James J. Clauss
Department of Classics
Box 353110
University of Washington
Seattle WA 98195

I EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Institution Degree Dates

American School of Classical Studies, Athens 1982-83
University of California, Berkeley Ph. D. 1976-83
Fordham University M.A. 1974-76
Rome Center, Loyola University of Chicago 1973-74
University of Scranton (summa cum laude) B.A. 1971-74

II EMPLOYMENT RECORD

Institution Position Dates

University of Washington Chair of Classics 2002-present
University of Washington Professor 1997-present
University of Washington Associate Professor 1990-1997
University of Washington Assistant Professor 1984-1990
Creighton University Instructor/Asst. Prof. 1983-1984
University of California Greek Workshop (Dir.) summer, 1981
(Berkeley) Teaching Asst./Assoc. 1977-1980
University of Scranton Instructor summer, 1977
Fordham University Teaching Assistant Fall, 1975

III TEACHING GOALS

As a professor at a major research institution, my goals are twofold: to conduct research on a variety of topics pertaining to Greco-Roman antiquity; and to teach a variety of courses relating to the same era. With regard to the latter, my overall philosophy is best summarized by a former teacher of mine (Fr. Edward Gannon, S.J.): "getting at them." Whatever it is that I am teaching, whether an advanced graduate seminar or elementary grammar and syntax, I want to communicate not only the material covered by the course, but more importantly an attitude toward that material and learning in general. Mastering some skill or learning some author, genre, or period, however narrow or wide, is an empowering experience. If I can get my students to know that they can learn something, especially when the material might have seemed intractable, even impossible, at the start, they will ultimately pay me the greatest compliment of no longer needing my services.

There are two other aspects of my teaching that are impotant to my main goal: providing of an atmosphere in class that is conducive to learning and the connecting a topic in any given class to the lives of the students. With regard to the former, I try to lighten the ambience of the classroom with enthusiasm and humor and to ask questions or hear translations in such a way that the student is not intimidated to such a point that all in class feel that making mistakes is not only not bad, but can even be the beginning of real learning. In the case of the latter, I try to come up with parallels in everyday life for a variety of topics--grammar, literature, history, etc.--so that the material under consideration is not felt to be so foreign.

In short, my goals in teaching are to instill confidence in my students that they can learn and that learning is a lifelong process that they can continue on their own; that learning is also both recreating and relevant.

There are two side issues that I feel are relevant to my overall teaching goals and experiences. First, I have tried to reach out to students who do not typically take Classics courses, students who come from various minority groups, by creating two new courses--Classics 102: Grammar and Syntax through Latin, in which I teach issues pertaining to English grammar and syntax through the study of Latin for Office of Minority Affairs/Educational Opportunity Students, and an intensive introduction to Roman civilization and culture in Rome to students from the same group. Second, teaching has been rewarding for me not only in the occasional achievement of my stated goals, but also in the generation of new ideas which I subsequently published either as pedagogical or scholarly works.

IV APPROACHES TO TEACHING

In the field of Classics, the ways in which one handles courses in translation differ considerably from those in which the texts are read in the original. In the former, students' interests generally vary from fulfilling distribution requirements with a seemingly easy course such as Greek and Roman Mythology to the acquisition of information essential for a major or minor course of studies. In dealing with translation courses where the majority of students have a tangential interest, I have tried to make the material more relevant by assigning tasks that ask the students to imitate the creative process entailed in the works we are studying.

For instance, in my course on Greek and Roman Mythology, I ask the students to write an original story, two pages in length, in which they explain the origin of evil, something along the lines of the Prometheus tale in the Theogony or Works and Days or in the Old Testament Garden of Eden story. Similarly, in my Classical Mythology in Film course, I ask the students to choose any classical myth and, guided by our analyses of cinematic versions of several myths, describe how they would film the myth. Students have not only enjoyed the assignment, but appear to have benefitted from it (it is frequently mentioned as an important feature of the course in their evaluations).

When dealing with original texts, I prefer to focus on the texts themselves rather than on the secondary literature. While scholarship on Classical literature can be quite excellent, I insist that the students generate their own questions regarding the texts under consideration. For this reason, in my undergraduate courses the paper assignments are more in the nature of formal essays than research papers. In my graduate courses, while the reading of scholary works is crucial, I still emphasize examination of the primary texts in order to make the reading of scholarship on whatever topic at hand more of an active dialogue than a pedantic monologue.

V COURSES TAUGHT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON

CLASSICS COURSES

CLASSICS 102: Grammar and Syntax through Latin
CLASSICS 120: Discovery Seminar. Aristotle's Poetics: Oedipus Wrecks Tragedy (5), Autumn 2003
CLASSICS 210: Greek and Roman Classics in English (5)
Lectures on Greek Lyric Poetry, Lucretius, Livy, Tacitus, Vergil, Ovid, Latin Lyric and Elegy, Origin of Latin Literature, Mycenaean Archaeology, Homer's Iliad
CLASSICS 399: Study Abroad (3)
CLASSICS/COMP. LIT. 424: The Epic Tradition(5)
CLASSICS 430: Greek and Roman Mythology in English (3)
CLASSICS 432: Classical Mythology in Film (3, 5)
CLASSICS 520: Graduate Proseminar (Greek and Latin Meter, Reading Greek and Latin) (5)
CLASSICAL ARCHEOLOGY 448: The Archeology of Italy (3)

