Deborah Beck

Myths accompanied Greek and Roman culture as a constant from the pre-literate era before the Homeric epics through the hyper-literary myths of the Roman period. These myths helped the ancient Greeks and Romans to make sense of their world and to address issues with regard to religion, philosophy, and even early attempts at natural science. In different forms, myths still inform our understanding of the world, and Classical mythology in particular has continued to influence western art and literature up to the present day. This class begins with an examination of the Greek understanding of the creation of the world, the pantheon of gods, and the creation of humanity. Time will also be spent on the origins of Greek mythology, looking to the mythologies of Near Eastern cultures, which have influenced Greek thought. Throughout the course attention will be given to particular gods, goddesses, heroes and heroines and the myths which surround them in both the Greek and Roman traditions.

Fulfills the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Carries the Ethics and Global Cultures flags.

Fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought Course area requirement.

GK 324 Advanced Greek:

Reading and analysis of classical authors such as Homer, Herodotus, Euripides, and Plato.

Prerequisites: Greek 312K or 312L (or 322) with a grade of at least C; or Greek 412 with a grade of at least A-, and consent of the undergraduate adviser.

GK 390 Seminar in Classical Studies:

Selected topics in Greek studies. Topics given in recent years include Mycenaean documents, Aristotle's ethics, Archaic poetry, and Plato's Symposium.

The Signature Course (UGS 302 and 303) introduces first-year students to the university’s academic community through the exploration of new interests. The Signature Course is your opportunity to engage in college-level thinking and learning.

This section of CC 303 looks at myths primarily through the lens of storytelling.  How does one version of a particular story differ from another? How does that affect an audience’s reaction to and understanding of the story?  This course will cover the major stories and characters of classical mythology, as told in a variety of genres, media, cultures, and time periods.  Key issues to be addressed include: how different authors tell their myths and stories, how genre affects the way a story is told, and how different versions of a particular story compare to each other. Readings will include selections from Homer, the Homeric Hymns, Hesiod, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Apollonius, Virgil, and Ovid, among others. The course will also discuss images of the art and architecture of Greece and Rome and political/historical overviews. Because the course carries an Ethics flag, we will consider the ethical dimensions of these stories through discussion board questions and collaborative exercises of various kinds. Course grades are based on participation (via both Canvas and Zoom), regular discussion board posts, four journal entries, weekly quizzes, and a final exam.

GK 383 is a survey of Greek literature from Homeric poetry through the major Athenian dramatists of the fifth century BCE. We will read selections from Homer Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod Theogony and Works and Days, Sappho and other Archaic lyric poets, Pindar, Herotodus, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Apollonius’ Argonautica. In addition to substantial weekly reading assignments in Greek, students will read key works of scholarship on each author and prepare regular informal oral reports. This course is designed to help students improve their Greek reading proficiency, their analytical skills (both oral and written), and their ability to initiate and execute strategies for learning new material related to Greek literature. Course grades will be based on class participation, regular sight translation quizzes, written commentaries on specified passages, occasional in-class essays, and a final exam.

Continuation of Greek 311. Extensive selections of Greek prose and/or poetry. Class meetings will be devoted especially to translation, grammar and syntax, and secondarily to discussion of the texts in their cultural context.

Greek 312K and 312L may not both be counted.

Prerequisites Greek 311 with a grade of at least C.

This course will focus on the Antigone of Sophocles, with selections from other plays of Sophocles and/or other authors on the Theban mythological cycle. The Antigone presents one of the most memorable
heroes in Greek tragedy, grappling with issues we still struggle with today about the basis for a justly governed society. We will consider the idea of the “hero,” both in general and in relation to gender; the
basic elements of a Greek tragedy, such as the chorus, the different meters used, the overall structure of a typical play, and the staging of tragedy; the social and historical context in which Sophocles' plays
were performed, including the structure and procedures of the Greek dramatic festivals; and the wide range of responses to these plays, including modern scholarly approaches to Greek tragedy.

Course work includes two short papers, a longer research paper, a 10-12 minute podcast, regular quizzes, participation both in class and on regular discussion boards, and a final exam.

