About Trinity Academics
Trinity A-Z
Student Life Admission LL UG
<< Back to Classics Home Classics

Classics

The Classics Major —Twelve courses are required and students must earn a grade of at least C- in each. The requirements include:

  • At least two classics courses at the 300- level in one language, and two classics courses at the 200-level in the other.

  • HIST 111 . Foundations of Greek and Roman History, HIST 114, HIST 115. History of the Greek World,orHIST 116. The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic.

  • Two electives to be chosen from courses in art and archaeology, classical civilization, linguistics, or history.

  • CLAS 401-402. S enior S eminar. The Writing Intensive Part II requirement is fulfilled by CLAS 401-402. Senior Seminar.

Thirteen courses are required and students must earn a grade of at least C- in each. The requirements include:

  • At least two years of one language, i.e., four courses in Latin or Greek.

  • Two courses in classical art and art archaeology: CLCV 111.Introduction to Classical Art and Architecture, and one other course at the 200- or 300-level.

  • CLCV 203. Mythology, 208. Men, Women, and Society, or 224. Sex and Sexualities.

  • Two courses from the following: CLCV151. Friendship in the Ancient World, CLCV211. Age of Augustus, CLCV212. Golden Age of Classical Athens,CLCV 221. Ancient Athletics, CLCV 228. Spectacles of Power, CLCV 229. Journey and Identities. Drinking and Dining, CLCV231. Ancient Greek Literature, CLCV305. Tragedy, or CLCV306. Epic, or LING 101. Introduction to Linguistics. At least one of these must be CLCV211, 212, 228, or 231.

  • HIST 111, 114,115, or 116.

  • Two electives from courses in Latin, Greek, art and archaeology, classical civilization, ancient history (203, 204, 225, 244, 333, 334, 358, 369, 369, or 374), ancient philosophy (101, 102, 232, 281, 307, 308, 334), anthropology (201 or 210), political science (219 and 334), or religion (205, 212, 215).

  • CLAS 401-40 2. S enior S eminar . The Writing Intensive Part II requirement is fulfilled by CLAS 401-402. Senior Seminar.

The variety of elective courses allows students to concentrate within a field of study, whether of broad compass, such as Greek or Roman antiquity, or more narrowly by discipline, including literature, history, philosophy, or art and archaeology

CLAS 401-402 is a yearlong seminar required of senior candidates for both majors that serves as the senior exercise. It meets four to six times each semester; entails reading assignments, oral presentations, a senior thesis, and a general examination at the end of the year; and carries one course credit.

The general examination is based on the work of this seminar and a reading list distributed during the fall term, incorporating both Greece and Rome. Sample copies of prior years’ examinations, revealing structure and format, are distributed during the spring term.

The award of honors is determined by the excellence of the candidate’s work in courses and performance in the senior seminar.

Majors who intend to proceed to a higher degree are urged to acquire a reading knowledge of French and German as soon as possible. For courses in Biblical Hebrew, see the offerings of the Religion Department; for Arabic, see the Department of Language and Culture Studies.

For special programs at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies at Rome, Trinity College's Rome Campus, or the summer excavations at Tel el-Far’ah (South), Israel, see "Special Curricular Opportunities," p. xx. The department also recommends programs in classics and ancient history offered by universities in the United Kingdom under the auspices of Arcadia University. For departmental prizes, see the section on prizes.

The Plan B Major —Under this plan, students may combine ancient Greek or Latin with any of the languages taught in the Department of Language and Culture Studies. A minimum of seven courses in a primary language and five in a secondary language is required, as well as two courses in a cognate field or fields (e.g., ancient art, ancient history, archaeology). A paper integrating the three fields of study must be completed in one of the primary language upper-level courses. Except under exceptional circumstances, this project will be undertaken in the primary language section’s senior seminar and must be done at Trinity College.

Minors —Four minors are housed in the Classics Department.

Ancient Greek For students who wish to minor in ancient Greek, this is a sequence of six courses designed to develop linguistic skills to read ancient Greek literature in its original language. In addition, the minor will include either a .5 credit Language Across the Curriculum unit or a .5 credit integrating paper, typically written in conjunction with the last course taken for the minor. No more than one transfer credit may be applied to the minor.

Latin For students who wish to minor in Latin, this is a sequence of six courses designed to develop linguistic skills to read ancient, and possibly medieval, Latin literature in its original language. In addition, the minor will include either a .5 credit Language Across the Curriculum unit or a .5 credit integrating paper, typically written in conjunction with the last course taken for the minor. No more than one transfer credit may be applied to the minor.

Classical Antiquity The purpose of the minor is to allow students to acquire a general knowledge of the achievements of ancient Greece and Rome, which traditionally have constituted, along with the Judeo-Christian tradition, the chief ingredients of Western civilization. Despite the advance of technology, shifts in educational and societal priorities, and an increasing awareness of other civilizations in the 20th century, Homer, Plato, Cicero, and Caesar remain lively figures, and the classical tradition still pervades our poetry and prose, our philosophy and law, our ideas of history, our conceptions of education, and our art and architecture. The student electing this minor will have the opportunity to become acquainted with the classical achievements in each of these areas and to shape that knowledge into an integrated view of antiquity. Students take three core courses, three electives, and an essay exam.

Classical Tradition The minor in the classical tradition will establish a basic acquaintance with the history and cultural landmarks of ancient Greece and Rome, and promote a contextual understanding of later achievements significantly influenced by them, especially in literature and history, the arts, and philosophy. The minor is based on two groups of courses: the first comprises courses in the civilization of classical Greece and Rome, the second courses in subjects in which the presence of the Greek and Roman experience is felt.

The Classics Department also contributes courses to minors in architectural studies, Jewish studies, literature and psychology, mythology, and women, gender and sexuality.