University of North Carolina at Greensboro · Courses
AMS
62 courses with the subject AMS, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
AMS 100The Greeks 3
Introduction to the ancient Greek world, with emphasis on the events, peoples, ideas, and primary sources from the Trojan War to Alexander the Great, and their connections to modern-day American democracy.
AMS 105The Fantastic World of Classics and Sci Fi 3
By comparing tales of fantasy and fiction from the ancient world to modern science fiction classics, students will investigate questions of mortality, ethics, civics, and the role of technology in the ancient world as well as their own.
An exploration of games and video games from and about Ancient Greece, Rome, and the Near East, and what those games tell us about peoples, the things they value, and the way they see their world.
This course explores Sparta, one of the strangest civilizations of the ancient world. How did a small, xenophobic, and authoritarian backwater fight off the mighty Persian Empire and dominate the Greek world for centuries? We will find out through readings and discussion of ancient literature, modern movies, and recent scholarship.
AMS 130From Ruins to Results: Storytelling through Archaeological Data 3
An introduction to foundational data analysis skills, tools, and methods in archaeology. Students learn to create, manage, analyze, interpret patterns, visualize, and make arguments using quantitative data drawn from a range of archaeological materials and contexts (artifacts and ecofacts, burials, settlements, etc).
AMS 203Science & Technology in the Ancient World 3
An exploration of ancient science, technology, and engineering in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, from writing to math and aqueducts to arches. Using ancient textual and archaeological sources, we will discuss major discoveries and technological developments, the challenges they were invented to overcome, and their impact on societies.
Interpretation and evaluation of great myths of the ancient Greek world using works of literature and material culture dealing with mythological themes that have shaped human experience.
Survey of the ancient Olympics of Greece and the gladiatorial sports of the Roman world, with special attention to physical, socio-political, economic, and religious health and wellness through sport.
Exploration of ancient Greek and Roman political events, institutions, ideas, and artefacts with a view to their contributions to the development of American democracy. Modern readings will focus on foundational American documents such as the Declaration of Independence and Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham jail.
AMS 209The Classical Art of Influence and Persuasion 3
Introduction to ancient techniques of persuasion and the application of these techniques to persuasive documents and ceremonial speeches critical for studying the development of American democracy. Emphasis is placed on the ability to write persuasively using ancient rhetorical tools and models with special attention to audience and occasion.
Introduction to the archaeology of the ancient Greek world, including the ancient palaces, the earliest city states, and the spread of the Hellenistic Empire.
AMS 213Who’s Your Muse? Inspiration and Expression in the Ancient World 3
Students will learn to analyze writing in a variety of genres and produce their own written work through an examination of the nine ancient Greek Muses as personifications of inspiration for human creative endeavor.
This course explores how emotions and the ways that people experience them contribute to health and wellness in the ancient world. Students will discuss anger, grief, love, worry, pride, longing, fear, and several other culturally-specific ancient emotions, while also making modern connections between the impacts of emotions on wellbeing.
AMS 215The Archaeology of Pompeii: A City Frozen in Time 3
This course focuses on the archaeological remains of Pompeii, a city buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE, and the goal is to understand how different types of writing use the material evidence to provide insight into life in a Roman city.
An exploration of the famous Seven Wonders of the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds, as well as their historical contexts. We will consider why these monuments captured the imagination of people through the ages, and what our continued fascination with creating lists of “wonders” says about our society.
AMS 222The Empire Strikes Back: Resistance and Revolt in Ancient Rome 3
This course traces the historical, social, and material context for resistance and revolt in the Roman empire, particularly as it relates to various marginalized groups. Topics discussed include provincial and slave revolts, female resistance leaders, banditry and piracy as subversion, and everyday resistance against Rome's administration and elite.
Study of Greek tragedians of Athens in the fifth century and their subsequent influence on later literature. Readings from Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
Study of Greek and Roman comedies from the fifth to second centuries BCE and their subsequent influence on later literature. Readings from Aristophanes, Menander, Terence, and Plautus.
AMS 225Speaking of Murder: Greek Tragedy in Performance 3
Ancient Greek tragedy is full of action--in speeches, at least. All murders (and there are many) happen off stage. How do mere words have the power to communicate the gravest disaster and most gruesome murder? In this collaborative course, students learn about ancient theater through performing scenes from Greek tragedy.
AMS 226What’s So Funny? Humor in the Ancient & Modern World 3
Jokes are risky propositions: what makes some humorists successful, while others get “cancelled”? This class explores different forms of ancient humor, including Aristophanes and politics, Plautus and family, and Catullus and Roman society. Students will apply these concepts to modern humor found in television and social media.
AMS 235Rubbish! The Archaeology of Toilets, Trash, and Other Thrown Out Things 3
This course explores archaeological and material culture to analyze human and man-made waste in pre-modern societies. What is "waste" and what can it tell us about peoples in the past? How do societies manage waste? How do archaeologists study it? What evidence do we have for recycling and reuse?.
AMS 240Blood, Sweat, and Tears: Warfare in Antiquity 3
A survey of Greek and Roman warfare covering strategy, tactics, weapons, technology, and the experience of battle from Homer to the fall of the Roman Empire.
Introduction to the archaeology of Egypt, emphasizing the major developments in Egyptian society as it grew from small villages to kingdoms that controlled vast areas of land in the surrounding region.
