An exploration of the poetic masterpieces of the Archaic period. We will study some of the songs bards performed to the accompaniment of the lyre, stories of war, exile and homecoming, monsters and divinities, love and lust. Readings will be chosen from works such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days, the Homeric Hymns.

A yearlong introduction to ancient Greek through the language of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey , the two 8th-century epics that represent the culmination of a long and rich tradition of oral poetry. The ancients regarded these poems as unparalleled masterpieces; the great tragedian Aeschylus called his own plays "crumbs from Homer's table," and both epics have endured over the millennia and are still alive and relevant.

Since Plato and Aristotle, wealth inequality has been the subject of political interrogation. In the last 50 years, most economic benefits have gone to the top 1 percent of the population; corporations and the very rich have paid lower taxes and corporations have received more corporate support from government while federal, state and local budgets for social welfare programs have been cut and working people's salaries have fallen.

How does the behavior of a state, politician, or interest group affect the behavior of others? Does
Massachusetts’s decision to legalize recreational marijuana influence Vermont’s marijuana policies?
From declarations of war to the decision of who congressmembers will vote with, social scientists are
increasingly looking to political networks to recognize the inter-connectedness of the world around us.
This course will overview the essentials of social network analysis and how they are applied to give us

An examination of the role of Latinos in society and politics in the U.S. Issues to be analyzed include immigration, education, electoral politics and gender.

A comparative examination of McCarthyism, Watergate and Iran-Contra. A look at how our political institutions function under stress. Prerequisite: a 200-level course in American government.

This class is a cross-sectional look at the Obama presidency, including his path to election, major domestic, national, and foreign policy debates, and the conflicts of those eight years. Enrollment limit of 20. (E)

In the contemporary world, democracy is often considered not merely a form of government or one type of regime among many, but the very condition of political legitimacy. But what exactly does democracy entail? Is it an institution, a practice, a value, a virtue? This lecture course provides a survey of different historical and theoretical answers to these questions, from the foundations of self-government in ancient Athens through the present day.

A study of the major liberal and radical political theories of the 19th century, with emphasis on the writings of Hegel, Marx, Tocqueville, Mill and Nietzsche. Not open to first-year students.