Prof. Wareh's Course Pages > Classics 163: Comedy

Classics 163 Greek and Roman Comedy and Romance Spring 2009 Prof. Wareh

   email: wareht, phone: 388-6743
   S09 office hours: Mon. 1-2, Thu. 3:45-4:45, and by appt. (36 Union Ave, #205)

I am usually in my office on MWF afternoons and TuTh after class; please feel free to drop by! You can also email me to make an appointment, which can usually be arranged on short notice. I welcome your visits and emails. Ask questions in class! Make sure you are getting the answers and help you need to succeed! Don't be shy about developing and expressing your ideas!

Course Goals and Requirements

Our purpose

• What does comedy tell us about our world? What does it open our eyes to?
• How does the comic imagination work? What are comic authors trying to do, and how do they do it?
• How does comedy relate itself to the world of morality, politics, and other things that might be deadly serious?
• What effect does comedy have on its audience—its perspectives, attitudes, feelings, cohesion or conflicts as a group, etc.? What does comedy tell us about its audience (its hopes, fears, obsessions, etc.)?
• Is there a universal essence of "comedy" that runs through everything that goes by that name?
• How fruitful are our efforts to understand ancient comedy through modern comedy? What is familiar and what strange about ancient comedy? Does studying ancient comedy help us see what is remarkable and worth paying attention to about our own genres of comedy?
• What have philosophers, psychologists, literary critics, and Classics scholars had to say about comedy that can advance our own insights?
• What is involved in making sense of an ancient comedy for a modern audience (in translation, production, etc.)?
• As readers, actors, scholars, and interpreters, what kind of enjoyment does ancient comedy offer us? And what on earth is it doing passing itself off as a worthwhile part of a college education?

Requirements and grading

The quality of your reading and engagement in class will determine your success more than anything else. First and foremost, read closely, think about, and ask questions about your texts—at home and in the classroom. Make as many detailed observations as you can, and don't rest until you have turned those observations into a deeper understanding for yourself and your classmates. Reread, review, and rethink as often as necessary. Come to evidence-supported interpretations of your own, and be in the habit of noting the page number of each piece of evidence.

Faithful and punctual attendance and completion of all assignments (including careful and timely reading of the assigned texts) are the minimal requirements for passing this course. Any arrangements for absences or missed work must be agreed to in advance and should not be expected without a compelling reason beyond your control.

Reading quizzes will cover both primary and secondary texts and are designed to make sure you are reading thoroughly and carefully. Typical questions about the primary texts might include: who is speaking? in response to what situation? with what intention? in contrast to or in sympathy to what else in the play?

The essays will ask you to think more deeply, and to make evidence-supported arguments, with a focus on how modern translation and production get at the possible meanings of the ancient texts (Essays #1 and #2), and on the literary artistry and web of meanings of the original texts (Essays #3 and #4).

Readings

Required textbooks O'Bryhim (ed.), Greek and Roman Comedy, ISBN 0292760558 Petronius, Satyricon, trans. Sarah Ruden, ISBN 087220510X Four Plays by Aristophanes, trans. Arrowsmith et al., ISBN 0452007178 We will also read a variety of critical articles (sampling classic essays by such authors as Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson, George Meredith, and Northrop Frye, as well as the recent work of Classics scholars) and short & funny ancient texts, to be distributed. Online resources The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature Who's Who in the Classical World has longer articles on real people only.

Thomas Jefferson's copy of Petronius' Satyricon

Schedule

Course policies

Academic Honor Code. All work submitted for this course must be your own; assume that any idea of another person must always be cited clearly and specifically. (This is just as true of loosely repeated ideas as of quoted ideas. And an "idea" is anything that contributes to the quality of your work: for example, not just literary analysis, but also the selection of which passages are discussed.) You may discuss the readings with your classmates but must not collaborate on any individual written assignment. If you ever have any question about proper citation or the propriety of collaboration, please consult with me. The penalty for using ideas that are not your own, in any assignment, without proper attribution, will be, at least, a failing grade in the course. Violations could also result in expulsion from college or a record of dishonesty that would exclude you from professional school. The Academic Honor Code also requires your refusal to tolerate dishonesty in quizzes and exams (copying, using any aids, or communicating). A full statement of Union's Academic Honor Code may be found in the Student Handbook (see pp. 87-90). See also Union's statement on plagiarism.

Disabilities. It is Union College policy to make accommodations for individuals with disabilities. If you have any disability or special concern, please let me know what your needs are in order that they may be accommodated. All discussions will remain confidential to the extent permissible by law. Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations must also: (1) register with and provide documentation to the Dean of Students Office; (2) bring a letter to the instructor from the Dean of Students Office indicating what academic accommodations you require. This must be done within the first two weeks of the term. For more information about services available to Union College students with disabilities, please contact the Dean of Students Office: Shelly Shinebarger, Director of Student Support Services, Dean of Students Office, shinebas@union.edu, (518) 388-6116.