Greek and Roman Biography (190:612) Dr. Thomas J. Figueira Dept. of Classics, Ruth Adams Bldg. DC History, Van Dyck Hall, CAC LSH-312, LC: Phone: 848-445-4037 Hist. Off., Van Dyck 202, 848-932-8118 Classics Off. Hrs.: W 3:50-4-40 History Office Hrs.: 1:00-1:50 (VD 202) Course Website on SAKAI 932-7905 (Dept. messages/general inform.) 932-9797 (Dept. messages/general info.) Meetings: W 4 (5:00-7:40, RAB-003) E-mail:
[email protected] The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the genre of ancient biographical writing, which is a sub-genre of historiography. Our understanding of Greek and Roman biography is shaped by the later development of genre when compared to other forms of historiography. That emergence has had the effect of leaving obscure the early stages of its evolution, especially in the late classical and Hellenistic periods. The most important surviving Greek and Latin biographical works are relatively late, deriving from the period of the Roman Empire. Here the figures of Suetonius and, first and foremost, Plutarch stand on eminences of the highest cultural importance for western civilization. The material covered in this course is aligned with the reading for Ancient History and Interdisciplinary track option of the MA and PhD. programs of the Department of Classics. Texts: Many of the main readings (in both Greek and Latin) for the course either can be downloaded from the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae or from the Perseus online archive or can be acquired by purchase or by borrowing from Rutgers libraries (in the editions as noted on the course bibliography).