Julia Fennell ’21
When most people think of a Classics course, they might picture a professor lecturing on Roman architecture or students studying ancient Greek texts. At CC, however, things are done a bit differently. From Denver Nuggets games and touring on-campus entertainment venues to trying on gladiator gear, students in Roman Sports and Entertainment spend the block connecting Roman sports and entertainment to the modern world, as well as analyzing its social-political context.
In this course, Dr. Sanjaya Thakur, Judson Bemis Professor of Humanities and Professor of Classics, ensures that students both learn the important history of the Roman world, as well as connect that history to forms of entertainment and sport today.
“I came into this class expecting to learn about political manipulation and was happily surprised to learn about many more aspects of life throughout the Roman Empire and greater Mediterranean area,” says Marcus Sapuppo ’27.
Students in Roman Sports and Entertainment learn about gladiatorial games, beast hunts, mock naval battles, and chariot racing, as well as theatrical entertainments, like ballet and pantomime. They study the similarities between Roman entertainment and modern-world entertainment. Students also consider the social status of the entertainers in the Roman world, and how that impacted the perception of them and the entertainment in general.
“In Roman Sports and Entertainment, I emphasize how sport was and is a form of entertainment, and in that light, I have worked to create a course that offers a much broader look at entertainment in the Roman world by including the study of ancient drama and popular literature- texts and subject matter which only make limited appearances elsewhere in our departmental curriculum,” says Thakur, who has been teaching at CC since 2008. “Furthermore, most athletes in the Roman world were slaves or freed-persons, and so we study individuals and portions of society generally overlooked in other courses; likewise, the evidence we draw upon comes from all over the ancient Mediterranean, and so students gain an appreciation of the diversity and mobility that existed there. What I love about the course too is the variety of sources of evidence we draw upon, from artistic representations of sport, to funerary epitaphs detailing athletes’ lives and careers, to the architecture of ancient venues, to a wide range of literary genres and sources.”
Local field trips are a favorite part of the class, both for the students and for Thakur.
“Another aspect I love about this course is how it fosters and builds community at CC by making students more aware of where they reside and activities going on at the college,” Thakur says. “I always take students to a professional sporting event and ask them to detail their experience in light of what they have read and studied about the ancient Mediterranean world.”
“The field trip experiences were super unique in comparison to other classes I’ve had,” says Ava Ralph ’27. “They allowed us taking the class to relate modern sports and structure to antiquity. I’ve learned that a lot of things that happened in ancient times are still very prevalent to our modern actions today. Sports have been bringing us together for centuries, and that is super cool to think about!”
During first week, the class attends a Denver Nuggets game and, for an assignment following the game, were asked to detail the experience in relation to what they had read and studied in class. Students were asked to contextualize the competition or performance itself, as well as other aspects of the experience, such as the music, venue’s architecture, and more. Students also attended other events, including CC hockey and basketball games and student performances, such as the Bluegrass and Tiger Jazz concerts, and were asked to write similar assignments regarding the performance, venue, and experience, comparing it to what they’ve recently learned.
“The Nuggets game was a great opportunity to strengthen friendships within our class,” Sapuppo says. “I think field trips like this are so important because they are opportunities for students to bond with each other and create friendships. I found myself much more comfortable in the classroom after sharing the experience of the Nuggets game with each other.”
While the purpose of the field trips aren’t necessarily to give students a chance to connect, it clearly did, which allowed for greater and more in-depth class discussions.
“The field trips are definitely a highlight of the class,” says Ami Piburn ’27. “They’ve been a great way to bond with classmates and, at the hockey game, other CC students, as well as put what we’ve learned in class into context. For instance, we learned about the Colosseum in ancient Rome, but it wasn’t until we were in Ball Arena for the Nuggets’ game that we were able to picture the sheer size of the ancient structure in comparison to a modern arena. We were also able to consider what it might have been like as an audience member in Rome to be so close to such brutal action.”
“The Denver Nuggets game was a great experience for our class,” says Danny Weight ’24. “It’s remarkable how many similarities there are between Ball Arena and watching the Nuggets play compared to the Colosseum in Rome thousands of years ago and watching Gladiator fights. Professor Sanjaya did a great job teaching us in class what these similarities are and what to look for while attending the game.”
