Classics
Overview
Classics is the study of the languages, culture, history, and thought of the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome. It is one of the most varied and interdisciplinary of all subjects, featuring a wide range of options. Students have the opportunity to study literature (epic, drama, historical writing, etc.), but they can also connect their study with history, archaeology, philosophy (both ancient and modern), religion, art history/criticism, and linguistics. Whether you want to learn languages, read literature, explore the effect of the past on the present, or learn to apply science to arts, the Classics Area of Concentration (AOC) has something for everyone. The study of Classics requires students to develop the analytical skills needed to understand ancient languages and engage in a range of disciplines.
Requirements for the AOC in Classics
A minimum of fifteen (15) academic units.
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| High Level of Proficiency in Ancient Greek or Latin | |
| Select six semester courses or the equivalent in one language, and the equivalent of three semester courses in the other classical language: | |
| Elementary Latin I | |
| Elementary Latin II | |
| Elementary Ancient Greek | |
| Elementary Homeric Greek II | |
| Advanced Latin: Pliny, Natural History | |
| Advanced Latin: Horace, Satires* | |
| Advanced Greek: Euripides' Cyclops* | |
| General Knowledge of Classical Literature, History, and Culture | |
| Select four courses, tutorials, or ISPs that cover the classics more generally; some examples include: | |
| Ancient Epic* | |
| Roman Civilization* | |
| Classical Mythology* | |
| Greek and Roman Lyric Poetry* | |
| Greek Monsters and Marvels* | |
| Ancient Greek Drama* | |
| Ancient Rome: History and Legacy* | |
| Classical Philosophy* | |
| Related Fields | |
| Select at least two courses in related fields; some examples include: | |
| Introduction to Archaeology* | |
| Introduction to Cultural Anthropology* | |
| Christian Scriptures* | |
| Jewish Scriptures* | |
| Additional Requirement | |
| Senior Thesis and Baccalaureate Exam 1 | |
- 1
The thesis might take the form of a critical analysis of a classical author or a study of a cultural problem in history, literature, or thought. In any case, a significant portion of the research should demonstrate the student's capacity to use primary classical texts or artifacts.
Representative Senior Theses in Classics
- Ancient Greek Prostitution
- Martyrs and Murderers: Women of Euripides
- Oracles, Advisors, and Poets: Constructing Authority in Herodotus' Histories
- The Hero in Chinese and Roman Epic
- Complex Context in the Iliad: Epithets, Gnomai, and Paradeigmata
- The Galli: Transgendered Priests of Ancient Greece, Rome, and the Near East
- The Underworld in Homer, Vergil, and Dante
- Translation and Production of Plautus' Miles Gloriosus
- The Homeric Hymn to Hermes and Archaic Iambography