Syllabus - Fall 2026
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Coming Up
Week 1
Mon 31 Aug
In-Person lecture: 9:00-9:50am in Vollum Lecture Hall
Assignment
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
- Students should read the whole of Gilgamesh prior to the first day of class.
Lecture: TBA
Wed 2 Sep
Assignment
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
Lecture: TBA
Fri 4 Sep
Assignment
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
Lecture: TBA
Week 2
Wed 9 Sep
Assignment
- Genesis, Books-1-24
Lecture: TBA
Fri 11 Sep
Assignment
- Genesis, Books 25-50
Lecture: TBA
Full Schedule
Week 1
Mon 31 Aug
In-Person lecture: 9:00-9:50am in Vollum Lecture Hall
Assignment
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
- Students should read the whole of Gilgamesh prior to the first day of class.
Lecture: TBA
Wed 2 Sep
Assignment
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
Lecture: TBA
Fri 4 Sep
Assignment
- The Epic of Gilgamesh
Lecture: TBA
Week 2
Wed 9 Sep
Assignment
- Genesis, Books-1-24
Lecture: TBA
Fri 11 Sep
Assignment
- Genesis, Books 25-50
Lecture: TBA
Week 3
Mon 14 Sep
In-Person lecture: 9:00-9:50am in Vollum Lecture Hall
Assignment
- Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, Books 1-2
Lecture: TBA
Wed 16 Sep
Assignment
- Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, Books 3-4
Lecture: TBA
Fri 18 Sep
Assignment
- Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, Books 5-6
Lecture: TBA
Sat 19 Sep
First paper due
Due Saturday, September 19, at 2:00 PM to your conference leader.
Week 4
Mon 21 Sep
In-Person lecture: 9:00-9:50am in Vollum Lecture Hall
Assignment
- Tale of Sinuhe
Lecture: TBA
Wed 23 Sep
Assignment
- Herodotus, Histories Book 1.1-105
Lecture: TBA
Fri 25 Sep
Assignment
- Herodotus, Histories, Book 1.106-216
Lecture: TBA
Week 5
Mon 28 Sep
Assignment
- Herodotus, Histories Book 2
Lecture: TBA
Wed 30 Sep
Assignment
- Herodotus, Histories Book 7.1-137
Lecture: TBA
Fri 2 Oct
Assignment
- Herodotus, Histories Book 7.138-239
Lecture: TBA
Week 6
Mon 5 Oct
In-Person lecture: 9:00-9:50am in Vollum Lecture Hall
Assignment
- Herodotus, Histories Books 8 and 9.107-122 (Tues. Books 8 and 9.107-122)
Lecture: TBA
Wed 7 Oct
Assignment
- Apuleius, Golden Ass Books 1-4.27
Lecture: TBA
Fri 9 Oct
Lecture: No reading or lecture
Sat 10 Oct
Second Paper Due
Due Saturday, October 10, at 2:00 PM to your conference leader.
Week 7
Mon 12 Oct
Assignment
- Apuleius, The Golden Ass 4.28-6
Lecture: TBA
Wed 14 Oct
Assignment
- Apuleius, The Golden Ass 7-8
Lecture: TBA
Fri 16 Oct
Assignment
- Apuleius, The Golden Ass 9-11
Lecture: TBA
Sat 17 Oct
Fall Break
October 17 – October 25
Week 8
Mon 26 Oct
In-Person lecture: 9:00-9:50am in Vollum Lecture Hall
Assignment
- Andrew Stewart, Art, Desire, and the Body in Ancient Greece (Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp. 3-top of 13, pp. 63-70; p. 268 (glossary).
- Gallery:
Lecture: TBA
Wed 28 Oct
Assignment
- and
- Ann Macy Roth, “” in Cathleen A. Keller, “The Statuary of Hatshepsut,” in Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh, ed. Catharine A. Roehrig (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005), pp. 9-14.
- Cathleen A. Keller, “” in Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh, ed. Catharine A. Roehrig (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005), pp. 158-173.
- Gallery
Lecture: TBA
Fri 30 Oct
Assignment
- Excerpts from Osmund Bopearachchi,
- Gallery: Gandharan art
- Lecture: study histories of cross-cultural exchange and trade between Mediterranean world and other regions through Gandharan Buddhist sculpture;
Lecture: TBA
Week 9
Mon 2 Nov
Assignment
- Rachel Kousser, “,” Art Bulletin 91.3 (2009): pp. 263-282.
- Gallery:
Lecture: TBA
Wed 4 Nov
Assignment
- Lecturer’s choice of Persian inscriptions from Kuhrt
- Gallery (to be composed of images from University of Chicago site and other sources; include Neo-Assyrian palace reliefs for comparison)
Lecture: TBA
Fri 6 Nov
Assignment
- Carolyn Dean, “,” Art Journal 65, no. 2 (2006): 24-32.
Lecture: TBA
Sat 7 Nov
Third Paper due
Saturday, November 7, 12:00 AM – 12:00 AM
Week 10
Mon 9 Nov
In-Person lecture: 9:00-9:50am in Vollum Lecture Hall
Assignment
- Cemal Pulak, “,” in Beyond
Lecture: TBA
Wed 11 Nov
Assignment
- Lecturer’s choice of one of two chapters: J. A. Baird, “,” in The Inner Lives of Ancient Houses: An Archaeology of Dura-Europos (Oxford University Press, 2014), pp. 1-38 OR J. A. Baird, “,” in The Inner Lives of Ancient Houses: An Archaeology of Dura-Europos (Oxford University Press, 2014), pp. 155-208.
