Classics (CLAS)

College of Arts and Humanities
1210 Marie Mount Hall, 301-405-2013
www.classics.umd.edu
hlee6@umd.edu (Chair) or shr@umd.edu (UG advisor)
Chair: H. Lee
Professors: L. Doherty, J. Hallett (Distinguished Scholar-Teacher), E. Stehle
Associate Professors: S. Rutledge (Undergraduate Advisor), G. Staley
Lecturers: M. Pittas-Herschbach, J. Woods
Affiliate Professors: J. Burton
Affiliate Associate Professors: J. Scholten

The Major

Courses offered by this department may be found under the following acronym(s): CLAS, LATN, GREK.

Classics is the study of ancient Greek and Roman culture in all its aspects. Greek and Roman culture are the foundations of western culture - its literature, ideas, art, politics, and conceptions of the individual. Greek myth is still a shared fund of images and narratives that expresses human experience. Latin is the major source of English vocabulary, and Greek provides technical language in many fields. Classics explores all of these aspects through over fifteen hundred years of history. It helps us understand the relationship of western culture to other cultural systems and place ourselves better in the world.

Classics is an intellectually rich and versatile liberal arts major which teaches "core skills", including effective communication, critical thinking, and an appreciation of diversity. Because it is so interdisciplinary and holistic, a student of classics gets a three-dimensional view of cultural history and the literary works that are still major forces in the contemporary scene. Studying Athenian democracy and the Roman Republic sharpens understanding of competing philosophical and political ideas. Studying Latin not only develops English vocabulary but makes English grammar comprehensible. Both languages provide excellent analytic training; for instance, classics students score among the top few in the analytic section of the GRE exams.

Classics is a pre-professional major for law school or for graduate school in any aspect of the ancient world. Classics majors have also gone on to library school. Latin teachers are in demand; numerous students have found rewarding jobs teaching secondary school, with continued involvement in the classics community. Others have gone into business, worked in educational television, and gotten jobs in the writing or editing fields, in archival work, in special education, or in social services.

Program Objectives

The program aims to help students to understand and appreciate the Greek and Latin languages and literatures, and their relevance to the modern world.

Program Learning Outcomes

Having completed the degree program, students should have acquired the following knowledge and skills:

1. Students must demonstrate the ability to interpret the cultural context of primary sources through a variety of methodological approaches.
2. Majors, including Classical Humanities majors, are expected to demonstrate some level of language proficiency.

• Latin majors must be able to read and translate Latin at the advanced level.
• Latin and Greek majors must be able to read and translate either Latin or Greek at the advanced level and the other language at the intermediate level.
• Classical Humanities majors must  be able to read and translate either Latin or Greek at the intermediate level.

Admission to the Major

Admission to the major simply requires a meeting with the undergraduate advisor. No prior knowledge of Latin or Greek is required.

Placement in Courses

Students with score of 4 or 5 in any AP Latin test may not take LATN 201 or lower for credit. Students with score of 4 or 5 in more than one AP Latin test may receive additional credit.  For further information, contact the department's undergraduate advisor.

Requirements for the Major

Requirements for the Classics major include the College of Arts and Humanities requirement of 45 upper-level credits completed.

The College's Global Engagement Requirement will be automatically fulfilled in the process of taking language courses in the major.

		Credits
	Option A: Latin
LATN	Courses at the 200/300 level	18
LATN	Courses at the 400 level or higher	12
	Supporting courses	9-12
	Any level CLAS, GREK, or related fields such as HIST and ARTH
	Option B: Greek
GREK	Courses at the 200/300 level	18
GREK	Courses at the 400 level or higher	12
	Supporting courses	9-12
	Any level CLAS, LATN, or related fields such as HIST and ARTH
	Option C: Latin and Greek
LATN	Latin courses	18
GREK	Greek courses*	12
	OR
GREK	Greek courses	18
LATN	Latin courses*	12
	AND
	Supporting Courses	9
	For example, CLAS 170, HIST 110, and a 300- or 400-level course in Greek or Roman history
	*Students with no previous training in the second language may count introductory level courses as part of the 12-hour requirement.
	Option D: Classics in Translation (Classical Humanities)
CLAS	Classics courses	18
LATN	Latin courses, OR	12
GREK	Greek courses
	Supporting Courses	12-14
	Normally upper level courses in Art History, Archaeology, Architecture, Government, History, Linguistics, or Philosophy
	NOTES:
	Students are encouraged to substitute 300- and 400-level courses in LATN and GREK for some of the 18 required credits in CLAS. 100 and 200-level courses in GREK may be included among the supporting credits if the student's 12 language credits are taken in Latin, and 100 and 200-level courses in LATN may be included among the supporting credits if the student's 12 language credits are taken in GREK. Students are encouraged to take as much language as possible, but should take language courses sequentially; i.e., 101, 102, 201. Once credit has been received in a higher-level language acquisition or grammar course, a lower-level course may not be taken for credit. The student should begin the sequence at the appropriate level.