This course will cover all of books 1 and 3 of the Argonautica in Greek, with selections from other books in Greek and the entire poem in English.  Students will read mainly in Apollonius, but there will also be regular readings from poets that either influenced Apollonius or were influenced by him, including Homer, the tragedians (especially Euripides 
Medea), Callimachus, and Vergil.  The course will have the complementary aims of appreciating Apollonius on his own Hellenistic terms and of exploring the relationships between his poems and other important works of ancient literature. Course requirements include two short papers and one major research paper, class participation and regular presentations, and periodic translation quizzes.

Homer’s Iliad is one of the earliest and most important poems in Classical – or indeed Western – literature.  Both the story of the various heroes who fought in the sack of Troy, and the specific ways that the Iliad tells this tale, have had an incalculable influence on later literature.  The course has three related goals:  strengthen students’ ability to read Greek both quickly and accurately through daily reading assignments and regular assessments; refine analytical skills, both orally and in writing; and develop critical facilities for understanding one of the foundational texts of both Classical and Western literature.  This will entail developing a familiarity with the range of scholarly approaches to Homeric epic, especially the different ways that scholars have dealt with oral aesthetics, following Milman Parry’s discoveries that the Homeric epics are oral and rely heavily on traditional language.

Initial assignments will be limited to what students can translate in class and the pace will steadily increase as the semester proceeds. There will be written exercises and translation tests along the way, ending with a comprehensive final exam; all quizzes will include unseen passages, aka sight translation.

Students in GK 365 will have additional writing assignments.

Students in GK 385 will have additional reading assignments.

This course carries the Writing Flag and the Independent Inquiry Flag.

GK 383 is a survey of Greek literature from Homeric poetry through the major Athenian dramatists of the fifth century BCE. We will read selections from Homer Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod Theogony and Works and Days, Sappho and other Archaic lyric poets, Pindar, Herotodus, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Apollonius’ Argonautica. In addition to substantial weekly reading assignments in Greek, students will read key works of scholarship on each author and prepare regular informal oral reports. This course is designed to help students improve their Greek reading proficiency, their analytical skills (both oral and written), and their ability to initiate and execute strategies for learning new material related to Greek literature. Course grades will be based on class participation, regular sight translation quizzes, written commentaries on specified passages, occasional in-class essays, and a final exam.

This course continues the introduction to reading Ancient Greek begun in Greek 506.  After a brief review, we will complete the grammar introduced in our textbook and move on to reading passages from various Greek authors.

Daily assignments covering grammar, vocabulary, composition, and translation will enable the diligent student to solidify their command of Attic Greek.  Regular attendance is essential.  Course grade is based on class participation, homework, weekly quizzes (both long and shorter), and a final exam.


GK 390: Homer Odyssey
This course focuses mainly on reading as much as we can of Homer's _Odyssey_ in Greek. We will also read widely in Homeric scholarship, including ancient ideas about Homer and Homeric poetry. Scholarly readings in the first few weeks will include a basic survey of important work related to Milman Parry's studies on the orality of the Homeric poems.

Skills we will practice regularly, and on which students will be graded, include translation (through in-class participation and regular pop quizzes), briefer forms of analysis (brief in-class presentations, 2-3 short papers in the first half of the semester), and a longer research paper.

GK 390 Seminar in Classical Studies:

Selected topics in Greek studies. Topics given in recent years include Mycenaean documents, Aristotle's ethics, Archaic poetry, and Plato's Symposium.

GK 383 is a survey of Greek literature from Homeric poetry through the major Athenian dramatists of the fifth century BCE. We will read selections from Homer Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod Theogony and Works and Days, Sappho and other Archaic lyric poets, Pindar, Herotodus, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Apollonius’ Argonautica. In addition to substantial weekly reading assignments in Greek, students will read key works of scholarship on each author and prepare regular informal oral reports. This course is designed to help students improve their Greek reading proficiency, their analytical skills (both oral and written), and their ability to initiate and execute strategies for learning new material related to Greek literature. Course grades will be based on class participation, regular sight translation quizzes, written commentaries on specified passages, occasional in-class essays, and a final exam.

