Major Description

Classical Studies offers a multidisciplinary approach to the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome and the broader Mediterranean world, studying these both in their original context and as avenues for modern inquiry. Students make use of diverse theoretical approaches, spanning the sciences, social sciences and humanities, and apply them in rigorous coursework and research delving into politics, media, history, identity, religion, literature, material culture and the environment. Classical Studies connects us to a shared past which expands our notions of the present, offering new perspectives with which we can think about and address modern challenges.

There are three areas of concentration within the Major: Literature and Performance; History, Politics and Social Justice; Archaeology and Archaeological  Science. Each track foregrounds different facets of antiquity and analytical tools and connect with areas of faculty research and expertise. Students select a concentration upon declaration of the major, and map out a course of study within it together with their advisor.  Regardless of concentration students acquire proficiency in Latin or Greek; no experience with either language is required upon entry to the major.

Literature and Performance explores the aesthetics and political force of literature and its private and public expression in Classical and modern contexts and investigates their use as social and often subversive media. Students analyze a wide range of genres including epic, drama, poetry, rhetoric, science fiction, and the novel. 

History, Politics, and Social Justice examines the dynamics and strategies of communities and governments in antiquity as they adapted their institutions, legal structures, and media to serve diverse populations and strategies. It places ancient conceptions of democracy, constitutional design, and collective action from a variety of literary genres in conversation with modern notions of the same.

Archaeology and Archaeological Science focuses on material evidence from the ancient Mediterranean. Students learn to apply traditional and scientific tools (experimental archaeology, phytochemistry, geoscience) to interpret archaeological data and to reconstruct phenomena ranging from the smallest experiences of daily life to large scale environmental change.  
 

Admission to the Major

Prospective majors will have completed one course in the history, literature, or art and archaeology of the Greek or Roman world prior to declaring in order to familiarize themselves with the interdisciplinary nature of the field, and achieved a minimum grade of B-.

Upon declaring the major students are required to complete the major declaration form and to select which area of concentration they intend to pursue. If they intend to apply a course (previously taken or planned) outside of the department towards their elective credit they should identify the course and explain how they will be in conversation with the major course selections to form a meaningful curricular whole. This initial outline will indicate the student’s aimed trajectory.

Major Requirements

The Classical Studies Major requires ten credits, four of which must be within their selected area of concentration (see Course Lists, below). All Majors must take:

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Language Courses (LAT or GRK, 102 or higher) *		4
Ancient History Survey (CLST231 or CLST232) **		1
Material Culture Course		1
300-Level Seminars		2
Electives ***		2
Total Hours		10

*	1 of the 4 has to be a course at the 300- level. Two half-credit language courses may be counted together as one credit towards the major.
**	This requirement should be completed by the end of the junior year.
***	With permission from the advisor, students can apply one course from outside the department toward their concentration provided they can demonstrate its specific application towards that concentration.

Area Concentration Requirements

Upon declaring the Major, students will determine which of the three concentration areas (Literature and Performance; History, Politics and Social Justice; or Archaeology and Archaeological  Science) they intend to pursue. The courses in which fall under each concentration are listed here.

History, Politics, and Social Justice 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
CLST202	Greek Drama: Theater and Social Justice, Ancient and Modern	1
CLST221	Law, Politics, and Order in the Ancient World	1
CLST221Z	Whose Rights? Law, Personhood, and Democracy, Ancient & Modern	1
CLST248	Language Matters: Etymology and the Roots of Social Injustice	1
CLST249	Classics Beyond Whiteness	1
CLST324	Tales of Hope or States of Delusion? Utopias, Past and Present	1
CLST363	Body Politics: Desire, Sexualities, and Gender, Past and Present	1
CLST327	Dangerous Acts: Theater, Transgression, and Social Justice, Ancient and Modern	1
LAT353	Demagogues and Tyrants in the Roman Historians	1
LAT360	Constructing Masculinity and Identity in Roman Elegy	1
GRK205	Reading Greek Prose: Court Room Dramas, Selections from Athenian Oratory	1
GRK291	"Sexuality" in the Making: Gender, Law, and the Use of Pleasure in Ancient Greek Culture (CLAC.50)	.5
GRK365	Greek Tragedy: Euripides	1

Archaeology and Archaeological Science

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
CLST201	Art and Archaeology of the Bronze Age Mediterranean	1
CLST214	Survey of Greek Archaeology and Art	1
CLST223	Survey of Roman Archaeology and Art	1
CLST283	Off with its Pedestal! The Greek Vase as Art and Artifact	1
CLST329	Roman Villa Life	1
CLST341	Visualizing the Classical	1
CLST352	Ancient Medicine: Potions, Poisons, and Phytochemistry in the Ancient Mediterranean	1
CLST390	Making Rome: Monuments of Life in Ancient Rome	1
LAT375	Set in Stone: Reading Roman Life through Inscriptions	1
GRK355	Homer in Bronze Age Context	1

Student Learning Goals

Under Construction

Language Requirement

Majors in Classical Studies acquire an intermediate level of proficiency with either Latin or Greek. No experience in either language is required upon entry into the major, however students intending to major should plan to begin the language as soon as possible. Students with previous experience in either language should consult with the Dept. Chair for placement advice.

Additional Information

Honors

Students wishing to pursue Honors in the Major must complete a senior thesis or essay. These are original research projects that deal directly with primary sources (in the form of archaeological data sets or texts in the original language), show knowledge of and critical engagement with current scholarship on the subject, and present an original argument developed in response to these sources. Both the thesis and the essay should be considered serious academic undertakings and students should plan to begin research in the semester or summer which precedes it.  

Students who intend to write a thesis must submit a thesis proposal to the Department by April 15 of the junior year. Students who wish to write a Senior Essay must submit their proposal to the Department by the end of the previous semester (April 15 for an essay to be written in the fall semester, November 15 for the spring). 

For details on the evaluation and awarding of Honors, consult the departmental website.

Capstone Experience

Upon completion of the major, students will complete a form where they will have the opportunity to explain changes in this initial trajectory and reflect briefly on their choices and development as a whole.