THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

 

                                                                   FACULTY SENATE

 

   Senate Document Number     2206S

 

   Date of Senate Approval      01/19/06  

 

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Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

 

APC Document  17:                              Changes to Culture Course offerings in Classics:

                                                            Delete CLAS 355, 491, 493

                                                            Add CLAS 314, 343, 344, 345, 354, 356, 383, 393.

 

Effective Date: Fall 2006

 

 

1.  Delete:        On pg. 87, all course entries under Courses in Culture, CLAS 250 through CLAS 493

 

Add:            On pg. 87, in place of deleted entries:

 

 

250       Mythology (3)

Survey of some of the best-known Greco-Roman myths, including their portrayal in literature and art, their significance for the culture of their time, and general theoretical treatments of myth. Odd years Fall.

 

314       Greek and Roman Art (3)

This course explores classical culture through an examination of the monuments and artistic artifacts of ancient Greece and Rome. Even years Fall.

 

343       Greek History (3)

Greek history from the Mycenaean period to the death of Philip of Macedon. Every third year Fall.

 

344       The Roman Republic (3)

Roman history from the foundation of Rome to the accession of Augustus. Every third year Fall.

 

345       The Roman Empire (3)

Roman history from Augustus to the abdication of Diocletian in 305. Every third year Fall.

 

350       Women in Antiquity (3)

Focuses on the socio-economic, religious and daily life activities and legal aspects of women in ancient Greece and Rome by incorporating art, literary works and history to analyse women’s position in the ancient world. Even years Spring.

 

354       Greek and Roman Religion (3)

Introduces students to the religions of the Greek and Roman worlds. Religious practices and beliefs will be considered in a wide range of literary, artistic and archaeological sources. Even years Fall.

 

356       Ancient Sexuality (3)

General introduction to sexuality and gender in the ancient world, using ancient texts and images along with secondary literature to construct a picture of the different varieties of sexual experience in the ancient world. Odd years Spring.

 

383       Archaeology (3)

Alternates between Greek and Italian archaeology and considers practical and theoretical issues related to the discipline of archaeology. It is particularly recommended for students planning study abroad in field archaeology. See department chair.

 

393       Epic and Tragedy (3)

Taught in translation, this course alternates between Greek tragedy and epic, and Roman epic. The course includes historical, cultural and literary issues and is suitable for Classics majors and anyone interested in exploring texts that have influenced 2500 years of European literature. See department chair.

 

Impact: 

The proposed changes look more extensive than they really are: most of them codify departmental practice over the past 3 years since we have had the staffing to offer more extensive and regular cultural offerings. I append a list of the relevant cultural courses offered by our department since Spring 2003. Only three courses are new additions, and each has been taught over the past three years as a Special Topic. We have also omitted CLAS 355, CLAS 491 and CLAS 493 from this new set of offerings, so the net gain is only 1 course. Since these courses are accessible to all students, they have generated excellent enrollments in the past. They can all be cross-listed with at least one other department, as well as with the Honors program. In addition, all of them can readily be taught as some form of Intensive, and many will fit with Clusters currently being developed, such as the Belief Systems cluster and the Gender cluster. An additional benefit is that our majors will see their options in culture courses at a glance and the Registrar’s office will no longer be unsure as to what we accept as culture courses. From this it should become clear that what is proposed in this document essentially puts in writing and tidies up what we have been doing in practice during the last 3 years. There will be no diminution in the 4 or 5 sections of HUM 124 that we typically offer over the course of the academic year or in our ILS offerings. No change in resources will be needed to run these courses, and they should attract students from all over the university as they are taught as part of the Intensive and Cluster systems. These changes have no impact on the number of hours required in the major or minor.

 

Rationale: 

We are making these changes to align our Catalog entry with actual departmental practice so that students can plan their schedules more effectively and have a clearer view of departmental offerings. CLAS 250 and 350 are already in the catalogue, but will now be taught on a regular schedule. CLAS 250 is always fully enrolled and can easily be listed as a Writing Intensive: it will also be incorporated in our proposed cluster on Belief Systems. CLAS 350 is an obvious candidate for designation as a Diversity Intensive  - we are working on having it listed thus for Spring 2006 - and cross-lists with WMST and ARTH. Parallel to these courses run CLAS 354 and 356, which have been taught as Special Topics in S04 and S05 respectively. Like CLAS 250, 354 could easily be Writing Intensive and part of the Belief Systems cluster; like CLAS 350, 356 will be made Diversity Intensive and can cross-list with WMST. Thus we will have a 2-year core sequence of CLAS 250, 350, 354, 356.

 

CLAS 314 is a course regularly offered in the Art History programme. Adding it to the Classic curriculum makes it clear to our students that it will count as a culture course for them. Similarly CLAS 343, 344 and 345 have been created to codify the practice of the last 9 years, whereby ancient history has been taught in a 3-year sequence under the auspices of the history department.

 

CLAS 383 has been taught as a special topics course 3 times in the past 4 semesters. Since we now have access to participation on an archaeological dig in Italy, it is important that this course be regularly run so students can acquire the background necessary for successful participation. We plan to offer it once a year, but will for now keep open which semester that will be.

 

CLAS 393 replaces CLAS 491 (Greek Literature in Translation) and 493 (Roman Literature and Roman Life). There is no need for the course to be offered at such an apparently advanced level, and several variants of this course have been taught as 300-level Special Topics over the past 3 years. This is a more appropriate level for the kind of course it has become. It can be cross-listed with LIT and is a natural Writing Intensive.

 

 

 

Appendix

Culture courses taught from Spring 2003- Spring 2006 (not including Hum 124): -

Spring 2006 

CLAS 350 Women in Antiquity

CLAS 365 The Hebrew Bible

CLAS 373 Italian Archaeology

Fall 2005

CLAS 250 Mythology

CLAS 373/HIST 373 The Roman Republic

CLAS 179 Art Myth and Culture

CLAS 379 World Religions

Spring 2005

CLAS 373 Greek Art and Archaeology

CLAS 373 Ancient Sexuality

Fall 2004

CLAS 179 The Downward Road

CLAS 179 Ancient and Modern

CLAS 373/HIST 340 Greek history

ARTH 310 Greek and Roman Art

CLAS 373 Italian Archaeology

Spring 2004

CLAS 350 Women in Antiquity

CLAS 365 The Hebrew bible

CLAS 373 Greek and Roman religion

Fall 2003

CLAS 373/HIST 342 The Roman Empire

Spring 2003

CLAS 373 Old World New World Archaeology