Myths accompanied Greek and Roman culture as a constant from the pre-literate era before the Homeric epics through the hyper-literary myths of the Roman period. These myths helped the ancient Greeks and Romans to make sense of their world and to address issues with regard to religion, philosophy, and even early attempts at natural science. In different forms, myths still inform our understanding of the world, and Classical mythology in particular has continued to influence western art and literature up to the present day. This class begins with an examination of the Greek understanding of the creation of the world, the pantheon of gods, and the creation of humanity. Time will also be spent on the origins of Greek mythology, looking to the mythologies of Near Eastern cultures, which have influenced Greek thought. Throughout the course attention will be given to particular gods, goddesses, heroes and heroines and the myths which surround them in both the Greek and Roman traditions.

Fulfills the Visual and Performing Arts requirement.

Carries the Global Cultures flag.

Fulfills the Cultural Expression, Human Experience, & Thought Course area requirement.

Homer’s Odyssey is one of the earliest and most important poems in Classical – or indeed Western – literature.  Both the story of a journeying hero trying to make his way home and the specific ways that the Odyssey tells this tale have had an incalculable influence on later literature.  The course has three related goals:  strengthen students’ ability to read Greek both quickly and accurately through daily reading assignments and regular assessments; refine analytical skills, both orally and in writing; and develop critical facilities for understanding one of the foundational texts of both Classical and Western literature.  This will entail developing a familiarity with scholarly approaches to Homeric epic, in pursuit of which we will begin with a general introduction to Homeric poetry and Homeric studies via readings in historically important scholarship.  We will gradually transition to a more targeted focus later in the semester, on the different ways that scholars have dealt with oral aesthetics, following Milman Parry’s discoveries that the Homeric epics are oral and rely heavily on traditional language.

Initial assignments will be limited to what students can translate in class and the pace will steadily increase as the semester proceeds. There will be written exercises and translation tests along the way, ending with a comprehensive final exam; all quizzes will include unseen passages, aka sight translation.

• Students in GK 365 will have additional writing assignments.
• Students in GK 385 will have additional reading assignments.

 This course carries the Writing Flag and the Independent Inquiry Flag.

This course is an introduction to reading ancient Greek - the language of some of the world’s oldest and best loved writings, including Homer, Herodotus, Plato, and the New Testament. We will cover enough basic grammar and vocabulary for you to begin reading short passages from a wide range of ancient Greek writers.

Greek 506 is the first half of a two-semester sequence that continues with Greek 507 and prepares students to advance to Intermediate Greek (GK 311 and 312), where students read selected works by authors like Plato and Homer.

Grades will be based on participation, homework, weekly quizzes, and four tests (three midterms and a final).

Two-semester sequence surveying the major forms and genres of Greek literature from the Archaic through Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods

This course will cover the most important epic poems of Greece and Rome.  Texts will include Hesiod Theogony, Homer Iliad and Odyssey, Apollonius Jason and the Golden Fleece, Vergil Aeneid and Ovid Metamorphoses. Students will become familiar with the major characters, story lines, and genre conventions of ancient epic. We will consistently focus on the influence these poems had on each other, including some post-classical readings. Major course goals include:  acquiring knowledge of major authors, characters, story lines, and genre conventions of ancient epic; improving close reading, analytical, and communication skills.

This course carries a Global Cultures flag.

This course will focus on the Ajax and Antigone of Sophocles, possibly with selections from other plays of Sophocles in English and/or other authors on the Theban mythological cycle. These plays present two of the most memorable heroes in Greek tragedy, one male and one female. We will consider the idea of the “hero,” both the qualities these two characters have in common and the ways that they differ, particularly as a result of their genders; the basic elements of a Greek tragedy, such as the chorus, the different meters used, the overall structure of a typical play, and the staging of tragedy; the social and historical context in which Sophocles' plays were performed, including the structure and procedures of the Greek dramatic festivals; and the wide range of responses to these plays, including modern scholarly approaches to Greek tragedy.

This course studies the Olympian gods and the major heroes and stories of classical mythology, as told in a variety of literary genres, media, cultures, and time periods.  We will consider how different poets tell their myths and stories, how genre affects the way a story is told, and how different versions of a particular story compare to each other.  In addition to close reading of ancient texts, the course will introduce you to the culture that produced these different works through images of the art and architecture of Greece and political/historical overviews. Artistic representations of stories also told in texts we read will receive special attention in order to explore relationships between text and image as ways of telling stories.This course carries the Global Cultures and Ethics & Leadership flags.Coursework will include midterm exams, in-class quizzes, regular posts to course discussion boards, and a final exam.

