Ah, yes, the Classics. It’s one of those majors that you’ve probably heard of, but only have a vague idea of what is actually involved. Classics is pretty much the study of culture, language, and history of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Although Classics is one of the oldest academic disciplines, few high school students (spare those who went to fancy private schools) are exposed to its building blocks. But the study of Classics isn’t just for characters in a Donna Tart novel. Yes, it’s a mildly pretentious area of education, but it may be the right fit for students interested in history, literature, and sociology who also have a knack for language.
Careers beyond the major seem ripe for those interested in pursuing academia, but the major may also prove useful for anyone who dreams of a future hobnobbing with intellectuals or pursuing a path in a field whose players benefit from a basic understanding of Latin terminology, such as law or medicine.
Carleton
The Carleton College Classics program is aligned with traditional Classics programs, but the array of offerings is so vast, it topped out our list as #1. There is an emphasis on reading ancient authors in the languages in which they were intended, as well as a heavy focus on Greek and Latin language. Coursework also features archaeology, mythology, and prose, as well as more contemporary focuses, from gender and sexuality in antiquity to food and drink in the ancient world. There is also a study abroad program that includes an option to go to Greece for a year.
Bates
The program of choice at Bates is unique in that it focuses, not only on a traditional Classics curriculum pervasive at similar universities, but also the history and culture of medieval times, which include Islamic civilizations, among others. The course offerings at Bates focus on religion, particularly the Judeo-Christian ones. Courses are also offered in medieval English literature, food in the ancient world, the Vikings, and multiple classes on gender and sex.
Colgate
Colgate’s Department of Classics offers four majors: Latin, Greek, the Classics, and Classical Studies. Overall, the curriculum focuses on art (including theater), excavation, and the culture of the ancient world, but it also places a particular emphasis on great thinkers, from Homer to Herodotus. Colgate’s Classics department also has extended study programs in Greece and Italy and boasts a wide collection of classical texts in its department facility.
Amherst
The Amherst Classics program places a strong emphasis on the mastery of ancient languages. The course offerings aren’t as plentiful as some of the other schools on the list (a lot of languages, some study in drama, tragedy, and literature, as well as ancient civilization), but the school’s extra-curricular opportunities are what keep it in the fray. Amherst has its own museum—the Mead Art Museum—which houses Greek and Roman artifacts. Amherst is also about 90 miles from tremendous other campus and city museums across Boston. The school additionally houses a collection of the Oxford Classical Texts, and boasts study abroad opportunities, from a summer in Rome to a year in Athens, as well as several excavations and fieldwork choices.
Brandeis
Brandeis’ Department of Classical Studies is cool because of its fieldwork opportunities. Students can choose to engage in underwater archaeology in Israel, learn about Greco-Roman life in the Bay of Naples in Italy (as in Pompei and Mount Vesuvius), conduct research on the Bronze Age in Kastrouli-Desfina, Greece, or take part in an excavation of a 3700-year-old palace in northern Israel. Courses include the standard musings of Plato and the more niche examination of Women, Gender, and Sexuality in Greek and Roman Art and Text.
Swarthmore
Swarthmore bucks the trend of offering an exclusively purist Latin and Green trajectory. In addition to the rigorous courses in the Classics, well, classics, Swarthmore also has classes in Hebrew and Sanskrit. The curriculum focuses on religion, literature, and the histories of the Pharaohs and Cicero, alike. Students can also spend the summer in Rome, take advantage of archaeological and fieldwork opportunities, and seek funding for research or summer programs outside of the university.
Wheaton
The Department of Classics at Wheaton has four distinct, yet traditional majors (Classics: Latin and Greek, Greek, Latin, and Classical Civilizations). But it also offers an interdisciplinary major along with Religious Studies called Ancient Studies that focuses on the religious culture of the Mediterranean region. It additionally works with History, Philosophy, Religion, and Art History to allow students to take courses in those areas that fulfill the major.
Wellesley
Classical Studies at Wellesley is so much more than just your standard Greek and Latin tracks. The department offers courses in mythology and gender, but it also incorporates classes such as Travel in Fiction and Film, as well as Running a Business in Rome. In addition, there’s a serious focus on archaeology. Students can choose from study abroad programs in the U.K., Greece, and Italy, as well as summer immersion and excavation programs, and an internship at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C.
Haverford
Haverford’s Department of Classics focuses on the cornerstones of antiquity, including ancient Roman culture, but it also places a particular emphasis on examining the ways in which people of more modern times related to the traditions and texts of the ancient world. Classes range from the standard (Elementary Latin, Mythology) to the esoteric (Animals and Androids in Greek and Latin Literature, Intermediated Latin: Love, Magic, and Transformation).
Bryn Mawr
This Seven Sister has a Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies program that offers unique extra-curricular opportunities to its majors and interested pupils. The departmental website boasts the Bryn Mawr Classical Review, which it says is the second-oldest online scholarly journal of its kind in the humanities. The department also operates a weekly colloquium where visiting scholars present papers and lectures on an array of topics within the discipline. Classes cover Plato, Vergil, Latin and Greek literature, mythology, and a class called Cleopatra: Passion, Power, and Politics.
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