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(Knowledge of ancient languages not required.)
A chronological introduction to Western and non-Western literatures from the Ancient world through the Renaissance. This course juxtaposes Greek, Roman, English literature from the Old English, Middle English, and Renaissance periods with contemporaneous literatures from India, China, Japan, Middle-Eastern, and other non-Western cultures.
This course is open to first-year students eligible to enroll in honors courses. It requires the consent of the Director of the Honors Program.
General introduction to the ancient Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman world, focusing on the history, literature, material culture, religion adn/or philosophy of each culture.
Survey of ancient Greek literature from Homer to Plato, including works of epic, drama, lyric, history and philosophy.
Survey of ancient Roman literature, including readings of epic, drama, lyric, oratory, satire, fable, and philosophy.
Nature and function of myth and legend; artistic, religious, psychological, and anthropological implications; influence on early and later literature and on art.
Literary criticism of a broad range of ancient literature including epic, tragedy, comedy, lyric poetry, and philosophical dialogues, with special focus on the role of heroism within society.
Beliefs and rituals of ancient Greece and Rome, including the mystery religions.
Survey of aspects of women's lives in classical antiquity incorporating the evidence of art. literature, and archaeology; study of the constructs of the female and the feminine. Readings from ancient sources and modern scholarship. Emphasis alternates between Greece and Hellenistic Egypt and the course (still under development) on Rome and Roman Egypt.
Survey of aspects of women's lives in Roman and Roman-Egyptian antiquity incorporating the evidence of art, literature, and archaeology; study of the constructs of gender and gender roles. Readings from ancient and modern sources.
Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Vergil's Aeneid, and, for purposes of comparison, the Epic of Gilgamesh and other epic literature with attention to cultural context, the heroic character and poetic technique.
Selected works of Greek dramatists. The influence of Greek drama on English literature and on modern drama.
The course examines the emergence and flowering of Islamic civilization from the time of the prophet, Muhammad, until the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258. Topics include Muhammad's prophetic mission, the Arab kingdom of Damascus, the rise of the Abbasids, and the classical civilization of the High Caliphate. P: So. stdg.
This course will explore the history, society, culture, and religion of Ancient Egypt from the predynastic era through the Ptolemaic period, as revealed through its artistic and material remains. Attention will be given to how sculpture, painting, architecture, and other material remains provide a window on Egyptian life and thought. P: So. stdg.
A chronological survey of the archaeology of Syria-Palestine in which material culture provides a window on the history of society, economy, and religion from the Neolithic to Hellenistic times. Special topics include the emergence of farming and pastoral societies, the formation and dissolution of Bronze Age city-states, and the rise and fall of Iron Age kingdoms such as Israel, Moab, and Edom.
Study of the sculpture, painting, architecture, and sites of Ancient Greece with emphasis on their archaeological, historical, and geographical aspects.
Twenty-three days. Mainland tour includes Athens, Eleusis, Corinth, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Sparta, Pylos, Olympia, Delphi, Meteora, Brauron, and Sounion. Island visits include four days on Crete and two days on Santorini. On-site and background lectures.
History of painting, sculpture, architecture, and minor arts in the Ancient Near East from c. 3500 BC to the conquest of Achaemenid Persia by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. Regionally, the course will survey the arts in Mesopotamia, in such peripheral areas as Anatolia and Levant, and in ancient Iran.
An introduction to Roman Civil, Constitutional, and Criminal law. Civil Law will be studied topically and through cases. Constitutional and Criminal Law are studied in their historical development and topically, through case studies. Careful thinking, the special genius of Roman law, and its impact on the modern world will be major themes of the course. No previous experience in Classical Studies or Latin required.
Study of the development of Early Christian architecture, painting, sculpture, and industrial arts; archaeological excavation of early churches and catacombs with emphasis on problems of interpretation; Western and Byzantine iconography.
Sculpture, painting and the minor arts of Greece.
Sculpture, painting, and the minor arts of the Etrusco-Roman people.
Examination of the origins and development of Western philosophy during the Classical period in ancient Greece; the pre-Socratics; Socrates and the Sophists; substantial study of the works of Plato and Aristotle.
Examination of the development of Western philosophy after Aristotle during the Hellenistic period in ancient Greece and imperial Rome. The study of Epicureanism (pleasure is the highest good), Stoicism (living in agreement with nature is the highest good), Skepticism (peace of mind is gained by suspending one's judgment on all dogmatic claims to truth), and Neo-Platonism.
