Here are two of the three courses I'm offering in spring 2022; for each I give the description from the Courses of Study Bulletin and a poster. (The third course is LATN 3407 - Imperial Latin, which will focus on ancient receptions of Virgil.)
Questions? Email me at bstevens@trinity.edu.
CLAS 1317 - Classics & Science Fiction; MW 2:30-3:45pm
In this course, we explore how science fiction (SF), the genre perhaps most characteristic of the modern world, draws on ancient Greek and Roman literature, philosophy, myth, history, and art: in other words, how SF forms part of ‘classical traditions’ and constitutes a rich site for ‘classical receptions,’ both transmitting and transmuting ancient materials. Beginning with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), evoking antiquity in its subtitle, the Modern Prometheus, we consider a wide range of materials--mainly literature and film--from several theoretical perspectives in the fields of SF studies and Classics. Readings from modern authors including Kafka, Borges, Miller, Collins, and Valente; ancient authors including Homer, Aeschylus, Lucretius, Ovid, and Lucian; and screenings from directors including Wilcox, Cronenberg, the Wachowskis, Villeneuve, and Scott.
Fulfills 'Humanities.'
CLAS 3310 - Antiquity and Diversity in Contemporary Literature; TTh 12:45-2pm
In this seminar, we explore how contemporary American literature articulates issues in diversity and identity via themes, stories, and images drawn from classical (Greek and Roman) antiquity. Far from 'dead letters' belonging solely to 'dead white men,' the classics are important sources of inspiration and creativity--as well as controversy and debate--for authors representing diverse American identities today, including African-American, Latinx, LGBTQIA+, Native American, religious minorities, regional identities, and more. To consider diversity in such categories as race and ethnicity, social class, gender and sexuality, immigration, regional identity, and religion, we focus on American literature since World War II, in connection with the most relevant ancient sources, in comparison with related films, and in contexts of scholarship and criticism.
Fulfills 'Understanding Diversity.'
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