Overview and Program Description

Core faculty: Carolyn Dewald (director), Diana Minsky, William Mullen, James Romm, Benjamin Stevens

For the last two hundred years, Classics has been the study of the ancient Greek and Latin languages and the histories, literatures, and cultures that produced them. Classics is an interdisciplinary field of study, approaching the ancient evidence from a variety of perspectives: students interested in language, literature, history, anthropology, philosophy, and art history have traditionally used the tools of these disciplines to understand the ancient Mediterranean world. In Classics courses, Bard students seek to understand that world both on its own terms and as part of a larger nexus of ancient cultures, in an era of human history that laid much of the groundwork for what we now call western civilization. The idea of the city and the role of the individual within a civic context achieved some of its most important articulations in the ancient classical world.

Students concentrating in Classics at Bard follow one of three focuses, depending on their particular interests.

(1) The Philological Focus:

A student who 'loves language' (the root meaning of philology) can follow a traditional philological course of study, consisting of intensive work in the ancient languages (Greek, Latin, Sanskrit). The student also chooses among elective courses on ancient civilization, history, art history, philosophy, religion, and literature in English translation. Moderation requires having begun one year of an ancient language and at least two other courses in Classics or related disciplines; concentrators will study at least one year of a second ancient language, and are also strongly encouraged to take coursework in linguistics. The Senior Project involves close textual work in the original language, translating and interpreting relevant ancient texts. The philological focus is especially suited for a student interested in keeping open the option of pursuing graduate work in Classics.

A student who is interested less in language than in the study of ancient history or culture (reading the ancient texts largely in translation), or who is interested in taking only one ancient language, follows one of two other focuses, Classical Studies and Ancient Studies.

(2) The Classical Studies Focus:

Concentrators study the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome and their influence on later western culture. Courses are offered in classical history, philosophy, rhetoric, art history, literature (tragedy, comedy, epic, myth, and lyric, as well as the prose genres of the ancient novel and historiography), and a variety of cultural practices, including the areas of athletics, religion, and gender. Moderation requires at least four courses in Classics or related disciplines. The Senior Project would be written on a literary, historical, or cultural aspect of the Greco-Roman world, working closely with members of the core Classics faculty.

(3) The Ancient Studies Focus:

Concentrators take courses not just on ancient Greece and Rome but also on the ancient Middle East, India, or China. The faculty of the Ancient Studies Focus includes members of the core Classics Program, and also faculty in Art History, History, Literature, Philosophy, and Religion. A student wishing to moderate in Ancient Studies selects a faculty adviser from among the core and affiliated faculty in Ancient Studies, and designs in consultation with him or her a course of study that considers cross-cultural ties linking the ancient cultures, as well as intensive work in one or two specific areas that will lead to the Senior Project.

Though most Bard students come to Classics without an overriding career goal in mind, it should be noted that several recent graduates of the program have gone on to M.A. and Ph.D. programs or are currently teaching classics. Moreover, because the study of ancient languages and cultures has a high degree of structure built into it, Classics students often find their training in this field to be an advantage as they pursue careers in law, politics, journalism, and even physics and computer science.

The Philological Focus

1. For moderation, a student must be taking a year of either Latin or Greek, and two courses drawn from at least one of the four areas of concentration listed below (A-D).
2. Moderation into the Program follows campus-wide requirements: a 10-page (minimum) paper from a Classics course, representing the student's best work to date; and two 2-page papers, one on the student's past work and academic/intellectual history, the other on his or her future goals in the Program.
3. For graduation, a student must have completed
   1. two other courses in the primary language, and at least two more in a second ancient language
   2. two or more additional courses, drawn from at least two of the four areas of concentration listed below (200 and 300-level work in ancient language counts for (B), Literature/Genre)
   3. a Senior Project, comprising two semesters of independent research and writing, under the guidance of the Classics adviser.

(Students intending graduate work in Classics are encouraged in addition to take one modern European language and, if possible, course work in linguistics)

The Classical Studies Focus

1. For Moderation, a student must have taken or be taking four courses in Classics and related fields, drawn from at least two of the areas of concentration listed below (A-D).
2. Moderation into the Program follows campus-wide requirements: a 10-page (minimum) paper from a Classics course, representing the student's best work to date; and two 2-page papers, one on the student's past work and academic/intellectual history, the other on his or her future goals in the Program.
3. For graduation, a student must have taken four additional courses from the areas of concentration listed below (A-D). Over the whole course of study, the Classical Studies concentrator is normally expected to have taken at least one course from each category. The student will also complete a Senior Project, comprising two semesters of independent research and writing, under the guidance of his or her Classics adviser.