Development of medical and surgical techniques and the philosophical, religious, sociological, political, and literary aspects of health care delivery in the ancient world; classical medical treatises, including Hippocrates and Galen.
The political and social history of Greece, with excurses into its material culture, from prehistoric times through the end of the Peloponnesian War.
CNE 402 Hellenistic History (3) II, AY (Same as HIS 402)
The political and social history of Greece from the end of the Peloponnesian War through the fall of Greece to Rome in 146 B.C. Emphasis will be placed on Alexander's conquests and the lasting influence of Hellenistic political, social, and cultural institutions.
The political and social history of Rome with excurses into material culture covering developments from the Bronze Age to the end of the Roman Republic. Some emphasis will be placed on the political structures of the Republic, both in seeking the antecedents of the American constitution and in analyzing the causes of the Republic’s fall.
The political and social history of the Roman Empire, with excurses into its material culture, from the Age of Augustus through the reign of Constantine the Great. Emphasis will be placed on the provinces and the diverse ethnic groups within the Empire.
Study of the philosophy originated by Zeno of Citium in the Stoa Poikile in Athens around 300 BC and the influence of Stoicism in the history of Western philosophy. Investigation of the Stoic system of physics, logic, and ethics; the doctrines of naturalism, rationalism, fatalism, providence, cosmopolitanism, autarky, apatheia, and suicide. Possible topics include philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, freedom and determinism, and political philosophy.
CNE 418 Great Empires of the Near East (3)
This course will examine the history, culture, and society of the peoples of Mesopotamia, including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, and Persians. Focus will be given to their distinctive institutions and world-views and how these are expressed through their cultural artifacts and social system.
CNE 419 Ancient Egypt: History, Society, and Culture (3)
This course will explore the history, society, economy, and religion of ancient Egypt from the predynastic era through the Ptolemaic period, as revealed through its artistic and material remains. Attention will be given to how sculpture, painting, architecture, and other material remains provide a window on Egyptian life and thought.
Topical approach to select problems or special periods in ancient history. Course will be subtitled in the Schedule of Courses.
Readings from Horace, Juvenal, Petronius, and other Roman satirists.
Origins, literary characteristics, and influence of Greek Old and New Comedy and Roman Comedy: Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus, and Terence. Theory of the Comic.
CNE 425 Myths That We Live By (3) (Same as SRP 425)
Examination of the values in ancient classical and Near Eastern myths, how they were reappropriated in new context, and how they continue to express fundamental values of, and insights into human life.
Topical or regional focus in the area of ancient art and/or archaeology. Course will be subtitled in the Schedule of Courses.
Topical approach to selected problems or themes in ancient literature. Course will be subtitled in the Schedule of Courses.
Topical approach to selected problems or themes in ancient philosophy, or focus on an individual philosopher or school of philosophy. Course will be subtitled in the Schedule of Courses.
An Architectural, Artistic, and Social Historical Survey of the city of Rome, concentrating on the ancient city but also tracing its development (as appropriate) through modern times. Political History will be covered to the extent needed to provide a framework for the course, but does not overlap with CNE/HIS 404.
Study of the literature, mythology, art and archaeology connected with the Trojan War. An examination of the historicity of the Trojan War, with discussion of questions such as: can literature be used as a guide to archaeology? Can the archaeological record confirm or deny the reality of the Trojan War?
Credit by arrangement. Designed to meet the special needs of qualified students. May be repeated to a limit of six hours.
CNE 498 Senior Capstone Seminar (3) II (Same as GRK 498, LAT 498)
Directed research on a general topic; preparation and public presentation of a senior thesis. CNE 498 open only to Classics majors.
Introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls and various theories about their origin. Exploration of the light they shed on the textual history of the Hebrew Bible, developments in ancient Judaism, and the early history of Christianity.
An examination and reconstruction of the history of ancient Israel from biblical and other ancient Near Eastern literary texts, and from archaeological and epigraphic materials.
The student learns the principles of stratigraphic archaeology (or underwater archaeology) by participating in an excavation for a minimum of four weeks. The student will learn stratigraphic theory and excavation strategy, basic archaeological techniques, and the basic analysis of archaeological materials recovered from the site. (Underwater archaeologists will learn basic underwater techniques in place of some terrestrial methods.) CO: CNE 526.