Introduction to the Minoans and Mycenaeans. The archaeology of the Aegean Islands, Crete, the coast of Asia Minor, including Troy, and the mainland of Greece in the Bronze Age.
Introduction to the great cities of the past, emphasizing the physical design of those cities, especially as it reflects changing political and social structures.
Study of the Greek Archaic period, from the end of the Homeric Age to the dawn of the Classical era. Focus on literature, art, and religion within their social context.
An introduction to the life and career of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic period of Greek civilization, emphasizing its art, architecture, and literature in their historical context.
AMS 327Constantine, Crisis, and the Remaking of Rome 3
An exploration of the later Roman Empire, particularly the Third Century Crisis, the Tetrarchy, and the rise and reign of Constantine. Through ancient texts, inscriptions, monuments, coins, and funerary art, we will discuss the major socio-political, religious, and artistic changes that accompanied this pivotal period in the Roman world.
A study of how propaganda and public opinion was used in the Roman Empire to legitimize and delegitimize leaders and regimes. We will pay particular attention to the various uses of literature, architecture, rumors, and gossip in the ability of emperors and usurpers to gain and maintain power.
AMS 329Gates of Horn and Ivory: Dreaming in the Ancient World 3
Dreaming has always been part of our everyday experience. But did the Greeks and Romans dream any differently than we do? How and why did they extract meaning from their nightmares and daydreams? In this course, we will explore the cultural history of dreams and dream interpretation.
Public and private lives of Greek and Roman women of the ancient world, focusing on women's political, religious, and domestic roles, their general social status, health and welfare.
AMS 331Cuts, Curses, and Cesareans: An Introduction to Ancient Medicine 3
An introduction to the study of ancient medicine, with attention to broader competencies in the medical humanities and intellectual history. Primary texts from Egypt, the Near East, Greece, and Rome are discussed to track key medical developments, the relation between magic and medicine, and the role of healers in society.
A comparative study of the formal and cultural elements of major world epics in translation. The following works may be included: Gilgamesh, Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, Chanson de Roland, Divine Comedy, Jerusalem Delivered, Beowulf, Joyce's Ulysses.
A comparative study of the formal and cultural elements of global drama traditions. The course begins with ancient Greece, then considers adaptations and original works from ancient Rome and modern global cultures. Playwrights may include: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Menander, Seneca, Plautus, Terence, Shakespeare, Racine, O’Neill, Mee, Farber.
What makes languages change and how does language change affect individuals and societies? Survey of the empirical study of language change, with insights drawn from linguistics, sociolinguistics, and anthropology.
Survey of ancient theories of the origins and configuration of the universe. Focus on Greek and Roman philosophical accounts, with some attention to Old Testament and Babylonian creation narratives.
Exploration and application of fundamental principles of Roman family law concerning topics like marriage, paternity, adultery, divorce, inheritance, and the status of women, primarily through case studies from the writings of Roman jurists and law codes.
Mycenaean society, Greek "dark ages", colonization and tyranny, Athens and Sparta, flowering in the fifth and fourth centuries, conquests of Alexander, Hellenistic empires, and the diffusion of Greek civilization.
Study of the social/political forces that led to Rome's conquest of the Mediterranean World and of the transformation which world conquest wrought on Rome itself. Topics covered include: the Roman Constitution and politics, the Roman conquest of Italy and then of the whole Mediterranean, and the decline of the Republic.
Survey of politics and society at Rome under the Empire, when Rome dominated Western Civilization. Topics covered include: Augustus and the rise of one-man rule at Rome, the long "Roman Peace" and the civilizing of Europe under the Emperors, rise of Christianity, and the transformed Empire of Constantine the Great.
AMS 360Archaeology of the Roman Provinces: Britain and Gaul 3
Archaeological study of provinces of Gaul and Britain. Following in the footsteps of Julius Caesar to look at how incorporation into the empire changed the lives of the Celtic "barbarians."
AMS 365Archaeology of the Roman Provinces: Asia Minor and Syria 3
Archaeological study of Asia Minor and Syria, a region at the crossroads between East and West. Focus on the impact of the Roman Empire on Eastern culture and society.
Examination of several Greek and Roman plays (tragedies and comedies) and performance techniques to understand women's presentation on the public stage as models and countermodels of conventional social mores.
Study of selected myths from Greece, Rome, and comparative cultures. Focus on original literature, supplemented by ancient and modern critical works. Topics will vary; see description for each term.
Varying topics in ancient Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman history, including politics and public rituals, patterns of social organization, ancient slavery, and cross-cultural interactions.
Subject
AMS
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated once for credit when topic varies.
On-site study of the history and material culture of Rome in its social, literary, and political context from the prehistory of the city and its environs through Late Antiquity.
A deep investigation into the ways color was perceived, conceived, manufactured, expressed in language, and exploited in every facet of life in the ancient Mediterranean world, including the human body, clothing, decoration, politics, social life, religion, philosophy, psychology, language, literature, linguistics, drama, art, and architecture.
Survey of major topics in Roman history through primary sources in translation from the founding of the Republic in 509 BC to Marcus Aurelius' death in AD 180.
Individual work towards completion of the Senior Honors Project done under the supervision of a faculty member in Ancient Mediterranean Studies & Archaeology.
Subject
AMS
Type
course
Repeatable
May be repeated for credit if the topic of study changes.