2023-2024 BSC Catalog Updated_UG ONLY_FINAL[82]

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
187
GRS 225 ES Ancient Rome (1)
An introduction to the ancient Romans that will consider what it meant to be “Roman”
through study of Roman literature, art, history, and religion from the early Republican
period until late antiquity. An Explorations in Scholarship designated course.
GRS 230 WR Ancient and Modern Drama (1)
An in-depth study of Greek tragedy and comedy that considers how these plays reflect
the social, political, and religious concerns of the ancient Athenians and why they
continue to exert such influence on modern playwrights. Each ancient play will be paired
with a modern work to demonstrate the various ways that contemporary dramatists
engage with, react against, and draw inspiration from a genre that traces its beginnings to
Greek antiquity. (Also listed as THA 230.) Fall.
GRS 240 ES The Greek Gods (1)
An introduction to the gods and religions of the ancient Greeks. This course studies the
literature, art, mythology, and religion of the ancient Greeks to explore a central question:
what did the human participants of different ancient cults hope to gain in exchange for
their devotion? We consider geographic and ethnic distinctiveness within the Hellenic
world and attend to the way encounters with foreign cults affected Greek religious rituals
and festivals. Evidence to be examined includes temple architecture, epigraphical
inscriptions, ritual objects found at cult and funerary sites, and literary depictions of the
gods. An Explorations in Scholarship designated course.
GRS 250 GP Sex, Gender, and Power in Antiquity (1)
An examination of the cultural identities constructed for women and men in the Greco-
Roman world and an analysis of the way that the categories of male and female
underwrote power dynamics in various social, political, and religious contexts. The
course also considers whether the ancient world can shed light on contemporary issues in
gender studies, since the societies of Greece and Rome are often thought to provide the
basis for Western attitudes about sexuality. A Global Perspectives designated course.
(Also listed as GWS 250.)
GRS 255 IA Ancient Greece (1)
An introduction to the story and achievements of the ancient Greeks. Students will
acquire knowledge of the major socio-political events that shaped classical Greek history
while simultaneously developing a theoretical framework to assess the art, architecture,
philosophy, literature, and material culture of the ancient Greeks. An Interpretation or
Analysis designated course. (Also listed as HI 255.)
GRS 260 GP Race in Antiquity and Its Legacies (1)
An introduction to Greek and Roman thought about race, and the complicated
relationship between modern and ancient ideas concerning race, status, and power. A
Global Perspectives and Black Studies designated course. (Also listed as PS 260.)
Birmingham-Southern College Catalog 2023-2024