This is a study of ancient Palestine from the rise of the Herodian dynasty in the first century BCE to the aftermath of the Muslim conquest in the seventh century CE. The material of the course is the physical remains of archaeological sites throughout modern Israel, along with movable cultural remains that issued from these sites. The major focus of the course will be the interaction between classical Mediterranean civilization on the one hand, and the Jews and other Middle Eastern peoples on the other, in the age that yielded Rabbinic Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. CO: CNE 525.
Various ancient translations of the Bible and their significance.
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: Students who have had two or three years of high-school study in Greek should begin their study of Greek at Creighton University with a 200-level Greek course. Students who have had four years of more of high-school Greek should begin their study at Creighton with a 200-500 level Greek course. The Greek faculty will be happy to discuss placement in Greek courses with any interested student.
Basic vocabulary, syntax, morphology for reading Classical and New Testament Greek authors.
Completion of study of basic vocabulary, syntax, and morphology. P: GRK 101 or equivalent.
Intensive introduction to the grammar and vocabulary of Ancient Greek. Course will cover all of the basic grammatical elements of Ancient Greek and introduce much of the basic vocabulary; at the end of the course some Greek authors will be introduced to present the grammar and vocabulary in context.
Selections from major Greek authors of prose and poetry. Intensive review of grammar and syntax. This course applies and extends the language study done in GRK 101 and 102 [or GRK 115]. P:GRK 102 [or GRK 115] or see Greek program of study.
GRK 301 Readings in Greek (3)
Selected readings in major Greek authors such as Homer, Herodotus, or Lysias. Review of Greek grammar and syntax. Study of the prose and poetic styles of the authors read. P: GRK 201 or equiv.
This course seeks to provide you with a comprehensive review of morphology and an advanced understanding of syntax via the time-honored paedagogy of writing in ancient Greek. We will closely analyze works from several classical prose authors with an emphasis on the ways they utilize the resources of the language. We will also attempt to imitate their various styles in our own compositions. In addition to producing dramatic gains in your knowledge of ancient Greek, the course will also significantly further your understanding of the workings of the English language.
GRK 400 Archaic Greek Authors (3)
Students will read authors of the Archaic period (such as Homer, Hesiod, or individual lyric poets). P:GRK 201 or equiv.
GRK 401 Archaic Greek Themes and Genres (3)
Students will pursue thematically tied or genre-related readings of various authors of the Archaic period (such as epic or lyric). P: GRK 201 or equiv.
GRK 402 Classical Greek Authors (3)
Students will read authors of the Classical period (such as Aeschylus, Thucydides, or Demosthenes). Repeatable for a max of 6 hours. P: GRK 201 or equiv.
GRK 403 Classical Greek Themes and Genres (3)
Students will pursue thematically-tied or genre-related readings of various authors of the Classical period (such as a focus on historiography, tragedy, problems of democracy, etc.). This course is repeatable for a max of 6 hours. P: GRK 201 or equiv.
GRK 404 Post-Classical Greek Authors (3)
Students will read authors of the Post-Classical period (such as Polybius, Plutarch, etc.). This course can be repeated for a max of 6 hours.
GRK 405 Post-Classical Themes and Genres (3)
Student will pursue thematically-tied or genre-related readings of various authors of Post-Classical period (such as a focus on inscriptions, historical topics, etc.). This course may be repeated for a max of 6 hours. P: GRK 201 or equiv.
GRK 406 Late/Koine Greek Authors (3)
Students will read late Greek or Koine authors (such as Origen or Nonnos). May be repeated to a max of 6 hours. P: GRK 201 or equiv.
GRK 407 Late/Koine Greek Themes and Genres (3)
Students will pursue thematically-tied or genre-related readings of various late-Greek or Koine authors of the same period (such as from the Septuagint or the New Testament). This course may be repeated to a max of 6 credits. P: GRK 201 or equiv.
GRK 408 Byzantine Greek Authors (3)
Students will read authors of the Byzantine period (such as Procopius, Photius, or Anna Comnena). May be repeated for a max of 6 credits. P: GRK 201 or equiv.
GRK 409 Byzantine Greek Themes and Genres (3)
Students will pursue thematically-tied or genre-related readings of various authors of the Byzantine period (such as epic or historiography). May be repeated to a max of 6 credits. P: GRK 201 or equiv.
