CLAS 120: Classical Diversities

Race & Antiquity

This class, which fulfills the university’s DEI requirement, explores how race and ethnicity were imagined in the ancient world and how those ideas were later used (and misused) in the Americas from colonial times to today. We’ll look at texts and artifacts to see how people defined themselves and others, and how those definitions have been reclaimed or challenged in modern struggles over identity.

Students will engage with primary sources from ancient cultures like Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia, and Mesoamerica, among others, and critically examine secondary scholarship that reframes these sources through lenses of race, ethnicity, and power. This course aims to foster a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between antiquity and modernity in shaping ideas of identity and belonging by juxtaposing ancient evidence, critical theoretical frameworks, and modern appropriations.

Through discussions, presentations, and projects, students will develop the skills to critically analyze the role of the classical past in contemporary debates on race and ethnicity while also gaining insight into the cultural dynamics of the ancient world.

Course Objectives

• To understand ancient perspectives on ethnicity, identity, and cultural diversity.
• To critically examine modern appropriations of antiquity that affect traditionally marginalized groups in the United States.
• To foster analytical skills through comparative readings of ancient texts and modern interpretations.

Course Requirements

• Attendance and preparation are mandatory. Students are expected to arrive prepared, having carefully read and annotated the assigned readings. All films discussed in class must be watched in advance and count as class preparation.
• Presentations: students will select a primary or secondary sources from the syllabus, present it, and initiate a class discussion.
• Final Projects. Integrating the critical frameworks discussed during the quarter, students will work in groups on a project exploring one of the topics explained below.

Final Projects

Museum Representations: Students will examine how museums or archaeological sites present the ancient world, focusing on how ethnicity, race, and cultural identity are framed. Groups may visit local museums in the San Diego area, such as the Museum of Us, or explore virtual museum collections. Projects should analyze exhibit narratives, artifact labeling, and curatorial choices, considering how they shape modern perceptions of the ancient world. Students should also reflect on how these representations connect to or challenge contemporary ideas of ethnicity and race.

Ancient Greek cup in the Princeton Museum.

The Ancient Past in Film: This project involves analyzing a selection of films depicting ancient societies worldwide (e.g., Alexander, Gladiator, Cleopatra, The Passion of Christ, Hero, Asoka, The Other Conquest, Cabeza de Vaca, Fellini’s Satyricon, etc.). Groups will evaluate the accuracy and creative liberties taken in these portrayals, paying particular attention to representations of ethnic identity, cultural interactions, and racialized imagery. Using course readings and discussions, students will critique how filmmakers stereotype ancient societies and explore how these portrayals influence modern understandings of race and ethnicity.

The movie Apocalypto faced criticism for its inaccurate and negative portrayal of pre-Columbian Mayans.

Bias in Generative AI: Students will experiment with generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion to analyze how these platforms depict the ancient world. Using carefully designed prompts, groups will generate text and images and evaluate the outputs for cultural biases, stereotypes, and historical inaccuracies. The project should connect findings to broader discussions of bias in technology and its implications for how ancient societies are represented in modern contexts.

Adam and Eve according to Open Ai DALL-e image generation model.

Social Media and the Ancient World: Groups will investigate how the ancient Mediterranean world is invoked in social media spaces like Reddit, Instagram, etc. The project might focus on specific discussions or posts that address race and ethnicity in antiquity, analyzing how classical history is used to reinforce (Zuckerberg 2018) or subvert modern racial ideologies. Groups should critically assess the accuracy of these discussions and the rhetorical strategies employed, connecting their analysis to themes from the course.

The instructor will provide a bibliography and guidance related to the projects. Before the final presentations, groups are required to attend the Professor’s office hours.