COML 191 - Classics of the Western World I

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

Arts & Letters Sector. All Classes. Staff. This course will approach selected classic works of Western culture up to the Middle Ages with two purposes in mind. First, we will try to see how our notions of authority, agency, will and history have been shaped by these texts, in particular by epic and tragedy; further, we will consider how such concepts in turn have been complicated by the author's recognition of the power of desire and shifting definitions of gender and identity. Second, we will look at how we identify a "classic" in our culture, and will try to understand what sort of work it does for us. Texts to be read will include: Homer's ILIAD and ODYSSEY; Euripides' BACCHAE; Sophocles' OEDIPUS THE KING; Aeschylus' PROMETHEUS BOUND; Aristophanes' FROGS; Virgil's AENEID; THE CONFESSIONS OF ST AUGUSTINE, and Dante's DIVINE COMEDY. All works will be read in translation.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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