GRST 302 - The Blegen Seminar

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

The course is offered by the Blegen Distinguished Visiting Research Professor or the Blegen Research Fellow in Classics, appointed annually to pursue research and lecture on his/her scholarly concerns in classical antiquity. We encourage students to take note of the fact that each Blegen Seminar is uniquely offered and will not be repeated. Since the topic changes every year, the course may be taken for credit more than once.

Topic for 2016/17b: Cult, Magic, and Witchcraft. In this course curse tablets, the magical papyri, literary accounts of witches and magicians, ghost stories, and other evidence for the practice of magic in the ancient world are paired with historical and anthropological readings that address what magic is and how it works on a social, psychological, and practical level. The course addresses questions about human behavior, such as how we think symbolically, make practical decisions, express emotions, and mediate conflict. Britta Ager.

Prerequisite(s): previous coursework in Greek and Roman Studies or a field related to the topic, or permission of the instructor.

Two 75-minute periods.