Department website: http://classics.barnard.edu

216 Milbank Hall
212-854-2852
212-854-7491 (fax)
Department Assistant: Tynisha Rue 

Greek and Roman Language, Literature, and Culture; Ancient Studies; Modern Greek

Department of Classics and Ancient Studies (see below for Modern Greek)

Mission

The department of Classics and Ancient Studies aims to introduce students to a knowledge of the languages and an understanding of the literature and culture of ancient Greece and Rome in a broader Mediterranean context, as well as to develop an appreciation of how Greco-Roman antiquity has been used and abused by later eras. The study of the languages enables access to a wide range of challenging and influential ancient texts, artifacts, and ideas and also makes the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of English and other modern languages more comprehensible. The study of these texts, in turn, develops analytical and critical thinking about both the past and the present, the ability to assess many different kinds of fragmentary evidence, as well as skills in writing, close reading and oral presentation, cultural awareness, and literary sensibility. Close cooperation between Barnard and Columbia enables ancient studies students to plan and implement an integrated, cohesive interdisciplinary study of the ancient world, including language, literature, mythology, history, religion, philosophy, law, political theory, comparative literature, medieval studies, gender studies, art history and material culture. The texts and  monuments of the Greco-Roman world served as the basis of Western education until the twentieth-century and  retain a core position in modern humanities and social thought that is currently expanding beyond the West. Exploring, analyzing, and assessing this legacy is the central goal of the program.

Majors

The department offers two majors. The majors in Classics (Greek, Latin, or Classics) center on work in the original languages, whereas the major in Ancient Studies has an interdisciplinary focus. All members of the department are available for major advising and students ideally choose an adviser who can help them develop their required senior essays.

The Major in Classics (Greek), Classics (Latin) or Classics (Latin and Greek)

Classics majors develop a knowledge of Greek and Latin as a gateway to the study of the literature, history, and culture of Greece and Rome. Students can start Greek and Latin at Barnard or build on skills acquired in high school. Second year courses introduce students to original texts in Greek or Latin by authors such as Homer, Plato, Herodotus, or the Greek orators or Vergil, Ovid, Horace, Cicero, Caesar, Livy or Sallust. A range of advanced courses in Greek or Latin focus on prose or poetic texts drawn from ancient epic, lyric poetry, philosophy, drama, history, rhetoric or the novel and introduce critical approaches and literary and historical scholarship. Students are encouraged to take more courses in ancient history and classical literature and civilization than the two required for the major. Students planning to go on to graduate work in Classics and related fields are advised to undertake at least three years in both languages as well as to begin acquiring the ability to read scholarship in French, German, or Italian. Study abroad for one semester in either Greece or Rome is common and encouraged.

Student Learning Objectives in Classics

Students successfully completing a major in Classics should be able to attain the following objectives:

• Translate a range of Greek or Latin texts at a moderately advanced level and demonstrate an understanding of the grammar and syntax of ancient languages.
• Read, analyze, and write about ancient texts persuasively and locate texts in their historical and cultural contexts.
• Achieve familiarity with the methodologies and critical approaches and research tools deployed in classical scholarship that will be demonstrated in the successful completion of a senior research project.
• Demonstrate familiarity with the work of a variety of ancient writers, literary styles, genres, and periods and their later influences.

The Major in Ancient Studies

All students in the department are encouraged to take courses in history and classical civilization that require no knowledge of the languages. Students in the more fully interdisciplinary Ancient Studies major combine study of at least one ancient language with a range of courses in various departments focusing on language, literature, mythology, history, religion, philosophy, political theory, law, film, comparative literature, medieval studies, gender studies, art history and material culture. Each student develops a concentration in one geographical area or period, but is encouraged to focus on a set of related issues and questions. Ancient Studies students will encounter many disciplinary approaches and investigate Greek and Roman and related ancient cultures in Egypt and the Near East and their influences on later Western (and to the degree possible, non-Western) culture. From this perspective the major can complement work in other liberal arts majors. Study abroad for one semester in either Greece, Rome, Egypt, or the Near East is common and encouraged.