GREEK COURSES

GREEK 101, 102, 103: Elementary Greek (5, 5, 5)
GREEK 305, 306: Attic Prose (5)
GREEK 307: Homer (5)
GREEK 415: Aristotle. The Poetics (3) GREEK 442: Greek Drama. Euripides' Medea (3)
GREEK 444: Greek Drama. Aeschylus' Agamemnon (3)
GREEK 449: Epic. Homer's Odyssey (3)
GREEK 461: Early Greek Literature (5)
GREEK 463: Hellenistic Greek Literature (5)
GREEK 500: Grammar and Composition(5)
GREEK 520: Greek Seminar(5)
Callimachus (5), Spring 1993, Winter 2004
Apollonius (5), Winter 1999
Theocritus (5), Spring 2001

LATIN COURSES

LATIN 101, 102, 103: Elementary Latin (5, 5, 5)
LATIN 305: Introduction to Latin Literature (5)
LATIN 306: Cicero and Ovid (5)
LATIN 307: Vergil (3)
LATIN 310, 311: Latin Composition (2, 2)
LATIN 412: Lucretius (3)
LATIN 422: Livy (3)
LATIN 423: Cicero and Sallust (3)
LATIN 424: Tacitus (3)
LATIN 447: Roman Lyric (3)
LATIN 458: Roman Epic (3)
LATIN 463: Later Literature of the Empire (5)
LATIN 465: Roman Topography and Monuments (5)
LATIN 502: Horace (5)
LATIN 506: Cicero (5) [De Republica and De Natura Deorum]
LATIN 510: Roman Historians (3)
LATIN 512: Augustan Poetry (3, 5)
LATIN 520: Latin Seminar (3, 5)
Ovid's Metamorphoses: Winter, 1986
Vergil's Eclogues: Summer, 1987; Summer 1992, Summer 1997, Spring 2002
Aesthetics of Translation in Roman Poetry: Spring, 1989
Vergil's Georgics: Autumn 1990, Autumn 1996, Summer 2003
Cicero's Letters: Summer 1994
Early Roman Epic: Summer 1995, Summer 2001
Catullus: Summer 1999
LATIN 565: Seminar in Rome (5):
Horace's Satires, Spring, 1988
Lives of the Flavian Emperors, Spring 1990
Antonine Rome, Spring 1994
Suetonius' Life of Julius Caesar, Spring 1997

GENERAL STUDIES COURSES

Gen St 197: The Nature of the Hero in Greek and Roman Epic (1) [Freshman Seminar] Autumn 2000
GIS 185: The Hero in Ancient Greece and Rome (5) [Early Fall Start] Autumn 2001
Gen St 105: Justice in Ancient Greek Literature (5) [Summer Bridge Program] Summer 2002

UPWARD BOUND

The Ancient Classical Tradition, Summer 1998
The Ancient Hero, Summer 2004

VI SUMMARY OF STUDENT EVALUATIONS

Of 52 courses evaluated from Autumn 1984 to Autumn 1996, 12 were Classics courses, 14 were Greek courses, and 26 were Latin courses. Classics courses tend to be lower because there are more students per class and the majority are non-majors. The scale is 0-5 and the responses are to the first five items on the student evaluation forms.

1. The course as a whole was:

Classics Courses: 4.13
Greek Courses: 4.52
Latin Courses: 4.49
Combined scores: 4.38

2. The course content was:

Classics Courses: 4.22
Greek Courses: 4.6
Latin Courses: 4.6
Combined scores: 4.47

3. The instructor's contribution to the course was:

Classics Courses: 4.69
Greek Courses: 4.63
Latin Courses: 4.7
Combined scores: 4.67

4. The instructor's effectiveness in teaching the subject matter was:

Classics Courses: 4.38
Greek Courses: 4.56
Latin Courses: 4.59
Combined scores: 4.51

5. Combined items 1-4:

Classics Courses: 4.4
Greek Courses: 4.57
Latin Courses: 4.59
Combined scores: 4.52

VII REACTION TO STUDENT COMMENTS

Student comments were satisfying in that they frequently noted my enthusiasm for the subject, useful employment of modern analogues, sincere desire for the students to learn the material, and creation of an open environment. Comments such as these allow me to know that the students are reading my approach to teaching correctly.

I have been criticized most for lack of clarity of assignment, frequent digressions in class, and for requiring more of the students than the credits given to a given course would merit. The first two points are fair and reflect my antipathy to the slavish following of a preordained procedure or schedule. In short, I try to react to student interests and questions and will, when deemed necessary or useful, pursue a tangential line of inquiry. This said, I feel that greater discipline is merited in this area. As for the last point, I would agree that I demand much of my students but, as students have acknowledged, I also am fair in grading. I believe that continuing with this approach is appropriate, despite negative student reaction.

VIII FUTURE GOALS

In addition to improving on my handouts, preparations, and evaluations of student work, I use my homepage (http://faculty.washington.edu/jjc/) to make my syllabuses and overheads available; I also include links to other sites of interest to the study of Greco-Roman mythology. I need to explore other ways of using this invaluable mediium.

IX MISCELLANEOUS

In addition to my other scholarly publications, I published one paper on a pedagogical topic: "A Course on Classical Mythology in Film,"Classical Journal 91 (1996) 287-95.

In 1996 I was awarded the Distinguished Teaching Award at the University of Washington.