Pixels from the Past: Ancient Greece and Rome in Digital Media

Course Description

Why does Ancient Rome appear in so many video games—most of them about war? (And if Rome is associated with war, then why are the God of War games about a Spartan warrior from Ancient Greece?) When the writers of Saturday Night Live set a sketch in the "ancient world," why do the characters always wear togas and sandals? If we see a wooden horse in a meme, why do we know it will be about Troy? Why are there memes about Troy in the first place?

This class concerns precisely such questions, and explores how, why, and when the ancient societies of Rome and Greece appear in the digital media of our modern world. From video games, forum posts, memes, and streaming TV or movies, to the short-form video of TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, this class will trace the complicated relationship between the past —or rather, our ideas about it—and our view of the present. The coursework will be as varied as the subject matter. Primary material for discussion will draw from readings by ancient authors, viewing curated media, and playing (or watching streams of) particular games; but student-driven research will include digital "fieldwork" (e.g., find the most obscure meme about Rome), collaborative in-class presentations, and a final multimedia project. By comparing ancient and modern cultural examples, and grounding these in different sociological, anthropological, and linguistic models, we can begin to understand a great deal about not only the ancient world, but also how our conception of that world has created our present.