Lecture/Discussion TR 10:30 AM 11:50 AM
Instructor: Kathleen Cruz
Course Description: The ancient Mediterranean was bursting with popular and meaningful sport and spectacle, perhaps best remembered today through Greece's prestigious athletic events like the Olympic Games and Rome's violent gladiatorial combats; modern offshoots of these competitions and the structures they were held in surround us still today!
In this class, we'll take a closer look at the many forms of competition and mass spectacle that proliferated the ancient societies of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. As we consider the many diverse forms such practices took - from royal hunts and athletic competitions to deadly combat presented as entertainment and culturally-charged funerary games - we will think critically about the social, cultural, and artistic roles these events played throughout distinct cultures. In doing so, we will also reflect on the role sport and spectacle play in our own society, including how the rituals and practices of the ancient Mediterranean have at times shaped them in dramatic and lasting ways.
- Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s).
- Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken CLA 045V.
- General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); Visual Literacy (VL); World Cultures (WC).