Classical Studies

Classical Studies is an interdisciplinary field of study encompassing the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome.

We seek to understand the languages, literatures, histories, and visual and material cultures of the premodern Mediterranean world—from the Bronze Age to the dawn of the Middle Ages, from the Iliad and the Odyssey to Saint Augustine, and from Greece, Italy, France, and Spain to North Africa, the Middle East, and the Greek-speaking kingdoms of the Indian subcontinent. We approach these ancient societies from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including linguistics, art history, archaeology, anthropology, and philosophy, while also considering the long and complex legacies of ancient Greece and Rome in art, language, politics, and culture from antiquity to the present day.
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Studying Classics at Bard and want to get more involved?

Submit a translation to Sui Generis

Sui Generis is a publication of the Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Literatures program whose goal to provide students an outlet to produce original creative work in a foreign language or translate the work of other authors.
suigeneris.bard.edu/
Student Clubs

The Classics Club is a student-run group that hosts gatherings where students can meet up and talk about anything related to the study of classics. Latin Table is a weekly occasion for students to converse informally in Latin in order to gain a better linguistic and affective understanding of the language.
More about Student Work
Apply for an Internship or Summer Award

Many excellent opportunities for summer research and study in Classics are available both in the US and abroad as well as funding resources and research opportunities.
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The Extent of the Ancient Mediterranean World

Courtesy Ancient World Mapping Center

4/25
Friday

Friday, April 25, 2025
Blithewood 9:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4
In our contemporary era, marginality typically refers to people that lie on the fringes or margins of society with regard to some socio-economic or socio-political characteristic. In the context of the ancient Greek world, it is fairly easy to assign groups to this marginal category. However, ancient literature tends to complicate this modern notion of marginality, and characters that would normally be considered marginal from a historical standpoint are often put in positions that allow them to influence others and act beyond the limitations of their societal station. This talk will discuss the disconnect between literature and historical reality when it comes to marginal characters and their potential for agency and efficacy. Reexamining ancient Greek literature with this in mind will provide another avenue of interpretation that will contribute to our understanding of these works.

9:00 am – 5:00 pm EDT/GMT-4 Blithewood

Current News

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Bard Students Win Top Three Places at NYCC Greek and Latin Recitation Contest

Three Bard Classical Studies students participated in the New York Classical Club Greek and Latin recitation contest at NYU’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World earlier this month. The contest, organized by Columbia University faculty, let students compete in Greek, Latin, or both, with readings including Plato’s Apology, Homer’s Illiad, and Cicero’s First Catilinarian.

Celeste Connell ’26 Wins 2024 Dante Prize

Bard student Celeste Connell ’26 has won the 2024 Dante Prize, a longstanding award bestowed by the Dante Society of America for the best essay on the Italian poet Dante Alighieri by an undergraduate in the US or Canada. Connell, a junior in classical studies and literature at Bard, was awarded the prize for her essay “Lucan’s Exiles: Solitude and Moral Vision in the Commedia.”