This course brings together several authors not often treated together – and in the case of Ennius, not often treated at all – to look at the range of Latin forerunners of Vergil’s Aeneid.  In the first part of the semester, we will spend 1-2 weeks each on the Annales, Catullus, Lucretius, and the Georgics, in order to acquire a strong grasp of those works' style and outlook. In addition, we will read parts of the Aeneid that draw on one, some or all of these poems, in order to examine how Vergil makes use of a range of different predecessors in creating the Aeneid.

Primary authors covered are fragments of Ennius (Skutch), Catullus, Lucretius, Vergil Georgics, and Vergil Aeneid. Specific readings will be chosen with an eye to the translation exam reading list.

Course work will include two short papers, a long research paper, and regular oral reports.

Continuation of Greek 311. Extensive selections of Greek prose and/or poetry. Class meetings will be devoted especially to translation, grammar and syntax, and secondarily to discussion of the texts in their cultural context.

Greek 312K and 312L may not both be counted.

Prerequisites Greek 311 with a grade of at least C.

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to methods of teaching, especially introductory and intermediate Latin classes. Topics will include planning the course and devising the syllabus, presenting lessons, assigning and evaluating homework, making up and grading quizzes and exams, and other matters of importance.

Grading will be based on class participation and a number of projects.

This course studies the Olympian gods and the major heroes and stories of classical mythology, as told in a variety of literary genres, media, cultures, and time periods.  We will consider how different poets tell their myths and stories, how genre affects the way a story is told, and how different versions of a particular story compare to each other.  In addition to close reading of ancient texts, the course will introduce you to the culture that produced these different works through images of the art and architecture of Greece and political/historical overviews.  Artistic representations of stories also told in texts we read will receive special attention in order to explore relationships between text and image as ways of telling stories.

This course carries the Global Cultures and Ethics & Leadership flags.

Coursework will include midterm exams, in-class quizzes, regular posts to course discussion boards, and a final exam.

This course is an introduction to reading ancient Greek - the language of some of the world’s oldest and best loved writings, including Homer, Herodotus, Plato, and the New Testament. We will cover enough basic grammar and vocabulary for you to begin reading short passages from a wide range of ancient Greek writers.

Greek 506 is the first half of a two-semester sequence that continues with Greek 507 and prepares students to advance to Intermediate Greek (GK 311 and 312), where students read selected works by authors like Plato and Homer.

Grades will be based on participation, homework, weekly quizzes, and four tests (three midterms and a final).

The goal of this course is to expand and reinforce your knowledge of Greek vocabulary, morphology, and syntax by exposing you to the most important poet in the language: Homer. We will read 2-3 books in the original Greek, covering aspects of Homeric grammar that are different from the Attic Greek that is more familiar to you from your work in previous Greek classes.  An introduction to Greek meter and exercises in scansion will be provided as well.  We will read large selections of Homer in translation as well as select secondary literature in order to introduce you to the genre and to discuss various cultural and literary aspects of Homeric epic. Course requirements will include daily translations, class attendance and participation, several exams, both announced and unannounced quizzes, and a final exam.

This course will cover all of books 1 and 3 in Greek, with selections from other books in Greek and the entire poem in English.  Students will read mainly in Apollonius, but there will also be regular readings from poets that either influenced Apollonius or were influenced by him, including Pindar, Euripides (Medea), and Callimachus. Depending on time, we may also read some Homer and/or Vergil. The course will have the complementary aims of appreciating Apollonius on his own Hellenistic terms and of exploring the relationships between his poems and other important works of ancient literature. Course requirements include two short papers, a major resch paper, class participation and regular presentations, and regular translation quizzes.

This course studies the Olympian gods and the major heroes and stories of classical mythology, as told in a variety of literary genres, media, cultures, and time periods.  We will consider how different poets tell their myths and stories, how genre affects the way a story is told, and how different versions of a particular story compare to each other.  In addition to close reading of ancient texts, the course will introduce you to the culture that produced these different works through images of the art and architecture of Greece and political/historical overviews.  Artistic representations of stories also told in texts we read will receive special attention in order to explore relationships between text and image as ways of telling stories.  