“The course is always filled with a diverse group of students who play a range of sports and are engaged in a range of activities,” Thakur says. “Students learn about activities others are involved in, building community, and providing visible support for their classmates’ endeavors by attending in person. We also tour campus to look at some of our varied entertainment venues, usually gaining access to areas not normally open. In all these excursions the goal is for students to make connections with antiquity and what they have studied, and see the tremendous, direct influence ancient Rome has had on our modern world.”
“The Nuggets game and the hockey game were very fun, and I am very thankful for opportunity to experience them,” says Jack Hilliard ’27, who plays on CC’s soccer team. “I learned a lot of lessons from these field trips and applied them into my daily life. Being an athlete, I appreciate all the care athletes do to stay in top condition to stay at an elite level in their respective sports.”
Thakur uses unique techniques to get students to learn, including roleplaying as gladiators and munerarius, a person who puts on the spectacles or munera. During the gladiator unit, students were put into groups of three to design a two-day Gladiator show with a set budget.
“Each group came up with a completely unique plan filled with totally different arrangements of competitions and events,” Piburn says. “It was a really fun way to consider the planning and technicality of setting up shows in ancient Rome. Putting what we learned about the men who organized the games into practice in a hands-on activity helped solidify the information we’d learned, as well as get a sense of the challenges faced while organizing such massive events.”
During classroom sessions, the day usually begins with students sharing two or three short videos that relate to the topics they’ve been reading and learning about.
“This is a fun activity because we get to assess portrayals of Roman sport and entertainment and are able to warm up our minds by relating videos about more modern events to the ancient times,” says Sapuppo, who added that Thakur created a great rhythm for the class that keeps students mentally active and awake.
This is followed by a short presentation or lecture and then small group discussions where students dissect the readings before coming together as a class to share and combine their ideas. These discussion circles allowed students to hear different perspectives on difficult topics.
“This is perfect for my style of learning as I benefit from smaller scale, personal, and thought-provoking conversations,” Sapuppo says. “One piece of information I learned that really stands out to me is that the powerful political figures in Ancient Rome set regulations on expenditures for sporting events in different districts and villages in order to construct an economic hierarchy and secure Rome as the wealthiest and most influential city in the Roman Empire.”
While the class was focused on entertainment, they also spent time learning about the architecture of many Roman entertainment venues and how they compare to modern day buildings.
“My favorite part of the class has definitely been exploring the different modern buildings in Colorado,” says Ralph, who plans to major in Classics and Psychology. “The field trips as well as walking around the campus has really brought our learning to life. I’ve learned about the importance of buildings like the Colosseum and how we can still see it’s lasting effect on architecture today. I have never been to any big professional sports games, so going to the Nuggets game was a super unique experience for me and I am grateful for it.”
“My favorite part of the class so far has been how intriguing the topics we learn about are and how I can tie them into modern life,” says Keller Pooley ’27. “I’ve learned so much about gladiators, theaters, and the venues these are held in. I have learned how incredible Roman technology and building truly was for its time.”
Thakur’s first class at CC was a course on ancient Greek and Roman sports, which was a course he designed based on his interests and experience. “It was incredibly popular and was for the several iterations that I taught it. Sport today, whether the Olympics or organized sports, is part of the experience of most students and people throughout the world. Every modern venue can trace its roots to Greece and Rome, and so this course introduced students to the ancient Mediterranean world, but also asked them to make connections to the modern world.”
After a few years, Thakur realized that there was too much material and student interest for there to be only one course on the subject, so he designed two separate courses: Roman Sports and Entertainment and Ancient Greek Sports and the Olympics, which has particular relevance in Colorado Springs, Olympic City USA.
“I think part of the beauty of a liberal arts program is how unique classes can be,” Piburn says in response to why the class is so popular. “Seeing a course called Roman Sports and Entertainment sparks a lot of curiosity and is very intriguing, which I think is a possible explanation for the overenrolled state of the class.”
“People speak so highly of this course, and I can tell why,” Ralph says. “Professor Sanjaya’s way of teaching is super effective, and he is so incredibly knowledgeable about the subjects spoken about in this course. It’s also a class that covers multiple interests for people. I leaned toward it because it is Classics-based, but I know others took this class because of their interest in sports. Therefore, just the description of the class speaks to multiple groups.”