The idea of “the classic” has long been important to humanistic learning. But what is a classic? And where does the notion originate that one should study literary classics? This course explores an important point of origin in the American founding, when it was popular to consult Greco-Roman authors for wisdom, imitate their forms, and contemplate Rome’s rise and fall as a cautionary tale of imperial hubris. Ancient texts–including the Iliad and the Aeneid–found fertile soil in the colonial Americas. The course samples these “classics” alongside works by new practitioners such as Aphra Behn, Phillis Wheatley, and Olaudah Equiano.