300-level

CLAS325
Roman Social History
Description
A study of Roman society, focussing on the day-to-day life of Rome's inhabitants. Topics include familial relationships, health and wellbeing, urban infrastructure, floods, fires, travel, among others.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from CLAS, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
CLAS307, CLAS407 (in 2003, 2008, 2010), CLAS425
CLAS326
Concepts of Art and Literature from Homer to Aristotle
Description
Today, all over the world, Greek dramas continue to be performed and adapted; Homer’s epics are forever finding new audiences through new translations, adaptations and interpretation on film and TV; and Greek art attracts millions of people worldwide to galleries, museums and archaeological sites. But what did these works mean to the ancients themselves? In what ways did the Greeks link visual and verbal artforms to other issues such as psychology, ethics, politics and desire? Are modern ways of viewing these ancient works compatible with ancient responses to them or are there vast differences in post-antique ways of reading ancient literary and material culture? If so, what are these differences? Some answers to these and other related questions can be found in looking at ancient writings about the visual and verbal arts in Archaic and Classical Greece and reconsidering these artworks in the light of such writings. This course analyses Greek views of visual imagery (primarily paintings and statues), poetry and rhetoric in the Archaic and Classical Greek world (c. 750-320 BC). Over this period many of the most influential developments in these media were achieved, and critical thinking about art, language and poetry first burgeoned, particularly in the fifth century. In fact, the very terms that have become central to our way of categorising and thinking about visual, verbal and aural artforms - music, poetry, lyric, epic, tragedy, comedy, drama, rhetoric, graphics, mimesis, icon, idol - are all Greek in origin and again indicate the importance of the Greeks’ achievements as practitioners and theorists in these areas, as well as raising issues that speak to us now in the 21st century.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024 (The Arts Centre Christchurch)
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from CLAS, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
CLAS315, CLAS454
CLAS329
Ancient Laughter
Description
A study of Greek and Roman Comedy and Roman Satire in terms of the performability, thematics and characterization of the former and the social commentary and humour of both of these related genres.
Occurrences
Semester One 2024
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
Any 30 points at 200 level from CLAS, or any 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
Restrictions
CLAS306, CLAS321, CLAS409
CLAS335
Advanced Greek Authors
Description
Continued study of Greek literature and unseen passages, with emphasis on the development of knowledge of the language. This involves reading important texts by authors such as Sophocles, Euripides, Thucydides, Homer and others as well as analysing these more fully in their cultural and literary context.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024 (The Arts Centre Christchurch)
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
CLAS235, or subject to approval of the Head of Department.
Restrictions
CLAS331
CLAS345
Advanced Latin Authors
Description
Continued advanced study of Latin texts and unseen passages.
Occurrences
Semester Two 2024 (The Arts Centre Christchurch)
Points
30 points
Prerequisites
CLAS245, or subject to approval of the Head of Department.
Restrictions
CLAS341

Not Offered Courses in 2024

300-level

CLAS307
Topics in Ancient History: Athens: From city to empire and back again
Description
This course covers the history of the wealthiest and most powerful Greek city-state, Athens, from the legislation of Solon through the "Periclean Age" down to the advent of Alexander the Great.
Occurrences
Not offered 2024, offered in 2021
For further information see CLAS307 course details
Points
30 points
CLAS310
Writing in Chains: Latin Literature and Roman Slavery
Description
An examination of Roman slavery from a literary and cultural-historical perspective.
Occurrences
Not offered 2024, offered in 2012 , 2015 , 2019 , 2021
For further information see CLAS310 course details
Points
30 points
CLAS314
Art and Archaeology of Ancient Mediterranean Cities
Occurrences
Not offered 2024
For further information see CLAS314 course details
Points
30 points
PHIL314
Greek Philosophy
Description
This course will survey the origins of Western philosophy in the ancient world, from the Milesians to the Stoics. We will focus on the emergence of rationality and the development of philosophical themes first articulated by the Presocratics, then in turn, by Plato and Aristotle, and beyond. Emphasis will be placed on the structure of knowledge, the nature of reality, aesthetics, and the contemplation of the good life.
Occurrences
Not offered 2024
For further information see PHIL314 course details
Points
30 points
CLAS315
Special Topic
Occurrences
Not offered 2024
For further information see CLAS315 course details
Points
30 points
CLAS316
Topics in Classical Literature and Culture: Roman Law
Description
This course surveys the key features of Roman law that have become essential to modern European legal systems and considers the impact of law on Rome's development as a city-state and capital of a large empire.
Occurrences
Not offered 2024, offered in 2014 , 2017
For further information see CLAS316 course details
Points
30 points
CLAS319
Sport and Leisure in the Ancient World
Description
A study of the impact of sport and leisure on various aspects of ancient life and their modern reconstructions. Note: course requirements in this combined 200- and 300-level course will be appropriate to the level at which the student is enrolled.
Occurrences
Not offered 2024, offered in 2014 , 2016 , 2018 , 2020 , 2022
For further information see CLAS319 course details
Points
30 points
CLAS322
Roman Architecture
Description
This course explores the tremendous architectural and engineering achievements of the Romans from the 2nd century BC - 4th century AD. The course will focus on a variety of architectural buildings, forms, techniques and materials, and will also examine some of the cultural and historical factors underlying the Romans' success as architects. This course is suitable for Civil Engineering students as well as Arts students.
Occurrences
Not offered 2024, offered in 2016 , 2018 , 2020 , 2021 , 2023
For further information see CLAS322 course details
Points
30 points
CLAS324
Greek Philosophy
Description
The intellectual rigour, which informed the Greeks’ speculations on life, the universe and everything, changed our understanding of the world forever. In this course we survey the origins and development of western philosophy in the Greek world, focusing on the 6th to the 4th centuries BC when many areas that preoccupy philosophers today were analysed and explored by the Greeks, including cosmology, physics, ethics, politics, psychology and more. Figures such as Socrates, Plato and many others before and after them will feature.
Occurrences
Not offered 2024, offered in 2021
For further information see CLAS324 course details
Points
30 points
CLAS332
The Hellenistic East and the Coming of Rome
Description
The History of the Hellenistic World from 323 to 30 B.C.
Occurrences
Not offered 2024, offered in 2016 , 2017 , 2018 , 2020 , 2023
For further information see CLAS332 course details
Points
30 points
CLAS336
Greek Art: The Power of Images in Archaic and Classical Greece
Description
We focus on the brilliant achievements of the Greeks in architecture, figurative painting, sculpture and other media that have been influential for centuries. We see what these meant in their broader cultural context, including Greek myth and history, as well as Greek interaction with cultures of Egypt and the Middle East. Students in this course have a chance to work directly with the splendid artefacts from the James Logie Memorial Collection (including Greek vases) now housed in the Teece Museum.
Occurrences
Not offered 2024, offered in 2021 , 2023
For further information see CLAS336 course details
Points
30 points