Classical Myth and Modern American Culture

This FIG will investigate how modern American culture interprets, adopts, adapts, and appropriates classical myth, primarily from ancient Greece and Rome, in order to address contemporary social, aesthetic, and political concerns. The three courses in the FIG deal primarily with the classical worlds of Greece and Rome, but you will also study other ancient civilizations from the Middle East, Africa, and Native America. You will investigate the continuing presence of these civilizations in modern American through contemporary artistic and literary adaptations of their myths and histories. The FIG will present a complex view of "the ancient world" – with a special emphasis on Troy --and interpretations of ancient civilizations in the modern world. The combination of historical, archaeological, and literary approaches to the legacy of the classical world will provide you with the tools to analyze the cultural complexities of contemporary America.