaeologists draw their conclusions …

In 330 CE, the Emperor Constantine the Great moved the official capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to his renovated metropolis Constantinople, and a new era in the Mediterranean world began. While Rome’s glory would fade under the weight of mismanagement and foreign invasions, the Eastern Empire would rise to new heights of glory, …

Ancient Rome is famous for its many innovations—technological, social, philosophical—that have had an outsized influence on the Eurocentric world. Rome of the 4th c. BCE saw the birth of republicanism and citizenship. The conquests of Italy and then Europe starting in the 2nd c. BCE established an empire that stretched from Britain to Syria and …

Ancient Rome is famous for its many innovations—technological, social, philosophical—that have had an outsized influence on the Eurocentric world. Rome of the 4th c. BCE saw the birth of republicanism and citizenship. The conquests of Italy and then Europe starting in the 2nd c. BCE established an empire that stretched from Britain to Syria and …