FACULTY:
Monica Florence, Chair
Edith Foster
Josephine Shaya

The Department of Classical Studies provides students with opportunities to explore the ancient Mediterranean world with a special focus on the period from the eighth century BCE through the fourth century CE. Through the comparative study of ancient languages and cultures, Classics students acquire additional cultural literacy, becoming better critical thinkers and more engaged global citizens. Our primary goal is for students to understand and examine critically the ancient beliefs, values, and traditions that have shaped modern cultures.

The study of the Ancient Mediterranean is inherently interdisciplinary and intercultural. Students are encouraged to learn Ancient Greek, Latin, Middle Egyptian, and Hebrew. They will study the ancient literature, archaeology, history, religion, philosophy, and art produced in the Near East and Mediterranean basin, including ancient Mesopotamia, Israel, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

The Department accommodates and encourages a semester’s study abroad in the Mediterranean region. Additionally, the Department offers a program of study in Greece through its Wooster in Greece program. Established in 1973, Wooster in Greece is an on-site program of study and travel in Greece and Turkey and an intensive introduction to ancient Greek culture, from the prehistoric to the Byzantine periods. Open to all students, the program offers a unique opportunity for participants to deepen their knowledge of ancient and modern Greek culture through an integrated program of reading, class work, and visits to sites and museums. The program is interdisciplinary in nature and appropriate for students from a variety of majors and interests, as well as for those with previous experience in Classics.

Ancient Mediterranean Studies

The concentration in Ancient Mediterranean Studies is one of two within the major of Classical Studies. Through this concentration, students comparatively study multiple cultures in the Near East and Mediterranean basin, including ancient Mesopotamia, Israel, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Our period of study, from the eighth century BCE through the fifth century CE, allows for a particular focus on Greece and Rome, but the approach to the ancient Mediterranean region is interdisciplinary and intercultural. Students in Ancient Mediterranean Studies will examine the ancient literature, archaeology, history, religion, philosophy, and art produced by the network of ancient cultures that relied upon the Mediterranean Sea.

The primary goal of this concentration is to examine critically the ancient beliefs, values, and traditions that have shaped later cultures. Students in Ancient Mediterranean Studies will acquire additional cultural literacy, becoming better critical thinkers and more engaged global citizens.