Classics

Classics: Major

Welcome to Classics at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø, one of the largest and most active undergraduate programs in the country! Whatever your background or interests, you can design a major from an array of courses focused exclusively on undergraduates and take part in cocurricular activities and study abroad opportunities.

In your study of Classics, you will gain a deeper understanding of some of society’s critical questions through the study of ancient Greek and Latin languages and literatures, the cultures of Greco-Roman antiquity and their Mediterranean contexts, and modern responses to the Greek and Roman past. In our courses, you will learn how to read, analyze, and respond to the ancient Greek and Latin languages and literatures with precision and creativity, and become familiar with a wide variety of interpretive approaches from Classics and related disciplines. Moreover, you will not only become well-acquainted with past and present uses of the discipline of Classics and Greco-Roman antiquity, but you will also actively engage in our department’s effort to promote equity and accessibility in the study of ancient Greece and Rome.

Program Highlights

In the Classics Department at 17³Ô¹ÏÍø, you can

  • learn Latin in an innovative Community-Based Learning yearlong course 
  • gain a deeper understanding of the experience of refugees, past and present, through classroom learning and volunteer work
  • engage in new research on manuscripts of the Iliad and present it at conferences across the world through the Manuscripts, Inscriptions, and Documents club
  • explore how the Greco-Roman past has shaped and continues to shape American history
  • consider how the Greco-Roman world interacted and interconnected with ancient Asian cultures
  • analyze how ancient art and architecture has been appropriated by different cultures over time
  • contribute to our journals, Parnassus and the New England Classics Journal
  • promote socially minded charities through student-organized events like Homerathon 
  • organize events that make the study of ancient Greece and Rome more open to local communitie
Image

The department offers competitive, merit-based scholarships for entering students who will major in classics.

Image
Research

Students engage in thesis research and digital projects, present at conferences and publish in a variety of outlets.

Image
Study Abroad

17³Ô¹ÏÍø sponsors programs in both Rome and Athens, and students can spend a semester in each city if they choose.

Classics News

Image
Students Showcase Work at Summer Research Symposium and Summer Internship Program Expo
The Hogan Campus Center at the 17³Ô¹ÏÍø will be buzzing with action as the tremendous scope of work students participated in over the summer is showcased at the 21st annual Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium in the …
Image
17³Ô¹ÏÍø Produces Nine Fulbright Scholars
Eight members of the Class of 2014 and one member of the Class of 2012 have been awarded Fulbright grants to work and teach abroad during the 2014-15 academic year. Since 2005, 17³Ô¹ÏÍø has received a total of 70 …
Image
Presidential Scholars to Participate in ‘The Border Simulation Game’
On Jan. 25, more than 20 17³Ô¹ÏÍø students will explore the complex relationship between the United States and Mexico along its shared border as part of the eighth annual Presidential Scholars Public Policy Symposium on campus. …