Classics

Be part of a vibrant and supportive community that pursues understanding of the civilizations and languages of the ancient Mediterranean world. To study classics is to understand how human civilization evolved and where it might go.

A personalized program

Our students are guided through an intellectually and physically active approach to the diverse aspects of the field. They learn to read and analyze original texts from antiquity in Latin and Ancient Greek and get outside for ancient sports class. 

Whether a course’s focus is language, mythology, history, archaeology or other areas, our students apply critical analysis to a variety of evidence. Each of our classes is an intellectual excursion to a distant time, place, and way of thinking.

The structures of the Latin and ancient Greek languages allow students to step outside of familiar assumptions and see language in a new way. The study of cultures gives students a chance to view the world through radically different lenses for a more thorough understanding of their own culture and lives.

Classics is for everyone

Courses are not only for students who major or minor in classics or classical languages, but they are also open to all students who seek intellectual enrichment or a broader perspective of the world. (Hello, double major!) Students who have an interest in politics, art, religion, philosophy, literature, drama, gender relations, class relations, intercultural dynamics and social institutions will find all of that in our program.

We get hands-on

Our campus archaeology lab and the Shields Collection of Antiquities hold authentic ancient artifacts. Our department also houses an expansive collection of historic reproductions and clothing relevant to the ancient world. These materials are used to illustrate a range of topics, including ancient sports, warfare, textile and food production, art, and other practices of life in the ancient world.

Students in Prof. Newman's Egyptian Archaeology course make faience, a type of ceramic ware produced in ancient EgyptStudents also enhance their knowledge and build cross-disciplinary connections by engaging with faculty from the arts and sciences and with physical resources such as the ceramics studio, LeSuer Nature Preserve, the Educational Garden & Farm, and the local Warren County History Museum.