GRK 410 Diachronic readings in Greek (3)
Students will read works by Greek authors of different periods. They will be linked in any number of ways, e.g., by genre, theme, or subject matter. May be repeated to a max of 6 hours. P: GRK 201 or equiv.
GRK 411 Readings in Greek and Latin (3)
Students will pursue thematically-linked reading of the works of Greek and Latin authors from different periods (such as comparative readings in drama, or philosophy, or historiography). May be repeated to a max of 6 credits. P: GRK 201 or equiv. and LAT 201 or equiv.
Designed to meet the special needs of qualified students. Credit by arrangement. May be repeated to a limit of six hours.
GRK 498 Senior Capstone Seminar (3) II (Same as CNE 498, LAT 498)
Directed research on a general topic; preparation and public presentation of a senior thesis. GRK 498 open only to Greek-track majors of the Classical Languages Curriculum.
Selected speeches of various orators; the historical background; the development of Attic prose.
Selections from Greek historians and a study of their historical methods.
Readings from the Apology, Crito, Phaedo. Development of the dialogue as a literary form.
Reading of selections from the moral, political, and literary treatises of Aristotle; problems in Aristotelian scholarship.
Extensive readings from the Apostolic Fathers including selections from St. John Chrysostom.
Readings from the Greek Old Testament, commonly known as the Septuagint (LXX); study of its cultural and religious background.
Selections from Greek lyric poetry, including Sappho, Solon, Simonides, Pindar, and Bakchylides; study of lyric dialects and meters.
Selections from the Greek tragedians.
Reading of selected comedies; the origins and characteristics of Greek Old and New Comedy.
Reading and interpretation of selected passages from the Iliad of Homer; study of the Homeric dialect; development of Greek epic; historical and poetic aspects.
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Introduction to Classical Hebrew: alphabet, paradigms, introductory grammar.
Continuation of Classical Hebrew I with emphasis on grammar, structure, compositional techniques, leading to a study of Hebrew narrative. P: HEB 101.
Literary analysis of select Biblical poetry (prophets and psalms) with emphasis on structure, cultural context, and linguistic styles. P: HEB 102.
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Students who have had two or three years of high-school study in Latin should begin their study of Latin at Creighton University with a 200-level Latin course; students who have had four or more years of high school Latin should begin their study at Creighton with a 200-500-level Latin course. The Latin faculty will be happy to discuss placement in Latin classes with any interested student.
Basic vocabulary, syntax, morphology for reading Classical Latin.
Completion of study of basic vocabulary, syntax, and morphology. P: LAT 101 or equivalent.
Intensive introduction to the grammar and vocabulary of Latin. Course will cover all of the basic grammatical elements of Latin and introduce much of the basic vocabulary; at the end of the course some Latin authors will be introduced to present the grammar and vocabulary in context.
Selections from major Latin authors of prose and poetry. Intensive review of grammar and syntax. This course applies and extends the language study done in LAT 101 and 102.
LAT 301 Readings in Latin (3) II ONY
Selected readings of major Latin authors, such as Caesar, Vergil, or the Younger Pliny. Review of Latin grammar and syntax. Study of the prose and poetic styles of the authors read.
Presentation of sufficient material for exercising the finer points of Latin style. Imitation of the masters of Latin style, especially Caesar, Cicero, and Vergil. P: LAT 201 or equiv.
LAT 400 Early Latin Authors (3)
Students will read authors of the Early period (such as Plautus, Cato, or Terence). P:LAT 201 or equiv.
LAT 401 Early Latin Themes and Genres (3)
Students will pursue thematically tied or genre-related readings of various authors of the Early period (such as the Twelve Tables, inscriptions, or readings to explore the evolution of Latin). Course may be repeated to a max of 6 credits. P: LAT 201 or equiv.
LAT 402 Classical Latin Authors (3)
Students will read authors of the Classical period (such as Cicero, Lucretius, Catullus or Caesar). Repeatable for a max of 6 hours. P: LAT 201 or equiv.
LAT 403 Classical Latin Themes and Genres (3)
Students will pursue thematically-tied or genre-related readings of various authors of the Classical period (such as a focus on epic, oratory, or historical works). This course is repeatable for a max of 6 hours. P: LAT 201 or equiv.
LAT 404 Augustan Latin Authors (3)raphy,
Students will read authors of the Augustan period (such as Vergil, Horace, Livy, or Ovid). This course can be repeated for a max of 6 hours. P: LAT 201 or equiv.