The Ancient Studies Focus

1. For Moderation, a student must have taken or be taking four courses in the languages, literature, history, philosophy, art history, or religion of the ancient world.
2. Moderation into Ancient Studies follows campus-wide requirements: a 10-page (minimum) paper from a course on the ancient world, representing the student's best work to date; and two 2-page papers, one on the student's past work and academic/intellectual history, the other on his or her future goals in the Program.
3. For graduation, a student must have taken four additional courses, normally drawn from the areas of concentration listed below (A-D), at least one of which will be comparative in nature. The student will also complete a Senior Project, comprising two semesters of independent research and writing, under the guidance of his or her adviser in Ancient Studies.

Electives

Listed here are some of the elective courses that have been taught in the recent past, by area:

(A) Literature/Genre

• Lit 204A - Ancient Literature
• Lit 204 CL - Comparative Literature A: Ancient Poetry
• Clas 212 - Ancient Egyptian Literature
• Clas/Lit 215 - Roman Love Poetry
• Clas 220 - After Troy: Greek Literature of the Post-War World
• Clas 223 - Comedy and its Problems
• Clas/Lit 240 - Virgil and Rome
• Clas 250 - Rhetoric and Public Speaking
• Clas/Lit - 275 Poetry and Athletics
• Clas 333 - Ancient Lyric
• Lit 201/Theology 201 - Working Theologies: Biblical Literatures
• Rel 326 - The Bible as Literature
• Lit 2107 - Byzantium

(B) History/Culture

• Clas/Hist 100 - Ancient History
• Clas/Hist 101 - Rise and Fall of Athens
• Clas/Hist102 - Roman Revolution
• Clas/Hist 103 - Rise and Fall of Ancient Rome
• Clas/Hist 154 - Greek Civilization
• Clas/Hist 155 - Roman Civilization
• Clas/Hist 157 - The Athenian Century
• Clas/Hist 177 - Early Greek History
• Clas/Hist 201 - Alexander the Great and the Problem of Empire
• Clas/Hist 2101 - The Ancient History of Historiography
• Clas/Hist 2191 - Gender and Sexuality in the Ancient World
• Clas/Hist 222 - Persian Wars and Ancient Greek Warrior Culture
• Clas/Hist 300 - Major Conference: Creating History
• Hist 2110 - Early Middle Ages
• Rel 221 - History of Early India

(C) Philosophy, Religion, Thought

• Clas 209 - Early Greek Philosophy
• Clas 214 - Catastrophe / Apocalypse
• Clas/Lit 216 – Ancient Law and Human Rights
• Clas/Hist 2201 - The Intellectual Exchange between the West and the East in Antiquity
• Clas/Lit 221 - From Babel to Brain: The Origin of Language in Western Thought
• Clas/Rel 227 - India and Greece
• Clas 242 - Classical Mythology
• Clas 260 - Confucius and Socrates
• Clas 325 - Aristotle and Hsün-Tzu
• Clas 350 - Cosmology and Ethics in the Axial Age
• Phil 103 - Introduction to Philosophy
• Phil 261 - The Philosophy of Plato
• Phil 352 - Philosophy of Language
• Rel 103 - Buddhist Thought and Practice
• Rel 117 - Hindu Religious Traditions
• Rel 123 - Religious foundations of Western Civilization
• Rel 140 - Sanskrit
• Rel 201 - Theology of Judaism
• Rel 242 - Hinduism in the Epics
• Rel 259 - Liturgy
• Rel 267 - Sacred Times: Festivals of Christianity
• Rel 272 - India and Greece
• Science, History and Philosophy 222 - Physical Science Before Newton

(D) Art/Architecture

• Arth 201 - Greek Art and Architecture
• Arth 213 - The Classical Tradition in Western Architecture
• Arth 227 - Roman Urbanism from Romulus (753 B.C.E.) to Rutelli (2000 C.E.)
• Arth 220 - Early Medieval Art and Architecture
• Arth 232 - Italian Renaissance Architecture
• Rel 241 - Myth and the Arts of India