Reading and study of selected works of Cicero, normally one of the major speeches. Translation; discussion of philogical, stylistic, and rhetorical points.
4
UnitsOptional
Grading1, 2, 3
PasstimeNone
Level LimitLetters and science
CollegeOne of my favorite classes I've taken, the professor is passionate about the subject and extremely informed. He is easily one of the most intelligent people on the campus. Definitely take a class with him if you have the opportunity.
This professor is amazing at lecturing and clearly very passionate about ancient Rome. There are weekly quizzes that are easy if you go to lecture (which I recommend if you want to get anything from the class) and an in-class bluebook midterm and final. The midterm and final require a lot of studying for IDs and essay responses. Great class.
As someone who is not in the Classics department, I was worried this professor would be hard considering some of the reviews. As long as you go to class and read at least the primary sources, you should have no problem getting an A. He provides a lot of transparency about the midterm and final so you know exactly what to study. He's very nice!
Professor Morstein-Marx is a super caring guy but I had a super difficult time following all of the material in his course. He expects you to know a lot for the exams and he does not post the slides online so all you have to go off of is your super rushed notes because he goes through the slides so quickly.
The reading help but the lectures are practically what you see on his quizzes and exams. Just listen intently and take some notes to review and you're fine. I took this class to avoid the lefty nonsense classes on campus.
This class has been one of the best classes I've taken at UCSB. I'm an Econ major and needed an UD elective and chose this one kind of randomly. He's such a cool professor and his lectures are super interesting. The readings are pretty easy and entertaining. I'd recommend this class to everyone