Student Learning Objectives in Ancient Studies

Students successfully completing a major in Classics should be able to attain the following objectives:

• Read, analyze, and write about ancient texts persuasively and locate texts in their historical and cultural contexts.
• Achieve familiarity with the methodologies and critical approaches and research tools deployed in classical scholarship and in related disciplines studied by each individual student that is demonstrated in the successful completion of a senior research project.
• Achieve familiarity with the work of a variety of ancient writers on a range of interdisciplinary topics.
• Engage in detail with the methods needed to analyze the range of fragmentary evidence, both written and material, required in an interdisciplinary study of the ancient Mediterranean world.
• Demonstrate familiarity with one geographical area or period in the Greek, Latin or related ancient Mediterranean worlds.
• Assess differences among and relations between ancient cultures and analyze the use and abuse of evidence about the ancient world by later cultures.

The Greek or Latin Play

The Classics Department is the beneficiary of the Matthew Alan Kramer Fund, whose principal purpose is to support the production of plays in Ancient Greek or Latin. Students of the department have produced Antigone, Medea, Alcestis, Persians, Eumenides, Cyclops, Electra, Clouds, Trojan Women, Rudens, Helen, Trachiniae, Bacchae, Hippolytus, Heracles, Birds, and Persa, which have provided an exciting and different learning experience for the participants.

Classics in New York

Every effort is made to introduce students to considerable resources for the study and influence of the Classics in New York City, including plays, films, and museum and gallery visits.

Careers Undertaken by Classics and Ancient Studies Majors

Our majors graduate well prepared for graduate careers in Classics and related academic fields such as history, philosophy, archaeology, art history or comparative literature. They also enter successful careers in secondary school teaching, museum work and arts administration, as well as law, medicine and biological sciences, business, politics, public service in both the government and non-profit sectors, journalism and creative writing, publishing, library science, and the arts (especially theater, film and dance).

Study Abroad

The following three programs are pre-approved, but students may discuss other options with their advisers.

ICCS in Rome

Barnard College participates in the program of the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome. Majors in Classics or Ancient Studies are eligible to apply for admission to the program of the Rome Center for one semester, preferably in the junior year. Courses taken at the Rome Center may be used in the major and, in some cases, may be used to satisfy distribution requirements. The program provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to study ancient history and archaeology in Rome, Greek and Latin literature, and ancient and renaissance art. Students planning to apply to the ICCS should plan to take Roman history before applying and preference is given to those with two or more years of Latin and Greek. Applications for the spring term are due in mid-October and for the fall term in mid-March. Because of Sicily’s ancient connections to Greece, the program focuses more on the Hellenic culture of Magna Graeca and Sicily’s place as a cultural crossroads in the ancient Mediterranean. 

ICCS in Sicily

The focus of ICCS Sicily, as in the original program in Rome, will be on classical languages as well as on local manifestations of history and civilization in the ancient Mediterranean world. Based at the University of Catania, in a city with a rich ancient, medieval and Baroque history, this program offers extensive local academic resources and close proximity to both the mainland and other towns on the island. 

CYA: College Year In Athens

The College Year in Athens (CYA) program offers either one semester or a full year of courses in ancient and modern Greek languages, history, art, and archaeology, as well as advanced Latin and courses in post-classical and modern Greek culture, politics, and history. Almost 200 colleges participate in the CYA. Applications for the spring term must be received by mid-October and by mid-May for the fall term.

Summer Study

Students interested in summer programs in archaeology should consult the website of the American Institute for Archaeology (AIA) under fieldwork.

The CUNY Greek and Latin Workshops in midtown Manhattan offer special intensive summer language programs in Greek and Latin. Other institutions including Columbia offer summer language courses. The American Numismatics Society in Manhattan offers courses in the study of ancient coins.

Barnard College is a Supporting Institution of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and the American Academy in Rome, and certain privileges of those schools are open without fee to graduates of the College.