- Gallery
Lecture: TBA
Fri 13 Nov
Assignment
- Christina Riggs, “,” American Journal of Archaeology 106, no. 1 (2002): 85-101.
Lecture: TBA
Week 11
Mon 16 Nov
Lecture: TBA
Wed 18 Nov
Lecture: TBA
Fri 20 Nov
Lecture: TBA
Week 12
Mon 23 Nov
In-Person lecture: 9:00-9:50am in Vollum Lecture Hall
Lecture: TBA
Wed 25 Nov
Lecture: TBA
Thu 26 Nov
Thanksgiving Break
November 26 – November 29
Week 13
Mon 30 Nov
Lecture: TBA
Wed 2 Dec
Lecture: TBA
Fri 4 Dec
Lecture: No Reading or Lecture
Sat 5 Dec
Fourth Paper Due
Due Saturday, December 5, at 2:00 PM to your conference leader.
Week 14
Mon 7 Dec
In-Person lecture: 9:00-9:50am in Vollum Lecture Hall
Lecture: TBA
Wed 9 Dec
Week 15
Mon 14 Dec
Course Logistics
REQUIRED TEXTS
- Apuleius. The Golden Ass. Trans. Sarah Ruden. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011.
- Berlin Adele, and Mark Zvi Brettler, eds. The Jewish Study Bible: Tanakh Translation. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2014
- The Epic of Gilgamesh the Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian. Trans. Andrew George. London: Penguin Classics, 2003.
- Herodotus. The Histories. Trans. Aubrey de Selincourt. London: Penguin, 2003.
- Lucretius Carus, Titus. On the Nature of Things. Trans. Walter G. Englert. Indianapolis: Focus, 2003.
- “The Tale of Sinuhe” in The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems 1940-1640 B.C. Ed. R.B. Parkinson. London: Oxford University Press, 2009. 21-53.
- Plato, Republic, trans. Reeve (Hackett)
- Euripides, Euripides I, ed. David Grene and Richmond Lattimore (University of Chicago Press) (this is the one we used before OR this one: )
- ALSO: National Theatre London has a Medea performance that available through the library:
- )
Additional assigned texts are available on e-reserves accessible via links embedded in the syllabus below. You will need your ÈËÆÞÓÕ»ó username and password to access these texts. Please bring a copy of the day’s reading assignment to class each day. The library has on reserve a limited number of the required books.
LECTURES
On most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays of the semester, a lecture is assigned. On many Mondays (weeks 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14) and on the very first and last Wednesdays of the semester, these lectures are delivered in-person, and for these lectures we will meet in Vollum Lecture Hall at 9:00 am. Please be on time; the moments when we all gather together as a unified class are important. In-person lecture days are flagged on the syllabus. The other lectures will be posted so they can be accessed online; you can review these when it is most convenient to do so, but, obviously, do so before your conference meeting. Some of these lectures have been reused from last year, but, of course, only when still relevant. Lecture are regularly updated.
CONFERENCE ASSIGNMENTS
Humanities 110 is a yearlong course, and students are expected to remain in the same conference throughout the year. In cases of absolutely unresolvable schedule conflicts, students may petition for a change of conference time. Petitions (in the form of an email) should be addressed to Ariadna Garcia-Bryce, including an explanation of the conflict and why it cannot be resolved. Students granted a change of conference time will be assigned to new sections based on available slots and the student’s schedule; requests to move into a particular conference generally cannot be honored.
PAPERS AND WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
Four course-wide papers will be assigned in the fall semester, due at the times designated on the syllabus. Individual conference leaders may assign additional writing. If the due date for an assignment conflicts with a religious holiday or obligation that you wish to observe, please consult with your conference leader. Over the course of the semester, students are also required to submit at least three conference discussion questions, in writing, to their conference leader. Due dates for these questions are determined by individual conference leaders.
DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS
If you have a documented disability requiring accommodations, please contact Disability Support Services. Notifications of accommodations on exams, papers, other writing assignments, or conferences should be directed to your conference leader. Notifications of accommodations regarding lectures can be directed to the chair of the course, Ariadna Garcia-Bryce. You are advised to consult with your conference leader about how your accommodations might apply to specific assignments or circumstances in this course.
RESOURCES FOR SUPPORT
Your conference leader is your first line of support for any questions you have about the course. Please also be sure to explore the Hum 110 website for additional information. The Course Resources entries provide brief introductions to upcoming readings and suggestions for how to approach them. The Writing in Hum 110 page provides tips on the writing process.
To support your success in HUM 110, we encourage you to sign up for tutoring early in the semester. Tutors can help you not only with course content but also with developing essential skills such as critical reading, and analytical writing skills. There are two main tutoring resources available.
- : Our writing tutors are here to help you with all aspects of your
writing, from brainstorming and organizing your ideas to refining your final drafts.
(Type “Writing” in the search for a course tutor box.) - These tutors are specialized in helping you understand the
course material and improve your overall study skills. They can assist with both
content-specific questions and general academic skills. (Type “Hum 110” in the
search for a course tutor box.)
Students are eligible for one free hour of individual tutoring per course, per week. In addition, they may receive one free hour of one-on-one writing tutoring per week. We recommend scheduling regular sessions with a tutor to build a consistent support system throughout the semester. These sessions can be scheduled well in advance of the papers, for example. Further information on tutoring is available here.
Drop-in Writing Tutors. If you need immediate assistance or have a quick question, there are also drop-in tutoring hours for the Writing Center, with extra hours scheduled around Hum papers. Drop-in hours for the Writing Center are posted here. Drop-in tutoring is free.