19 courses with the subject CLAS, 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.
CLAS 130LITERATURE AND THOUGHT IN ANCIENT GREECE4
We shall read and discuss outstanding and influential works from archaic, classical, and Hellenistic Greece, including selections from such authors as Homer, Sappho, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Herodotus, and Plato. We shall examine the defining qualities of different genres (epic, lyric, tragedy, comedy, history, philosophy, biography) and the social context to which the authors responded. Open to first-year students.. (f, w, x, PRE, SMN)
An introduction to the nature and function of myth in Greece and Rome. Readings and discussions will give an understanding of the role of myth in religion, history, politics, and social organization. The course will also introduce the various methodologies for studying myth, such as comparative, historical, psychoanalytic, structuralist, folkloric, and feminist approaches. Open to first-year students. (PRE)
CLAS 140NARRATING AN EMPIRE: ROMAN LITERATURE AND IDEOLOGY4
This course offers a survey of significant literary works from the Roman republic and empire. Our main goal is to gain some familiarity with the authors, works, and genres (including epic, lyric, satire, comic drama, history, oratory, biography, and the novel) that have helped shape world literary traditions. The secondary goal of this course is to develop our sensitivity to how literature can create and reflect ideology. To accomplish these goals, we shall read works in translation, discuss them together as a seminar, and write short papers. Open to first-year students. (SMN)
A history of the Greeks from the Bronze Age to the Roman conquest. Special emphasis is given to the golden age of Athens, focusing on the democratic system, the interplay between foreign and domestic politics, social and economic developments, and outstanding cultural achievements. Other topics include The Trojan War, the Spartan state, women in Greek society, the origins of historiography, the empire of Alexander the Great, and the diffusion of Greek ideas. Also listed and described as HIST 240. Open to first-year students. (PRE) Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 167
A survey of Roman history from the foundation of the city to the fall of the Roman Empire. Special emphasis will be placed on the social and political changes leading to the collapse of the Republic; on the growth and development of Christianity in the Roman Empire; and on the transition from the ancient world to medieval Europe. Most readings will be taken from Roman sources, which will also provide an opportunity to investigate some of the vivid personalities of Roman history. Also listed and described as HIST 241. Open to first-year students. (PRE)
Myths from the near-eastern, Egyptian, and classical worlds are not only preserved in textual sources but also in vase paintings, architectural sculpture, carved reliefs, frescoes, and other painted media. We’ll compare the artistic representations with literary sources for the mythological stories of several ancient civilizations, discuss myths known only from visual sources, learn the elements of iconography, and examine the interplay of text and image in many works of art. Also listed and described as ARTH 245. Open to first-year students. (f, w, x, AES, PRE)
CLAS 250SPECIAL TOPIC: ARCGIS AND THINKING SPATIALLY4
Students will focus on skills and concepts necessary to analyze and manipulate data using ArcGIS. By completing three units centered in environmental studies, sociology, and the study of the ancient world, students will examine the concepts, behaviors, and values that can be used to address issues where study of the natural world intersects with the social sciences. (TLAS)
This survey course examines the major styles and monuments of the civilizations of Egypt, the Near East, the Aegean, Greece, and Rome. The class explores the methodologies used to study a variety of media: architecture, sculpture, pottery, paintings, and jewelry. The readings in the course present the historical context for each period of ancient art studied. Also listed and described as ARTH 261. Open to first-year students. No prerequisite. (AES, PRE, SMN) Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 168
CLAS 270ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ROMAN MEDITERRANEAN4
The Roman empire encompassed large and varied landscapes from the Atlantic to Arabia. This course is an introduction to the sculpture, architecture, and other objects found in Italy and the Roman provinces. Material will be presented topically and chronologically so that we can see and evaluate in light of their local contexts and broader cultural connections. Also listed and described as ARTH 270. (AES, PRE)
The conquests of Alexander the Great undoubtedly brought about dramatic changes. Students will consider a wide variety of aspects: the stories that art can illuminate, the history which informs the creation of such documents, and the ability of art to shape or reflect political realities. Students will examine continuity and innovation in the Hellenistic kingdoms through a variety of media. (AES, PRE, SMN)
Historians both establish facts about the past and interpret those facts by constructing narratives that reveal causes and effects tied to individual personalities and collective social factors. Shakespeare is one of the most sensitive and perceptive interpreters of Roman history, and Rome provided him with some of his best material. We will read, view, and discuss three of Shakespeare’s Roman plays (Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, Antony & Cleopatra). Our study of the ancient sources will extend beyond the texts of Plutarch, Livy, and other authors to include the contextual epigraphic, archaeological, and numismatic records. Our dual goals are to understand modem study of ancient history and to evaluate Shakespeare as an early modem interpreter of Roman history for the page and stage. (PRE)
CLAS 339ROMAN WOMEN: METHODOLOGIES AND MATERIAL EVIDENCE4
This course examines evidence for women across the Roman empire. It considered material culture, epigraphic material, skeletal remains, and architectural components to answer the following questions; How was the feminine gender constructed and its presentation Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 169
Intensive study of exemplary tragedies from Aeschylus (Oresteia trilogy), Sophocles (Oedipus plays), Euripides (Medea, Hecuba, Electra), and Shakespeare (Hamlet, Macbeth, Lear). Topics will include justice, revenge, and murder; the development of tragedy in classical Athens and early modern England; the effects of ancient and premodern staging conditions and practices; the role of tragedy as reflector and generator of social tensions; the portrayal of gender in tragedy; the place of Aristotle’s Poetics as a touchstone for the evaluation of the tragic genre; ideas of tradition, reception, and confluence among authors and audiences. Videos and live performances will enhance our exploration beyond the scripts.. Also cross listed at THEA 342. (AES, PRE)
Analysis of ancient and modern accounts of Troy’s destruction. We shall read ancient literary sources in translation, such as selections from Homer (Iliad, Odyssey), Vergil (Aeneid), and Greek tragedy (Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, Sophocles’ Ajax, Euripides’ Trojan Women, Hecuba). We shall examine ancient artistic and epigraphic sources and interrogate the archaeological evidence for Troy’s destruction by the Greeks. Readings from modern historical accounts, supplemented by videos, will widen our perspective beyond Troy to examine the systemic collapse of eastern Mediterranean empires in the 13th and 12th centuries BCE. Also cross listed as History 350.
Independent study conducted at the advanced level. Application must be made with faculty prior to registration. Offered any term. Hollins University 2026–27 Undergraduate Catalog Page 170
Students write a major research paper using primary and secondary sources. Prerequisite: senior standing. Required of senior majors. Application must be made with faculty prior to registration. Offered both terms. COURSES IN GREEK:
