The Department of Classics seeks to offer a transformative education to its majors and minors and to students who take only one or two classes with us. We have as our central commitment the study of the ancient Greek and Latin languages and of the literatures written in those languages. We are also engaged, both in teaching and research, with broader cultural issues. Our goal is to understand and appreciate the Greek and Roman worlds as wholes and to consider their influence, for better and for worse, on the modern world.
Classics, the study of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds — which spans three continents, more than two millennia, and dozens of languages, societies, and ethnic groups — does not hold exclusive or special claim to this, but rather focuses on two world-historical cultures that merit study in their own right and as a pathway to reevaluate and reflect on the values and practices we and our societies espouse.
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