LAT 405 Augustan Latin Themes and Genres (3)
Student will pursue thematically-tied or genre-related readings of various authors of the Augustan period (such as a focus on historiography, elegiac poetry, or epic). This course may be repeated for a max of 6 hours. P: LAT 201 or equiv.
LAT 406 Post-Augustan/late Latin Authors (3)
Students will read authors of the Post-Augustan or late period (such as Petronius, Lucan, Tacitus, or Augustine). May be repeated to a max of 6 hours. P: LAT 201 or equiv.
LAT 407 Post-Augustan/late Latin Themes and Genres (3)
Students will pursue thematically-tied or genre-related readings of various authors of the Post-Augustan or late period (such as Latin Church Fathers or historical topics). This course may be repeated to a max of 6 credits. P: LAT 201 or equiv.
LAT 408 Medieval Latin Authors (3)
Students will read authors of the Medieval period (such as Notker, Einhard, or Aquinas). May be repeated for a max of 6 credits. P: LAT 201 or equiv.
LAT 409 Medieval Latin Themes and Genres (3)
Students will pursue thematically-tied or genre-related readings of various authors of the Medieval period (such as a focus on history, Carolingian biography, etc.). May be repeated to a max of 6 credits. P: LAT 201 or equiv.
LAT 410 Diachronic readings in Latin (3)
Students will read works by Latin authors of different periods. They will be linked in any number of ways, e.g., by genre, theme, or subject matter. May be repeated to a max of 6 hours. P: LAT 201 or equiv.
LAT 411 Readings in Greek and Latin (3) (Same as GRK 411)
Students will pursue thematically-linked reading of the works of Greek and Latin authors from different periods (such as comparative readings in drama, or philosophy, or historiography). May be repeated to a max of 6 credits. P: GRK 201 or equiv. and LAT 201 or equiv.
Designed to meet the special needs of qualified students. Credit by arrangement. May be repeated to a limit of six hours.
LAT 498 Senior Capstone Seminar (3) II (Same as CNE 498, GRK 498)
Directed research on a general topic; preparation and public presentation of a senior thesis. LAT 498 open only to Latin-track majors of the Classical Languages Major.
Extensive readings from selected authors, including Augustine, Jerome, and Tertullian.
Selections from medieval history, poetry, philosophy, theology, legends, and folk tales. The course will focus on the cultural differences between the classical and mediaeval worlds as well as the syntactic and semantic changes the Latin language underwent as it moved from classical to mediaeval forms.
Study of one genre from Silver Latin (tragedy, epic, history, biography, epigram), and an introduction to the styles and tastes of the period.
Selections from Roman historians including Sallust, Livy, Tacitus; a study of their historical methods.
Selected readings from Lucretius' De rerum natura and/or Cicero's philosophic works; study of Roman philosophic interests, especially Epicureanism and Stoicism.
Readings of selections from the Satires and Epistles of Horace, the Satires of Persius, and the Satires of Juvenal, with discussions on the origins and development of Roman Satire, and the nature and purposes of satire as a genre of literature.
Study of the Odes of Horace and select poems of Catullus.
Study of the elegiac poems of Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius, and Ovid.
Selections from Cicero's political and courtroom orations; syntax and method of composition; historical and legal background.
Selections from the Letters and Essays of Cicero and Seneca with emphasis on their philosophical content. A comparison of Golden Age and Silver Age Latin.
Reading of representative plays of Plautus and Terence; theory of the comic; origins, literary characteristics, and influence of Roman comedy.
Selections from the Aeneid; study of Vergil's structure, imagery, diction, and meter; reference to the Homeric poems and the contemporary political situation.
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Pronunciation and writing drills; the basic inflection of the regular and hollow verb, form I through X; inflection of nouns and adjectives; root and pattern system and basic use of the dictionary; basic syntax; oral and written exercises. Open only to non-speakers of the language.
Continuation of ARA 111. Doubled verbs, defective verbs; the subjunctive, passive, and imperative; the passive voice; complex syntax; the masdar, active and passive participles; the adverb; conditional sentences; exclamations; oral and written exercises; reading. Open only to non-speakers of the language. P: ARA 111 or IC.
Second year Arabic (Arabic 201) continues to introduce the student to the major points of Modern Standard Arabic grammar and a basic, working vocabulary. The course focuses on all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and introduces the students to the culture of countries and regions where Arabic is spoken.