The full syllabus with schedule and course policies is under the Files section of the course website: https://cool.ntu.edu.tw/courses/28200/files

This is the first in a two-part survey course that aims to introduce students to the Hebrew, Greek, and Roman literary traditions and their reception by later authors in what is called the Western tradition. We will examine the way in which these cultures, just like modern ones, used stories to understand humans’ relationship with the divine, justice, the social world, and cultural differences, among other topics. The focus will be on the Hebrew Bible, Homer’s Odyssey, and Vergil’s Aeneid, with additional readings by Sappho and others. My lecture will focus on giving students a basic understanding of the ancient cultures and literary traditions that produced these works. I aim to present these texts not as works to be thoughtlessly admired but rather as complicated works of art that demand attentive analysis. Ample time for class discussions and writing will allow students to enter conversations with the ancient world.

Students will practice the identification of key themes in literary works, understanding their social and historical context, and their connection to key aspects of society such as religion and gender. We will also discuss some issues of interpretation particularly relevant to ancient literature such as questions of authorship and the ethics of manuscripts. Students will get a sense of the deep connections between Hebrew and Greek literature and the broader Eastern Mediterranean and Southwest Asia, as well as between Greek and Roman literature, and ancient and modern literature more broadly.

This course aims both to impart students with skills broadly useful to literary and cultural studies and to provide them with some specific background that will be helpful in reading works building on elements of the Greco-Roman and Hebrew literary tradition. Broadly useful skills that will be practiced include writing, oral presentation, close and critical reading, and a level of comfort with developing and expressing observations about literary texts, both in writing and in the context of oral discussions. In addition to these broader skills, after this course, students will have a good basic understanding of the Hebrew Bible, Greek Mythology, the Ancient Greek and Roman epic tradition, and their impact on later cultures.