Chair: Kristina Milnor (Professor)
Professors: Helene Foley, Kristina Milnor, Nancy Worman
Associate Professor: Ellen Morris

Other officers of the University offering courses in Classics:
 

Professors: Kathy H. Eden, Carmela Franklin, Stathis Gourgouris, John Ma, Seth Schwartz, Deborah Steiner, Karen Van Dyck, Katharina Volk,
Gareth Williams
Associate Professor: Marcus Folch, Joseph Howley, Elizabeth Irwin
Assistant Professors: Alan Ross
Senior Lecturers: Elizabeth Scharffenberg
Lecturers: Dimitris Antoniou (Hellenic Studies), Chrysanthe Filippardos (Modern Greek), Nikolas Kakkoufa (Modern Greek), Darcy Krasne, Paraskevi Martzavou, Charles McNamara

Requirements for the Majors in Classics and Ancient Studies

Fulfilling the Foreign Language requirement

Students may fulfill the foreign language requirement in Greek by completing GREK UN1202 , or in Latin by completing LATN UN1202 Intermediate Latin II, or by completing one course in Greek or Latin at the 3000 level or above. In rare instances, the language requirement may be fulfilled by passing an exemption examination with a sufficiently high grade. This examination tests the student's knowledge of grammar and her ability to translate written Greek or Latin.

Major in Classics

Greek

The major in Greek is fulfilled by taking the following courses as well as five other courses above the elementary level in Ancient Greek.

Course List

Code	Title	Points
GREK UN3996	The Major Seminar
GREK GU4105	History of Greek Literature I
GREK GU4106	History of Greek Literature II
GREK GU4139

Latin

The major in Latin is fulfilled by taking one term of the following courses, as well as five other courses in Latin. 

Course List

Code	Title	Points
LATN UN3996	The Major Seminar
LATN GU4105	Latin Literature of the Republic
LATN GU4106	Latin Literature of the Empire
LATN GU4139	Elements of Prose Style

Students planning to go on to graduate study in classics are strongly urged to take both semesters of GREK GU4105 History of Greek Literature I, GREK GU4106 History of Greek Literature II or LATN GU4105 Latin Literature of the Republic, LATN GU4106 Latin Literature of the Empire. Majors in Latin, especially those who have begun their study in high school, are strongly advised to take at least two semesters of Greek.

In addition, one semester of ancient history appropriate to the major and two relevant courses in ancient art, classical civilization or literature, ancient philosophy, or religion are required for either the Greek or the Latin major. Students who do not opt to take a term of either GREK GU4105 History of Greek Literature I-GREK GU4106 History of Greek Literature II or LATN GU4105 Latin Literature of the Republic-LATN GU4106 Latin Literature of the Empire are required to take CLLT GU4300 , as one of their three required courses in translation.

A student may elect to major in both Greek and Latin (Classics) by completing the major requirements in one language and five courses above the elementary level in the other.

Major in Ancient Studies

Each student, after consultation with the Barnard Chair, chooses an advisor whose field is closely related to her own and with whom she will plan her senior essay.

A total of 36 points are required in the major, including at least four courses in one geographical area or period; courses in at least three departments to ensure proper interdisciplinary training and expertise; the elementary sequence of a relevant ancient language; the appropriate history course; ANCS UN3995 The Major Seminar, and at least the first semester of Ancient Studies ANCS UN3998 Directed Research In Ancient Studies, ANCS V3999 Directed Research in Ancient Studies (senior essay). Ancient language courses may be used toward the major requirement; however, where a second ancient language is offered, one second-year sequence must be offered for a student to gain credit for the first year. As noted above, an annual list of the courses meeting the requirements for Ancient Studies in any particular year appears separately on the website.

Requirements for the Minors in Classics, Modern Greek, and Ancient Studies

Minor in Greek

The minor in Greek requires five courses in Greek at the 1200 level or above.

Minor in Latin

The minor in Latin requires five courses in Latin at the 1200 level or above.

Minor in Modern Greek

The Minor in Modern Greek requires five courses in Modern Greek at the 1200 level or above.  Modern Greek courses are taught entirely at Columbia.

Minor in Ancient Studies

The minor in Ancient Studies requires five courses that focus on the ancient Mediterranean world.  At least one course in ancient Mediterranean history is required. Interested students should consult the department and the Classics and Ancient Studies website on selecting a complimentary and coherent set of courses for this minor.

Courses of Instruction

Ancient Studies

Classics

 Greek

Latin