This course carries a Global Cultures flag and fulfills the Visual and Performing Arts requirement; it may also be counted as an elective.

Coursework will include midterm exams, in-class quizzes, regular posts to course discussion boards, and a final exam.

The Signature Course (UGS 302 and 303) introduces first-year students to the university’s academic community through the exploration of new interests. The Signature Course is your opportunity to engage in college-level thinking and learning.

This course will cover the most important epic poems of Greece and Rome.  Texts will include Hesiod Theogony, Homer Iliad and Odyssey, Apollonius Jason and the Golden Fleece, Vergil Aeneid and Ovid Metamorphoses. Students will become familiar with the major characters, story lines, and genre conventions of ancient epic. We will consistently focus on the influence these poems had on each other, including some post-classical readings. Major course goals include:  acquiring knowledge of major authors, characters, story lines, and genre conventions of ancient epic; improving close reading, analytical, and communication skills.  Course requirements include: class attendance and participation, regular discussion board posts, two midterm exams, a final paper, and a final exam.

This course will read selections from Homer's Iliad in Greek, and the entire poem in English. Course work will provide a grounding in the general outlines of Homeric poetry and Homeric scholarship. In order to provide focus within this large field of inquiry, we will be looking in particular at similes. The Iliad has significantly more similes than the Odyssey does, and several recent books have been published about Homeric similes, both of which make this a fruitful area for current study. Emphasis throughout will be on developing professional speaking, reading, writing, and analytical skills.

Course work includes regular class participation and discussion board postings, two short papers, regular in-class presentations, several translation quizzes, and a final research paper. Students will also have opportunities to be involved with the conference of Homerists working in Texas, to be held in February 2012.

This course studies the Olympian gods and the major heroes and stories of classical mythology, as told in a variety of literary genres, media, cultures, and time periods.  We will consider how different poets tell their myths and stories, how genre affects the way a story is told, and how different versions of a particular story compare to each other.  In addition to close reading of ancient texts, the course will introduce you to the culture that produced these different works through images of the art and architecture of Greece and political/historical overviews.  Artistic representations of stories also told in texts we read will receive special attention in order to explore relationships between text and image as ways of telling stories.  

This course carries a Global Cultures flag and fulfills the Visual and Performing Arts requirement; it may also be counted as an elective.

Coursework will include midterm exams, in-class quizzes, regular posts to course discussion boards, and a final exam.

For the first part of the semester, we will complete the grammar begun in Greek 506.  In the last part of the course we will read from Plato’s Ion.  When we read Plato, we will spend significant time reviewing the grammar and vocabulary learned in Greek 506 and the first part of Greek 507.  Prerequisite: GK 506 with a grade of at least C.

Course work will include:  class attendance and participation, three midterms, regular quizzes, and a final exam.

This course surveys Archaic Greek poetry in the genres of epic (Homer), didactic (Hesiod), hymn (Homeric Hymns), and both choral and monodic lyric (Pindar and Campbell selections). The course has two main goals. First, it offers a broad-ranging survey of the different genres of extant Greek poetry before the rise of Greek tragedy, which are not often studied together because they represent so many different genres. To provide focus within this large variety of poems, we will study the narrating "I" as it appears in these different genres. What are the similarities in the narrator's self-references across these genres and authors? What are the differences? What do the function(s) of these self-references seem to be in the poems? Course work includes class participation and discussion board postings, two short papers, regular in-class presentations, regular translation quizzes, and a final research paper.

Please click here for a pdf of the syllabus

Syllabus available as pdf download

GK 324 Advanced Greek:

Reading and analysis of classical authors such as Homer, Herodotus, Euripides, and Plato.

Prerequisites: Greek 312K or 312L (or 322) with a grade of at least C; or Greek 412 with a grade of at least A-, and consent of the undergraduate adviser.

The seminar will focus on two topics: pleasure and philia (aka friendship), each both in its own right and in relation to other issues, including virtues of character and thought. We’ll devote the first half of the term to examining the structure of Aristotle’s ethical theory, principally his eudaimonism and analysis of virtue. The rest of the seminar will examine a) his analysis of pleasure, b) how this analysis informs his evaluation of pleasure, c) his analysis of friendship, and d) how this analysis underwrites -- or fails to underwrite -- the special status of friendship, including its relation to pleasure.