Requirements for the Minor

Classical Mythology
This minor will introduce students to classical mythology, its uses within ancient Greek and Roman culture, and its subsequent influence on art and literature. The minor requires 15 credits.

Required courses:
CLAS 170 Greek and Roman Mythology   (3)                                           
CLAS 470 Approaches to Greek Myth  (3)
                                                
In addition, the student must choose three courses from the following list, two of which must be at the 300 or 400 level:
CLAS 270 Greek Literature in Translation      (3)                                          
CLAS 271 Roman Literature in Translation     (3)                                   
CLAS 320 Women in Classical Antiquity        (3)                                       
CLAS 330 Ancient Greek Religion: Gods, Myths, Temples    (3)            
CLAS 331 Ancient Roman Religion: From Jupiter to Jesus     (3)          
CLAS 370 Classical Myths in America    (3)                                             
CLAS 374 Greek Tragedy in Translation (3)                                           
CLAS 419 The Classical Tradition  (3)
                                                      
Students interested in pursuing this minor should consult with the Undergraduate Advisor in the Department of Classics.

Latin

This minor introduces students to the Latin language and enables them to read, in Latin, important works of Latin literature. For students with no prior experience of Latin, the minor requires 21 credits, consisting of the following courses:
Latin 101 Elementary Latin I   (4)                                                             
Latin 102 Elementary Latin II  (4)                                                             
Latin 201 Intermediate Latin    (4)
Latin 3xx A reading course in Plautus, Petronius, Ovid or Horace and Catullus (3)
Latin 4xx A reading course in a major Latin author  (3)                         

Students who enter with advanced standing in Latin can complete the minor by taking a total of five courses in Latin at the 200 level and beyond. Students interested in pursuing this minor should consult with the Undergraduate Advisor in the Department of Classics.

Greek

This minor introduces students to ancient Greek and enables them to read, in Greek, important works of Greek literature. This minor requires 21 credits, consisting of the following courses:
Greek 101 Elementary Ancient Greek I     (4)                                          
Greek 102 Elementary Ancient Greek II    (4)                                         
Greek 201 Intermediate Ancient Greek     (4)                                           
Greek 301 Scenes from Athenian Life       (3)                                         
Greek 4xx Either Greek Philosophers, Greek Tragedy, or Homer   (3)                     

A Classics course at the 300 or 400 level such as CLAS 374 (Greek Tragedy) or CLAS 330 (Greek Religion) (3)

Students interested in pursuing this minor should consult with the Undergraduate Advisor in the Department of Classics.

Advising

Departmental advising is mandatory for all majors every semester.

Student Societies and Professional Organizations

Eta Sigma Phi is the national undergraduate Honor Society in Classics founded in 1914 at the University of Chicago. The University of Maryland's chapter, Zeta Nu, was established in 1994.  Students are invited to join in the spring semester.  To qualify, a student must be registered in a 300- or 400- level Greek or Latin course, must have at least a B+ average in all language courses, and an overall GPA of B or better. 

Students can also join the American Philological Association, which is the national classics professional organization, and the Classical Association of the Atlantic States, which is our regional classical organization.

Scholarships and Financial Assistance

Awards and Recognition

Outstanding students are invited to join Eta Sigma Phi, the national undergraduate Honor Society in Classics (see Student Societies and Professional Organizations above).

The department also annually awards the Avery Prize for excellence in Latin, and the Steyer and Gerber Scholarships (see Scholarships and Financial Assistance above).

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