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Overview

Faculty

Anne Feltovich

Shelley Haley, chair

James Taylor

Jesse Weiner

Classics is the study of the languages and civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome, as well as of related civilizations, both ancient and modern. The department offers courses in ancient Greek and Latin and also in classical studies, where no knowledge of Latin or Greek is required. Students wishing to concentrate or minor in classics may take one of two directions.

A concentration in classical languages, which emphasizes work in Latin and Greek as keys to understanding the ancient world, requires a minimum of ten full-credit courses. Four of those courses, at least two of which must be numbered 300 or above, should be in one of the two languages; and three of them, at least one of which must be numbered 300 or above, should be in the other. Two courses in classical studies, in addition to CLASC-550, the Senior Project, are also required. (With the approval of the department, exemptions to these requirements may be made for students who come to Hamilton with substantial preparation in Latin or Greek.) Students concentrating in classical languages are also required to complete at least one course each year in Greek or Latin. Because the language concentration requires substantial accomplishment in both Greek and Latin, prospective concentrators entering the College with no knowledge of those languages should make an immediate start with the prerequisite 100- and 200-level courses.

A concentration in classical studies, which offers a study of ancient Greece and Rome with emphasis on only one of the languages, requires a minimum of ten full-credit courses. Six of those courses should be in classical studies, at least four of them numbered 200 or above and at least one numbered 300 or above. Two courses in either Greek or Latin are required, one of which must be numbered 300 or above, along with CLASC-550, the Senior Project. (With the approval of the department, certain courses in Greek or Latin may be substituted for classical studies courses). In addition, students concentrating in classical studies must complete at least one course each year in classical studies, Greek or Latin.

Junior and Senior concentrators in Classics may NOT elect the credit/no credit option for Classics, Greek or Latin courses. Courses taken in the department as credit/no credit BEFORE the declaration of concentration may count toward the concentration requirements ONLY with the permission of the department Chair.

Hamilton is a member of the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome (the Centro) and of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. Many students have also attended other programs in Rome and Athens. Concentrators and other students trained in Latin or Greek are encouraged to spend one or two semesters of their junior year in a program in Greece or Rome or in another suitable program abroad. Interested students should note that admission to the Intercollegiate Center and the American School is competitive and that preparation in Latin or Greek, and sometimes both, is an important factor in determining admission.

Hamilton’s distinguished tradition in classics ensures that funds are available from numerous awards earmarked for classics students, especially for students who continue with Greek or Latin, or who choose to do graduate work in Greek.

Students who have earned an A- (3.67) average in the concentration may receive honors by earning a grade of A- in the Senior Seminar. A description of the program may be obtained from any member of the classics faculty.

A minor in classical languages requires at least two courses numbered 300 or above in Latin or Greek, as well as two courses in classical studies, one of which must be numbered 200 or above. Because the language minor requires advanced work in either Latin or Greek, interested students entering the College without either of those languages should make an early start with the prerequisite 100- and 200-level courses.

A minor in classical studies requires a minimum of five classical studies courses, three of which must be numbered 200 or above, with at least one numbered 300 or above, and one year of college Latin or Greek or a grade of B or higher in a 200- or 300-level course in Latin or Greek.

Beginning with the class of 2020, students concentrating in Classics will satisfy the Social, Structural, and Institutional Hierarchies Requirement by completing coursework in any of the following courses: CLASC-205 (Pompeii), CLASC-280 (Ancient Comedy), CLASC-325 (Sexuality and Gender in Greece and Rome), CLASC-335 (Re-imagining the Classics), CLASC-372 (Unraveling Cleopatra), or CLASC-374 (Ancient Egypt).