About the Program

Classics is the broad field covering Greco-Roman antiquity from the very earliest periods (prehistory) to the dissolution of the Roman Empire. Classicists study the literature and language, anthropology, art history, religion, philosophy, and history of the ancient Mediterranean world. Through the study of primary material (Latin and Greek texts, in the original or in translation, and archaeological and art historical artifacts), students gain an appreciation for the ancient societies that continue to illuminate our own. Students must master not only basic factual material, but also learn how to synthesize complex and sometimes disparate material.

Classics students have a choice of a range of study abroad opportunities, as semester and summer Study Programs take place in various Mediterranean countries: 

--Greece at College Year at Athens, with courses in ancient languages and history, as well as in English in political science, history, philosophy, and environmental studies.

--Italy in Rome or Sicily (Catania) at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies, with courses in languages and history, we well as art history.

Classics majors also have the opportunity to conduct advanced research at the side of a professor. For example, one recent graduate, working in collaboration with Dr. Haskell, produced a paper on the topic of the arrival of Greeks on Crete (published in Athens the following year). Another student "read" and classified a sequence of pottery sherds at an archaeological site in Turkey.